Flame Tree Publishing

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Flame Tree Publishing
Flame-Tree-Publishing-logos 02.jpg
Founded1992 (1992)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Headquarters location London, SW6
DistributionHachette UK Distribution (UK) [1]
Peribo (Australia)
Simon & Schuster (US) [2]
Publication types Books, calendars, ebooks, gift stationery
Nonfiction topicsArt, Music, Fiction, Recipes, Lifestyle, computing
Fiction genres Science fiction, horror books and ebooks
Imprints Flame Tree Press (novels, Horror, SF, Fantasy & crime)
Flame Tree iGuides (ebook non-fiction)
Flame Tree 451 (F & SF ebooks)
Flame Tree Audio (audiobooks)
Official website flametreepublishing.com

Flame Tree Publishing is an independent publisher of books, calendars and other stationery items, based in Fulham, London, United Kingdom with an editorial office in New York. It focuses on art, music, lifestyle and fiction categories. Flame Tree creates content in the form of paper printed encyclopedias, guides and practical books and publishes them in different book, gift, stationery and digital markets worldwide. It has a number of license arrangements with museums, galleries and other licensors, including Tate, [3] V&A [4] and The Royal Academy of Arts. [5] The publisher started releasing e-books and launched a new fantasy, crime and science fiction classics imprint called Flame Tree 451. [6] In 2015 Flame Tree launched a range of deluxe Gothic Fantasy titles combining new stories from open submissions and curated classic writing. In 2018 a new trade imprint fiction imprint called Flame Tree Press [7] began to publish new novels in the horror and suspense, sf and fantasy and crime and mystery genres.

Contents

Origins

Flame Tree was established in 1992 as The Flame Tree Publishing Company, a part-time illustrated art book and gift packaging operation by founder Nick Wells. In 1995 Wells left HarperCollins Publishers to turn Flame Tree into a full-time business, operating from an office in Chiswick. The company name was changed to The Foundry Creative Media Company Ltd but Flame Tree Publishing was retained as the publishing imprint and brand. Managing Director Frances Bodiam joined in 1996. Wells and Bodiam continue to run the business. In 2012 The company name changed to Flame Tree Publishing Ltd and John Holloran and Ross Clayton of Marston Book Services Ltd invested to provide distribution and accounting services. In May 2023 Flame Tree left Marston to join Hachette UK Distribution. [8]

Activity

In the first few years Flame Tree's main activity was to create a range of packaged books for a series of corporate publishers, including HarperCollins (25 of the original colour reference Collins Gems and two illustrated encyclopedias [9] [10] ), Dorling Kindersley (including 16 K.I.S.S. Guides, such as Astrology [11] ) and 24 of the then Letts Education's Success Guides to KS3, and GCSE [12]

During this period Flame Tree started to create and sell calendars and greeting cards to retail markets and has exhibited at the Spring Fair and Autumn International Gift Shows [13] at the NEC since 1997.

In 1998, Flame Tree moved into new premises on the borders of Hammersmith and Fulham, close to The River Café (London) and, at that time, a few minutes walk from several other publishers, Virgin Books, HarperCollins and Constable & Robinson. Flame Tree started publishing into the UK and international markets, focusing on art, music, cookery and general reference. Among its first books were Guitar Facts, An Illustrated Guide ( ISBN   9781904041726) and Simple Cookery: Wok and Stir Fry ( ISBN   9781903817049) both of which demonstrate Flame Tree's method of creating practical content for everyday use. Step-by-step photos continue to be a feature of many of their publications. In 2015 Flame Tree moved to its current premises near the Kings Road in Fulham, by Putney Bridge tube station, coinciding with a greater concentration on art, music and fiction.

Flame Tree exhibits at a number annual trade shows including the London Book Fair, [14] The Spring Fair International Gift Show, Frankfurt Book Fair, [15] BookExpo America. [16] and The Beijing International Bookfair. [17]

Flame Tree's brand The Art of Fine Gifts includes illustrated art books, art calendars and deluxe notebooks featuring licensed and created art by a wide range of modern artists and illustrators such as Josephine Wall, [18] Kerim Beyit, [19] Ann Stokes [20] and Lesley Anne Ivory [21]

In 2019 Flame Tree and the Chinese media giant Phoenix Publishing and Media Group held a signing ceremony at the Beijing International Bookfair for a cooperation venture in the Chinese and English language markets. [22]

Gothic, dark fantasy and science fiction

2015 saw the publication of the first titles in a range of short story collections which combined new writing from submission calls online, and classic writing. Examples include Chilling Ghosts Short Stories, [23] [ better source needed ]Time Travel Short Stories [24] and Agents & Spies Short Stories. [25]

Flame Tree Press colophon for fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing Ltd FLAME TREE PRESS logo.jpg
Flame Tree Press colophon for fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing Ltd

In 2018 the company launched Flame Tree Press, a trade imprint for novels in genre fiction, mainly horror, sf, dark fantasy and crime. First writers included Bram Stoker Award winner John Everson, Jonathan Janz and Brian Trent, with new writers and novels in translation from China. Ramsey Campbell endorsed the launch of the new list which included the publication of his own Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach. [26]

In 2020 Flame Tree announced a partnership with Compelling Science Fiction magazine, a US publisher of science fiction. [27]

Trade bodies

Flame Tree is a member of the Independent Publishers Guild (IPG) and The Greeting Card Association (GCE).

