Slowly but surely, Brian Lumley’s The Nonesuch and Others is creeping toward its spring 2009 publication date. The book itself is designed, fully proofed, and ready for the printer. Just this week, Lumley’s favorite illustrator, Bob Eggleton, turned in the wraparound dust jacket image you see part of here. This one’s a clever creeply little collection that’ll be a fine addition to anyone’s bookshelf of haunting tales.

China Mieville’s The City & the City book page has been update with very careful copy, designed not to give away the many surprises and intrigues in his beguiling new novel:

In such novels as King Rat, Perdido Street Station, and Iron Council, China Mieville established himself as one of the most original writers currently working in any genre. In his latest, The City & the City, Mieville has outdone himself, giving us a multi-layered urban fantasy of extraordinary complexity and depth.

The story begins when Tyador Borlu, senior detective in the Extreme Crime Squad of the city of Beszel, is called to the scene of a particularly vicious homicide. When the victim turns out to be a young female student with dubious political connections and a controversial history, the investigation spills over into the neighboring city of Ul Qoma. Once there, Borlu enters a labyrinth of violence and corruption that will alter the course of his career.

The City & the City is a brilliantly conceived, masterfully executed novel whose intricate plot encompasses myth and legend, political and cultural divisions, corporate greed, and the arcane forces that move behind the scenes of a beautifully realized urban landscape. Effortlessly blurring the boundaries between mystery, fantasy, and mainstream fiction, it is the most impressive, fully developed work to date by a writer of vast ambition and seemingly limitless gifts.

We’ve just finished shipping the Sold Out trade hardcover of Barry Hughart’s omnibus, The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox. (The limited edition is still 4-6 weeks off as we wait for slipcases.)

Next up in the queue, being worked on now, is Subterranean: Tales of Dark Fantasy, which is back from our printer after some rework was done. Following that, we’ll be shipping the first of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files novels, Storm Front. More as it happens.

Just a quick note that we now have contracts in hand for a number of huge projects, and in the coming weeks we’ll be announcing brand new titles by Stephen King, George R. R. Martin, Neal Stephenson, and quite possibly a surprise or two that will shock everyone.

To stay abreast of everything, please sign up for our mailing list — on the right hand side of this page. Some of these books are certain to disappear quickly.

The third volume of Charles de Lint’s Collected Early Stories, Woods & Waters Wild, is now in our warehouse, awaiting its turn in the shipping queue. We have a few order snafus to straighten out, but once we do, we expect to have more orders than copies available of the book.

Lettered Edition:

$200

Signed HC:

$40

What if Genghis Khan got his wish, and brought the entire planet under the control of the Mongols? Where would he have gone next? That’s the question that Alastair Reynolds answers in his space opera novella, The Six Directions of Space, about which Booklist said, “Reynolds (The Prefect) is a master of fitting large-scale space opera into just a few pages, and this novella is no exception… Technology, history and an unlikely friendship add dimension to the short but universe-spanning mystery.”

Limited Edition:

$35

We’re proud to unleash the latest gathering of Robert Bloch’s ghoulish tales in Skeleton in the Closet and Other Stories. As Booklist notes, “Bloch’s pulp-magazine stories, satisfyingly seasoned with horror, mystery, and humor, sometimes unnerving, often shamelessly purple of prose, are entertainment pure and simple.”

Limited Edition:

$40

The novel that kicked off The Dresden Files series, Storm Front, is in stock and soon to be shipping. It’s also completely sold out, alas, so those lucky folks who preordered a copy will have the rights of first refusal on the next book in the series, Fool Moon, when we announce it in just a few short weeks.

Barry Hughart’s beloved novels, Bridge of Birds, The Story of the Stone, and Eight Skilled Gentlemen, are gathered together in this single volume, with a radiant cover by Jon Foster. Chronicles was sold out prior to publication, so if you’re interested in a copy, you’d best start hunting online before it climbs in price on the secondary market.

Orson Scott Card’s new fantasy novella, Stonefather, a taste of the Mithermages trilogy coming from del Rey, was sold out on publication. As Booklist notes, “In this novella-length precursor to Card’s forthcoming fantasy saga Mithermages, a young man leaves his home town for the big, mage-ridden city and learns that he has powers… Judging from Stonefather, it seems we’re about to receive another American fantasy classic from Card.”