Exhibit A Books, the publisher that put out my first two Detective Maier novels, The Cambodian Book of the Dead and The Man with the Golden Gun, folded yesterday after just a year of publishing.
How this imprint might have imagined to start making a significant profit in such a short time without proper promotional tools, proper media exposure and proper author publisher communication remains a mystery as twisted and impenetrable as those in the books published by Ex A.
I am currently writing the third Maier Mystery – Monsoon Ghost Image – and will find another way to publish that title next year. In the meantime, the first two Detective Maier books remain in print and available.
Here’s the statement from the publisher:
As you will be aware, Angry Robot Books has a history of innovation and we continue to go from strength to strength. We’re constantly trying out new concepts and new ideas, and we continue to publish popular and award-winning books. Our YA imprint Strange Chemistry and our crime/mystery imprint Exhibit A have – due mainly to market saturation – unfortunately been unable to carve out their own niches with as much success.
We have therefore made the difficult decision to discontinue Strange Chemistry and Exhibit A, effective immediately, and no further titles will be published from these two imprints.
I am very sorry to hear this news, Tom, very sorry indeed.
I hope that Detective Maier will live on, long and strong, at a new imprint soon!