Notable books

Notable calendar ranges

Notable eBooks

Related Research Articles

<i>The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction</i> English language reference work

The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (SFE) is an English language reference work on science fiction, first published in 1979. It has won the Hugo, Locus and British SF Awards. Two print editions appeared in 1979 and 1993. A third, continuously revised, edition was published online from 2011; a change of web host was announced as the launch of a fourth edition in 2021.

HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Corp. The name is a combination of several publishing firm names: Harper & Row, an American publishing company acquired in 1987—whose own name was the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company—together with Scottish publishing company William Collins, Sons, acquired in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tor Books</span> United States book publisher

Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group, a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese science fiction novels in North America.

Victor Gollancz Ltd was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century and continues to publish science fiction and fantasy titles as an imprint of Orion Publishing Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon & Schuster</span> American publishing company

Simon & Schuster is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publisher in the United States, publishing 2,000 titles annually under 35 different imprints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luis Royo</span> Spanish artist (born 1954)

Luis Royo is a Spanish artist. He is best known for his fantasy illustrations published in numerous art books, magazines such as Heavy Metal and various other media including book and music CD covers, video games and Tarot cards.

St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under six imprints.

Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a publishing company owned by Hachette Livre, the largest publishing company in France, and the third largest trade and educational publisher in the world. Hachette Livre is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lagardère Group. HBG was formed when Hachette Livre purchased the Time Warner Book Group from Time Warner on March 31, 2006. Its headquarters are located at 1290 Avenue of the Americas, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Hachette is considered one of the big-five publishing companies, along with Holtzbrinck/Macmillan, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster. In one year, HBG publishes approximately 1400+ adult books, 300 books for young readers, and 450 audio book titles. In 2017, the company had 167 books on the New York Times bestseller list, 34 of which reached No. 1.

Greg and Tim Hildebrandt, known as the Brothers Hildebrandt, are American twin brothers who worked collaboratively as fantasy and science fiction artists for many years. They produced illustrations for comic books, movie posters, children's books, posters, novels, calendars, advertisements, and trading cards. Tim Hildebrandt died on June 11, 2006.

Marc Gascoigne is a British author and editor.

Elizabeth Engstrom is an American speculative fiction writer.

Australia, unlike Europe, does not have a long history in the genre of science fiction. Nevil Shute's On the Beach, published in 1957, and filmed in 1959, was perhaps the first notable international success. Though not born in Australia, Shute spent his latter years there, and the book was set in Australia. It might have been worse had the imports of American pulp magazines not been restricted during World War II, forcing local writers into the field. Various compilation magazines began appearing in the 1960s and the field has continued to expand into some significance. Today Australia has a thriving SF/Fantasy genre with names recognised around the world. In 2013 a trilogy by Sydney-born Ben Peek was sold at auction to a UK publisher for a six-figure deal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natasha Rhodes</span> English-born author (born 1978)

Natasha Rhodes is an English-born author, best known for her contemporary fantasy book series starring supernatural crime-fighter Kayla Steele. She has also written many film novelizations of popular blockbuster movies such as Blade: Trinity and the Final Destination series of movies, as well as original books based on films such as the Nightmare On Elm Street series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Stone</span> British writer

Sam Stone is the horror and fantasy pen name for British Thriller novellist and screenwriter Samantha Lee Howe. She is best known for her USA Today! best selling novel The Stranger In Our Bed published by HarperCollins imprint One More Chapter. This novel has recently been made into a film by production company Buffalo Dragon, The film, directed by Giles Alderson and starring Samantha Bond, Emily Berrington, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Joseph Marcell, Nina Wadia, Bart Edwards and Terri Dwyer, was released on 1 July 2022 on Showtime Networks. Samantha has since sold three more books to HarperCollins One More Chapter and all three were published in 2021 as The House of Killers Trilogy which consists of The House of Killers Book 1, Kill or Die Book 2, and Kill A Spy Book 3.

Angry Robot is a British-based publishing house dedicated to producing modern adult science fiction and fantasy, or as they call it “SF, F and WTF?!?”. The Nottingham-based company first released books in the UK in 2009, and since September 2010 has simultaneously been publishing its titles in the US as well, as a distributed client of Random House. All titles are released as paperbacks and eBooks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic Books</span> British publishing house

Atlantic Books is an independent British publishing house, with its headquarters in Ormond House in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. It is perhaps best known for publishing Aravind Adiga's debut novel The White Tiger, which received the 40th Man Booker Prize in 2008, and for its long-standing relationship with the late Christopher Hitchens.

William Collins, Sons & Co. was a Scottish printing and publishing company founded by a Presbyterian schoolmaster, William Collins, in Glasgow in 1819, in partnership with Charles Chalmers, the younger brother of Thomas Chalmers, minister of Tron Church, Glasgow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penguin Random House</span> Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company

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