MonkeyBrain Books is an independent American publishing house based in Austin, Texas, specialising in books comprising both new content and reprinting online, international, or out-of-print content, which show "an academic interest," but which "reach a popular audience as well."
History
Founded by science-fiction author Chris Roberson with his business partner and spouse Allison Baker, MonkeyBrain Books specializes in "genre fiction and nonfiction genre studies" after two years focusing solely on non-fiction. After dabbling in self-publication and Print On Demand, Roberson said he wanted to ensure that his books were distributed widely.
Continuing its self-imposed remit to publish works of non-fiction genre studies, MonkeyBrain's debut titles also included a collection of short essays by Matthew Rossi, comprising a wide-ranging guide to numerous weird, odd, imaginary, and mythical places and things: Things That Never Were: Fantasies, Lunacies & Entertaining Lies, and a collection of articles/essays by Rick Klaw ruminating on everything from book-selling & signings, comics & science fiction and censorship: Geek Confidential: Echoes from the 21st Century. In 2004, MonkeyBrain's output included a substantially updated printing of Michael Moorcock's guide to Epic Fantasy, and The Discontinuity Guide, author and writer Paul Cornell 's attempt to form a coherent narrative from decades of Doctor Who continuity. In 2005, alongside Philip Jose Farmer commentator Win Scott Eckert's guide to the Wold Newton Universe, the -nominated Myths for the Modern Age, Chris Roberson edited the first volume in a projected annual series of Adventure anthologies, comprising "original fiction in the spirit of early twentieth-century pulp fiction magazines" across the genres, featuring contributions from Lou Anders, Paul Di Filippo, Mark Finn, Michael Moorcock and Kim Newman. In 2005 MonkeyBrain also published Jess Nevins' World Fantasy Award-nominated Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana, the first comprehensive reference encyclopedia to the fantastic literature of the nineteenth century, while 2006 debuted MonkeyBrain's first art book, covering the work of John Picacio, MonkeyBrain's primary cover artist. Cementing MonkeyBrain's leap from non-fiction and reference genre works to include fiction, 2006 also saw publication of a collection of science fiction author Kim Newman's Richard Jeperson stories in The Man from the Diogenes Club, with a follow-up published the following year alongside Paul Cornell's imaginative science fiction novelBritish Summertime. Robert E. Howard scholar Mark Finn's 2006 biography, , met with considerable critical praise, and not only won the 2007 Cimmerian Award, The Atlantean, but was also nominated for Locus and World Fantasy Awards.
Published works
Things That Never Were: Fantasies, Lunacies & Entertaining Lies by Matthew Rossi
Heroes & Monsters: The Unofficial Companion to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Jess Nevins
Geek Confidential: Echoes from the 21st Century by Rick Klaw
Wizardry and Wild Romance: A Study of Epic Fantasy by Michael Moorcock
