Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
BOOTH
THE RAVENS SPRING 2020
823
®
FRI.
MAY 31,
Publishers Weekly’s Show Daily is produced each day during the 2019 BookExpo in New York.
2019
The Show Daily press office is in room 4B2. PW’s booth is #1213.
A L L T H E B U Z Z O N B O O K E X P O
© steve kagan
Indie booksellers are raving about what Paul Anmiryam Budner at Main Point Books in
Yamazaki, adult book buyer at City Lights Books Wayne, Pa., concurred: “It is so, so deserving of
in San Francisco, describes as a “rich season” of all the hype—it’s smart and suspenseful.”
fall/winter releases, with plenty of offerings in Budner also praised My Dark Vanessa (Morrow,
both fiction and nonfiction to please the most Jan. 2020), a debut by Kate Elizabeth Russell,
discerning reader. inspired by the #MeToo movement, and Such a
Especially popular is literary fiction reflecting Fun Age (Putnam, Jan. 2020) by Kiley Reid, a
contemporary—sometimes controversial— novel about a wealthy white woman and her black
issues. One novel in particular is resonating babysitter. Pamela Klinger-Horn, publicity/
with many booksellers: American Dirt (Flatiron, events manager at Excelsior Bay Books in Excel-
Jan. 2020) by Jeanine Cummins, the tale of a sior, Minn., is also a fan. She predicts that it will
Mexican bookseller and her young son’s attempt be “one of the most talked about novels of 2020.”
to flee to the U.S. to escape a vengeful drug lord. She is also excited about Therese Ann Fowler’s A
Store owner Jonah Zimiles of [words] Bookstore Good Neighborhood (St. Martin’s, Feb. 2020),
in Maplewood, N.J., called it “a stunningly pow- which she calls “a Greek tragedy for modern
erful novel,” while Jamie Fiocco, owner of Flyleaf times that is epic in scope.” Veronica Liu at Word
Books in Chapel Hill, N.C., said that it will “break Up: Community Bookshop in upper Manhattan
your heart and make you weep for joy.” And recommends Angie Cruz’s Dominicana (Flatiron,
Nancy Simpson-Brice, founder of the Book continued on p. 4
Vault in Oskaloosa, Iowa, thinks
that it is “one of the most signifi- Indie
cant books on immigration this
decade” and “should be required
Bookstores
reading for all Americans.” Grow in
Other novels with topical themes
that booksellers are anticipating Number,
include Margaret Atwood’s The
Testaments (Doubleday/Talese,
Profits
Sept.), the sequel to her 1985 Addressing the American Book-
classic, The Handmaid’s Tale. sellers Association’s Town Hall
Luisa Smith, buying director at meeting yesterday, ABA CEO
Book Passage in the San Francisco Oren Teicher underscored the
Bay Area, said, “This is the book ABA’s continued growth. “In
booksellers are most excited 2018, ABA saw 99 new indie
Nathan R. Congleton
BOOK
EXPO
BUZZ
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EXPO
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AUTOGRAPHING AREA TABLE 3
Art used under license from Shutterstock.com. Photo © Renell Medrano, Perry Hagopian
years old, with an inquisitive, kindly disposition, a stocky build, and ginger hair. He went to Ulvercote h
ho a
mile away, and he had friends enough, but he was happiest on his own, playing with his dæmon, Asta, in their canoe, on which w
Malcolm had painted the name la belle sauvage. A witty acquaintance thought it amusing to scrawl an s over the v, and Mal-
colm patiently painted it out three times before losing his temper and knocking the fool into the water, at which pointt they
declared a truce. Like every child of an innkeeper, Malcolm had to work around the tavern, washing dishes and glasses, s car-
rying plates of food or tankards of beer, retrieving them when they were empty. He took the work for granted. The only l an-
noyance in his life was a girl called Alice, who helped with washing the dishes. She was about sixteen, tall and skinny, with
lank dark hair that she scraped back into an unflattering ponytail. Lines of self-discontent were already gathering on herr fore-
head and around her mouth. She teased Malcolm from the day she arrived: “Who’s your girlfriend, Malcolm? En’t you u got a
girlfriend? Who was you out with last night? Did you kiss her? En’t you ever been kissed?” He ignored that for a long time, t
but finally rat-formed Asta leapt at Alice’s scrawny jackdaw dæmon, knocking him into the washing-up water and then biting b
Visit booth #1221 to find out more!
