A LONG-WINDED HISTORY OF APEX
In 2004, publisher Jason Sizemore suffered an early mid-life crisis at the age of 30. Stuck in a go-nowhere city job supporting risk management software, he needed a creative outlet to offset the relentless actuarial numbers and policies he read at work everyday.
Local friends of his ran a nifty DIY saddle-stitch fantasy zine that he's picked up at the local bookstore! Holding the booklet full of weird sci-fi in his hands, he thought, Why not do that, except bigger. He occupied his mind by learning the basics of editing, typesetting, layout, and printing.
In the spring of 2005, he released issue one of Apex Science Fiction & Horror Digest.
Twelve quarterly issues of Apex Science Fiction & Horror Digest were published. By the end of its run, Apex Digest had become a well-regarded and respected zine. Apex Digest published many genre icons including: Ben Bova, William F. Nolan, Lavie Tidhar, Eugie Foster, Cherie Priest, Tom Piccirilli, JA Konrath, and Brian Keene.
Having tasted critical, if not financial, success, Sizemore tried his hand with book publishing. For the newly created Apex Book Company, he teamed with his Apex Digest senior editor, Gill Ainsworth, to compile an anthology of horror with a group of young up-and-comers of the time. That debut anthology, Aegri Somnia, (despite the unwieldy name) earned Sizemore and Ainsworth a Stoker Award nomination for Superior Achievement in an Anthology.
The award nomination turned Sizemore into a publishing addict. He cast aside his genre zine ambitions to become the next big deal independent press. In 2008, the press released four books: Grim Trixter by Brandy Schwan, I Remember the Future by Michael A. Burstein, Unwelcome Bodies by Jennifer Pelland, and HebrewPunk by Lavie Tidhar. The award nominations came pouring in for the press. Grim Trixter picked up a Stoker Award nomination for Superior Achievement in Poetry. I Remember the Future contained a story that was nominated for a Nebula Award for Best Story. Unwelcome Bodies did, as well.
Over the years, Apex Books continued to publish many notable titles including: The Apex Book of World SF series, the Dark Faith anthology, Stay Crazy by Erica Satifka, Rosewater by Tade Thompson, Greener Pastures by Michael Wehunt, and Taste of Tenderloin by Gene O'Neill.
By the winter of 2021, Apex Books had published nearly 100 books. The press is seen as a publisher of exceptional works of genre fiction. Its editors have a reputation an eye for talent and publishing early works of many outstanding young writers flying under the radar: Tade Thompson, Jason Sanford, Maurice Broaddus, Lavie Tidhar, Chesya Burke, Erica Satifka, Francesco Verso, and many others.
What does the future hold in store for Apex Books? We invite you, dear reader, to join us on our publishing journey. The future looks bright!