Erotica Label Black Lace Shuts Up Shop

Black Lace novel Split by Kristina LloydThe Guardian reports that major erotica publisher Black Lace will not be publishing any new titles in the coming year.

The 16-year-old Black Lace imprint specialises in erotica for women, by women, and has sold more than 4m books worldwide, but its publisher, Virgin Books – part of the publishing giant Random House – has decided to stop commissioning new titles for both itself and its sister imprint, Nexus, which pitches itself as “the last word in fetish fiction”.

Erotica Cover Watch has a more in-depth look at the decision here. Interestingly, the Girl’s comment was rehashed in the Guardian article without attribution, which is rather rude.

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Black Lace is blaming stalled sales and the availability of free erotica on the internet.

Writers Kristina Lloyd and Mathilde Madden (who run Erotica Cover Watch) have written a great opinion piece decrying the decision.

In erotic fiction, you’ll probably find truer expressions of female desire than in the popular memoirs from strippers and sex workers, whose job it is to please men. But we’re also unsurprised. Women’s erotic fiction authors are often regarded as randy Barbara Cartlands writing purple porn for the sex-starved, their prose replete with throbbing manhoods, dungeon dynamics and swoon-inducing bastards: “Mills and Bonk”.

Personally I think it’s a shame that Black Lace should make this decision because it cuts off one of the few major outlets for female erotic expression. I do understand the need to maintain profits – publishing seems to operate on very small margins now – but I’m wondering if the imprint was really losing money or if they just lost interest in maintaining it.

And it once again comes back to the issue of the internet. Since I run an adult site I could be considered responsible for the loss of hard-copy readers.

And yet… it’s not the full story. Yes, you can probably find free erotic fiction online but have you actually read some of that shit? The stuff you see on Literotica is often illiterate, nonsensical, cliched and downright unreadable and a lot of it isn’t written for a female audience (I know this because they seem to want to also submit it to FTG). On top of that, the world of online erotic fiction is primarily focused on short stories and smaller pieces. Curling up in bed and getting involved in a novel isn’t quite so appealing via the internet.

If Black Lace withdraws, it creates a gap. I do think there is a opportunity here. Perhaps it’s time For The Girls became a publishing label?

6 Replies to “Erotica Label Black Lace Shuts Up Shop”

  1. Thanks for this. And yep, totally agree with your point about novels and quality fic being different to online smut. The idea the internet has ousted BL is based on a very limited understanding of sexual pleasure, one which prioritises cheap orgasms then stops. There is so much more to enjoy and gain. I’ve been hugely touched over the years by people who written to thank me for writing Asking for Trouble (2nd book, very dark femsub) – not merely because it got them off but because it gave them a deeper understanding of their own sexuality and helped them feel more comfortable with it.

    I’m angered by Random House’s decision. I’m damn sure they simply lost interest, that they did not think the imprint was important enough.

    Thanks for using the cover of Split too. Works very nicely.

  2. Xcite Books has been publishing erotica especially aimed at female readers for two years now. With fresh, sassy covers and great short shorty collection we have proved there is a market as our books are sold by Waterstones, WH Smith’s, Borders and now Ann Summers.
    We love what we do and put every effort into making women feel great about their sexulaity in all its forms and guises.

  3. Being primarily an online writer, I have to agree with you both. There is nothing online that compares to curling up in bed with a good, hand-held paperback. Moreover, the fiction I write is specifically designed to be read online in short bites.

    I can’t honestly say I liked all of what Black Lace published, and in recent years, I found their move towards romantic erotica put me off. I prefer my smut a little raunchier ala Ms. Lloyd. Nonetheless, we have lost yet another outlet for the expression of female sexuality. I’m very sad about that.

  4. I write erotica, but I also read it – lots! I think it’s a great shame about Black Lace/Nexus because as others have said, there’s nothing like curling up in bed/having a bath and reading an erotic book. E-books and free stories on the internet are great, but there is something more indulgent about having a physical book in your hand. Luckily Xcite Books is around, or I’d have nothing to read!

  5. Great point about Literotica, Ms Naughty. The demise of Black Lace has nothing to do with online smut- although Literotica often has great stuff, the majority of it is absolute nonsense.

    No, Black Lace’s competition came from sites like Ellora’s Cave. But even then, they don’t often match BL for quality. If Black Lace had simply moved into the 21st century and been marketed the way most publishers are now, it wouldn’t be in this situation.

    Can’t imagine it was really to do with it not making money, however. BL books are sold in Waterstones, WHSmiths, Borders and elsewhere. And the books are always in the top ten of the Amazon erotic bestseller lists, usually ahead of most other imprints. Last time I looked, BL made up 7 out of 10 of the top ten.

  6. Black Lace should have stuck with releasing a handful of quality new erotica books a year rather than putting that aspect of their business “on hold” or reissuing tired books as they have in the past.

    There is still a demand for well written original erotica and plenty of talented authors to write it. This is a huge loss to erotica writers and the fans of their work.

    I recently started a small erotica community site and even though its brand new I’m getting daily sign ups of readers and writers as well as submissions of work so its quite obvious to me that erotica still has its place – looks like we will all have to get our “naughty story” hit online rather than curling up with an exciting read in the future!

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