Historical Note
In 1976 in Berkeley, California Don Ellis formed the Creative Arts Book Company. Later that year, Don Ellis met Barry Gifford, an author inspired by the nihilistic and violent side of the American dream presented in the crime fiction of the 1940's and 50's. Gifford later wrote Wild at Heart, the inspiration for the David Lynch movie of the same title. Shortly thereafter, Gifford became a consultant to the Creative Arts Book Company which gradually reprinted works by Huxley, Stein, Forster, and Kazantzakis. The Black Lizard imprint first appeared in 1980 when Ellis printed Gifford's novel Port Tropique: a story about the protagonist's involvement with smugglers and revolutionaries in Central America. Ellis, however, began to focus on more commercial ventures and Gifford drifted away, eventually ending up in France. In 1983, Gifford found a dozen novels in a Parisian bookstore by a forgotten American crime novelist, Jim Thompson. Upon returning to the states, Gifford discovered that none of Thompson's books had been in print since shortly before his death in 1977. With Gifford as the founding editor, the Black Lizard imprint was resurrected to serve the gritty criminal ethos of fifties pulp, including the tawdry stylized covers. Black Lizard went on to print 82 titles including two anthologies edited by Barry Gifford; new works by authors such as Murray Sinclair; reprints of the works of Jim Thompson, David Goodis, James M. Cain, Gertrude Stein; and the obscure, sophisticated thrillers of Charles Willeford. Black Lizard and Barry Gifford were, in fact, instrumental to the revival of the lurid romans noir. The revival carried over into film as well, with several of Thompson's stories being adapted for the screen (Grifters, and The Getaway) as well as Gifford's own Wild at Heart. For his editorial work, Gifford received the Max Perkins award from PEN West. In 1990, Don Ellis sold Black Lizard Press, including the 30 unprinted titles to which the rights had been secured, to Vintage Books. The sole exception in this sale were the rights to Port Tropique, which were retained by the author, Barry Gifford.
From the guide to the Black Lizard Press Archive, 1977-1994, (Stanford University. Libraries. Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives.)
