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- Tartarus is a small, British independent press
founded in 1990. We specialise in collectable hardback limited editions
of literary supernatural/strange/horror fiction, and we also
publish paperbacks and ebooks.We have been the recipient of three World Fantasy
Awards, and in 2010 received a "Stoker" from the Horror Writers
Association.
"When first encountered, the publications of
Tartarus Press seem almost as numinous as the supernatural tales they
contain. The simple elegance of their presentation. . . jacketed in
uniform cream covers with only minimal decoration, recall an earlier age
when books were as rare and treasured as jewels. These are not
commodities to be piled high on three-for-two tables, but rarities which
remain hidden unless sought out . . . The stories hoarded in their pages
are so little known you might be forgiven for wondering if you have
dreamed them. The Triumph of Night and Other
Tales by Edith Wharton. The Supernatural Tales of H.G. Wells. The Lost Poetry of William Hope Hodgson. And dozens of
other titles by authors both famous and obscure which taken as a whole
form a secret library, a catalogue of weird fiction from its roots in
Victorian Britain through to the modern day." -- Damien G. Walter,
The Guardian
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News
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24th
May:-
Nike Sulway's
Rupetta receives a great review
at Publishers
Weekly:
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"Sulway uses rich and evocative prose to pull the
reader irresistibly into her tale's vividly rendered alternate Europe
and its centuries of human power struggles. Her profound reflections on
human frailty and the price for everlasting life seem as much a bonus as
an integral part of its telling."
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Wormwood 17
gets a very good review at She Never
Slept:
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"Once again, Mark Valentine has assembled an adept
and well-read team of scholars who discuss fiction writers dealing in
the unusual, whether famous, infamous, or obscure. Indeed, the
lesser-known individuals are often the most interesting
subjects."
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23rd May 2013: We've
received a few very positive notices on blogs today. Mark Valentine's
Herald of the Hidden
is positively reviewed by Mark Andresen at The Pan Review and by David Longhorn at the Supernatural Tales blog. Additionally, The Mumpsimus
discuss our reprints of Robert Aickman here.
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22nd May 2013: Our next publication will be
Night Voices by
Robert Aickman. It contains all of the original stories from the
posthumous 1985 collection, plus Aickman's fantasy novella 'The Model',
along with Aickman’s ‘An Essay’ (written on winning the first World
Fantasy Award in 1976), and his Introductions to The Fontana Book of
Great Ghost Stories series, which he edited. In ‘Robert Remembered’,
author Ramsey Campbell concludes this volume with memories of his
friend.
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It will be published on 29th May,
2013.
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We are sad to learn of the death of Roger Dobson, a
real, old-fashioned bookman who was devoted to a number of neglected
writers, including Arthur Machen, M.P. Shiel, George Gissing, C.W.
Blubberhouse and Julian Maclaren-Ross. His essays on literary matters
were published in the Antiquarian Book Monthly Review and
The Book and Magazine Collector, along with amateur
publications like All
Hallows, The Doppelganger
Broadsheet, and his own Lost Club
Journal (published with Mark
Valentine).
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Back in 1990 Roger Dobson and Mark Valentine
encouraged Ray Russell to research and publish The Anatomy of Taverns, the first publication issued by Tartarus Press. Always
supportive of Tartarus, Roger contributed to a number of our
publications over the years, including the Introductions to our reprints
of Arthur Machen's Tales of Horror and the Supernatural. He also
edited Gawsworth's Life of Arthur Machen
and contributed to Wormwood. We
collaborated with Roger and Mark on the publication of our editions of
Aklo and
Ornaments in Jade.
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Those who knew Roger will miss accompanying him on
obscure literary expeditions and his conversations on all manner of
bookish topics, for which he had great enthiusiasm and profound
knowledge. RIP Roger.
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A fine obituary of Roger can be found at the
Wormwoodiana blog here
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They are not long, the weeping and the
laughter,
Love and desire and hate:
I think they have no portion
in us after
We pass the
gate.
They are
not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our
path emerges for awhile, then closes
Within a
dream.
Ernest Dowson
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Left to right: Mark Saxton, Mark Valentine, Reggie
Oliver, Tim Parker Russell
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5th May, 2013: Many thanks to all who came to
our Dark World afternoon in Carlton-in-Coverdale. We raised
£250 towards the Amala children's home in India from book sales and
donations.
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A video of Mark
Valentine reading his story "An Incomplete Apocalypse" during the
afternoon can be watched here.
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Reggie Oliver has very kindly donated a
signed and mounted limited edition print of his illustration for his
story 'Come into my Parlour', which he read during the afternoon. It is
being auctioned on ebay here,
along with a signed copy of the out-of-print first edition
(limited to 300 copies) of Dark World, signed by editor Timothy
Parker Russell, cover illustrator Stephen J. Clark, and contributing
authors Mark Valentine, Reggie Oliver, Mark J. Saxton, Rosalie Parker
and R.B. Russell. Proceeds from the auction will also go to
Amala.
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- 26th April: Nike Sulway and her new novel,
Rupetta, are featured at the
Weird Fiction Review. On the website you can read their thoughts
on Nike and the book, an interview,
and, finally, you can read the first full chapter of
Rupetta, 'The Miracle of
Consciousness'.
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..... to see all
Tartarus Press News, click here
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