Mirage Publishing was a

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 pe ...

books, founded by Stephen Richards in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

History

The first book to come off the press was about murdered

Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as publishe ...

gangland figure Viv Graham, written by investigative author Stephen Richards. Mirage was the first publisher to take a chance on publishing a book of poems, ''Birdman Opens His Mind'' () by UK prisoner

Charles Bronson Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and wa ...

. This was followed by Bronson's autobiography ''Silent Scream'' (), which depicted the anachronistic penal system in the UK. Further books by Bronson and his then co-author and business manager Stephen Richards followed, including the book ''Solitary Fitness'' (), detailing an individual training process with minimal resources and space. Considered by ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' newspaper to be an "obscure publishing company from Tyneside", Mirage Publishing published the authorised biography of rock star

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-earth ...

, ''A Sting in the Tale'' (), which was written by long-time friend of Sting, James Berryman. The book became ''Night & Day'' magazine's book of the week, as well as being serialised in a UK tabloid. Numerous books from Mirage Publishing have since been serialised by the UK press and magazines. The biggest accolade to be achieved by Mirage Publishing was to see its book ''Burnt'' (), by Scottish author

Ian Colquhoun Ian Alexander Colquhoun (8 June 1924 – 26 February 2005) was a New Zealand cricketer who played two Test matches for his country in the 1950s. Early life and family Born in Wellington on 8 June 1924, Colquhoun was the son of Gladys and C ...

, being held aloft by Richard Madeley on ''

Richard & Judy ''Richard & Judy'' (also known as ''Richard & Judy's New Position'') is a British television chat show presented by the married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. The show originally aired on Channel 4 from 26 November 2001 to 22 Augus ...

'' on UK TV. Mirage, in a change of publishing genres, has moved away from true crime book publishing, citing the increase in violence for doing so. Mirage Publishing now solely concentrate on publishing mind, body and spirit, self-help, how-to guides and biographies.

References

External links

Official website of Mirage Publishing
Book publishing companies of the United Kingdom {{publish-stub