So what exactly *is* a Young Adult? The launch of Strange Chemistry

If you’ve ever heard of ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘Twilight’ you may have already caught on to the fact that many titles published originally for children are also rather enjoyed by a tremendous number of adults. These 'crossover titles' have become something of a holy grail for the publishing industry in recent years, but just publishing a YA 'list' is no guarantee of success in what is a fiercely competitive arena...

Well, a new UK publishing imprint Strange Chemistry launched this month, hoping to follow in the footsteps of some of the most successful titles of recent years and is focused solely on finding and publishing new reads for teenagers.

We were delighted to be invited to the launch of Strange Chemistry at the British Library in August, to see first-hand what this homegrown UK-based publisher had to offer. What is particularly exciting for us is that Strange Chemistry are part of Angry Robot, who have - in a very short space of time - developed a formidable reputation for contemporary science fiction and fantasy.

Can they repeat it for Young Adult?

Here's Strange Chemistry editor Amanda Rutter with launch authors Kim Curran, Laura Lam and Jonathan L Howard (thanks to Katie Allen at The Bookseller for this photo).

Being part of Angry Robot means they are also part of the Clonefiles initiative. This means anyone buying Strange Chemistry titles from us get the eBook for free. Discover more about Clonefiles here.

We were pleased to track down Amanda who very kindly has give us the low-down on what Strange Chemistry is all about..

MB. At the launch of Strange Chemistry you said how important you think books for young adults are and we wondered what you were reading at that age and what your favourites were that influenced you when you were a teenager?

AR. I was reading a combination of what we now call YA (but used to be shelved in a 12+ section rather than an explicit Young Adult shelf) and adult novels. Tamora Pierce was a very early favourite, but I would also find myself dipping into adult novels a great deal. I was sixteen when I read my first Charles de Lint book, and he has remained an absolute favourite author right up until today. I also tackled Wilbur Smith, Alistair MacLean and Jean M Auel, so I definitely was not worried about more challenging novels. I think my absolute favourite books during my teen years were 'Room 13' by Robert Swindells (I would fervently encourage any teen to pick this up, even now – it’s chilling and funny by turns) and 'The Silver Kiss' by Annette Curtis Klause.

MB. At a time when many publishers appear cautious and we are seeing lots of

US imports and series fiction, it's very refreshing to see the launch of an

imprint that seems to be thinking differently. Has it been your objective to

nurture some home-grown talent and debut authors?

AR. I was watching Angry Robot emerge over the last couple of years and I have been a great fan of the fact that they bring us exciting new authors (Lauren Beukes and Adam Christopher, to name but two) and also give us standalone novels. It seemed like such a good way of doing business, since you could pick up most of their books without having to worry about reading eight previous entries into a series! So I confess that I very much modelled Strange Chemistry on this idea. One of the things that can be a little annoying about YA fiction is that everything does seem to come in at least a trilogy, so I was delighted to know that 'Blackwood' was an absolute standalone. I have also experimented with the duology format, where there has been too much story for just one novel but the author would like to complete it over two.

Taking on debut authors is an absolute delight (both US and UK-based). It is fantastic to be able to offer an author their first chance, and some of my debuts are like old hands when it comes to promotion and chatting to teens, which has been brilliant to see.

MB. Teenagers in our shop can be interested in reading everyone from Cormac McCarthy to JK Rowling. Is it possible to define the perfect teen book?

AR. I don’t think it is! As I say, when I was a teen I read adult literature as well. I know that, if I were a teen today – with all the books available to me I could wish to read on the YA shelves – I would still be sneaking a look at adult books.

What I will say is that teens do not want to be talked down to or have it assumed that they prefer a simpler novel just because of their age. This is one of the reasons that I have pursued challenging, brave and intelligent fiction. 

MB. You are part of Angry Robot, which specialises in sci-fi and fantasy, but is going to be adding a new crime list. Is there a chance that Strange Chemistry will follow suit and extend its list for teens beyond science fiction and fantasy?

AR. Actually *ahem* we’ve started to make tentative plans in that direction. YA fiction is such a terrific opportunity to put out stories across all genres, since it is more of a category, and I certainly enjoy seeing thrillers shelved alongside contemporary romance alongside SF. Imagine how much more fun the adult section would be if it’s only categorisation was the author surname! So, yes, I will be opening up the list a little, but it won’t be for a couple of years and, since my first love is SF and fantasy, those will definitely not be sidelined by introducing other types of novel.

