Charles Ardai’s Hard Case Crime, which was distributed by Dorchester Publishing until their sudden withdrawal from the paperback market, has found a new home, with Titan Books. The series, which published 66 books between 2004 and August 2010, is a line of paperback crime novels. Hard Case Crime was nominated five times for the Edgar Allan Poe award, and has published authors including Stephen King (The Colorado Kid is the book that was the basis for the TV series Haven), Mickey Spillane, Ed McBain, Donald E. Westlake, Lawrence Block, Pete Hamill, Max Allan Collins, Madison Smartt Bell, and Roger Zelazny. Each book features new cover art in the classic pulp style, including covers painted by Robert McGinnis, the legendary illustrator who painted the original James Bond movie posters.
After Dorchester’s announcement, Ardai received offers from five other publishers to continue the line, but chose Titan, saying “Titan has an extraordinary record of creating beautiful, exciting books with exactly the pop culture sensibility that Hard Case Crime exists to celebrate. Titan is one of the few publishers that loves pulp fiction as much as we do.”
Titan’s first new Hard Case Crime titles, are scheduled to appear in September and October 2011, include Quarry’s Ex, a new installment in the popular series of hit man novels by Road to Perdition creator Max Allan Collins; Choke Hold, Christa Faust’s sequel to her Edgar Award-nominated Hard Case Crime novel Money Shot; and two never-before-published novels by major authors in the crime genre (both recipients of the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America).
Additionally, Titan plans to acquire all existing stock of Hard Case Crime’s backlist titles from Dorchester Publishing and resume shipping those titles to stores immediately.
Titan Publisher and CEO Nick Landau said “Hard Case Crime has done a remarkable job in a very short time of building a brand known for outstanding crime fiction and stunning artwork. We are thrilled to partner with Charles and look forward to bringing Hard Case Crime to a wider audience around the world, not only through the novels themselves but also through an innovative merchandise program.”
Related articles previously published on SFScope:Is the “shift to e-book publishing” a death knell for Dorchester? (20 August 2010)