International Crime: much better than “wimpy paperbacks with sunshiney covers”

Wednesday 25^th June, London: Four of Britain’s leading independent publishers announce the launch of International Crime Month to promote international crime fiction

Four of Britain’s leading independent publishers—Melville House UK, Europa Editions, No Exit Press, and Serpent’s Tail—have joined forces to promote one of the most vital and socially significant fiction genres of our time. International Crime Month will be a month-long initiative running throughout July 2014 and will feature internationally acclaimed crime fiction authors, editors, critics, and publishers.

ICM aims to spotlight and celebrate the incredibly rich genre that is international crime fiction. This is fiction that offers readers a cast of writers and stories originating from every corner of the globe, resulting in books that thrill and disturb, while also raising serious questions about the political structures within which their protagonists operate.

The initiative will highlight new titles from Melville House UK’s International Crime series, Europa’s World Noir imprint, No Exit Press and Serpent’s Tail’s crime fiction. The four authors in focus are Mallock (Europa Editions), Wolf Haas (Melville House UK), Adrian McKinty (Serpent’s Tail) and Barry Forshaw (No Exit Press).

“It made a lot of sense to come together and highlight international crime,” Melville House UK Managing Director Zeljka Marosevic said. “As publishers we all share this interest and commitment, and in some cases we even share authors. I hope the month will offer readers something a bit quirkier for their summer reads—think of the books as alternative travel guides.”

The month-long initiative will kick-off with an event at Waterstones’s flagship store in Piccadilly, London on Wednesday 9^th July. Authors Mallock and Adrian McKinty will discuss their writing with Barry Forshaw, the author of Euro Noir and one of the country’s foremost authorities on crime fiction. Joining them will be Pete Ayrton, who founded Serpent’s Tail to publish fiction in translation and is uniquely placed to give the publisher’s perspective.

“At a time of year when most publishers are pushing wimpy paperbacks with sunshiney covers at people,” said Hannah Westland, Publisher of Serpent’s Tail, “we are delighted to be offering readers something different alongside our fellow indie publishers. I’d much rather spend my holidays reading any one of these dark, brilliant masters of the crime genre and look forward to the events and conversations that International Crime Month will spark.”

Posters will be available to bookshops for displays and promotions, and there will be a host of digital marketing initiatives throughout the month across the four publishers’ digital platforms. Independent bookshops are encouraged to contact Zeljka Marosevic ([email protected]) to request a poster.