Black Crow Books: new horror publisher aims to open up 'booming' genre to everyone

Black Crow Books, the new horror-dedicated publisher launching next year, is reportedly off to a strong start as its co-directors say they have already received an "insane" number of submissions, despite announcing the new press only last month.

Jamie-Lee Nardone, publisher and co-director, will helm the new independent alongside Matt Holland, founder of special-edition publisher and online bookshop The Broken Binding. “I don’t think we could do it without each other,” Nardone told The Bookseller. 

Last year, the horror genre recorded its biggest year since accurate records began, with a 54% year-on-year increase in value reported by Nielsen BookScan. Submissions in the genre have also been on the rise. Black Crow Books is a response to the “booming” genre and Nardone’s desire to “open” the genre “up to everyone”. She continued: “I think there is a need [in the industry] for people who really understand the genre, to know what they’re looking at.”  

Nardone, who has "always been a massive horror fan", is looking to publish titles “that might get overlooked or explore something that isn’t trendy”. She added: "We’re not going to be ticking boxes." Unlike some larger publishers, she said, the smaller independent will have the agility, “the freedom and the expertise to work on passion projects that might get overlooked by bigger publishers”. 

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