A Dribble of Ink

Tor.com announced this morning that Lee Harris, Senior Editor at Angry Robot Books, will be joining their new short fiction imprint as Senior Editor. Harris will join Publisher Fritz Foy, Associate Publisher Irene Gallo, and Editorial Assistant Carl Engle-Laird at the imprint. They are still searching for a Publicity Manager, Marketing Manager, and Designer.

“The Tor.com role is full-time,” Harris revealed to me. This means that his time as Senior Editor at Angry Robot Books is coming to an end. This news comes just days after Osprey Media announced the closure of two of Angry Robot Books’ sister imprints: Strange Chemistry and Exhibit A. Harris maintained through his website that the timing is entirely coincidental. “The new role is an amazing opportunity for me, and if it had been advertised six months ago, or six months from now, I would still have applied. In a note to my authors I said that in many ways it’s the role that Angry Robot had been preparing me for over the last five years.”

Harris has been a part of the Angry Robot Books team since its earliest days, and leaving the imprint was not an easy decision for him. “Handing in my notice to Angry Robot was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. It was a genuinely emotional meeting – Angry Robot is more than just my job, it’s my baby, and it always will be.”

With Harris moving to Tor.com in August, Angry Robot Books is on the search for a new Senior Editor. “Marc will need to find a replacement for me at Angry Robot. And you know what? Whoever gets that gig is going to have the time of their life.” Do you have what it takes?

For the past five years, Harris has acquired and edited full-length novels from many of genre’s most exciting voices, like Adam Christopher, Emma Newman, Ramez Naam, Chuck Wendig, and more. The move from novel-length material to shorter fiction is a challenge that Harris is looking forward to, and Tor.com offered an opportunity that he couldn’t pass up.

“I love novellas – they’re my preferred format for my own leisure reading,” he said on his website. “And Tor? Tor is the best Big 5 SF imprint in the world! So, you know – I applied. And had a chat with the powers-that-be, and then flew to New York for another chat and a meet and greet. And after a great deal of discussion, Tor.com offered me the role, and I accepted.”

Starting a brand-new imprint for a world-class publisher, publishing novella-length stories? Working with some of the best in the business? What’s not to love?

More of Harris’ thoughts on the transition can be found on his personal blog.

So, what does a Lee Harris story look like? His impact on the Angry Robot Books catalogue is clear, but his taste in novella-length works is still a work-in-progress. “It’s more than a month until I officially join Tor.com so it’s a little early to say what shape the stories will take,” Harris told me when I asked him what he’s looking for. “I’m aiming for a broad mix of science fiction and fantasy (of all flavours), and I have a few… interesting ideas… that I want to run past Carl (the imprint’s Assistant Editor) and the Publishers. Until we’ve had a proper planning meeting – and until we see what people are going to send us – it’s too soon to tell.”

Tor.com is excited to get (another) Hugo-nominated editor on their roster, and the excitement is mutual. His enthusiasm was clear when I asked Harris to describe what he’s most looking forward to with the new gig. “Starting a brand-new imprint for a world-class publisher, publishing novella-length stories? Working with some of the best in the business? What’s not to love?”