Forge Books is an imprint of the Tor Publishing Group committed to publishing a wide-ranging selection of smart commercial reads. We seek out general fiction with book club appeal; quality mainstream thriller, mystery, and suspense novels; authors and titles in both fiction and nonfiction with a clear target audience in the realms of history, science, humor, and topical works; titles with cross appeal to the audience of our sister imprint, Tor Books, including near-future and science-based thrillers, mythology, and magical realism. We strive every year to increase the diversity of our list, expanding subject matter and publishing authors from an increasing variety of backgrounds. Forge has published a number of bestselling and award-winning authors with the mission to become the destination for authors looking to connect with smart, passionate readers.
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For over forty years, Tor Books, Forge Books, Tor Teen, and Starscape have been dedicated to publishing the best in genre fiction for adult, teen, and middle-grade readers. In 1979, when I founded the company, our intent was to focus on fiction, often grounded in science past, present, and future, starting with prehistoric fiction—which would be science fiction based on anthropology—and stretching across history and the present into a future which is often extrapolated from possibilities suggested in physics and other scientific fields of today.
The resulting list not only includes books from a wide range of genres, but has managed to win recognition in all of these fields. A diverse list like ours comes from an editorial staff with diverse interests. I want editors to reach beyond those founding concepts. To have the freedom to do work that interests them with authors that they enjoy reading. Our editors bring passion to every project and are dedicated to finding and publishing the best books in every genre. It is a pleasure to introduce them to you.
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Devi Pillai is the President and Publisher of TPG (Tor, Tordotcom, Forge, Starscape, Tor Teen and Nightfire).
She has over twenty years of publishing experience at HarperCollins, Hachette, and Macmilian where she worked at a variety of science fiction, fantasy, and mainstream imprints. She was the founding editor at Orbit, where she worked for over a decade and which published The Witcher; James S. A. Corey’s Expanse series; the works of Brent Weeks, Gail Carriger, and Joe Abercrombie; and Hugo award-winning authors N. K. Jemisin and Ann Leckie.
Since joining Tor in 2016, she has overseen the publication of many award-winning and bestselling authors, including V. E. Schwab, Cixin Liu, and Mary Robinette Kowal. Her own authors currently include Brandon Sanderson, Christopher Paolini, Jenn Lyons, and Arkady Martine, whose debut novel A Memory Called Empire won the 2020 Hugo Award.
A fan at heart, she describes herself as having the bloody-minded reading tastes of a thirteen-year-old boy. She is always receptive to skillful pacing and deftly sketched characters, and of course assassins and dragons.
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I have had the honor of working with the talented team of editors acquiring for TDA/Forge for many years, first as VP of Marketing and Associate Publisher for Tom Doherty Associates, and now, as publisher of Forge. I am proud to be a part of Forge’s continuing tradition to publish accomplished, bestselling and award winning authors across multiple genres including: contemporary and historical fiction, suspense, thriller, magical realism and nonfiction. I feel honored to have worked on or to have contributed in some part to bringing many wonderful books to readers. I currently work with a great team of people who all have a passion for working with wonderful storytellers and bringing their works to the broadest possible market.
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They say that those who can’t do, teach. In college, I envisioned becoming a professor in medieval studies, teaching generations of students and toiling away as a nameless handmaiden of history. But the editing life called its siren song and for more than thirty years I’ve worked at Tor, indulging in my many passions in genre fiction – fantasy, science fiction, horror, and mysteries. I’ve had the honor of working with such wonderful authors as Jacqueline Carey, Juliet Marillier, Ramsey Campbell, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gene Wolfe…and many others, too many to count.
I’ve spent the better part of my adult life working with authors to (hopefully) make their stories and dreams the best that they can be, becoming that “third eye,” general nudge, and all around pain in the butt to accomplish this feat. I give encouragement when I can, instruct when possible, and, again, hopefully contribute in some small way to sharing in the dream, giving readers new worlds and delightful puzzles.
