The PennZone

NEW YORK - PennZone -- National Book Award winner and six-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Joyce Carol Oates will return to the pages of Hard Case Crime starting in 2026 with a series of three double volumes celebrating the 40th anniversary of the debut of her suspense-novelist alter ego "Rosamond Smith." In the Smith books, Oates explored themes of betrayal and deception, lust and murder, through stories involving twins, doubles, and hidden second identities – initially, keeping her own double identity a secret.

Hard Case Crime is proud to bring six of these extraordinary works of crime fiction, long unavailable in bookstores, back into print in definitive double editions, each pairing two complete novels and two never-before-collected Oates short stories, all linked thematically, to weave a sinister web filled with dark reflections.

The first volume, DOUBLE TROUBLE, will include the novels Starr Bright Will Be With You Soon (about a female serial killer seeking refuge in her twin sister's home) and Soul/Mate (about a male serial killer who murders for the woman he craves) as well as the rare short stories "The Murderess" and "An Unsolved Crime." DOUBLE TROUBLE arrives in bookstores on February 3, 2026, and the subsequent volumes will follow at 8-month intervals, so that all three will be out in time for the 40th anniversary in 2027.

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"We're thrilled that Joyce has chosen Hard Case Crime to bring these classic novels back into print," said Charles Ardai, Hard Case Crime's publisher, "especially in this unique, thoughtfully curated format, where a pair of novels and a pair of stories can echo off each other in surprising and thought-provoking ways."

Joyce Carol Oates made her Hard Case Crime debut in 2019 with her Charles Manson-inspired novel The Triumph of the Spider Monkey, reissued on the 50th anniversary of the Manson killings.

The cover art for all three volumes will be painted by Italian artist Claudia Caranfa in the classic pulp style.

"I am excited to see these books brought back with dazzling new covers," said Joyce Carol Oates. "It was a pleasure working with Hard Case Crime the first time, and I'm glad we've found an opportunity to do it again."

About Hard Case Crime

Called "the best new American publisher to appear in the last decade" by Neal Pollack in The Stranger, Hard Case Crime has been nominated for and/or won numerous honors since its inception including the Edgar, the Shamus, the Anthony, the Barry, the Ellery Queen, and the Spinetingler Award.  The series' books have been adapted for television and film, with a series based on Max Allan Collins' Quarry novels airing on Cinemax and Haven, based on Stephen King's novel The Colorado Kid, running for six seasons on SyFy. Hard Case Crime titles include Stephen King's #1 New York Times bestsellers Joyland and Later; James M. Cain's lost final novel, The Cocktail Waitress; lost early novels by Michael Crichton (writing under the name "John Lange") and Gore Vidal (writing as "Cameron Kay"); Are Snakes Necessary? by filmmaker Brian de Palma and former New York Times editor Susan Lehman; and Brainquake, the final work of writer/filmmaker Samuel Fuller. Hard Case Crime is published through a collaboration between Winterfall LLC and Titan Publishing Group. www.hardcasecrime.com

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About Titan Publishing Group

Titan Publishing Group is an independently owned publishing company, established in 1981, comprising three divisions: Titan Books, Titan Magazines/Comics and Titan Merchandise.  Titan Books is an established publisher of exceptional genre fiction in the Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror and Mystery fields. Recent authors of Titan Books include Kareem Abdul Jabbar, V.E. Schwab, Mickey Spillane, Max Allan Collins, Alice Blanchard, Tim Lebbon, Sarah Pinborough, Andrew Cartmel, Chris Ould and many more. Titan Books also has an extensive line of media- and pop culture-related non-fiction, graphic novels, and art and music books. The company is based at offices in London, but operates worldwide, with sales and distribution in the U.S. and Canada being handled by Random House. www.titanbooks.com