Erotica on hold for Black Lace and Nexus at Virgin
06.07.09 | Benedicte Page
Virgin Books will not publish any new titles in its Black Lace and Nexus erotica lists next year, although the publisher has said the imprints will remain "active".
John Sadler, m.d. of Virgin Books, said: "As part of our strategic planning for 2010 we will be prioritising our rapidly growing non-fiction list and as such have decided not to add to our erotica list for that year." As a result of the development the publisher has entered into a period of consultation with one member of staff, said a Random House spokesperson.
Black Lace was founded in 1993, and celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2008. It describes itself as the leading imprint of erotic fiction for women. Nexus Books is the UK's longest-running imprint of erotic fiction.
Sadler joined Virgin as its new m.d. in September.
Comments on this article
By K.K.
What does this mean for editor Adam Nevill, and what will happen to the manuscripts currently being held in submissions? How long is this "period of consultation" supposed to last? Not all of the authors can't hold out indefinitely while the company decides what it may or may not do. In the meantime there are submission guidelines posted at ERWA for Black Lace's anthology volumes that had been proposed for 2010. Does this mean that these submissions have been halted? And will a formal statement from Random House/Virgin/Black Lace be issued soon?03 Jul 09 22:59
By Savanna Kougar
I'm not an author with Black Lace or Nexus. My only comment: How stupid is Virgin Books, and in particular how strategically dumb is Mr. Sadler? Currently erotica titles are selling better than other types of fiction and non-fiction. So, what REALLY gives? Some manner of pompous holier-than-thou high-brow crap... free Black Lace to do its own publishing thing instead of keeping it a conglomerate prisoner.04 Jul 09 05:08
By Disgusted
Isn't erotica supposed to sell well? I don't get why Black Lace stopped publishing their wonderful paranormal books or why they changed the branding to erotic romance. I think the marketing department may be screwing things up for them. No doubt this is a recession cost cutting thing. I love Black Lace. I want to see more. And it sucks that BL is suddenly re-releasing all these super old BL books instead of publishing new works. I saw the first black lace book I ever read re released on AMAzon. That book had everything the black lace submission guidelines say they don't want any more. A lot of outdated dungeon stuff. bleah. Black Lace has the most amazing stable of super talented authors. Virgin is dumb to risk losing them to other publishers too.04 Jul 09 08:54
By Huxtable
Not really the point, but who the hell reads 'erotic' fiction?04 Jul 09 10:30
By Xandra
Huxtable - Millions of women, that's who reads erotic fiction.04 Jul 09 13:09
By Felice Newman
Cleis Press publishes quality erotica -- literate, smart, hot, and strong sellers.04 Jul 09 17:12
By J. Skilling
Are they really good sellers? I remember a financial year or two ago when the erotica section accounted for precisely zero per cent of sales... They certainly don't justify their shelf space in my neck of the woods.04 Jul 09 17:42
By D. L. King
I am saddened and dismayed by this news. The loss of Black Lace and Nexus will leave a huge hole in what is left of literary, intelligent erotica and, I'm sure, must be devastating for Adam Nevill and all the authors currently writing for the imprints. I was worried about this very thing when Random House bought Virgin and I couldn't be sorrier to see that, unfortunately, I appear to have been right.05 Jul 09 02:06
By EllaRegina
It is indeed very sad news for the ever-dwindling literary erotica market. Adam Nevill is a writer's dream editor which makes Random House's decision especially woeful.05 Jul 09 02:34
By AB
Between them Black Lace and Nexus have been responsible for most of the worthwhile literary erotica published over the last two decades, including some true classics. It is a great shame that Random House seem incapable of appreciating the value of this, especially as erotica is one of the few honest literary mediums left. The closure - and who believes they are merely suspended - of these two imprints is a foolish and cowardly decision.05 Jul 09 11:52
By Lisa
Some Black Lace books are stunning in their intellectual exploration of sexuality and beauty of literary expression.05 Jul 09 21:20
By OJ
@ Lisa -- and anyone else -- which are the best titles? You make them sound worth checking out.06 Jul 09 09:38
By Steve More
There have only been two types of people that we have EVER sold erotic fiction to in our store (big chain bookstore, middle of a big surburban town 25 minutes from central London, rhymes with 'Horders'). 1) Men over fifty who ALWAYS put the book on the counter face-down so nobody can see the title/picture on the front. 2) Women between 25-45, who usually buy two or three at a time. I have no point to make. Bye!06 Jul 09 15:03
By AB
OJ, it's hard to make recommendations for Nexus, as authors tend to concentrate on specific subjects; although if you like your erotica to have plenty of plot and humour as well as sex you could do worse than Aishling Morgan. Black Lace is more consistent, but my personal favourites are Janine Ashbless and Monica Belle.06 Jul 09 18:40
By Huxtable
