Serpent's Tail Explained

Parent:	Profile Books
Founder:	Pete Ayrton
Country:	United Kingdom
Headquarters:	London
Distribution:	The Book Service (UK) Consortium Book Sales & Distribution (USA)
Publications:	Books

Serpent's Tail is London-based independent publishing firm founded in 1986 by Pete Ayrton. It specialises in publishing work in translation, particularly European crime fiction. In January 2007, it was bought by a British publisher Profile Books.

Publications

The firm publishes both fiction and non-fiction books. Boyd Tonkin, writing for The Independent, has described the publisher's list: "from hard-boiled noir to gems in translation and left-field cultural reportage – often defines the meaning of 'cool'."^[1]

Noted writers

• • Derek Raymond Elfriede Jelinek
  • Elizabeth Young Herta Müller
• Christian Kracht
• Jonathan Trigell
• Kathy Acker
• Kenzaburō Ōe
• Lionel Shriver
• Nicholas Royle
• Stella Duffy
• Neil Bartlett

Noted debut novels

• Nineteen Seventy-Four by David Peace
  • The South by Colm Tóibín Whatever by Michel Houellebecq
• Ready to Catch Him Should He Fall by Neil Bartlett

Book series

• 90s^[2]
• Crime Diaries (Danny King) (implied series)
• Extraordinary Tales^[3]
• Factory (implied series)
• Five Star Paperback^[4]
• Mask Noir^[5]
• Midnight Classics^[6]
• Nick Stefanos Mystery^[7]
• Serpent's Tail Classics^[8]

High Risk Books

High Risk Books was an imprint of Serpent's Tail that existed from 1993-1997. It was founded by Ira Silverberg and Amy Scholder and aimed to publish innovative, provocative, and progressive literature (such as Kathy Acker and William S. Burroughs), poetry (including Jayne Cortez), and non-fiction (including the collected journalism of Cookie Mueller).^[9]

External links

• Official website
• Finding aid to the Serpent's Tail/High Risk Archives at New York University's Fales Library and Special Collections

Notes and References

1. News: Tonkin. Boyd. Hot books for cool readers: Serpent's Tail at 25 is still the publisher with bite. The Independent. 20 May 2011.
2. https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=90s+%2B+%22Serpent%27s+Tail%22&offset=1 se:90s + "Serpent's Tail"
3. https://search.worldcat.org/title/35679493 Let the wind speak
4. https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=se%3AFive%20star%20paperback se:Five star paperback
5. https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=se%3AMask%20noir se:Mask Noir
6. https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=se%3AMidnight%20classics se:Midnight Classics
7. https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=Nick+Stefanos+Mystery+%2B+%22Serpent%27s+Tail%22&offset=1 se:Nick Stefanos Mystery + "Serpent's Tail"
8. https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=se%3ASerpent%27s%20Tail%20classics se:Serpent's Tail Classics
9. Book: High Risk: An Anthology of Forbidden Writings. 1991. Serpent's Tail. Ira Silverberg, Amy Scholder. 1-85242-231-9. London. 877279946.