Name

Tachyon Publications

Legal name

Tachyon Publications LLC

Website

https://tachyonpublications.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Genre & Category Publishing (Romance, Mystery/Thriller, Sci‑Fi/Fantasy, etc.) (MPAJAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Mass Market & Paperback Publishing (MPAJAAAD), Hardcover & Premium Editions Publishing (MPAJAAAE), Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) Sales & Merchandising (Publisher Stores, Bundles) (MPAJAKAD)

Keywords

• Speculative fiction publishing
• Science fiction books
• Fantasy novels
• Horror fiction
• Independent small press

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Direct Book Sales: Tachyon sells books directly through their website at tachyonpublications.com, offering both physical trade paperback and digital/e-book formats.
2. Wholesale Distribution: Titles distributed wholesale through Baker & Taylor Publisher Services (US/Canada), New South Books (Australia/New Zealand), and Turnaround (UK/rest of world). Books available through all major distribution channels and bookstores.
3. Online Retail Sales: Books available through online booksellers and can be ordered at bookstores using Indiebound.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Tachyon Publications is an independent book publisher that acquires, edits, designs, and distributes science fiction, fantasy, and horror titles. It sells books directly to consumers through its own website and to trade accounts through wholesale distributors, offering both physical editions (trade paperback, hardcover, limited/collector's) and digital e-books.

Product overview

Tachyon Publications is a book publisher founded in 1995, specializing in smart science fiction, fantasy, and horror, as well as mysteries, memoirs, young adult, and literary fiction. The company offers a diverse catalog of over 236 titles organized into product categories: All Books (general catalog), E-books (154 digital titles), New Releases, Forthcoming Titles (pre-orders), Original Fiction (62 original works), Anthologies and Collections (112 curated anthologies), and Bestsellers. The company publishes notable series including novellas by Brandon Sanderson, Daryl Gregory, Nancy Kress, Alastair Reynolds, and Peter Watts, as well as anthologies by high-profile editors including Ellen Datlow, Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, and John Joseph Adams. Titles are distributed through Baker & Taylor Publisher Services, New South Books, and Turnaround, and are available direct-to-consumer through the website as well as through major booksellers and libraries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Foundling Fathers Science fiction novel by Meg Elison combining U.S. history and technocracy satire with cloned founding fathers, published for adult science fiction readers.
• Rabbit Test and Other Stories Debut short fiction collection by Samantha Mills, 2025 Compton Crook Award winner, featuring subversive speculative fiction aimed at genre readers.
• Your Behavior Will Be Monitored Science fiction novel by Justin Feinstein in which emotionally intelligent AI compete against emotionally stunted humans, for adult science fiction readers.
• Ignore All Previous Instructions Science fiction novel by Ada Hoffmann featuring an interplanetary epic with space pirates, a starred Booklist review, and queer identity themes, for adult science fiction readers.
• The Death and Birth of Iliana Marek Forthcoming thriller novel by Edgar Award-winner David Liss in which a young man with a terrible past finds an oddly-altered enforcer as his unlikely protector, for adult thriller readers.
• The Porcelain Sisters Forthcoming novel by Daryl Gregory about a young woman and her literally porcelain sister fighting for inheritance against supernatural enemies, for adult speculative fiction readers.
• Fold Catastrophes Forthcoming short fiction collection by Peter Watts featuring stories on brain-computer interfaces, life inside stars, and ecological collapse, for adult science fiction readers.
• Precious Children Forthcoming horror novel by Mary G. Thompson in which a wealthy family trying to cheat death is outmatched by a stubborn teenager hiding in a body that looks like their son, for adult horror readers.
• Lovecraft's Brood Anthology of cosmic horror edited by Ellen Datlow, the long-awaited sequel to Lovecraft's Monsters, illustrated by John Coulthart, for adult horror readers.
• The Emperor's Soul: 10th Anniversary Special Edition Hugo Award-winning novella by Brandon Sanderson about a forger who must create a new soul for an emperor, released in a 10th Anniversary Special Edition with bonus material for fantasy readers.
• Bitter Medicine Paranormal debut novel by Mia Tsai featuring a clever magic system, for adult fantasy and paranormal readers.
• The Tangleroot Palace Short fiction collection by New York Times bestselling author Marjorie Liu featuring dangerous magic and women's stories, for adult fantasy readers.
• The Freeze-Frame Revolution Science fiction novel by Peter Watts about staging a mutiny on a starship whose crew is awake only one day in a million, for adult science fiction readers.
• All Books Catalog Complete catalog of 236 Tachyon books spanning science fiction, fantasy, horror, mysteries, memoirs, young adult, and literary fiction, available in physical and digital formats.
• E-books Catalog Digital edition catalog of 154 e-book titles across all Tachyon genres, available for individual purchase and download.
• New Releases Catalog Catalog of recently released Tachyon titles featuring current and new authors, updated as books are launched.
• Forthcoming Titles (Pre-orders) Pre-order catalog of upcoming Tachyon releases, including highly anticipated novels from award-winning authors.
• Original Fiction Catalog Catalog of 62 original works by Tachyon authors featuring unique speculative fiction titles first published by the press.
• Anthologies and Collections Catalog Catalog of 112 curated anthologies and short fiction collections edited by notable genre editors, including Ellen Datlow, Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, and John Joseph Adams.
• Bestsellers Catalog Catalog of featured bestselling Tachyon titles, including award-winning novellas and popular fiction.