Oh, come off it Lisa. 'stunning in their intellectual exploration of sexuality'? It's a cheap thrill, the next best thing for girls who aren't happy with their sex lives. There's no intellectualising it; embarrassing to be caught reading and deeply tedious to work on, which is why nobody decent wants to publish it.07 Jul 09 07:35
By Kristina Lloyd
Ah, Huxtable! You're very out of touch with the contemporary erotica scene. You don't work for Random House, do you? I'm a Black Lace author and, along with fellow author, Mathilde Madden, co-host a blog, Erotica Cover Watch. If anyone's interested in how authors are feeling about this news, please check out our recent post: http://tinyurl.com/qemp34 Thanks.07 Jul 09 08:36
By Allison Tillyer
Well, whenever I've browsed through the erotica in my local book emporium, they are all the same badly-written tripe. So much of it is badly described S&M with smatterings of the 'c' word or horrednously overwrought descriptions of the male member. I'd much rather go to websites such as http://literotica.com07 Jul 09 09:19
By J. Skilling
I think I have to echo the sentiments of Huxtable and Allison here - 'stunning in their intellectual exploration of sexuality' seems to be stretching it a bit, and I have read a couple of both imprints' titles cover to cover.07 Jul 09 15:58
By Monica Belle (Black Lace author)
Maybe Lisa is guilty of a touch of hyberbole, but many Black Lace titles explore mental aspects of human sexuality as well as physical. Much of the detail in my own plots derives from my personal journey of discovery, and many people have written to thank me for helping them come to terms with their own desires, which are often greatly at odds with what society expects of women. I write to entertain and to arouse, unashamedly, but also to inform and to comment on society. I like to think this would be evident to anybody who has actually read one of my books, but it saddens me to see negative comments from those who have plainly reached their conclusions without examining the facts. I wait to stand corrected.07 Jul 09 18:09
By xxxSTORYxxx
That is sad news for erotic writers and readers everywhere. It was my first reading of one of their books that inspired my first naughty story and my love of erotica lead to me starting my own erotica community xxxstoryxxx.com - new but growing with writers and readers daily so there has to still be an interest. I had hoped to one day find the time to write my own full length erotic novel and submit it to them . ... hopefully someone will jump in and fill the gaping hole!10 Jul 09 12:13
By xxxSTORYxxx
Re Huxtables comments - you are entitled to your opinion, but thankfully for erotica readers and writers everywhere it is just that - yours, not the majorities. You don't like it - fine, don't read it - in fact it sounds like you don't, but I can assure you that plenty of men and women enjoy quality erotica. In fact, on the erotica site I ran from 2005 - 2007 (now closed down) out of the hundreds of members (nearly 1000 and at least 35% were male.) that I got to know well over that time, the majority were well educated intelligent articulate people who found well written erotica very stimulating. I recommend tracking down some of the Black Lace authors here and sampling their works - you may just change your mind about it!10 Jul 09 12:32
By JoBailey
It seems to moi, the issue at stake being Reader Vs Author: more authors than readers of erotica. Hence, John Sadler has made a commercial decision based on sales figures for last few years. Black Lace lost its way when Romance writers jumped on the erotic bandwagon, their output utter concocted tripe! S&M themes became formulated Mills & Boon plots with additional stereotypal slaves bedecked in leather/PVC, and worse, authors' displaying ignorance of S&M dresscode: i.e. collars. Who wears what - master/mistress or slave in collar? There are some fantastic web based erotic novels. There are also some so badly written they resemble many Black Lace author renditions of sexual tosh!12 Jul 09 18:58
By TheJourneyman (Literotica author)
Sad to hear that Virgin is no longer supporting an entire category of fiction. I have to disagree with the negative comments branding erotic fiction as 'worthless tripe,' just as you can't judge a book by it's cover, you can't judge a genre by it's name. Jane Austin wrote wonderful novels that are realistic commentarys on the life of women of her time yet they could be called romance stories. Authors Monica Belle and Penny Birch write erotic stories with graphic sex scenes but if you were to read their work you would you see there is much more to their writing than just sex... It's what a writer puts into a story that counts, not the cover or the category.02 Aug 09 14:49
By Joanna Woodhouse
I am really sorry to hear that Black Lace won't be publishing any erotica this year. I have a really great erotic story in progress, and had intended to send it to them. My story is funny, sexy and charming. Oh well, I will just have to find another publisher, although it's always been my dream for it to be Black Lace. Sincerely, Joanna07 Feb 10 14:20
By Basil Croeser
Good day, Further to previous correspondence with Adam Neville I'd like to inquire if you are still accepting submissions for erotic stories? If you are would you kindly direct me to where I can find your submissions criteria for new works. Kind regards, Basil Croeser.21 Mar 10 10:07
