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| Dell Abyss http://horrorworld.org/msgboards/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4018 |
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| Author: | Ender [ Sun Mar 16, 2008 1:43 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Dell Abyss |
| Author: | ttzuma [ Sun Mar 16, 2008 3:16 pm ] |
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Wow...I forgot about that imprint! It's a cool thing you are looking for, please post your results Ender if you care to. I'm curious also. Tt |
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| Author: | DGM [ Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:49 pm ] |
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| Author: | ttzuma [ Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:52 pm ] |
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| Author: | DGM [ Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:54 pm ] |
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| Author: | ttzuma [ Sun Mar 16, 2008 5:03 pm ] |
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| Author: | DGM [ Sun Mar 16, 2008 6:08 pm ] |
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| Author: | ttzuma [ Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:18 pm ] |
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| Author: | Ender [ Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:54 pm ] |
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| Author: | ttzuma [ Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:57 pm ] |
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| Author: | DGM [ Tue Mar 18, 2008 8:04 pm ] |
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| Author: | ttzuma [ Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:47 am ] |
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Hey Ender, I found two: Robert Devereaux's first two book-length works, Deadweight and Walking Wounded, were published by Dell Abyss. And DGM, from what I can tell, it ended in the late 90's. And going through all this stuff, I found a writers workshop, one town over from me! This is exciting and I've e mailed for more info. Tt |
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| Author: | ttzuma [ Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:49 am ] |
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Koja, Kathe. Skin. New York: Dell/Abyss, 1993. Shadow twin. HOPKINS, JACK Pseudonym of Nick Pollotta Michael Arnzam, GRAVE MARKINGS from Dell/Abyss and Delerium. Dark Dance by Tanith Lee |
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| Author: | ttzuma [ Wed Mar 19, 2008 11:08 am ] |
| Post subject: | From an article on Dell/Abyss line by Steffen Hantke |
(I'm pasting this so it starts abrubtly) Among the most remarkable books published in the horror genre, she lists Kathe Koja’s The Cipher, Melanie Tem’s Prodigal, and Patrick Gates’ Tunnel Vision. What the three novels have in common is that they are published by Dell under the ‘‘Abyss’’ imprint. Dell’s intention to publish ‘‘a new line of horror/dark fantasy books’’ at the rate of one title a month had been announced in a Locus article in May 1990 entitled ‘‘Dell to Launch New Horror Line.’’ The premier title, according to this early announcement, was to be ‘‘The Funhall [sic]2 by Kathe Koja, followed by Nightlife by The Decline of the Literary Horror Market 59 Brian Hodge, Blood Feast by Ron Dee, Specters by J. M. Dillard, and Prodigal by Melanie Tem. Dell has also acquired Monster/Time by Kelley Wilde, last years’s Bram Stoker Award Winner’’ (5).3 With junior Jeanne Cavelos as chief executive editor for the series, Dell saw better chances of weathering the tough market with an entire series than with individual titles or any other form of publishing format.4 An imprint like Abyss, Cavelos explained in an interview with Rick Kleffel, served as a signal to bookstores and the public that we were doing something new and different. With so many books being published each month, it’s very hard to get attention for any one, and usually the publisher doesn’t have the budget to heavily market or publicize a single title. By creating an imprint, the publishing house focuses attention on a group of books, and so can devote more money to the group than it would be able to spend on any one book. (‘‘Importance of Being Imprints’’) From February 1991 when Kathe Koja’s The Cipher was published as the first in the series, Cavelos’ editorial vision and personality determined the selection of texts and authors and thus guaranteed a consistent identity to the books under the Abyss imprint. To most writers she dealt with, Abyss became her series. Given this high degree of editorial attention, Abyss got off to an excellent start. Kathe Koja and Melanie Tem, two of the first Abyss authors, tied for first place in the ballot for the Bram Stoker Award in 1992. Other books published in the Abyss line were equally successful on the ballots of both the Horror Writers of America’s Bram Stoker Awards and the World Fantasy Award. Abyss authors Nancy Holder, Melanie Tem, Robert Deveraux, Kristin Kathryn Rusch, Kathe Koja, Michael Arnzen all ended up on the ballot for the Stoker in 1994—the same year Kathe Koja and Poppy Z. Brite received nominations for the World Fantasy Award.5 In retrospect, Mike Arnzen, an Abyss author himself, articulates what