To make the world of publishing even more confusing, Tor.com – which is not the same as Tor Books, apparently – is stepping into the publishing fray, by becoming a new imprint for Macmillan. There first title is a print-on-demand run of Year’s Best Fantasy 9, edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer.
This highly anticipated release also marks something we’re particularly proud of: Tor.com’s debut as a publishing entity, distinct from Tor Books and as a separate imprint under our shared corporate overlords at Macmillan.
YBF 9 is available only as a print-on-demand book, in keeping with our mission of always exploring alternative forms of publishing. Similar to the launch of the Tor.com Store, this title is one of our various publishing projects that seek to experiment with the available alternatives to publishing’s traditional sales, distribution, and delivery mechanisms.
Year’s Best Fantasy 9 is available in the Tor.com Store, of course, as well as via online retailers such as Amazon, B&N, and more.
Don’t worry, you’re not the only one who’s confused about how a website can also be an imprint of a large publishing company. In any case, the list of authors and stories included in the anthology is certainly impressive:
“Shoggoths in Bloom” – Elizabeth Bear
“The Rabbi’s Hobby” – Peter S. Beagle
“Running the Snake” – Kage Baker
“The Illustrated Biography of Lord Grimm” – Daryl Gregory
“Reader’s Guide” – Lisa Goldstein
“The Salting and Canning of Benevolence D.” – Al Michaud
“Araminta, or, The Wreck of the Amphidrake” – Naomi Novik
“A Buyer’s Guide to Maps of Antarctica” – Catherynne M. Valente
“From the Clay of His Heart” – John Brown
“If Angels Fight” – Richard Bowes
“26 Monkeys and the Abyss” – Kij Johnson
“Philologos; or, A Murder in Bistrita” – Debra Doyle & James Macdonald
“The Film-makers of Mars” – Geoff Ryman
“Childrun” – Marc Laidlaw
“Queen of the Sunlit Shore” – Liz Williams
“Lady Witherspoon’s Solution” – James Morrow
“Dearest Cecily” – Kristine Dikeman
“Ringing the Changes in Okotoks, Alberta” – Randy McCharles
“Caverns of Mystery” – Kage Baker
“Skin Deep” – Richard Parks
“King Pelles the Sure” – Peter S. Beagle
“A Guided Tour in the Kingdom of the Dead” – Richard Harland
“Avast, Abaft!” – Howard Waldrop
“Gift from a Spring” – Delia Sherman
“The First Editions” – James Stoddard
“The Olverung” – Stephen Woodworth
“Daltharee” – Jeffrey Ford
“The Forest” – Kim Wilkins
An interesting business model… to say the least. I’m still not sure why Macmillan is positioning Tor Books and Tor.com as separate entities.