and biting the sodden creature till Alice screamed for pity. She complained bitterly to Malcolm’s mother, who said, “Serves S
Se
you right. I got no sympathy for you. Keep your nasty mind to yourself.” From then on she did. She and Malcolm took not
the slightest notice of each other; he put the glasses on the draining board, she washed them, and he dried them and took
them back to the bar without a word, without a glance, without a thought. But he enjoyed the life of the inn. He especially
enjoyed the conversations he overheard, whether they concerned the venal rascality of the River Board, the helpless idiocy
of the government, or more philosophical matters, such as whether the stars were the same age as the earth. Sometimes Mal-
Visit the MAKE ME A WORLD booth in the Javits lobby to learn more!
BEX19_Ad_PWDaily_Fri.indd 1 5/23/19 10:17 AM
BOOKEXPO SHOW DAILY
© steve kagan
all photos on p . 4 & 5
New York Times Book Review editors Pamela Paul (l.) and Maria Russo (r.) take a break
from their day job writing about books to talk about their book, How to Raise a Reader
Foot traffic was up noticeably yesterday, and lines of people waiting for book signings (Workman), with CBS Sunday Morning host Jane Pauley.
wrapped around more than a few booths.
Jason Reynolds had a long line of fans waiting for Sit, Dog Man. Good boy. Dav Pilkey signs limited edition prints of Dog Man:
signed copies of Look Both Ways (Atheneum/Dlouhy). For Whom the Ball Rolls (Scholastic/Graphix), due out in August.
Perennial BookExpo favorite Rick Riordan, at the
Disney booth.
Sept.), another tale about immigrants to the U.S. And City Lights’ Yamazaki
says that Ta-Nehisi Coates’s debut novel deconstructing myths of the Con-
Life as a comedian is a federacy, The Water Dancer (One World, Sept.), is “an amazing piece of
lot of things, but fun American literature.”
isn’t always one of
Novels with magical elements are also pulling in booksellers. Vivien Jen-
them, as funnyman
John Hodgman nings of Rainy Day Books in Fairway, Kans., is eager for Erin Morgenstern’s
revealed in a discus- sophomore effort, The Starless Sea (Doubleday, Nov.), calling Morgenstern
sion of his forthcom-
ing memoir, Medallion
© steve kagan
www.bookexpo.com
4
FRIDAY, MAY 31 , 2019
“such an original voice.” She said that the store sold hundreds of copies of
PW Awards
© steve kagan
Morgenstern’s debut, The Night Circus. “This is exactly what our customers
want—an escape,” Jennings said. “Erin is so talented at keeping readers At yesterday’s ceremony for
guessing, and, oh, her imagination.” Ann Patchett’s dark fairy tale, The the ABA Indie Choice Awards
Dutch House (Harper, Sept.), about two siblings cast out from their home on the Choice Stage, Jim
by their wicked stepmother, is also blowing away booksellers. Anne Holman Milliot, v-p, editorial director
of PW, presented this year’s
of the King’s English Bookstore in Salt Lake City calls it “fantastic—the
winners of the PW Awards.
brother’s and sister’s voices are unique and wonderful.” Rebecca Fitting, Cindy Heidemann (r.), a PGW
co-owner of Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn, is loving A Tall History of Sugar and Two Rivers rep in the
(Akashic, Oct.) by Curdella Forbes, calling it a “magical, melodic folkloric fairy Northwest, was named the
tale” set in Jamaica. 2019 PW Sales Rep of the Year.
Hilary and Michael Gustafson
Regarding nonfiction, biographies and memoirs are most exciting to book-
(author of Notes from a Public
sellers this year, beginning with Edison (Random House, Oct.) by Edmund Typewriter), who founded
Morris, clocking in at 700 pages. Smith at Book Passage declares the door- Literati Bookstore in Ann
stopper to be “comprehensive and stunning. Edison comes alive on these Arbor, Mich., six years ago,
pages and is as remarkable as you imagine.” Smith is also celebrating the received the 2019 PW Book-
store of the Year Award
memoir Prince was working on when he died three years ago, The Beautiful
(below).