the industry and audience consensus used to be at the time—that ‘‘the Abyss line in the 1990s [. . .] is still the standard for cutting edge horror’’ (Dark Echo). The impressive initial track record of Cavelos’ line lead to plans for expansion. In 1992, Locus announced Abyss’ expansion into hardcovers. With the hardcover publications of Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite, Cavelos hoped to tap the distinct demographics of the market Abyss had already consolidated. ‘‘Abyss readers,’’ she is quoted in Locus, ‘‘are an older, sophisticated audience—and that’s the hardcover trade’’ 60 Steffen Hantke (‘‘Abyss Expands’’ 6). Another addition was the launch of a parallel series called Dell Edge. Again, here is Cavelos quoted in Locus: ‘‘Edge will publish literary books that don’t quite fit into Abyss’ more traditional horror market, ranging from noir fiction to dark psychological horror’’ (January 1994: 6). The publication schedule featured Patrick McCabe’s The Butcher Boy, a novel by an author not primarily associated with the horror genre, followed by Tim Lucas’ Throat Sprockets and Kathe Koja’s Strange Angels. However, Cavelos’ editorial ambition and Abyss’ critical acclaim did not translate into commercial success. After six years with Dell, and a month before the first Cutting Edge title appeared, Cavelos made the decision to leave her editorial position with Dell in July of 1994 in order to pursue a career in teaching and writing (Datlow ‘‘Summation 1994’’). By that time, the industry had already begun to notice the gap between the critical acclaim and the commercial success of the Abyss line.6 ‘‘Even before Cavelos left,’’ Leslie Schnur writes in October of 1994, ‘‘the Abyss line had been cut from monthly to nine per year. It will probably be around six now—or even less. The reviews were fantastic, but most titles were not selling well. [. . .] In order to get more copies out, the successful authors—Poppy Z. Brite, Tanith Lee, Kathe Koja, etc.—will be published as Dell leads, not as Dell Abyss books’’ (8).7 Schnur concludes that Cavelos’ leaving the series was the final reasons for its demise, all commercial setbacks aside. ‘‘Jeanne Cavelos was unique,’’ is Schnur’s assessment, ‘‘I don’t think anyone can replace her . . .’’ (8). After forty-three titles, and with Poppy Z. Brite’s Lost Souls as its final publication, Abyss ceased to exist in March 1998.8 What makes the Abyss line a cultural phenomenon worthwhile of study is its self-conscious positioning within the declining horror market. Its marketing strategies, text selection, and construction of a commodity identity speak volumes on the horror market and its transformation at the time. Cavelos herself describes the inception of the Abyss line primarily as a move against expectations that readers and distributors might have had about Dell as a publisher. In the case of Abyss, we [. . .] needed to divorce ourselves from our own sales history. Dell had been publishing poor quality horror novels for some years—because no editor had a real interest in horror—and their sales were very low. If we were to continue publishing horror, then we had to improve the quality of our The Decline of the Literary Horror Market 61 books. [. . .]We needed to make a complete break with the past, and the way to do that was create a new imprint that would have a different identity—a new name, new authors, new cover treatments, new marketing plans, and a consistently high quality that would allow us to regain the faith and loyalty of readers. (Cavelos qtd. in Kleffel) Though it remains unclear what exactly constitutes ‘‘poor quality horror novels’’ versus ‘‘a consistently high quality,’’ Cavelos’ explanation does emphasize novelty, rather than, say, genre conformity as a marker of tradition or historical and textual continuity, as the recipe for commercial success. Of course, this is not exactly a unique idea; much of contemporary marketing revolves around novelty as a key concept, regardless of whether it is a breakfast cereal or an automobile that is for sale. However, the identity that Cavelos decided on for Abyss, which was supposed to bring about the necessary break with Dell’s bad publishing record, was one designed specifically against the genre expectations of horror—expectations that were increasingly failing audiences, who began to stay away, as the saying goes, in droves. In their physical appearance, the books published under the Abyss imprint were trying to signal this emphasis on novelty visually. As Ellen Datlow put it, ‘‘The cover art and design were sophisticated, impressionistic, and sexy in a way that was worlds apart from the usual horror cover art’’ (‘‘Summation 1994’’ xxxiv). Mike Arnzen admits, ‘‘Abyss [. . .] had the best covers (which was, honestly, the primary reason I submitted Grave Markings to them)’’ (Dark Echo). Abyss titles still used ‘‘expensive foil and embossing and die-cut covers,’’ but they generally avoided the visual predominance of black that had served as the single most important visual genre marker and marketing signal for paperback horror fiction in the 1980s (Cavelos).9 The result was a look that steered clear of the visual default of horror packaging, meeting Cavelos’ requirement for novelty, and yet retained a pulpy look and demotic feel. The overall effect was artsy but loud, more reminiscent of pop art’s boldness that the gothic’s doom