Penzler Publishers Announces “Crime Ink”: True Crime Imprint

Otto Penzler announced that he has formed Crime Ink, a new imprint at his publishing company, Penzler Publishers, which will focus on publishing literary true crime.

Tom Wickersham, formerly the manager of The Mysterious Bookshop, will head the imprint as its editor. Charles Perry will be the Publisher, a position he currently holds with The Mysterious Press, American Mystery Classics, Scarlet, and MysteriousPress.com, an electronic book publisher--the other imprints of Penzler Publishers. Luisa Smith will oversee as Editor-in-Chief of Penzler Publishers. 

 

The Crime Ink imprint plans to publish four to six books in its first year, starting in the Winter of 2024.

“True crime is an important publishing category that has enjoyed a long history of success,” said Otto Penzler, CEO of Penzler Publishers. “When Tom Wickersham agreed to join us in this venture, his extraordinary knowledge in this field immediately convinced me that we had a great addition to our team that would prove to be innovative and successful.”

“I am excited to join Penzler Publishers and contribute to the rich genre of true crime with Crime Ink,” said Tom. “We are poised to launch in the spring of 2024 with The Serial Killer’s Apprentice, the first modern examination of 1970s serial killer Dean Corll. Also under contract are a biography of New York crime journalist Jimmy Breslin, a comprehensive account of the Son of Sam killings, and a series in translation from France. We will strive to publish revelatory works that shed new light on old cases, expose modern injustices, and expand the classification of true crime as we know it.” 

Crime Ink will be distributed by W. W. Norton and Company, which also distributes The Mysterious Press, Scarlet, and American Mystery Classics. 

SEEKING TO SCREEN SHORT STORIES: BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES ANTHOLOGY

BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), now in its twenty-third year, is seeking to screen stories for the annual collection. Note: All stories must be published during the period January 1 - December 31, 2019.

Looking for fiction that offers elements of crime or criminal intent, violence, suspense, etc. Over its two-plus decades, BAMS selections have covered a very wide span of themes and subject matter.

Only U.S. or Canadian writers are eligible.

Aside from the numerous genre sources, over the years material has come from The Kenyon Review, Tin House, One Story, The New England Review, Zoetrope, The New Yorker, Glimmer Train, Harper's Magazine, StoryQuarterly, The Georgia Review, Ploughshares, The Antioch Review, The Sewanee Review, among many others --- in short, an eclectic range.

Two Options

1) either you choose and send stories you think might fall inside the catchment

or

2) Put BAMS on your comp list, allowing them to screen each issue.

Right now the Editors are reading for BAMS 2020 (stories published between January 1 and December 31, 2019). Editors welcome seeing any stories/issues published during this year, as well as being put on a list to receive future issues. Stories from digital journals and online sources are welcome, but must be printed out and sent to BAMS. Self-submissions are fine, begin sure to include information on publication, date, editor, etc. Material is not accepted electronically. All such submissions must be printed out or publication sent via hardcopy.

Mailing address: 
Otto Penzler
BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES
58 Warren Street,
New York, NY 10007

Deadline for receiving submissions is December 31. However, since that falls within the holiday period, we request that eligible stories arrive by December 1st, if possible.

Send inquiries to: Michele Slung 
mslung@earthlink.net

SCARLET: Psychological Suspense with primarily female readers in mind

From Shelf Awareness:

Mystery publisher and bookseller Otto Penzler and Pegasus Books are jointly creating Scarlet, a company that will focus on publishing psychological suspense "with primarily female readers in mind." Scarlet will publish six to eight novels its first year, starting in Winter 2020, and will be distributed by Norton, which distributes both Penzler Publishing and Pegasus Books.

Luisa Smith, buying director of Book Passage, Corte Madera and San Francisco, CA, will be editor-in-chief (while continuing at Book Passage). Nat Sobel of Sobel-Weber Associates, the agent for many authors in this category, will act as consultant. Jessica Case of Pegasus Books will work closely with the other Scarlet personnel in acquisition, marketing and publicity.
Smith commented: "Suspenseful stories, unique perspectives, and quality writing all play important roles in my favorite books and we hope to find these elements in every Scarlet title. After years of promoting the books I love within the bookstore, I now look forward to discovering new voices that my fellow booksellers will enjoy sharing with their favorite mystery readers."
"Psychological suspense is an exciting sub-genre of mystery fiction that has enjoyed a long history of success, both critically and commercially," Penzler said. "The opportunity to work with Claiborne Hancock and Jessica Case of Pegasus Books was too enticing to pass up. When Luisa Smith agreed to join us in this joint venture, I was immediately convinced that we had a great team that would prove to be successful."
"Over the past two decades, Otto has taught me more about crime fiction than I could ever imagine so it's especially exciting now to partner on Scarlet," Claiborne Hancock of Pegasus Books commented. "Psychological suspense that features complex women--whether they are the protagonist or the villain or somewhere in between--is one of the most dynamic categories in popular fiction right now, so the time is right for an imprint dedicated to this genre."

Jessica Case said, "This genre in particular allows for so much room to explore complex characters in depth while crafting tight and compelling plots. Readers who gravitate toward this genre are always looking for new ways to be challenged and surprised."

2016 David Thompson Special Service Award to Otto Penzler

The Bouchercon Board of Directors is proud to announce that Otto Penzler is the recipient of its 2016 David Thompson Special Service Award for “extraordinary efforts to develop and promote the crime fiction field.”

Founded in 1970, and named after distinguished mystery critic, editor, and author, Anthony Boucher, Bouchercon is an all-volunteer non-profit organization that each year brings together fans, authors, publishers, editors, agents, and booksellers from around the world in a different location for a four-day celebration of their shared love of the crime genre. This year’s convention, “Blood on the Bayou—Bouchercon 2016,” takes place in New Orleans, September 15-18 (www.bouchercon2016.com).

The David Thompson Special Service Award was created by the Bouchercon Board to honor the memory and contributions to the crime fiction community of David Thompson, a much beloved Houston bookseller who passed away in 2010. Past recipients of the award are Ali Karim, Marv Lachman, Len & June Moffatt, Judy Bobalik, and Bill and Toby Gottfried.

This year’s honoree, Otto Penzler, is the proprietor of New York City’s The Mysterious Bookshop and founder of The Mysterious Press (1975). A publisher of original works and classic crime fiction in the U.S. and abroad, Mr. Penzler also published The Armchair Detective, a quarterly journal devoted to the study of mystery and suspense fiction, and created the publishing firms of Otto Penzler Books and The Armchair Detective Library. He is a prolific editor, and his most recent anthologies include The Big Book of Sherlock Holmes Stories, The Big Book of Locked Room Mysteries, The Best American Mystery Stories of the 19th Century, and The Best American Noir of the Century. Since 1997 he’s also been the Series Editor of The Best American Mystery Stories of the Year.

The Mystery Writers of America has bestowed on Mr. Penzler two Edgar Awards, its 1994 Ellery Queen Award, and the 2003 Raven Award. He’s also received Lifetime Achievement awards from Noircon and The Strand Magazine. In addition, Mr. Penzler co-chaired two Bouchercon Conventions (1977 and 1983) and served on Bouchercon’s Board for ten years.