Avalon Books
| Status | Defunct |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1950 |
| Successor | Amazon Publishing |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | New York |
| Official website | http://avalonbooks.com |
Avalon Books was a small New York-based book publishing imprint active from 1950 through 2012, established by Thomas Bouregy. Avalon was an important science fiction imprint in the 1950s and 60s; later its specialty was mystery and romance books. The imprint was owned by Thomas Bouregy & Co., Inc.. It remained a family firm, with Thomas's daughter Ellen Bouregy Mickelsen taking over as publisher in 1995.
On June 4, 2012 it was announced that Amazon.com had purchased the imprint and its back-list of about 3,000 titles. Amazon said it would publish the books through the various imprints of Amazon Publishing.
In the 1950s and 60s Avalon specialized in science fiction. It issued much of the hardcover material in the genre during the period, particularly in the earlier portion. Avalon issued new titles, reissued out of print titles originally from other publishers, and first editions of material that had previously only seen magazine publication. Frederik Pohl jibed in 1959 that the publisher "seems to be pursuing a policy of printing the worst books by the best writers in science fiction". Its books featured cover art by Ric Binkley, Ed Emshwiller (also known as Emsh), Gray Morrow, and Michael M. Peters. Later, competition with mainstream hardcover and paperback publishers starting their own science fiction lines and the marginal nature of genre publishing in general led to the line being discontinued.
After the discontinuation of its science fiction line, Avalon specialized in mystery and romance books.
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