Immanion Press: The First Year
by Wendy Darling  

While according to the calendar it might not be exactly a whole year, I thought it'd be fun to have a look back at what Immanion Press (IP) has got up to since starting up in the summer of 2003. From deluxe reprints to books by new authors to conventions to a new role-playing game, IP has certainly been busy!

Wraeththu with a Roar and a Cry

The very first book IP put out was actually the book that pushed Storm towards starting the company. Having revised the original first Wraeththu novel, The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit, so that it not only became a better book but fit in with the new books coming out, Storm wanted to see it published. But what publisher would do that? If she started up a publishing company, which she had wanted to anyway for various reasons, how about using it to publish this novel?

Enchantments was released in the summer of 2002 to glowing reviews from fans, who treasured the extra dimensions and additional scenes Storm worked in. (See a fan review here.) The cover artwork by Ruby also got high marks — a beautiful portrait of Pellaz, which later became available on merchandise through the Immanion Press Thrift Market. As with the books to follow, Ruby also contributed interior illustrations, while I served as editor and Gabriel Strange did the detail work of typesetting and getting everything set for the printer.

Fall and early Winter 2003 saw IP publish three more Wraeththu books. The Bewitchments of Love and Hate came out sporting another beautiful Ruby cover, this time a portrait of Cobweb. One special add-on to this edition was an appendix that included an "Excerpt From: An Educational Primer for Harlings" by Moswell Sment and an article titled "The Inception Rites of The Wraeththu" by Swithe Tresillian. In December, The Fulfilments of Fate and Desire arrived with a glorious cover image of Thiede and as with Bewitchments, an expanded appendix, including the article "The Forgotten Heritage: Wraeththu and Magic" by Malakess-har-Sulh.

The third Wraeththu book published in 2003 was Breeding Discontent. This was the first book to appear as part of the Wraeththu Mythos. Originally appearing in serial format on the Internet, the series was picked up by IP when Storm read it and thought it would be worth sharing as a real book. With Storm acting as editor, Bridgette Parker and I put a lot of work into completely revising the story and bringing it up to publishable quality. Breeding Discontent, with a cover by Welsh artist Eirian, had its official launch at the Grissecon convention in October and is getting read by a lot more people than I (at least) expected, including quite a few who have never read any other Wraeththu books.

IP has continued its streak of Wraeththu books in 2004.

The U.K. edition of The Wraiths of Will and Pleasure, revised and with another great cover from Ruby, was published, which took care of another reason IP was founded: despite having Tor published Wraiths in the U.S., Storm was never able to find a U.K. publisher. Problem solved!

Of course, probably the most anticipated IP release so far is The Shades of Time and Memory, which due to a pushback of the U.S. publication by Tor, makes its debut in the U.K. This new novel, which continues timeline-wise Fulfilments leaves off (while retaining the third-person, multiple-story style of Wraiths), is sure to have fans buzzing for months. It's available now (<-- hint).

Beyond Wraeththu

Wraeththu isn't the only thing Immanion Press has been publishing, however! Freda Warrington saw her Blackbird series, out of print for years, published by IP — for the first time ever in hardback. A Blackbird in Silver and A Blackbird in Darkness, a "duet" of books, will hopefully win Freda new fans. Covers of both Blackbird books were by Ruby. Meanwhile, Storm revised her 1993 novel Hermetech, out of print for several years, and the book was published with a cover by Bruce Wells. Finally, IP published its first new, exclusive novel, Oliphan Oracus by never-before-published Neil Robinson. A sci-fi tale with a sense of humor and a quirky plot that manages to make you think, Oliphan boasts a very coolly illustrated cover by Olga Bosserdt.

IP's publishing schedule for 2004 and beyond is rounding out to be quite full, with everything from sci-fi novels (example, a revised edition of Ian Watson's Whores of Babylon) to books on modern day magic (Taylor Ellwood's Pop Culture Magick) to non-fiction mythology books (J.A. Coleman's Charlamagne: Man or Myth). For a full look at planned releases, see IP's online catalog.

One final big Immanion Press project that must of course be mentioned is Wraeththu: Enchantment to Fulfilment, the Wraeththu role-playing game (RPG) set for release later this year. A huge amount of work has gone into the design of the game and as of this moment, the initial game book is nearing completion, chock full of amazing amounts of background material on Wraeththu, everything anybody (gamer or not) would need to know about playing, some new Wraeththu stories, and artwork by Bruce Wells.

Additional Doings

Storm, Gabby, Lydia and crew (yes, that includes me) have been busy with much more than putting out books, editing, and making up the RPG, however! In October, there was of course Grissecon, held in Stafford, England, and a big success. IP had what I think was its first "booth" selling new titles as well as Storm's extensive back catalog (also available for order, BTW). Then this March, IP flew all the way across the Atlantic to be in New York for Lunacon, the annual convention of the New York Science Fiction Society, the Lunarians. Not only did Storm get a lot of very positive attention, but IP sold books and a lot of people had fun getting to know one another. And this fall (drum roll, please!), IP and a lot of other folks from the UK and England and other places will be puting on the Gothic Journeys track at Dragon*Con in Atlanta! 

About the Author:
Wendy Darling (nickname Wiebke Fesch) is a web designer, fanfic author, and editor of Inception. She lives in Atlanta, GA, where she is self-employed, operating her own web design business, Metro Girl. Wendy is co-author of a Wraeththu Mythos novel called Breeding Discontent, and is an editor with Immanion Press. You can reach Wendy at wdarling@abraxis.com.