Old Earth Books is a speciality publisher which specializes in out-of-print and niche books, primarily in the

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

genre. The name comes from the

Cordwainer Smith Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger (July 11, 1913 – August 6, 1966), known by his pen-name Cordwainer Smith, was an American author of science fiction. He was an officer in the US Army, a noted scholar of East Asia, and an expert in psycholo ...

''Lords of the Instrumentality'' series. It is located in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, MD. It was founded and is operated by Michael Walsh.

History

Old Earth was founded in 1993, with the publication of a short story collection, ''Rude Astronauts'', by

Allen Steele Allen Mulherin Steele, Jr. (born January 19, 1958) is an American journalist and science fiction author. Background Steele was born in Nashville, Tennessee, on January 19, 1958. He was introduced to science fiction fandom attending meetings o ...

. Its greatest commercial success came with the re-printing of the Lensman series, by E. E. Smith, starting in 1997.

Authors

Old Earth concentrates on re-prints and original work from established writers. Authors published include: Edward Whittemore,

Avram Davidson Avram Davidson (April 23, 1923 – May 8, 1993) was an American writer of fantasy fiction, science fiction, and crime fiction, as well as the author of many stories that do not fit into a genre niche. He won a Hugo Award and three World Fantasy ...

, Christopher Priest, Clifford Simak, Edgar Pangborn,

Michael Swanwick Michael Swanwick (born November 18, 1950) is an American list of fantasy authors, fantasy and List of science-fiction authors, science fiction author who began publishing in the early 1980s. Writing career Swanwick's fiction writing began w ...

, and

Howard Waldrop Howard Waldrop (September 15, 1946 – January 14, 2024) was an American science fiction author who worked primarily in short fiction. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2021. Early life Born in Houston, Mississippi, ...

. Swanwick's book was nominated for a

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...

and won the

Locus Award The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine '' Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. Originally a poll ...

in 2002 for Best Non-Fiction book.

Market

Publisher Walsh believes that there have been many changes in trade publishing over the last several decades that allow room for a small imprint such as his to flourish. When asked his marketing strategy he said, "I publish books I like and think other people will like to read." While print on demand could be used by the traditional publishers, they are not set up for that business model, and thus cede the smaller volume publishing to companies such as Old Earth. Old Earth books are printed using traditional offset methods.

References

External links

*
Splendid: Departments: Bookshelf Classic: Jerusalem Poker
{{dl, date=June 2019}

American speculative fiction publishers Companies based in Baltimore Science fiction publishers Book publishing companies based in Maryland Publishing companies established in 1993 1993 establishments in Maryland Small press publishing companies