MB. What is the best thing about launching a new imprint? And the worst??

AR. The best thing has been watching the list take shape and introducing new authors to the world. That has *definitely* been the best part! Hearing people say that they want to read ALL the books you have on your list is a real highlight. The worst? Probably the amount of work I’ve had to put in during the first nine months – sixteen hour days and weekend work has not been unusual! It’s settling down some now!

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We now have our dedicated Clonefiles page up for the two book launch titles - including Nicki's review of 'Blackwood' - find out more here.

3 4 Friday - Costumed Capers, Urban Fantasy and Clonefiles Mayhem

To celebrate the launch of the Angry Robot Clonefiles Initiative our '3 4 Friday' this week are three staff picks from their fantastic science fiction and fantasy list. It's hard to believe that Angry Robot only launched in July 2009, but already have a huge and passionate fanbase, a reputation for some of the best new writing, not to mention scooping an Arthur C Clarke Award for Lauren Beukes‘ novel Zoo City last year.

 

So - in case you hadn't heard - anyone buying an Angry Robot title through Mostly Books will be able to get hold of an e-book of that title absolutely free. In whatever format you require. How cool is that?

Here are three staff favourites from the shelves:

The Damned Busters by Matthew Hughes

When mild-mannered actuary Chesney Artstruther refuses to sell his soul to the devil, the whole of hell goes on strike. And without the thought of hell to spur on mankind things begin to look serious for the planet and Chesney gets the chance to do a deal with the devil.  

"Chock full of humour, this is a fantastic romp with superheroes, Satan and a strike in hell...an interesting concept and a mismatched duo of costumed, crime fighting hero and demon sidekick make for an hilarious novel. This book is perfect for fans of Tom Holt and Robert Rankin." - Ellie 
 

Dead Harvest by Chris F Holm

Sam Thornton is a collector of souls. When he goes to collect the soul of Kate, a young multiple murderer, he becomes convinced that she is innocent and refuses to do his duty. He is soon on the run from the forces of both Heaven and Hell, trying to prevent a calamity of apocalyptic proportions. With its retro cover it’s not surprising that although this is gritty, urban fantasy, it is also owes a lot to the noir crime genre and is a good twist on both genres.

"One of my favourite Angry Robot titles, simply because of the excellent first-person writing and characterisation that places you at the heart of the tale - not to mention loads of great references to . And that cover is retro, and very desirable - just the kind of book that you want to own, and read digitally, so made for the Clonefiles initiative!" - Mark

Sixty-One Nails by Mike Shevdon

When Niall Petersen suffers a suspected heart attack on the London Underground he is healed by a woman who tells him the incident has woken latent Feyre powers. He learns of the hidden world of the Feyre, an uncanny place of legend that lurks just beyond the surface of everyday life. The ancient peoples are at war - but is Niall really the one who can wield the dark magic of the Untainted, and save them all?

"This is a great myth-based urban fantasy series that will appeal to Neil Gaiman fans. A new, fresh voice in the genre!" -Julia

To order Angry Robot titles, pop into Mostly Books - or view a larger list of titles which can be ordered online here.

eBooks - the indies strike back?

We are always getting excited about things in this shop - mostly it's about books (of course), or events or possibly a conversation we've had with a customer, or even an author.

But the conversations we have with publishers are often the most exciting. Months later, when a book is doing particularly well, or we are basking in the glory of a big event, it can be traced back to a conversation we've had with a publisher months earlier.

But a few weeks ago an ad hoc chat with publisher Angry Robot has yielded an initiative that in some ways is the most exciting thing we've ever done. It's certainly one of the most innovative - and allows us to start playing in an area that, hitherto, we have been a rather anxious spectator. eBooks.

It's called the Clonefiles Initiative and, with a few specific details involving timings, basically you buy an Angry Robot title at Mostly Books - you get the eBook free. And that's for *any* reader.

Pretty exciting, huh? We think so. More over on the Angry Robot website, or read our full press release here...

We'll have plenty more on this over the coming days, but we'd love to know what you think, and we hope other indies will follow suit...

(Update - we now have a curated collection of our top ten Angry Robot titles, as chosen by the Mostly Books staff)