Mark V. Ziesing
Encyclopedia
Mark V. Ziesing is a small press
publisher and bookseller. Active as a bookseller from 1972 to present, Ziesing was active in publishing from the mid-1980s into the late 1990s. The Ziesing publishing imprint specialized in science fiction
, horror
, and other forms of speculative fiction
. Originally based in Willimantic, Connecticut
and in partnership with his brother, he published two books by Gene Wolfe
under the Ziesing Brothers imprint. He later published books by Philip K. Dick
, Stephen King
, Harlan Ellison
, Howard Waldrop
, Bruce Sterling
, and Lucius Shepard
, among others. In 1989 he returned to his home state, to Shingletown, California
, where he and his wife Cindy continue to operate a catalog-based book selling business under the name Ziesing Books.
Small press
Small press is a term often used to describe publishers with annual sales below a certain level. Commonly, in the United States, this is set at $50 million, after returns and discounts...
publisher and bookseller. Active as a bookseller from 1972 to present, Ziesing was active in publishing from the mid-1980s into the late 1990s. The Ziesing publishing imprint specialized in science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
, and other forms of speculative fiction
Speculative fiction
Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...
. Originally based in Willimantic, Connecticut
Willimantic, Connecticut
Willimantic is a census-designated place and former city located in the town of Windham in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was estimated at 15,823 at the 2000 census. It is home to Eastern Connecticut State University, as well as the Windham Textile and History Museum....
and in partnership with his brother, he published two books by Gene Wolfe
Gene Wolfe
Gene Wolfe is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying into the religion. He is a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the...
under the Ziesing Brothers imprint. He later published books by Philip K. Dick
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
, Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
, Harlan Ellison
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
, Howard Waldrop
Howard Waldrop
Howard Waldrop is a science fiction author who works primarily in short fiction.Waldrop's stories combine elements such as alternate history, American popular culture, the American South, old movies , classical mythology, and rock 'n' roll music. His style is sometimes obscure or elliptical...
, Bruce Sterling
Bruce Sterling
Michael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.-Writings:...
, and Lucius Shepard
Lucius Shepard
Lucius Shepard is an American writer. Classified as a science fiction and fantasy writer, he often leans into other genres, such as magical realism. His work is infused with a political and historical sensibility and an awareness of literary antecedents...
, among others. In 1989 he returned to his home state, to Shingletown, California
Shingletown, California
Shingletown is a census-designated place in Shasta County, California, United States. The population was 2,283 at the 2010 census, up from 2,222 at the 2000 census....
, where he and his wife Cindy continue to operate a catalog-based book selling business under the name Ziesing Books.
Publications
Unless specified, all editions are hardcover and first publications. For most there was also a signed, numbered, limited edition in a slipcase, and for a very few there was an "ultra-limited" version: The Night of the Cooters ultra-limited came with a martin base statue to hold the book, and the Mefisto in Onyx ultra-limited included an actual cage for the book.- 1982/??: Gene WolfeGene WolfeGene Wolfe is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying into the religion. He is a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the...
- The Castle of the Otter (nonfiction collection) [Ziesing Brothers] - 1984/01: Gene WolfeGene WolfeGene Wolfe is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying into the religion. He is a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the...
- The Wolfe Archipelago (novella collection) [Ziesing Brothers] - 1984/06: Philip K. DickPhilip K. DickPhilip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
- The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly AlikeThe Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly AlikeThe Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike is a realist, non-science fiction novel authored by Philip K. Dick. Originally completed in 1960, this book was initially rejected by potential publishers, and posthumously published by a small press in 1984, two years after Dick's death.-Plot...
(hardback and trade paperback) - 1984/12: Gene WolfeGene WolfeGene Wolfe is an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He is noted for his dense, allusive prose as well as the strong influence of his Catholic faith, to which he converted after marrying into the religion. He is a prolific short story writer and a novelist, and has won many awards in the...
- Free Live Free - 1985/01: A. A. AttanasioA. A. AttanasioAlfred Angelo Attanasio, born on September 20, 1951 in Newark, New Jersey, is an author of fantasy and science fiction. His science-fiction novel Radix was nominated for the 1981 Nebula Award for Best Novel and was followed by three other novels, the four books, together, comprising the critically...
- Beastmarks (story collection) - 1985/09: Ian WatsonIan Watson (author)Ian Watson is a British science fiction author. He currently lives in Northamptonshire, England.His first novel, The Embedding, winner of the Prix Apollo in 1975, is unusual for being based on ideas from generative grammar; the title refers to the process of center embedding...
