{{Short description|American publishing company}} {{Infobox publisher | name = Brash Books | image = | caption = | parent = | status = | traded_as = | predecessor = | founded = 2014 | founders = Lee Goldberg, Joel Goldman | successor = | country = United States | headquarters = Calabasas, CA | distribution = Ingram Content Group | keypeople = | publications = ebook, trade paperback, audio | topics = Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Suspense | imprints = Brash Audio, Cutting Edge | revenue = | owner = | numemployees = | website = {{URL|http://www.brash-books.com}} }}
'''Brash Books''' is an American crime fiction imprint founded in 2014 by authors Lee Goldberg and Joel Goldman. The main focus of Brash Books is to republish award-winning and critically acclaimed novels, primarily from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, which had fallen out of print.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cowsert|first= Derek|url=http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/books/article2166109.html |title=Brash Books Gives Life to Old Mysteries |publisher=Kansas City Star |access-date=2015-02-03}}</ref> The imprint also publishes new crime fiction and suspense novels.<ref name=booktrib>{{cite news|last=Ruscoe|first=Michael|title=Whodunit? These Brash publishers solve the mystery of the great crime thriller|url=http://booktrib.com/2014/09/whodunit-these-brash-publishers-solve-the-mystery-of-the-great-crime-thriller/|access-date=2015-02-03|publisher=BookTrib|date=2014-09-02}}</ref>
The imprint launched in September 2014 with 29 reprints, including the Nero Award-winning ''Sleeping Dog'' by Dick Lochte, Edgar Award finalist ''Lover Man'' by Dallas Murphy, and the new novel ''Treasure Coast'' by Tom Kakonis.<ref>{{cite news|last=Pierce|first=J. Kingston|title=In With the Old, In With the New|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/features/old-new/|access-date = 2015-02-03|publisher=Kirkus Reviews|date = 2014-08-14}}</ref> The company has since published other books, such as Mark Smith's ''Death of the Detective,'' a National Book Award finalist,<ref>[http://lareviewofbooks.org/review/windy-city-gothic-resurrection-death-detective Lareviewofbooks.org]</ref> Barbara Neely's ''Blanche on the Lam,'' (a Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Honoree and recipient of the Agatha and Anthony Award), MWA Grandmaster Honoree Max Allan Collins' novel ''Road to Perdition'' in a new, expanded edition (incorporating material from his original graphic novel, elements from his novelization of the feature screenplay, and new material),<ref>[https://www.themysteryplace.com/eqmm/jury/ Themysterplace.com]</ref> and Carolyn Weston's ''Poor, Poor Ophelia,'' which inspired the television series ''The Streets of San Francisco''.<ref name=rapsheet>{{cite news|last=Pierce|first=J. Kingston|title=Brash Talking|url=http://therapsheet.blogspot.com/2014/08/brash-talking.html|access-date=2015-02-03|publisher=The Rap Sheet|date=2014-08-19}}</ref> Brash has published 288 titles as of November 2025.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brash-books.com/ |title=Home |website=brash-books.com}}</ref> Brash's titles are available as paperbacks through the Ingram Content Group and Baker & Taylor.<ref name=pw>{{cite news|last=Reid|first=Calvin|title=Two Novelists Launch Brash Books, New Crime House|url=http://publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/63866-two-novelists-launch-brash-books-new-crime-house.html|access-date=2015-02-03|publisher=Publishers Weekly|date=2014-09-03}}</ref>
Goldberg and Goldman, longtime friends, hatched the idea for Brash Books after a discussion at the 2013 Bouchercon convention in Albany, New York. When Goldberg mentioned to Goldman that he wanted to find a way to republish some of his favorite out-of-print titles, Goldman, a former lawyer, offered to help him create the business.<ref name=kingsriver>{{cite news|last=Ham|first=Lorie Lewis|title=Interview With Brash Books Owner Lee Goldberg|url=http://kingsriverlife.com/09/06/interview-with-brash-books-owner-lee-goldberg/|access-date=2015-02-03|publisher=Kings River Life|date=2014-09-06}}</ref> The company's name was inspired by their slogan, "We publish the best crime novels in existence", which Goldberg describes as "a brash claim, but we believe our novels back it up."<ref name=kingsriver /> Goldberg serves as the publisher's book scout and handles most of its social media, while Goldman deals with financial and legal matters.<ref name=rapsheet />
Other authors published by Brash include top ten ''New York Times'' bestselling authors Robin Burcell, Tim Sandlin, Parnell Hall, and Phoef Sutton,<ref>[https://www.mysteryscenemag.com/blog-article/5116-brash-books-happy-anniversary Mysteryscenemag.com]</ref> famed BBC presenter and interviewerBarry Norman, National Book Award finalist David Wagoner, and Edgar Award finalists Noreen Ayers, Bill Crider,<ref> [https://www.amazon.com/Outrage-Blanco-Ellie-Taine-Thriller/dp/1941298257 Amazon.com]</ref> and Jack Lynch.<ref>[http://www.thrillingdetective.com/bragg.html Thrillingdetective.com]</ref>
In 2017, they launched the subsidiary ''Brash Audio'' and produced a dozen audiobooks in their first year.<ref>[http://www.brashaudio.com Brashaudio.com]</ref> They also published Leo W. Banks' original novel ''Double Wide'', which won two 2018 Spur Awards, for Best First Novel and Best Contemporary Western, from the Western Writers of America.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://westernwriters.org/2018/03/2018-spur-award-winners/|title=2018 Spur Award Winners Announced|date=10 March 2018|publisher=Western Writers of America}}</ref> ''Double Wide'' was also named ''True West'' magazine's Best Contemporary Western of the Year.
