Black Spring launches new crime series curated by author Veste 

Black Spring Press has announced the Black Spring Crime Series, which will be curated by Luca Veste, author of books including The Game and The Bone Keeper (S&S UK) and will comprise an initial run of 10 novels over the next 10 months.

The first book in the series is A Crime in the Land of 7,000 Islands by serving FBI agent Zephaniah Sole, published in June, and the second will be The Scotsman by Rob McClure, out in September. World all-language rights for both were acquired directly from the author by Veste. Three more as-yet-unannounced books will be published by the end of 2023.

Veste said of the series, which has been endorsed by Lee Child, Mark Billingham, Ian Rankin and Val McDermid: “This is an incredibly exciting time to be involved with an independent press such as Black Spring. The vision we have is to release excellent novels that cover the wide variety we see in crime fiction. From police procedurals, to thrillers, to historical crimes, it is a privilege to be bringing these novels to a wider audience.”

Child said: “I love, love, love great new crime fiction. How do I find it? Usually I ask my friend Luca Veste. I owe him hundreds of hours of great reading. Now he’s doing it for real, not just for me – he’s working with Black Spring Press, which means they’re going to have a crime list that everyone will get excited about – and everyone will buy. Luca Veste is our genre’s best talent spotter – Black Spring Press will be one to watch."

Rankin said crime fiction is “going through a new Golden Age” and that “an independent publisher like Black Spring is the perfect fit for these fresh new voices and ways of seeing”, while McDermid said of Veste: “I know nobody with their finger more acutely on the pulse of crime fiction.” Billingham said: “Nobody knows more about the world of crime fiction than Luca Veste. He knows the business inside out and he knows all the movers and shakers. Most importantly of all, he knows a great crime novel when he sees one.”

Publisher Dr Todd Swift added: “At a time of cost-of-living crisis, when small indie presses are struggling, it is poignant and beautifully helpful for these major crime writers, often with the largest publishers, to be so generous and supportive of a new imprint. I can’t remember when a crime series was last endorsed like this. I feel like Jack Reacher has just stepped in to save the day!”

The Black Spring Crime Series of books are available for film and TV adaptations, and will be sold at all interested major and indie bookshops, as well as online, in both the UK and USA, via their distributors BookSource and NBN; as paperbacks, then e-books and audiobooks.