Creation Books

Controversial UK book publisher, established in 1989 by James Williamson (né Julian Hallett). In 2012, as Creation Books celebrated its 23rd anniversary with over 500 fiction and non-fiction titles, a group of authors publicly accused it of massive fraud, including decade-long unpaid royalties. James Williamson refuted the claims two years later, stating he had dissolved Creation Books in February 2012 and "donated 20% of its revenues to a cumulative and disposable fund to support legal actions against online libel, defamation, [...] and other violations." However, the company de facto continued its operations. Williamson's "rebuttal" website went defunct in 2018, while creationbooksfraud.com is still online. Creation Books was founded in 1989 under the name Creation Press. Over the years, the company established a solid reputation for literature on independent film, including studies of Alejandro Jodorowsky's cinema and several critically-acclaimed books by Jack Sargeant. Creation Books introduced many crucial Japanese artists to English-speaking audiences, with the first translation of Edogawa Rampo's MOJU: The Blind Beast, for instance, or one of very few Suehiro Maruo's manga anthologies outside of Japan. Some literary critics compared Creation to such notable imprints as RE/Search Publications, Feral House or 2.13.61 Publications. Williamson also operated multiple other publishers, including Creation Oneiros, Velvet Books, Solar Books, Wet Angel Books, Future Fiction, Glitter Books, Kobra Kollection, and briefly a record label, Cosmodelic Records. At some point, they were all united under the Tears Corporation. In January 2012, CreationBooksFraud.com website appeared, stating that "Creation Books [...] is a criminal fraud enterprise out of Bangkok, Thailand." It accused Williamson of intentionally defrauding authors in the United States and Great Britain by only paying modest advances but withholding profits from distributing and selling the books. "Creation Books Fraud" featured testimonials of 15 authors, including Boyd Rice, Matthew Stokoe, and Thomas Bey William Bailey, author of Micro-Bionic: Radical Electronic Music & Sound Art In The 21st Century. In May 2014, James Williamson responded to accusations on CreationBooksHistory.com website, which featured a "Brief Business History" statement and his April 2014 interview conducted in Tokyo, Japan. According to Williamson, in 2005, Creation Books "was forced to delete the majority of its previously-published backlist" from its catalog "for financial reasons." He further claimed that by February 2012, Creation Books ceased any new publications and won't accept new manuscripts, effectively out of business. The website promised more updates and interviews would follow; however creationbookshistory.com was never updated and went offline in 2018. As of late 2022, the current legal status of Creation Books is unclear. The publisher's official website, creationbooks.com, is functional — albeit looking highly suspicious without company details, proper branding, or even a "non-default" WordPress theme. However, it contains pertinent information, including Williamson's 2014 interview, and assigns copyright to Fabbrica Sodoma. Some recent books issued under this entity include Voluptuous Terror 2: Horror & Exploitation film posters from Italy (2018) from Deicide Press and Carnal Curses, Disfigured Dreams: Japanese Horror & Bizarre Cinema 1898-1949, co-published in 2019 by Shinbaku Books/Fabbrica Sodoma.