And the best part? I still get to do this and every day feels as fresh as my very first day at Tor did. There is no other feeling like that in the world…
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Monique Patterson is vice president and editorial director of Bramble. “With over 25 years in the publishing business, it’s safe to say I found the career of my dreams!”
The quote “All great literature is one of two stories; a man goes on a journey or a stranger comes to town,” by Leo Tolstoy is one of her favorites, because it immediately sets to mind all the possibilities of a fantastic story. Finding books and authors that reach across the breadth of our experiences as humans is important to her. Publishing a wide array of romance and commercial women’s fiction allows Monique to explore all of those experiences. She is drawn to high concept commercial fiction that embraces genre, including the blending of genres, and strong stand out characters.
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I’ve been with Tor Books for nearly thirty-five years, during which time I had the good fortune to work both with some of the great figures of SF and fantasy’s past—writers I grew up reading, like Arthur C. Clarke, Poul Anderson, and Damon Knight—and also with some of the best younger writers to emerge in the last quarter-century. I’m particularly proud of the debut novels I’ve published, by writers including Maureen F. McHugh, Susan Palwick, Cory Doctorow, Jo Walton, John Scalzi, Ada Palmer, and Charlie Jane Anders. Novels I edited for Tor have won Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards, and, to my amazement, I’ve won three Hugo Awards and a World Fantasy Award for editing.
There are certain storytelling qualities that always grab me. One of them is a strong distinctive voice. Another is the sense that in reading this story, I’m learning something real about the world. Works set on alien planets, or in invented fantasy universes, can tell us things that are as true as stories bounded by the here-and-now. Joanna Russ’s Whileaway doesn’t actually exist, but then, neither did Madame Bovary. What’s important—to me—is saying something real, and meaning it.
I also run Tor Essentials, a line devoted to new quality editions of selected classics from the history of science fiction and fantasy. Many of those come from Tor’s own backlist, but I’m also interested in hearing about the availability of rights to genre classics that were originally published by others.
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I’ve been with Tor Publishing Group since 2015, where I’ve had the opportunity to work with many talented and bestselling authors, as well as major franchises including The Wheel of Time and Dune. With a love for all things science fiction and fantasy, I am acquiring adult speculative fiction in the following categories:
I am always on the lookout for high concept commercial fiction that crosses over into speculative, particularly (but not exclusively) historical fantasy novels like The Invisible life of Addie LaRue and The Historian, as well as novels that transcend time, while pulling at the heartstrings, in the vein of The Midnight Library, Oona Out of Order, and The Ministry of Time.
I would love to see more near and far future science fiction, with grounded scifi thrillers/adventures in the vein of Project Hail Mary and Dark Matter, and character driven space operas filled with empathy and difficult choices in the way that novels like Leviathan Wakes and Ancillary Justice do so well.
Like many people, I’ve been reading a lot of feel good and quirky fantasy, and I’d love to get more submissions with unusual protagonists like Dreadful and Starter Villain, and anything similar to the anime Frieren, which combined love, loss, and an adventure quest that that had me laughing and crying.
For more classic fantasy, I love a good heist novel like Six of Crows and Mistborn, as well as grittier adventures in the vein of The First Law Trilogy and The Black Company series. I’ll never say no to reading a chunky epic fantasy, but it needs to bring something new to the category, and make every word and page count. Bonus points to any fantasy novel that teaches me about a skill or profession.
I’d also like to see more historical fiction/fantasy, steeped in legend and lore, particularly set in non-Western lands and cultures, in the vein of She Who Became the Sun, Masquerade, Kaikeyi, and Daughter of the Moon Goddess.
In all categories mentioned above, I’d like to see more manuscripts from the point of view of erased and underrepresented voices.
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I’ve been with TPG since 2012, primarily acquiring adult speculative fiction for Tor, Tordotcom, and Nightfire. After many years exploring the wildest fringes of science-fiction and fantasy, I’m looking to expand my list into commercial spaces.