In 2019, they republished the twelve ''Hardman'' crime novels by Ralph Dennis, as well as four of his long-lost, unpublished works.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://crimereads.com/ralph-dennis-the-lost-hardman-classics/|title=''The Lost Hardman Classics''|date=12 February 2019|publisher=Crimereads}}</ref> The ''Hardman'' books included introductions by author Joe R. Lansdale, among others. A newly discovered thirteenth ''Hardman'' novel, ''All Kinds of Ugly'', was released in February 2020 <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/82451-brash-books-releases-lost-hardman-novel.html/|title=''Brash Books Releases Lost Hardman Novel''|publisher=Publishers Weekly}}</ref> with revisions by Goldberg. That same month, they also released ''Fireball'', a lost, previously unpublished book by Hammer Horror writer/director/producer Jimmy Sangster that is the fourth adventure in his ''James Reed'' series (''Snowball,'' ''Blackball'' and ''Hardball''), that was published in the late 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781732422681/|title=''Fireball Review''|publisher=Publishers Weekly}}</ref>
== Cutting Edge Imprint == They launched their ''Cutting Edge'' imprint in 2020 to issue new editions of out-of-print books published before 1970 in a wide range of genres, release new, never-before-published western novels, as well as new and previously out-of-print television reference books.
Their initial re-releases included books by Robert Dietrich (aka E. Howard Hunt), Ovid Demaris, March Hasting (aka Sally Singer), and Richard Himmel that were originally published in the 1950s and early 1960s before falling out-of-print.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2021/01/20/richard-himmels-pulp-noir-books-are-back-in-print-hardboiled-words-from-a-famous-chicago-interior-designer//|title=Richard Himmel's pulp noir books are back in print — hardboiled words from a famous Chicago interior designer|publisher=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>
''The Comanche Kid'' by James Robert Daniels, their first original western novel, was a 2022 finalist for the Spur Award for Best Traditional Western Novel. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://westernwriters.org/2022-spur-award-winners-announced/|title=2022 Spur Award Winners Announced|date=March 2022|publisher=Western Writers of America}}</ref> The sequel, ''Jane Fury,'' was a finalist for the same award in 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://westernwriters.org/spur-award-winner/2024-winners/|title=2024 Spur Award Winners Announced|date=March 2024|publisher=Western Writers of America}}</ref>
In 2023, a woman in Atlanta was cleaning out her dead grandfather's attic when she stumbled upon a dusty, yellowed, type-written manuscript by Ralph Dennis. She sent the book to Goldberg, who identified it as Dennis' long-lost, unpublished, literary first novel ''Wind Sprints'' and subsequently published for the first time through Cutting Edge.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://crimereads.com/the-discovery-of-wind-sprints-the-lost-ralph-dennis-novel/|title=''The Discovery of 'Wind Sprints,' the Lost Ralph Dennis Novel''|publisher=CrimeReads}}</ref> The imprint later released ''The New Five'', another previously unpublished Dennis novel, this one about college basketball in the 1980s.
In 2025, Cutting Edge was lauded by ''Texas Monthly'' magazine for rediscovering and republishing the long out-of-print works of forgotten author Jack Sheridan <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/forgotten-texas-novelist-jack-sheridan/|title=''On the Cusp of Literary Stardom, This West Texas Novelist Lost It All''|publisher=Texas Monthly}}</ref> As of November 2025, the Cutting Edge imprint has released 522 titles.
==Selected Brash Books Authors== {{div col start}} * Tom Ardies * Noreen Ayres * Leo Banks * Keith Bruton * Craig Faustus Buck * Jack Bunker * Robin Burcell * Max Allan Collins * Michael Craft * Bill Crider * Ralph Dennis * Gerald Duff * Robert Dunn * Dawn Farnham * Bob Forward * Michael Genelin * Parnell Hall * Gar Anthony Haywood * Harry Hunsicker * Tom Kakonis * Tony Knighton * Stan Lee * Dick Lochte * Jack Lynch * Geoffrey Miller * Margaret Moseley * Dallas Murphy * A.W. Mykel * Barbara Neely * Barry Norman * Maxine O'Callaghan * Stephen O'Shea * William Reynolds * W.L. Ripley * Jim Sanderson * John Sanford * Jimmy Sangster * Mark Smith * Craig Smith * Michael Stone * Andy Straka * Phoef Sutton * Doug J. Swanson * Ted Thackrey Jr. * Phillip Thompson * Jack Trolley * Jane Waterhouse * Carolyn Weston {{div col end}}
==Selected Cutting Edge Authors== {{div col start}} * Burt Arthur * James Warner Bellah * Morton Cooper * Ovid Demaris * Ralph Dennis * Bonnie Golightly * Charles Gorham * Ward Greene * March Hastings (aka Sally Singer) * Homer Hatten * Richard Himmell * E. Howard Hunt * Hilda Lawrence * Charles Mergendahl * Jon Messmann * James Rubel * Forbes Rydell * Sarah Salt * Jack Sheridan * David Derek Stacton * Tiffany Thayer * John Burton Thompson * Walker A. Tompkins * David Wagoner * Jack Woodford
{{div col end}}
==References== {{reflist|2}}
==External links== * {{Official website|http:/www.brash-books.com}} * {{Official website|http://www.cuttingedgebooks.com}} * [http://somethingisgoingtohappen.net/2015/02/04/a-brash-idea-becomes-a-publishing-company-by-lee-goldberg Lee Goldberg: A Brash Idea Becomes a Publishing Company] {{Authority control}}
Category:Book publishing companies of the United States Category:Publishing companies established in 2014 Category:2014 establishments in the United States