Hugo Award-Winning Editor Liz Gorinsky Launches New Publishing Company
Erewhon Books to be distributed by Workman Publishing
New York, NY, October 16, 2018 – Erewhon Books is pleased to announce its debut as a new speculative fiction publisher. Erewhon, named after Samuel Butler’s Victorian utopian novel Erewhon, will focus on novel-length works of speculative fiction, especially works with strong literary merit and prose quality of broad appeal to the growing numbers of both science fiction and fantasy readers and mainstream readers who like work with speculative elements.
Erewhon’s founder, President, and Publisher Liz Gorinsky came to Erewhon after nearly fifteen years at SF&F publisher Tor Books, where she edited a list that included acclaimed and award-winning speculative fiction authors Liu Cixin, Annalee Newitz, Cherie Priest, Nisi Shawl, Catherynne M. Valente, and Jeff VanderMeer. She was part of the team that founded Tor.com and has won multiple prestigious awards for editing, including the Hugo Award for Best Editor, Long Form. Gorinsky remarked, “I started to learn about science fiction and fantasy at Tor Books as an intern, but I’ve loved those genres ever since I started reading. I’ve been honored to publish many beautiful SF&F books that have been bestselling, award-nominated, critically acclaimed (or all three!), and I’m thrilled to carry on my work with the many great authors in this genre and build the special attention and individual approach that a boutique independent publisher can provide.”
The rest of the Erewhon team includes Editorial Assistant Jillian Feinberg and business advisor Peter Burri, who is the co-founder of the successful independent press The Experiment and has twenty-five years of experience in publishing operations and financing. Erewhon also has substantial financial backers who come from families with over fifty years of publishing experience and are committed to the long-term growth of the company.
Erewhon is pleased to have signed on as a distribution client of independent publisher Workman Publishing, which has fine imprints including Algonquin Books and Artisan Books and a select distribution group that includes The Experiment and duopress. Previously, Workman has had very little presence in the speculative fiction world and is excited to be expanding its offerings in that direction. Workman’s Chief Executive Officer Daniel P. Reynolds commented, “It’s exciting to be part of the talented team starting up Erewhon Books. Many years ago, Workman had a bestseller with Good Omens – our first and only SF&F title, so it’s about time we got back into this category. We can’t wait to help Erewhon develop their own list of bestsellers.”
Erewhon opened its New York City office in June 2018 and is starting to build its list with the aim of debuting its first season of new titles in 2020. They will primarily publish books of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other speculative fiction, but are open to other works of interest of SF&F readers. They are seeking books with unique and well-formed prose, on the literary end of the spectrum but with clear commercial appeal. They especially like works that fall between genres with veins of weirdness or dark humor, and are committed to publishing authors from a wide variety of underrepresented backgrounds. Erewhon is open for submissions from both agents and unsigned authors, who can submit according to the guidelines at https://www.erewhonbooks.com. Gorinsky has just returned from Frankfurt Book Fair and will be attending the upcoming World Fantasy Convention in Baltimore, MD on November 1-4, as well as a number of science fiction and fantasy and book conferences in 2019.
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