I’m particularly interested in diverse and inclusive speculative fiction — please send me submissions from BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+ writers. The vast majority of my list is queer in some way, so please keep that in mind when submitting.
I’m an excited fan of every speculative genre, and I’m not afraid of authors who mix and match elements of science fiction, fantasy, and horror to produce a novel blend. For me, character, voice, and prose are most important, although a fast pace and an engaging plot never hurt.
I’m particularly interested in upmarket speculative fiction. I’m looking for genre work that would satisfy a genre reader in how it treats its speculative element, is paced to move for a commercial audience, and has the attention to language and theme that literary readers crave.
I want the dark, the twisty, and the macabre. Whether in fantasy, sci-fi, or horror, I’m looking for tangled and thorny relationships and heart-breaking betrayals. Give me your goth stuff. Bones are cool; death is cool; bodies getting messed up is cool. I’m looking for really messed-up psychologies: characters who are their own worst enemy, with enemies who are even worse. (And if they kiss at the end, that’s even better).
Speaking of, I’m actively looking to grow my horror list! I want horror about marginalization, body horror, and horror about being haunted by malevolent systems. I’m open to a huge variety of stories in this space, but am not currently looking for more cosmic horror.
Some tropes I love:
I am not currently taking unagented or unsolicited manuscripts.
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Since 2013, I’ve been HEA with Tor Publishing Group where I’m actively acquiring speculative fiction for adults, teens, and middle-grade readers, as well as humorous nonfiction for adults.
I’m a big fan of comedy in all genres so please send me the manuscripts that make you laugh and I love to see submissions from BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+ writers.
FOR TOR, NIGHTFIRE, BRAMBLE, TOR TEEN, AND STARSCAPE: I’m interested in diverse and inclusive commercial speculative fiction with off-the-charts character chemistry, truly original world-building, and strong opinionated voices.
I’ve been a Tor fangirl since high school when I read Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Dart and Juliet Marillier’s Daughter of the Forest. Iconic. These days my manuscript wish list includes new and original takes on folklore, possession, rivals-to-lovers, fake dating, witches, magic that requires tangible spellcraft, classic little guy aliens, and more. I’m into romance of all spice levels—from zero to four chili-pepper emojis—and I’m eager to see more gender and body diversity. Historical and dystopian settings generally don’t hit for me.
On the adult side, I acquired, edited, and debuted work from TJ Klune (The House in the Cerulean Sea, Under the Whispering Door, In the Lives of Puppets, and repackages of the previously published Green Creek Series), Everina Maxwell (Winter’s Orbit, Ocean’s Echo), and Ananda Lima (Craft: Stories I Wrote for the Devil). I manage Ursula K. Le Guin’s backlist with Tor and I’m working with Jennifer L. Armentrout on Fall of Ruin and Wrath, the first-ever book to be published under Bramble!
On the kids’ side, I’m currently working with Terry J. Benton-Walker (Blood Debts, The White Guy Dies First), P. Djèlí Clark (Abeni’s Song), Amanda Foody and C. L. Herman (All of Us Villains, A Fate So Cold), TJ Klune (The Extraordinaries Series), Kristen Simmons (Find Him Where You Left Him Dead), and more to be announced!
FOR FORGE: I’m interested in feel-good, humorous nonfiction. I love niche cultural explorations with vulnerability and heart.
I acquired and edited #1 New York Times bestseller Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered by comedians Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, co-hosts of My Favorite Murder, as well as A Bathroom Book for People Not Pooping or Peeing but Using the Bathroom as an Escape by comedian Joe Pera and illustrator Joe Bennett, I Will Not Die Alone by Dera White and illustrator Joe Bennett, and Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs by comedian and podcaster Jamie Loftus.
I am not currently taking unagented or unsolicited manuscripts.
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I’ve been with TPG since 2019. I acquire books for Forge, Nightfire, Tor, and Tordotcom. I am open to novels as well as novellas longer than 20,000 words.
