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Wild Cards ''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies,
mosaic novel A mosaic novel is a novel in which individual chapters or short stories share a common setting or set of characters with the aim of telling a linear story from beginning to end, with the individual chapters, however, refracting a plurality of viewp ...
s, and solo novels written by a collection of authors known as the Wild Cards Trust and edited by
George R. R. Martin George Raymond Richard Martin (born George Raymond Martin; September 20, 1948), also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels ''A Song ...
and
Melinda M. Snodgrass Melinda M. Snodgrass is a science fiction writer for print and television. In February 2021 Melinda was the Screenwriting Guest of Honor and Keynote Speaker at the 39th annual Life, the Universe, & Everything professional science fiction and fan ...
. Set largely during an
alternate history Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...
of post-
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
 United States, the series follows humans who contracted the Wild Card virus, an alien virus that rewrites DNA and mutates survivors; those who acquire minor or crippling physical conditions are known as Jokers, and those who acquire superhuman abilities are known as Aces. As of the publication of ''Texas Hold'Em'' in October 2018, the series consists of twenty-six books. ''Wild Cards'' began publication through
Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...
, under its Spectra
imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...
, in January 1987. Bantam published the series until 1993 and released twelve installments. Baen Books published three books from 1993 to 1995. From 2002 to 2005, ibooks Inc. published two more installments, including one solo novel. ''Wild Cards'' is currently published by
Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scien ...
, an imprint under
Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...
. As of October 2018, Tor Books had released nine novels. Several novels were also reprinted. Reprinting rights to the first eight novels were acquired by ibooks Inc. in 2000. The company reissued the first six novels before declaring
Chapter 7 bankruptcy Chapter 7 of Title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy Code) governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States, in contrast to Chapters 11 and 13, which govern the process of ''reorganization'' of a debtor. ...
shortly after the death of founder Byron Preiss; ibooks' assets were acquired by Brick Tower Press. As of November 2021, Tor Books reprinted the first twelve, sixteenth & seventeenth novel.
Marvel Entertainment Marvel Entertainment, LLC (formerly Marvel Enterprises) is an American show business, entertainment company (law), company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, New York (state), New York, formed by the merger of #Marvel Entertainment ...
has published two ''Wild Cards'' mini-series, thirty-two years apart. The first, released via their Epic Comics imprint, was published from September to December 1990 and featured an original storyline based on events that occurred in the early novels. A second limited series, this time adapting stories from the first novel, ran from June through October, 2022.


Books


Bantam Books (1987–1993)

Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. ...
, under its Spectra
imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...
, published twelve books between 1987 and 1993, including two solo novels written by
Melinda M. Snodgrass Melinda M. Snodgrass is a science fiction writer for print and television. In February 2021 Melinda was the Screenwriting Guest of Honor and Keynote Speaker at the 39th annual Life, the Universe, & Everything professional science fiction and fan ...
and
Victor Milán Victor Woodward Milán (August 3, 1954 – February 13, 2018) was an American writer known for libertarian science fiction and an interest in cybernetics. Life and career Milán was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1986 Milán won the Prometheus A ...
.


Baen Books (1993–1995)

Baen Books published a new triad between 1993 and 1995 subtitled ''of a New Cycle''. In 2002, Martin commented that he felt the triad was creatively "three of the strongest volumes ''Wild Cards'' ever had" and that the series "came back strong" after stumbling with a previous storyline; however, he conceded that the triad was "very dark", acknowledging it was a commonly voiced complaint, and that he felt switching publishers was a mistake.


ibooks Inc. (2002–2006)

In 2000, ibooks Inc. purchased two new installments and the rights to reprint the first eight books of the series; the two new books were published between 2002 and 2006, including a solo novel by John J. Miller. The company filed for
Chapter 7 bankruptcy Chapter 7 of Title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy Code) governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States, in contrast to Chapters 11 and 13, which govern the process of ''reorganization'' of a debtor. ...
in July 2005, shortly after the death of founder Byron Preiss. In December 2006, J. Bolyston & Co. Publishers, parent company of the Brick Tower Press imprint, acquired all of Preiss' assets, including those of ibooks, for $125,000. Brick Tower Press offered
e-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...
versions of its titles, including ''Deuces Down'' and ''Death Draws Five,'' via Humble Bundle in February 2016.


Tor Books (2008–present)

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scien ...
, an imprint under
Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...
, currently publishes the series in both print and e-book format. It released six new installments from November 2008 to August 2016. On his blog in March 2016, Martin stated that Tor Books acquired three installments after ''High Stakes''. Working titles for the books are ''Texas Hold 'Em'', ''Mississippi Roll'', and ''Low Chicago''. He also announced that
Saladin Ahmed Saladin Ahmed (born October 4, 1975) is an Eisner Award winning American comic book writer and a science fiction/fantasy poetry and prose writer. His 2012 book ''Throne of the Crescent Moon'' was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novel and w ...
, Max Gladstone, Marko Kloos, and
Diana Rowland Diana Rowland is an urban fantasy writer and is best known for her Kara Gillian Series and White Trash Zombie Series. She has worked as a bartender, a blackjack dealer, a pit boss, a street cop, a detective, a computer forensics specialist, a c ...
will contribute to the triad.