- The Book of Ian Watson (story collection) - 1986/02: Philip K. DickPhilip K. DickPhilip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
- The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly AlikeThe Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly AlikeThe Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike is a realist, non-science fiction novel authored by Philip K. Dick. Originally completed in 1960, this book was initially rejected by potential publishers, and posthumously published by a small press in 1984, two years after Dick's death.-Plot...
(softcover reprint) - 1986/??: Michael BishopMichael Bishop (author)Michael Lawson Bishop is an award-winning American writer. Over four decades and thirty books, he has created a body of work that stands among the most admired in modern science fiction and fantasy literature....
- To a Chimp Held Captive For Purposes of Research (reprint; poem broadside; illustrated by J. K. Potter) - 1988/02: Thomas M. DischThomas M. DischThomas Michael Disch was an American science fiction author and poet. He won the Hugo Award for Best Related Book – previously called "Best Non-Fiction Book" – in 1999, and he had two other Hugo nominations and nine Nebula Award nominations to his credit, plus one win of the John W...
- The Silver Pillow (novelette; soft- and hardcover editions) - 1988/04: Lucius ShepardLucius ShepardLucius Shepard is an American writer. Classified as a science fiction and fantasy writer, he often leans into other genres, such as magical realism. His work is infused with a political and historical sensibility and an awareness of literary antecedents...
- The Scalehunter’s Beautiful Daughter (novella) - 1988/10: James P. Blaylock - The Last Coin (signed/limited edition only; precedes the trade edition)
- 1988/12: Philip K. DickPhilip K. DickPhilip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...
- The Dark Haired GirlThe Dark Haired GirlThe Dark Haired Girl is a collection of essays, poems and letters by Philip K. Dick. It was first published by Mark V. Ziesing in 1989.Ziesing considers this the necessary companion volume to the complete collected works of the author...
(collection of previously unpublished fiction and non-fiction) - 1989/04: Howard WaldropHoward WaldropHoward Waldrop is a science fiction author who works primarily in short fiction.Waldrop's stories combine elements such as alternate history, American popular culture, the American South, old movies , classical mythology, and rock 'n' roll music. His style is sometimes obscure or elliptical...
- A Dozen Tough Jobs (novella) - 1989/04: Howard WaldropHoward WaldropHoward Waldrop is a science fiction author who works primarily in short fiction.Waldrop's stories combine elements such as alternate history, American popular culture, the American South, old movies , classical mythology, and rock 'n' roll music. His style is sometimes obscure or elliptical...
- Them Bones (reprint; first hardcover; the limited edition of this and A Dozen Tough Jobs were sold as a slipcased set) - 1989/05: Iain M. Banks - The State of the ArtThe State of the ArtThe State of the Art is a short story collection by Scottish writer Iain M. Banks, first published in 1991. The collection includes some stories originally published under his other byline, Iain Banks as well as the title novella and others set in Banks' Culture fictional universe.-Summary:*Road of...
(novella) - 1989/07: John M. SkippJohn SkippJohn Skipp is a splatterpunk horror and fantasy author and anthology editor, as well as a songwriter, screenwriter, film director, and film producer. He collaborated with Craig Spector on the 1989 anthology Book of the Dead, and has also collaborated with Marc Levinthal and Cody Goodfellow...
& Craig SpectorCraig SpectorCraig Spector is a bestselling author and screenwriter whose eleven books have sold millions of copies and are reprinted in nine languages.-Biography:...
, editors - The Book of the Dead (anthology) - 1989/09: Tim PowersTim PowersTimothy Thomas "Tim" Powers is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels Last Call and Declare...
- The Anubis GatesThe Anubis GatesThe Anubis Gates is a time travel fantasy novel by Tim Powers. It won the 1983 Philip K. Dick Award and 1984 Science Fiction Chronicle Award.- Plot summary :...
(reprint; first US hardcover) [first book published in ShingletownShingletown, CaliforniaShingletown is a census-designated place in Shasta County, California, United States. The population was 2,283 at the 2010 census, up from 2,222 at the 2000 census....
] - 1989/12: Joe R. LansdaleJoe R. LansdaleJoe R. Lansdale is an American author and martial-arts expert. He has written novels and stories in many genres, including Western, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense...
- By Bizarre HandsBy Bizarre HandsBy Bizarre Hands is the first collection of short stories by American writer Joe R. Lansdale, published in 1989. The collection was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for best fiction collection, and contains two stories which won Stokers...
(story collection) - 1989/12: Journal Wired (trade paperback magazine)
- 1990/02: Ray GartonRay GartonRay Garton is an American author, well known for his work in horror fiction. He has written over sixty books, and in 2006 was presented with the World Horror Convention Grand Master Award.-Novels:...
