Liz Gorinsky, Hugo Award-winning long form editor, is starting her own publishing company—Erewhon Books. Named for the Samuel Butler Victorian utopian novel Erewhon, the company will focus on novel-length works of speculative fiction, especially those which might appeal to both science fiction and fantasy readers and fans of mainstream fiction who enjoy work with speculative elements.
Erewhon will be distributed by Workman Publishing, which also houses the imprints Algonquin Books and Artisan Books. Workman’s only SFF title until working with Erewhon was Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens, and their CEO Daniel P. Reynolds has said, “[…]it’s about time we got back into this category. We can’t wait to help Erewhon develop their own list of bestsellers.”
From the press release:
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 opened their offices in June of 2018 and are aiming to publish their first season in 2020. They are open to submissions from agents and unsigned authors, who can find their guidelines on their website.