When considering a manuscript for acquisition, the following stylistic considerations are most important to me:
I am most excited by worlds, landscapes, and settings that exhibit a subtle, surreal, and unexplainable “otherness” as is seen in The West Passage by Jared Pechaček and Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer. I’m also interested in writing that possesses a strong grasp of human emotion as is found in the works of Isaac Fellman, Anthony Doer, and Jesmyn Ward.
More specific qualities I’m looking for are:
Near Future SFF: I love stories that feel like they are set only five minutes in the future with relatable characters whose deeper complexity is exposed to the reader through situations of the fantastic, the uncanny, the surreal (a big one), or the terrifying. Examples include Kate Elliott’s The Keeper’s Six, Mark Z. Danielewski’s House of Leaves, Kelly Link’s “The Summer People,” and Vajra Chandrasekera’s The Saint of Bright Doors.
Everything Weird: I am looking for all things weird fiction, especially if there is a psychological element. Examples include VanderMeer’s Ambergris Cycle, George Saunders’ “Escape from Spiderhead,” and Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado.
Deeply Emotional Stories: I am interested in fiction that deals with intensely emotional situations such as A River Runs Through It by Norm Maclean, Twice Lived by Joma West, and the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Understated Magic Systems: Stories in which it’s unclear if what’s happening is just out of the ordinary or is caused by magic. Think Naomi Salman’s Nothing but the Rain.
Humorous Epic Fantasy: I’m only interested in epic fantasy if it has a sort of tongue-in-cheek D&D tone.
I am not interested in romance or hard science fiction.
Finally, I love baseball. Send me a book with baseball in the pitch I’ll almost always read it.
(she/her) Erika Tsang blames Judy Blume for turning her into a romance reader. She read Forever at an inappropriate age, followed by Wifey, and has been on the hunt for books with happy (or happy for now) endings ever since. Her publishing career started with Doubleday Book Club where she was the romance expert, and continued with Avon Books for the last 20 plus years.
She has worked with beloved and bestselling authors such as Ally Carter (The Blonde Identity), Alyssa Cole (When No One Is Watching), Jennifer Estep (Kill the Queen), Beverly Jenkins (A Christmas to Remember), Lynsay Sands (Bad Luck Vampire), and Julia Whelan (Thank You For Listening). She is constantly on the lookout for stories with heart, stories that are unexpected, and stories that will make her fall in love.
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I might be biased—but I’ve worked with some of the best and beloved authors and books across my (more than) a decade at Tor!
Currently, my list ranges from household names to exciting debuts—including authors like V.E. Schwab, Alix E. Harrow, Charlie Jane Anders, Kate Elliott, Mark Oshiro, Holly Black, and K Arsenault Rivera.
While I tend to immediately look for evocative world-building, distinctive style, and strong writing or interesting language–I am always delighted to be entirely surprised by voices and narratives that don’t match anything that I’ve previously known. While I do acquire across our imprints, my list tends to skew more adult—I have always joked about wanting to be “a walking Alex Award”—and I do love an “extra” hook for reads that don’t quite fit within the standard genre perimeters, like uncanny thrillers, unexpected horrors, and unrepentantly fanfic/AU style romances.
Give me your genre mash-ups, your high-brow-low-brow speculative-inflected narratives, and strongly rendered characters and relationships that evoke intense reactions and emotions from readers.
My taste is highly eclectic—I’m a deep art history and classic film nerd, but I’m just as happy to exchange recs for anime and recommend viewing orders for blockbuster action series. I am always on board for a ghost story, witches, found families, genre mash-ups, and beloved tropes being subverted OR remarkably rendered—but again, I love being surprised by pitches I wouldn’t have even anticipated.
I’m particularly interested in making space for authors with a novel approach to storytelling, and more distinctly, publishing books into a more inclusive readership that better represents the plethora of human experiences and joys.
I am not currently taking unagented or unsolicited manuscripts.