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, regional and supporting.

• Baker & Taylor Publisher ServicescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary wholesale distributor for US and Canada serving retailers, libraries, universities, and wholesalers. Contact: 30 Amberwood Parkway, Ashland, OH 44805 USA. Voice: 567.215.0030 / 888.814.0208.
• New South BooksregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributor for Australia and New Zealand handling wholesale distribution in those regions.
• TurnaroundregionalChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorDistributor for UK and the rest of the world outside of North America and Australia/New Zealand.
• Eight Light MinutessupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Eight Light Minutes mentioned in context of Jaymee Goh's editorial work at Tachyon, including their Debut Authors series.
• Humble BundlesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerBundling partnership offering discounted Tachyon titles with portion of proceeds benefiting Doctors Without Borders. Regular Humble Bundle promotions featuring award-winning fiction.
• StoryBundlesupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerCurated story bundle partnerships including Pride StoryBundle (benefiting Rainbow Railroad) and Humor StoryBundle (benefiting Mighty Writers and Girls Write Now).

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Subterranean Press: Independent small press specializing in limited-edition science fiction, fantasy, and horror hardcover runs. It is Tachyon's closest structural analog: small team, similar founder-led curation, premium collector editions, and shared top-tier author roster.
• Night Shade Books: Independent SF/Fantasy/Horror publisher with a comparable trade and limited-edition catalog. Competes for the same mid-list genre authors and library acquisition budgets, similar in scale and distribution mix.
• Small Beer Press: Boutique small press focused on speculative fiction, fantasy, and literary genre crossovers. Operates at a similar headcount and book-per-year cadence, with comparable award-season presence (World Fantasy, Nebula shortlists).
• Saga Press: Sci-fi/fantasy imprint that competes for the same author agents and reviewers in the same genre verticals. Its trade paperback SFF line overlaps directly with Tachyon's core catalog.
• Tor.com Publishing: Novella-focused SFF line that pioneered the genre novella format in which Tachyon also dominates (Emperor's Soul, Six Months Three Days). Competes for award-eligible novella acquisitions in the same Hugo/Nebula short-novel slots.

Emerging players

• Angry Robot: Independent genre imprint focusing on science fiction, fantasy, and horror with a trade paperback-first digital-first strategy. Comparable in catalog breadth though slightly more mass-market leaning than Tachyon.

Broad incumbents

• Baen Books: Long-running sci-fi/fantasy publisher with a much larger catalog and library presence. Operates in the same core genre verticals as Tachyon, frequently competing for the same mid-list SFF authors and shelf placement.
• DAW Books: Established SFF publisher with broader catalog, larger print runs, and more institutional marketing capacity. Overlaps directly in sci-fi/fantasy acquisitions and anthology publishing.

Regional players

• PS Publishing: UK-based independent publisher specializing in limited-edition SF/Fantasy/Horror hardcovers and signed collector sets. Operates a very similar small-press, premium-edition model but primarily from a UK base.

Others

• Akashic Books: Independent trade publisher with a similar boutique imprint profile and award-list presence, though its focus skews literary/noir rather than speculative fiction. Useful comparable for small-press economics and indie distribution strategy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/tachyonpub
• Xx.com/TachyonPub
• Facebookfacebook.com/tachyonpub
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tachyon-publications

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tachyon Publications