Short stories

Tor Books publishes short stories through its website beginning January 2013: * "When We Were Heroes" by Daniel Abraham (January 16, 2013), edited by Martin * "The Button Man and the Murder Tree" by Cherie Priest (May 15, 2013), edited by Martin * "The Elephant in the Room" by Paul Cornell (May 29, 2013), edited by Martin * "Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza" by Carrie Vaughn (October 15, 2014), edited by Martin * "Prompt. Professional. Pop!" by Walter Jon Williams (November 21, 2014), edited by Martin * "Discards" by
David D. Levine David D. Levine (born February 21, 1961, in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American science fiction writer who won the Hugo Award for Best Short Story in 2006 for his story "Tk'tk'tk". His novel ''Arabella of Mars'' was published by Tor Books in J ...
(March 30, 2016), edited by
Patrick Nielsen Hayden Patrick James Nielsen Hayden (born Patrick James Hayden January 2, 1959), is an American science fiction editor, fan, fanzine publisher, essayist, reviewer, anthologist, teacher and blogger. He is a World Fantasy Award and Hugo Award winner (wi ...
* "The Thing About Growing Up in Jokertown" by Carrie Vaughn (December 21, 2016), edited by Martin * "The Atonement Tango" by Stephen Leigh (January 18, 2017), edited by Martin * "When the Devil Drives" by Melinda Snodgrass (July 5, 2017), edited by Martin * "Evernight" (February 21, 2018) by
Victor Milán Victor Woodward Milán (August 3, 1954 – February 13, 2018) was an American writer known for libertarian science fiction and an interest in cybernetics. Life and career Milán was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1986 Milán won the Prometheus A ...
, edited by Martin * "The Flight of Morpho Girl" (May 2, 2018) by
Caroline Spector Caroline Spector (born Caroline Skelley) is a science fiction and fantasy writer who has also written role-playing game modules and computer game hint books. She also spent two years as associate editor at ''Amazing Stories'' magazine. She is a m ...
and
Bradley Denton Bradley Clayton Denton (born 1958) is an American science fiction author. He has also written other types of fiction, such as the black comedy of his novel ''Blackburn'', about a sympathetic serial killer. He was born in Towanda, Kansas, and atten ...
, edited by Martin * "Fitting In" (October 24, 2018) by Max Gladstone, edited by Martin * "How to Move Spheres and Influence People" (27 March, 2019) by Marko Kloos, edited by Martin * "Long is the Way" (May 15, 2019) by Carrie Vaughn and
Sage Walker Sage Walker is an American science-fiction writer based in New Mexico. She contributed to the ''Wild Cards'' series and won the Locus Award in 1997 for her debut novel, ''Whiteout''. She was one of several science fiction authors who attended a 200 ...
, edited by Martin * "The City That Never Sleeps" (August 28, 2019) by Walton Simons, edited by Martin * "Naked, Stoned, and Stabbed" (October 16, 2019) by
Bradley Denton Bradley Clayton Denton (born 1958) is an American science fiction author. He has also written other types of fiction, such as the black comedy of his novel ''Blackburn'', about a sympathetic serial killer. He was born in Towanda, Kansas, and atten ...
, edited by Martin * "The Visitor: Kill or Cure" by Mark Lawrence, edited by Martin * "Berlin is Never Berlin" by Marko Kloos, edited by Martin *"Hammer and Tongs and a Rusty Nail" by
Ian Tregillis Ian Tregillis is an American author. He is the author of the alternate history trilogy ''The Milkweed Triptych'' and a contributor to George R. R. Martin's Wild Cards series. He is an alumnus of the Clarion Workshop, and holds a Ph.D in physics. ...
, edited by Martin * "Ripple Effects" by
Laura J. Mixon Laura J. Mixon (born December 8, 1957) is an American science fiction writer and a chemical and environmental engineer.Alan Brennert Alan Brennert (born May 30, 1954 in Englewood, New Jersey) is an American author, television producer, and screenwriter. Brennert has lived in Southern California since 1973 and completed graduate work in screenwriting at the University of Cali ...
, edited by Martin * "Hearts of Stone" by Emma Newman, edited by Martin * "Grow" by Carrie Vaughn, edited by Martin One additional short story, "Lies My Mother Told Me" by Spector, was published in the '' Dangerous Women'' anthology, also edited by Martin. The anthology was released December 3, 2013. Wildcards.com has also published: * "I Have No Voice and I Must Zoom Meeting" by Paul Cornell


Notes


References


External links

* {{Official website, https://www.wildcardsworld.com/
''Wild Cards'' series
nbsp;at 
Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the 'Big Five' English language publi ...
, parent company of 
Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese scien ...
Wild Cards