Black Library

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The Black Library is a section of BL Publishing (itself a division of Games Workshop) devoted to publishing novels, art books, background books, and graphic novels set in the Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000 fictional universes. The publishing company took their name from Warhammer 40,000,^[1] where the Black Library stored knowledge of Eldar race, the sinister Chaos, and the haunting Necron. Some of Black Library's best known titles include the Gaunt's Ghosts and Eisenhorn series of novels by Dan Abnett and the Gotrek and Felix series by William King and Nathan Long.

Contents 1 History 2 Novels 3 Periodicals 4 References 5 External links

[edit] History

The Black Library was founded in April 1997 to publish INFERNO! magazine, a bi-monthly digest-sized anthology of short stories, comic strips and features from the Warhammer worlds. Black Library begain as team at Games Workshop brought together to INFERNO! magazione.^[1] INFERNO!'s success spawned Warhammer Monthly comic books, and then from September 1999 a lengthy series of fantasy and science fiction novels. Their first art book, Inquis Exterminatus was published in May, 1999. Black Library's catalogue now runs to well over two hundred titles, with a Warhammer and a Warhammer 40,000 novel appearing every month.

In October 2003 BL Publishing started a sister imprint, Black Flame, which applied the same pulp styling to novels featuring New Line Cinema characters such as Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees, and 2000 AD comics' Judge Dredd and others. In 2006, Black Flame produced the novel for the New Line Cinema's hit feature film Snakes on a Plane. In the summer of 2005 BL Publishing announced another fiction imprint, Solaris Books, that will publish original science fiction and fantasy.

[edit] Novels

[edit] Periodicals

From 1997 to 2005, Black Library published INFERNO!, a magazine of short stories, artwork, and other features set in the various fictional universes of Games Workshop's fantasy and science fiction games. These initially included Warhammer Fantasy Battle, Warhammer 40,000, and Necromunda, and later added the Mordheim and Gorkamorka settings.

From 1998 to 2004, Black Library published the Warhammer Monthly comic book based on the Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000 fictional universes. The comics were republished as a series of trade paperback comics.

Black Library discontinued the two periodicals because their sales were meagre compared to the novels.

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b} 10th anniversary interview, with Marc Gascoigne
2. ^ Black Library: [1] Novals

[edit] External links

• Official Black Library website
• Official Black Flame website
• Official Solaris website