Arrow Books (an imprint of The Random House Group) and recently revived Hammer Films have announced a new partnership, under which Arrow will create a new Hammer imprint to publish (initially) about six titles per year. The books will debut next Spring, and will feature novelizations of new film releases, novelizations of backlist classics (to bring them to a whole new market with a modern and sophisticated twist) and new novellas by established authors “whose oeuvre does not necessarily encompass the horror genre.” First up will be an original novella by Jeanette Winterson (author of The Stone Gods and Oranges are not the Only Fruit).
Hammer, which launched in the UK in 1934, was known for its horror, sf, thrillers, film noir, and comedies in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. The company has been moribund since the 1980s, but was recently taken over by Exclusive Media Group, which is now “aggressively reinvigorating” the brand with films, television, and digital-platform content.
Hammer’s first film in more than 30 years releases this month: director Matt Reeve’s Let Me In, starring Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road) and Chloe Moretz (Kick Ass). The film is “the story of an alienated 12-year old boy Owen, whose only friend is his new neighbor Abby. Recognizing each other as outsiders, Owen and Abby soon form a unique bond, while in the background, a string of grisly murders grips their wintry New Mexico town.” Scheduled future releases include “the Hitchcockian psychological thriller The Resident, which stars two-time-Oscar winner Hilary Swank and Hammer legend Sir Christopher Lee; The Quiet Ones, based on the true story of a group of college kids who created a poltergeist from scratch, written by the 2009 Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear winner Oren Moverman; and The Woman in Black, an adaptation of Susan Hill’s modern classic ghost story which is currently shooting on location in the UK and stars Daniel Radcliffe.”
Publisher Kate Elton of Arrow said: “I’m thrilled to be launching this partnership with Hammer. They’re already an iconic brand, and the reinvention of the Hammer brand is a hugely exciting project. With the current interest in all things supernatural, the time is absolutely right for a Hammer imprint which will publish both into the heart of the commercial horror market, and into the literary and thriller markets that border it. We will be publishing books which are entertaining, frightening, transgressive and addictive.”
Hammer’s Simon Oakes said “The life blood of any film company is ideas and stories and, as we reboot Hammer, we can think of no better partner in the publishing world than Random House. The team at Random House immediately shared our vision for ‘Hammer 2.0’. We can’t wait to work with them on the creation of innovative and terrifying new stories for our imprint.”