1ambyrglow
https://locusmag.com/2026/06/subterranean-press-to-close/
I'm not sure what this means for the future of Snow Crash, which was to have been a joint venture between Conversation Tree and Subterranean.
I'm not sure what this means for the future of Snow Crash, which was to have been a joint venture between Conversation Tree and Subterranean.
2zorg2099
>1 ambyrglow: I saw the FB post from Bil Schafer declaring this a little while ago too. As the article also says its a phased closure not immediate by any means and they intend to continue to publish through 2027 possibly into 2028. Since Snow Crash is meant to go on sale in 2026, even if its delayed to next year I assume its going to go ahead then.
They also state they will hand over any pending projects to other presses.
They also state they will hand over any pending projects to other presses.
3Nightcrawl
>1 ambyrglow: I would imagine Snow Crash is well underway and will in no way be affected by this news.
4Undergroundman
This is horrible. I hope Grim Oak Press picks up some of the slack since they have a similar offset/genre mix of releases, and give the option for cases. I doubt they will be as diverse as Subpress was though. I kniow they weren't fine press, but they have released a lot of titles from authors that I appreciate.
5RRCBS
>4 Undergroundman: Same, I’m a very occasional GO buyer but have a lot of SubPress works that you can’t get anywhere else in a nice copy! I know they were working on the Tawny Man trilogy so hopefully that gets passed on to another publisher!
6Shotcaller
Thirty years of small press books. Over 1,500 titles! Quite a legacy.
I imagine a lot of collectors first learned about higher quality books through Subterranean Press, and that some of them went on to other presses, including fine press.
I imagine a lot of collectors first learned about higher quality books through Subterranean Press, and that some of them went on to other presses, including fine press.
7Extrasolarian
Bill announced this a few months ago. Phased closure over the next couple of years, with plans to complete all the big ongoing series, some of which will be handed off to other Presses to complete, with the same style/binding/aesthetic etc.
Big shame that the Press couldn't continue after they retired, but hopeful that we'll all get to complete the series that we've bought from them.
Big shame that the Press couldn't continue after they retired, but hopeful that we'll all get to complete the series that we've bought from them.
8SF-72
That's bad.
Speaking for authors I collected from them: I hope they will hand the Bujolds to someone else, then there's Kevin Hearne two books from the end of the series with the last information being that they don't know if they'll finish it, and Aaronovitch novellas, which have been ongoing. I generally appreciated their novellas, a lot of which weren't published elsewhere (at all or in good quality). That will also affect Jim Butcher, though there's a realistic chance of a collection at some point at least. I do hope that Grim Oak Press will take on some of this, but who knows. It seems they will finish the Malazan reprint. On the other hand, they were among the worst when it comes to their international shipping fees. We can only wait and see, but this is definitely the biggest of the genre presses closing. As someone else has said, I stumbled across a large number of the others because Subterranean Press carried their titles, so this will also affect presses like SST, for example.
Speaking for authors I collected from them: I hope they will hand the Bujolds to someone else, then there's Kevin Hearne two books from the end of the series with the last information being that they don't know if they'll finish it, and Aaronovitch novellas, which have been ongoing. I generally appreciated their novellas, a lot of which weren't published elsewhere (at all or in good quality). That will also affect Jim Butcher, though there's a realistic chance of a collection at some point at least. I do hope that Grim Oak Press will take on some of this, but who knows. It seems they will finish the Malazan reprint. On the other hand, they were among the worst when it comes to their international shipping fees. We can only wait and see, but this is definitely the biggest of the genre presses closing. As someone else has said, I stumbled across a large number of the others because Subterranean Press carried their titles, so this will also affect presses like SST, for example.
9Extrasolarian
Bill has confirmed that Malazan will 100% be completing. Shawn from GO has also said that should Bill ask, GO would happily take on a bunch of the Sub Press titles to completion. I believe they have a longstanding friendship/relationship.
10CTPress-Tony
>1 ambyrglow: It doesn't have any effect on Snow Crash, which is coming along well.
Subpress was my introduction to higher quality books and without it there certainly wouldn't have been any Conversation Tree Press. It'll be a sad day when they shut up shop but all those books will still be around.
Subpress was my introduction to higher quality books and without it there certainly wouldn't have been any Conversation Tree Press. It'll be a sad day when they shut up shop but all those books will still be around.
11Goran
Unfortunate news. I've purchased a lot of SubPress books and I credit the publisher for introducing me to my favourite modern scifi author.
12Undergroundman
>10 CTPress-Tony: Already have a plan of who will replace Subpress for you? I know some of your books are sold there. Nice to have another publisher acknowledge what Subpress has done for the community.
13CTPress-Tony
>12 Undergroundman: A number of people have reached out to us since we started but we’ve been happy to only have our books with Subpress and Kathmandu. We don’t plan on replacing Subpress after they’ve closed.
14leennnadine
Shawn Speakman of GO press has said they are interested in potentially picking up some titles. As they're currently doing the Dresden Files series from the beginning, I imagine they will pick up where Sub Press leaves off.
As far as the Hearne novels, I'm not sure they are going to finish it, as i believe sales were quite slow. As far as the Bujolds go, it's hard tom say what Lois will want, as those are self-pubbed. Also, she could decide to stop at any point- there's no ongoing contract on them.
I will miss Bill and Sub P horribly when they are gone, though.
As far as the Hearne novels, I'm not sure they are going to finish it, as i believe sales were quite slow. As far as the Bujolds go, it's hard tom say what Lois will want, as those are self-pubbed. Also, she could decide to stop at any point- there's no ongoing contract on them.
I will miss Bill and Sub P horribly when they are gone, though.
15AjaJin
Subpress has been the mainstay of SF/Fantasy limited editions for a very long time. In addition to publishing many important books and authors, Bill has been an enormous asset to the community. I'm happy (and totally not surprised) that there is a good plan to wind things up with style and grace. Big shoes to fill.
