If you love apocalyptic fiction, there’s no way you haven’t heard about (or read novels or anthologies from) Permuted Press by now. Over the last few years, Permuted has published some highly publicized (and well-received) books, including Empire, Day by Day Armageddon and Dying to Live, just to name a few. A stroll I took through the horror section of my local Borders a week ago yielded more than a half-dozen Permuted titles, really impressive considering how humble its beginnings were.

Jacob Kier, owner of Permuted, gave me a few minutes of his time recently to ask him a few things. It’s not every day you get to interview a publisher. Enjoy.

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First of all, thank you for giving me the opportunity to ask you these questions. I’ve interviewed a few authors and an editor (one of yours, actually), but I haven’t had the chance to speak with a publisher until now.

Absolutely, great to have the opportunity to spread the good word about the end of the world.

What is your background? How did you find yourself in publishing?

Permuted started as a completely amateur, hobby effort on my part.  Throughout adulthood I’ve been fascinated by writers, the craft, and the business of getting books from the author to the reader.  In 2004 I learned of print on demand (POD) technology for printing books. Around the same time I was on a zombie kick–brought on primarily by Simon Clark’s brilliant zombie-ish novel Blood Crazy and Brian Keene’s The Rising–and saw the technology as a great opportunity for a novice to dive in.  From there I set up a website and issued a call for zombie stories for The Undead, and things grew from there.  Now Permuted has released over 40 titles with a new release almost every month of the year.

Do you do any fiction writing yourself, or do you prefer to stay strictly on the publishing side of the business?

I’ve dabbled in writing fiction, but nothing significant.  I used to dream of being a writer, but the publishing side has definitely opened up much more for me.

What is your acquisitions process, from receiving a manuscript to the point where it’s ready to publish?

Permuted’s discovery process for new material happens in a few different ways.  The more traditional route where a novel is submitted during our open submission period (this is what happened with Kim Paffenroth’s Dying to Live).  Other times we’ll discover material that has been self-published in print (like Tony Monchinski’s Eden) or online (like Z.A. Recht’s Plague of the Dead).

Once a novel is acquired for publication the author works with one of our talented editors to polish up the manuscript, while a cover artist develops cover art.  After editing the manuscript is sent off to an interior designer who does the layout, and the cover art is used to build a full wraparound cover.  Once those pieces are all in place the book is ready to head to the printer.

How do you decide which editor is right for which project?

I generally take an editor’s personality and previous experience with Permuted into account when considering them for a particular project.  But I’m confident that our editors are skilled enough to work with any author on any material, so often the decision comes down to the editor’s availability.  Once in a while one of our editors will have a particular interest in working with a particular author, and we’ll do our best to put the editor with that author.

Permuted Books tend to have amazing covers. Where do you find the artists?

Thank you!  Almost all of our cover artists have either been discovered online or through samples of their work emailed to us.  Sometimes an author will have a particular artist in mind for the cover of their book, and we’ll try to work with the preferred artist if possible.

How did Swarm Press come about, and what are the differences between it and Permuted?

Swarm was born out of a desire to have a label under which to release non-apocalyptic/non-zombie titles (and thereby not dilute the Permuted brand).  Thus far most of Swarm’s catalog have been superhero fiction including Matthew Wayne Selznick’s Brave Men Run, Mur Lafferty’s Playing For Keeps, and Van Allen Plexico’s Sentinels series.

Do you have any particular type of story you enjoy reading for pleasure or receiving in manuscript form?

Permuted’s output and my personal interests line up for the most part.  I love zombies and apocalyptic works. I’m also a big fan of Lovecraft’s Cthulhu mythos–which is arguably apocalyptic–and Permuted has put out works like Cthulhu Unbound in that arena.  I like anything that is really well done with a good dose of action and great characters.  I’m particularly excited to find novels that put new twists on old themes or combine genres in new and interesting ways.

Are you currently seeking submissions, and if so must they be agented or solicited first?

At this time we aren’t open to submissions.  When we are open to submissions we’ll look at anything that fits our guidelines and we do not require an agent.

Congratulations on the Simon and Schuster deal. How did that come about?

Thank you!  In the summer of 2009 Simon & Schuster was interested in entering into some sort of arrangement with Permuted to reissue J.L. Bourne’s Day by Day Armageddon on a larger scale.  Through the hard work of Permuted’s agent Marc Gerald of The Agency Group the deal grew from our single bestselling title to co-publishing 5 of our most popular books and 2 previously unreleased books.  Thus far J.L. Bourne’s Day by Day Armageddon, Z.A. Recht’s Plague of the Dead, and David Dunwoody’s Empire have been released under the co-publishing deal and at least 4 more titles are forthcoming.

What is your take on the current influx of zombie fiction?

From a fan standpoint I think it’s great.  I love seeing the envelope pushed with new takes on zombies and the zombpocalypse.  But like many others I do sometimes worry that the general public will get burnt out on zombies.  In fact I expect that, at least to some degree, that will happen sooner or later.  The next “it” thing will arrive and the masses will start the slow turn toward whatever that new thing is.  But the hardcore zombie fans will always be there.

We were both at last year’s Horror Realm convention here in Pittsburgh, though I didn’t get to meet you (I’ll make sure I do next year, though). What was that experience like for you? Are you a con veteran, or was it the first time you’d ever been to one?

Actually, Horror Realm 2009 was Permuted’s first official con appearance, though some of our authors have made appearances at various cons over the years.  It was an absolute blast for me personally to get to spend some time hanging out with our authors and meeting fans.  We’ll be back for Horror Realm 2010 in Pittsburgh this September.

Any upcoming projects readers should be on the lookout for?

Our last release was Peter Clines’ stellar debut novel, Ex-Heroes, which pits superheroes versus zombies.  It’s easily in my top 5 favorite Permuted novels!  We’ve also got the long-awaited sequel to J.L. Bourne’s Day by Day Armageddon coming out this summer (pre-order here), and Kim Paffenroth’s zombified take on Dante’s Inferno, Valley of the Dead, has recently become available.  Next will be our reissue of Brian Easton’s IPPY award-winning werewolf novel Autobiography of a Werewolf Hunter (previously titled When the Autumn Moon Is Bright).

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