- Trade Secrets - 1990/05: Kim Stanley RobinsonKim Stanley RobinsonKim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer known for his award-winning Mars trilogy. His work delves into ecological and sociological themes regularly, and many of his novels appear to be the direct result of his own scientific fascinations, such as the fifteen years of research...
- A Short, Sharp Shock (novella) - 1990/05: Journal Wired #2 (trade paperback magazine)
- 1990/07: Joe R. LansdaleJoe R. LansdaleJoe R. Lansdale is an American author and martial-arts expert. He has written novels and stories in many genres, including Western, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense...
- Savage Season - 1990/07: Joe R. LansdaleJoe R. LansdaleJoe R. Lansdale is an American author and martial-arts expert. He has written novels and stories in many genres, including Western, horror, science fiction, mystery, and suspense...
- Cold in July (reprint; first hardcover; the limited edition of this and Savage Season were sold as a slipcased set) - 1990/08: Gardner DozoisGardner DozoisGardner Raymond Dozois is an American science fiction author and editor. He was editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine from 1984 to 2004...
, et al. - Slow Dancing Through Time (collaborative story collection; co-published with Ursus Imprints) - 1990/10: Journal Wired #3 (trade paperback magazine)
- 1990/12: Howard WaldropHoward WaldropHoward Waldrop is a science fiction author who works primarily in short fiction.Waldrop's stories combine elements such as alternate history, American popular culture, the American South, old movies , classical mythology, and rock 'n' roll music. His style is sometimes obscure or elliptical...
- Night of the Cooters (story collection; co-published with Ursus Imprints) - 1991/02: Neal Barrett, Jr.Neal Barrett, Jr.Neal Barrett, Jr. is a writer of fantasy, science fiction, mystery/suspense, and historical fiction. His story "Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus" was nominated for both the 1988 Nebula Award for Best Novelette and the 1989 Hugo Award for Best Novelette...
- The Hereafter Gang - 1991/06: Richard T. ChizmarRichard ChizmarRichard Thomas Chizmar is best known as the publisher and editor of Cemetery Dance magazine and the owner of Cemetery Dance Publications...
, editor - Cold Blooded (anthology) - 1991/09: Ray GartonRay GartonRay Garton is an American author, well known for his work in horror fiction. He has written over sixty books, and in 2006 was presented with the World Horror Convention Grand Master Award.-Novels:...
- Lot Lizards - 1992/02: John ShirleyJohn ShirleyJohn Shirley is an American fantasist, author of noir fiction, and science-fiction writer. Shirley is a prolific writer of novels and short stories, TV scripts and screenplays who has published over 30 books and 10 collections...
- Wetbones - 1992/04: Wayne Allen Sallee - The Holy Terror
- 1992/07: John M. SkippJohn SkippJohn Skipp is a splatterpunk horror and fantasy author and anthology editor, as well as a songwriter, screenwriter, film director, and film producer. He collaborated with Craig Spector on the 1989 anthology Book of the Dead, and has also collaborated with Marc Levinthal and Cody Goodfellow...
& Craig SpectorCraig SpectorCraig Spector is a bestselling author and screenwriter whose eleven books have sold millions of copies and are reprinted in nine languages.-Biography:...
, editors - Still Dead (anthology) - 1992/09: Bruce SterlingBruce SterlingMichael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author, best known for his novels and his work on the Mirrorshades anthology, which helped define the cyberpunk genre.-Writings:...
- Globalhead (story collection) - 1993/02: Richard LaymonRichard LaymonRichard Carl Laymon was an American author of suspense and horror fiction, particularly within the splatterpunk subgenre. He was born in Chicago, Illinois and lived as a child in California...
- Alarms - 1993/04: Lucius ShepardLucius ShepardLucius Shepard is an American writer. Classified as a science fiction and fantasy writer, he often leans into other genres, such as magical realism. His work is infused with a political and historical sensibility and an awareness of literary antecedents...
- The Golden - 1993/09: Pat Cadigan - Dirty Work (story collection)
- 1993/12: Harlan EllisonHarlan EllisonHarlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
- Mefisto in Onyx (expanded reprint; novella) - 1994/03: Harlan EllisonHarlan EllisonHarlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
- Mefisto in Onyx (second printing with slight corrections) - 1994/07: David J. SchowDavid J. SchowDavid J. Schow is an American author of horror novels, short stories, and screenplays. His credits include films such as The Crow and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning. Most of Schow's work falls into the sub-genre splatterpunk, a term he is sometimes credited with coining...
- Black Leather Required (story collection) - 1994/07: Lucius ShepardLucius ShepardLucius Shepard is an American writer. Classified as a science fiction and fantasy writer, he often leans into other genres, such as magical realism. His work is infused with a political and historical sensibility and an awareness of literary antecedents...
