Mirage Publishing was founded as a publisher of true crime

True crime (genre)

True crime is a non-fiction literary and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people.The crimes most commonly include murder, but true crime works have also touched on other legal cases. Depending on the writer, true crime can adhere strictly to...

 books by Stephen Richards in 1998.

The first book to come off the press was about murdered Tyneside

Tyneside

Tyneside is a conurbation in North East England, defined by the Office of National Statistics, which is home to over 80% of the population of Tyne and Wear. It includes the city of Newcastle upon Tyne and the Metropolitan Boroughs of Gateshead, North Tyneside and South Tyneside — all settlements on...

 gangland figure Viv Graham

Viv Graham

Viv Graham was a British mobster and former amateur heavyweight boxer who stopped boxing because of a frozen shoulder, operating a chain of Tyneside nightclubs and bars, was a reputed organized crime figure in the Geordie underworld involved in extortion and racketeering activities.A well known...

 and was written by investigative author

Investigative journalism

Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...

 Stephen Richards.

Mirage was the first publisher to take a chance on publishing a book of poems, Birdman Opens His Mind (ISBN 1-902578-03-3) by UK prisoner Charles Bronson

Charles Bronson (prisoner)

Charles Bronson is a Welsh criminal often referred to in the British press as the "most violent prisoner in Britain"....

. This was followed up by Bronson's autobiography Silent Scream (ISBN 1-902578-08-2), which depicted the anachronistic penal system in the UK. Further books by Bronson and his then co-author and business manager Stephen Richards followed, including the book Solitary Fitness (ISBN 1-902578-12-0), detailing an individual training process with minimal resources and space.

Considered by The Times

The Times

The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...

newspaper to be an "obscure publishing company from Tyneside", Mirage Publishing went from strength to strength when it published the authorised biography of rock star Sting, A Sting in the Tale (ISBN 1-902578-13-9), which was written by long time friend of Sting, James Berryman. The book became Night & Day magazine's book of the week, as well as being serialised in a UK tabloid.

Numerous books from Mirage Publishing have since been serialised by the UK press and magazines. The biggest accolade to be achieved by Mirage Publishing was to see its book Burnt (ISBN 1-902578-28-7), by Scottish author Ian Colquhoun

Ian Colquhoun (Scottish author)

Ian Colquhoun is an author, actor, stuntman and freelance journalist originally from Livingston in Scotland. He lost his legs and was almost killed in an unprovoked assault and arson attack whilst living in the Republic of Ireland in 2002 and now wears prosthetic legs...

, being held aloft by Richard Madeley on Richard & Judy

Richard & Judy

Richard & Judy was a British magazine/chat show which was presented by married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. It originally aired on Channel 4 from 2001 to 2008 but later moved to digital channel Watch in October 2008. It featured the world's most famous stars, along with their Book Club...

on UK TV.

Mirage, in a change of publishing genres, has moved away from true crime book publishing, citing the increase in violence for doing so. Mirage Publishing now solely concentrate on publishing mind, body and spirit, self-help, how-to guides and biographies.