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Allison & Busby is poised to move into fantasy and science fiction for the first time after publishing director Susie Dunlop spotted that there was a gap in the market for a smaller publisher.
It will publish 11 science fiction and fantasy titles this year, kicking off with US author Rachel Caine's Ill Wind (£6.99, p/b, 28th April), the first in her Weather Warden series about beings who control the elements. A&B also has UK rights in a further four Weather Warden titles, which have been published in the US as Heat Stroke, Chill Factor, Windfall and Firestorm.
"The fantasy market is lacking in books from smaller publishers. We are starting off small but retailers' responses towards our first fantasy novel Ill Wind have been great," said Dunlop. "Waterstone's and Borders have embraced it instore and this fantastic response shows that there is clearly a demand out there for fantasy."
A&B's biggest fantasy release this year will be Fallen (£19.99, h/b, 11th Aug), a dark horror fantasy by Tim Lebbon. "I signed Tim a few months ago and we are excited about the release," said Dunlop. "Tim is prepared to do as much publicity as we can get to promote the book."
A&B also plans to release a second novel by Lebbon, The Everlasting, as a paperback original in August (11th August, £6.99).