and gloom. Ultimately, the design confirmed Joan Hawkins’ assertion that there is a middleground where, explicitly and self-consciously, ‘‘high culture trades on the same images, tropes, and themes that characterize low culture’’ (3). With a blurb on the back of the each book cover, Cavelos made the break with the publishing industry’s default notion of horror even more explicit. Instead of promising the reader a return to a carefully 62 Steffen Hantke mapped territory, the text of the blurb positions Abyss carefully within a discourse of individual discovery and experimentation. Under the heading ‘‘Welcome to Abyss,’’ it reads: The Abyss line of cutting-edge psychological horror is committed to publishing the best, most innovative works of dark fiction available. Abyss is horror unlike anything you’ve ever read before. It’s not about haunted houses or evil children or ancient Indian burial grounds. We’ve all read those books, and we all know their plots by heart. Abyss is for the seeker of truth, no matter how disturbing or twisted it may be. It’s about people, and the darkness we all carry within us. Abyss is the new horror from the dark frontier. And in that place, where we come face-to-face with terror, what we find is ourselves.10 Placed so prominently in the promotional materials of both the entire line and the individual book within it, this passage deserves closer attention.11 The advertising pitch makes an implicit claim about the causes for horror’s lamentable state. It argues that horror suffers because of its readers’ overfamiliarity with themes, settings, and plots. Readers abandon the genre because ‘‘haunted houses or evil children or ancient Indian burial grounds’’ are exhausted to the point of unwitting selfparody. A simple mention of the three themes, without much further commentary, is perfectly sufficient to evoke assorted 1970s’ and 1980s’ bestsellers. Unless authors begin to explore a new thematic inventory, according to the Abyss blurb, the horror genre is bound to exhaust itself in empty formulaic repetition, or worse, lapse into unwitting self-parody. http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pd ... ookieSet=1 |
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| Author: | DGM [ Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:44 pm ] |
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Wow. That was long... |
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| Author: | ttzuma [ Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:56 pm ] |
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Yeah, it turned into a dissertation on Stephen King. It was interesting so I kept it in. Did you read sentence number 453 DGM? Wow!!! |
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| Author: | DGM [ Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:58 pm ] |
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lol |
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| Author: | Ender [ Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:44 pm ] |
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| Author: | ttzuma [ Fri Mar 21, 2008 8:46 am ] |
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| Author: | ttzuma [ Fri Mar 21, 2008 9:03 am ] |
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| Author: | Atomic Punch! [ Sat Mar 22, 2008 3:41 am ] |
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| Author: | ttzuma [ Sat Mar 22, 2008 9:21 am ] |
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| Author: | TMLCrow [ Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:57 am ] |
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I've got Whipping Boy by John Byrne, and it's signed. Byrne is a comic guy and used to be a regular at the Mid-Ohio-Con, and I'd see him every year. I didn't realize it was a Dell Abyss book, though. Last fall, I actually found Grave Markings by Arnzen and Tunnelvision by Gates at Half Price Books. Haven't read them yet, but I might move them up the old tbr chain. Thad |
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| Author: | Atomic Punch! [ Sun Mar 23, 2008 2:55 am ] |
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I just read Byrne's first book: Fear Book. I wrote a review for it on LibraryThing and Amazon. It wasn't bad. I have had Whipping Boy on my TBR pile forever. (I bought it new!) I have R. Patrick Gates newer Pinnacle books (The Prison, the re-release of Grimm Memorials, Grimm Reapings and 'Vaders). I've only read The Prison, but wasn't too nuts about it. |
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| Author: | Darren O. Godfrey [ Sun Mar 23, 2008 9:40 am ] |
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| Author: | ttzuma [ Sun Mar 23, 2008 11:33 am ] |
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| Author: | johng [ Sun Mar 23, 2008 3:26 pm ] |
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| Author: | ttzuma [ Sun Mar 23, 2008 3:29 pm ] |
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| Author: | Ender [ Mon Mar 24, 2008 6:01 pm ] |
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| Author: | Atomic Punch! [ Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:23 pm ] |
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That book Cipher sounds pretty good. Uh oh... looks like another book my join my TBR pile... |
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