- Sports & Music (chapbook; story collection) - 1994/08: Stephen KingStephen KingStephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
- InsomniaInsomnia (novel)Insomnia is a novel written by Stephen King and first published in 1994. Like It and Dreamcatcher, its setting is the fictional town of Derry, Maine. The original hardcover edition was issued with dust jackets in two complementary designs...
(done in a signed limited and unsigned "gift" editions; the true first edition of this King novel, preceding the trade edition) - 1994/12: Richard T. ChizmarRichard ChizmarRichard Thomas Chizmar is best known as the publisher and editor of Cemetery Dance magazine and the owner of Cemetery Dance Publications...
, editor - The Earth Strikes Back (softcover; anthology) - 1994/12: Connie WillisConnie WillisConstance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an American science fiction writer. She has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for Blackout/All Clear...
- Remake (novella) - 1995/02: Michael MoorcockMichael MoorcockMichael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
- Lunching With the Anti-Christ (related story collection) - 1995/03: Nancy A. CollinsNancy A. CollinsNancy A. Collins is a United States horror fiction writer best known for her series of vampire novels featuring her character Sonja Blue. Collins has alsowritten for comic books, including the Swamp Thing series, Jason Vs...
- Walking Wolf - 1996/03: Brian StablefordBrian StablefordBrian Michael Stableford is a British science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published as by Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped the middle initial and appeared under the name Brian Stableford...
- The Hunger and Ecstasy of Vampires - 1996/11: John ShirleyJohn ShirleyJohn Shirley is an American fantasist, author of noir fiction, and science-fiction writer. Shirley is a prolific writer of novels and short stories, TV scripts and screenplays who has published over 30 books and 10 collections...
- Silicon EmbraceSilicon EmbraceSilicon Embrace is a 1996 English language science fiction novel by John Shirley.Set in the near future, it tells the story of a group of dilettante journalists in the course of a Second American Civil War... - 1996/11: Michael WhelanMichael WhelanMichael Whelan is an American artist of imaginative realism. For more than 30 years he worked as an illustrator specializing in science fiction and fantasy cover art...
- Something in My Eye (art poster book, done in both hardcover and softcover editions) - 1997/04: Harlan EllisonHarlan EllisonHarlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...
- Slippage (story collection) - 1997/09: Kim NewmanKim NewmanKim Newman is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternate fictional versions of history...
& Eugene ByrneEugene ByrneEugene Byrne is an English freelance journalist and fiction writer.His novel ThigMOO, and the story it was based on, were nominated for the BSFA award. His story "HMS Habakkuk" was nominated for a Sidewise Award for Alternate History.He was born in Waterford in the Republic of Ireland, but was...
- Back in the USSABack in the USSABack in the USSA is a collection of 7 short stories by Eugene Byrne and Kim Newman, which was published in 1997 by Mark V. Ziesing Books. The stories are linked through their setting, an alternate history of the twentieth century in which the United States experienced a communist revolution in...
(linked short story collection) - 1998/05: John ShirleyJohn ShirleyJohn Shirley is an American fantasist, author of noir fiction, and science-fiction writer. Shirley is a prolific writer of novels and short stories, TV scripts and screenplays who has published over 30 books and 10 collections...
- Black Butterflies: A Flock on the Dark Side (softcover; story collection)
Miscellaneous
- A Handbook of American Prayer, a novella by Lucius ShepardLucius ShepardLucius Shepard is an American writer. Classified as a science fiction and fantasy writer, he often leans into other genres, such as magical realism. His work is infused with a political and historical sensibility and an awareness of literary antecedents...
, was originally scheduled for publication by Ziesing circa 1998, but was never published. A novel version appeared in 2004 from Four Walls Eight Windows. - Alien Graffiti, a collection of selected nonfiction by Michael BishopMichael Bishop (author)Michael Lawson Bishop is an award-winning American writer. Over four decades and thirty books, he has created a body of work that stands among the most admired in modern science fiction and fantasy literature....
was originally scheduled for publication by Ziesing circa 1986/87. A nonfiction collection by Bishop from PS PublishingPS PublishingPS Publishing is a Hornsea based publisher founded in 1999 by Peter Crowther. They specialise in novella length fiction from the fantasy, science fiction and horror genres. It has quickly become established as one of Britain's premier small presses...
appeared in 2005 entitled A Reverie for Mister RayA Reverie for Mister RayA Reverie for Mister Ray: Reflections on Life, Death, and Speculative Fiction is a collection of nonfiction work by American writer Michael Bishop published in 2005 by PS Publishing. It includes essays and reviews from 1975 to 2004, originally published in a wide variety of newspapers, magazines,...
.