Bleak House Books

Bleak House Books [http://www.bleakhousebooks.com] is an imprint of Big Earth Publishing [http://www.bigearthpublishing.com] . Before being acquired by Big Earth in 2005, Bleak House began as an independent publisher, releasing its first book in 2001. Bleak House is a publisher of hardboiled/noir books with real type protagonists, focusing more upon the people in them and the way they live in the world.

Bleak House Books also keeps a blog [http://www.bleakhousebooks.com/thenews/] and produces podcasts [http://thefutureisbleak.libsyn.com/] in which various authors and other members of the publishing community are interviewed.

The Future is Bleak Book Club [http://www.bleakhousebooks.com/bookclub.htm] , launched in 2008, is their most recent project, attempting to facillitate a more active reading public. In the spirit of the upcoming elections, this spring's authors were asked to campaign for the first ever book club nomination. Randall Peffer [http://www.randallpeffer.com/] , author of this June's "Old School Bones" [http://www.bleakhousebooks.com/frontlist/OldSchoolBones.htm] , has been elected as the first Future is Bleak Book Club author. An online forum will be established for book club members to discuss the winning book. Bleak House Books will provide some conversation starter questions.

Apart from publishing the majority of its books simultaneously, available upon publication date in both hardcover and paperback, Bleak House Books also releases a limited collector's edition option called the Evidence Collection which includes:
*a police booking sheet complete with the author’s vital information
*signature
*fingerprint
*date
*colored endsheet
*number (1-100)

Prizes and Awards

2008 Edgar Award Nominees [http://www.theedgars.com/nominees.html]

Best Novel: "Soul Patch" by Reed Farrel Coleman [http://www.reedcoleman.com/]

Best First Novel by an American Author:"Head Games" by Craig McDonald [http://www.craigmcdonaldbooks.com/]

Best Short Story: "Blue Note" from "Chicago Blues" by Stuart Kaminsky [http://www.stuartkaminsky.com/]

Recent Press

Bleak House Scores With Edgars, Publishers Weekly [http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6525345.html]

"To nobody's surprise, when the Mystery Writers of America announced the finalists for the 2008 Edgar Awards last week titles from the large New York houses dominated the eight (out of a total of 13) categories dealing with books. But one small Wisconsin press is more than holding its own among the 35 books and five short stories selected as this year's Edgar Awards nominees. Three of the 15 titles released this past year by Bleak House Books in Madison, an imprint of Big Earth Books, have been nominated for 2008 Edgar Awards in three different categories: Soul Patch by Reed Farrel Coleman (Best Novel), Head Games by Craig McDonald (Best First Novel), and "Blue Note" by Stuart M. Kaminsky from the Chicago Blues collection (Best Short Story)..."