PUBLICITY

To order review copies of No Exit Press titles or request interviews with any No Exit Press author, please contact Ion Mills on +44 1582 761264 or by email: <publicity@noexit.co.uk>

NO EXIT PRESS

No Exit Press began publishing in November 1987. The early titles featured books by classic writers from the 'hardboiled' school of American crime fiction, such as Jonathan Latimer, Howard Browne, Raoul Whitfield and Paul Cain. The flavour of these early books, and a distinctive grid, allied to liberal usage of the work of the photographer, Weegee on the covers began to establish a market for the list, and young booksellers with a fondness for supporting the underdog and for contravening company directives were more than generous in allocating space to No Exit.

Over the next 5 years No Exit continued to publish the classic crime but also introduced more contemporary crime writers, the most successful and enduring to this day being Lawrence Block and his "Burglar" series

In 1993, as well as work by Walter Tevis, Richard Condon and Warwick Collins, No Exit published No Beast So Fierce by Edward Bunker, a book later described by Quentin Tarantino as the best first person crime novel he had ever read. This began a long and hugely enjoyable association with the novelist, screenwriter and actor, who had once been San Quentin's youngest inmate.

No Exit's conviction that the quality of the writing counted for more than the marketing budget, coupled with a view that some of the best writing was happening in the field of crime fiction, was pleasingly affirmed when two No Exit titles featured in Time Out's 1994 Ten Best Books Of The Year listing: Edward Bunker's The Animal Factory and Daniel Woodrell's Woe To Live On. The Animal Factory has just been made into a film directed by Steve Buscemi and starring Willem Dafoe, Mickey Rourke and Edward Furlong and opened the 2001 CrimeScene festival at the NFT in July. Woe To Live On was recently filmed by Ang Lee under the title Ride With The Devil, proving that a brilliant book and a brilliant film do not necessarily result in sales in the bookshop or at the box office.

Broadening the geographical horizons saw one of Germany's finest crime writers, Jakob Arjouni joining the list in 1994. He too is still with No Exit and his latest Kayankaya PI novel is due in 2003.

1995 saw the welcome return of Larry Block's, Bernie Rhodenbarr in one of No Exit's first hardback publications - The Burglar Who Thought He Was Bogart.

Two books by the outstanding novelist, musicolgist, translator and biographer, James Sallis, were added to the list in 1996, as was Killing Suki Flood, a wonderful paperback original, that still cries out to be filmed. Edward Bunker's first novel in some long time, Dog Eat Dog, was the critical and commercial success of the year for No Exit, and established Bunker as one of the world's finest crime writers.

No Exit had a vintage year in 1997. The geographical base of the list was expanded yet further with new writers from China, Canada and St Albans! The Chinese dissident film maker and novelist, Wang Shuo, introduced Western readers to an unfamiliar 'hooligan' side of China in his Playing For Thrills, the Canadian stand-up comic, war reporter and novelist, Sparkle (Vera Lynnette) Hayter, she insists this is her real name, unleashed her spunky female "detective", Robyn Hudson on unsuspecting crime readers in What's a Girl Gotta Do and Anthony Frewin's seminal London Blues revealed and revelled in the seamy 1960's Soho pornography rackets. In addition Daniel Woodrell introduced the concept of country noir with his magnificent Give Us A Kiss. For the first time No exit acquired World Rights, in Jason Starr's Cold Caller, and foreign rights were subsequently sold on to Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Japan. Jim Sallis' Black Hornet was shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger award

D W Buffa's The Defense was a considerable hardback success in 1998. No Exit had hit on the original notion of using a bellyband proclaiming 'As good as John Grisham or your money back'. The years of using expensive advertising agencies were beginning to pay off. The distinguished screenwriter, novelist and burly ex-cop, John Milne, joined the list with the London-based Alive and Kicking. Fred Willard's Down on Ponce was shortlisted for the CWA Award for Best First Crime Novel.

No Exit continued to pick up authors, unjustly neglected by bigger houses, and from early 1999 to date have published 7 Robert B Parker novels including several new titles in his classic "Spenser" series.

Edward Bunker's autobiography, Mr Blue won the 2000 CWA Gold Dagger for non-fiction, the Reservoir Dogs actor and former fugitive on the FBI's most wanted list eclipsing the poet laureate in the process. Most recently, Tom Robbins,

For more information about No Exit Press contact Ion Mills: Tel: +44 1582 761264, Fax: +44 1582 712244, Email: <info@noexit.co.uk>