Ones (Spiegel & Grau, Oct.), calling it “one last gift from one of the greatest
© steve kagan
artists of all time.” She is also looking forward to Patti Smith’s memoir of
traveling out West with Sam Shepard, Year of the Monkey (Knopf, Sept.),
saying that the singer/songwriter/author is “an indie bookstore favorite.”
Jennings at Rainy Day also praised Edison and is just as excited about Travel
Light, Move Fast by Alexandra Fuller (Penguin, Aug.), a memoir of Fuller’s
father, Tim. Jennings says she has been looking forward to such a book since
reading about his “well-lived life” in Fuller’s Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight.
While there is an outpouring of compelling works this fall and winter, a
most intriguing book, mentioned by several booksellers, is Hollow Kingdom
by Kira Jane Buxton (Grand Central, Aug.). Narrated by a crow after what
Budner, at Main Point Books, described as “a viral zombie apocalypse” has
killed off humanity, “it is,” Holman, of the King’s English, adds, “the human
apocalypse as only a crow can tell it.
Teicher went on to note that indie booksellers through ABA, Teicher said, “We
are realizing higher net profits, according to the assure you we are doing all we can
organization’s latest ABACUS membership survey. to work with other book associa-
This was spurred, in part, by higher sales. “Based tions to negotiate health coverage
on the data we get every week from NPD BookScan, in a cost effective way.” He added,
sales for 2018 among ABA member stores “We’re optimistic, but honest.”
increased nearly 5% over 2017, and the com- And he suggested that there is still
pound annual growth rate in the indie bookstore a ways to go.
channel over the past five years is a very healthy The ongoing question of when
7.5%,” he said. However, he noted, bookstore BATCH, a centralized invoicing
sales as compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau were system, would be introduced was
down 8.4% for the first quarter of 2019. not answered directly. A represen-
Despite the good news, booksellers raised ques- tative from BATCH said that a
tions about challenges facing the industry, includ- demo is available, and a promise
ing minimum wage hikes across the country. Out- was made that booksellers will be
going ABA president Robert Sindelar of Seattle’s Robert Sindelar (l.), outgoing president of the ABA, with Oren Teicher, ABA able to “ease into” using the
Third Place Books said that the increase in profits CEO, at the annual Town Hall yesterday. system.
at bookstores was actually “being eaten away by payroll.” The solution, he Matt Norcross of McLean and Eakin Booksellers in Petosky, Mich., pro-
said, is to communicate the realities of being a bookseller with publishers, tested the increase in direct-to-consumer marketing by publishers. “When
who are invested in the survival of the ecosystem. Publishers need to work I complain to them about it, they tell me I am the only one,” he said. After
with bookstores to make them more profitable. asking for a show of hands as to how many others don’t like it, nearly
One solution, which has long been floated, is for publishers to take prices every bookseller registered their discontent with the practice, which
off books and allow booksellers to set their own prices. When Pete Mulvihill extends to publishers’ direct event marketing programs and direct-to-
of Green Apple Books in San Francisco took a straw poll of the audience of business sales.
those in favor and those against eliminating printed prices, the response Finally, Teicher noted that the ABA is working on an industry statement
was heavily in favor of keeping preprinted prices. He then joked that the addressing new tariffs on Chinese imports, which will say that any tariffs
answer was “getting 10 more points from publishers.” resulting in an increase in the cost of books is not good for the business of
In response to a question about healthcare options being negotiated bookselling. —Ed Nawotka
5 www.bookexpo.com
BOOKEXPO SHOW DAILY
BOOTH
Bookstores Crucial to Publish-
#1239
ing, Industry Powerhouses Say
© steve kagan
(From l.) Tim Mantel, Barnes & Noble CMO; Oren Teicher, ABA CEO; Madeline McIntosh, Pen-
guin Random House CEO; Dennis E. Abboud, Readerlink president and CEO; Lynn Neary, NPR
arts correspondent and panel moderator; Dominique Raccah, Sourcebooks publisher & CEO.
s
Sourcebooks Booth #1629
o
o rc b
9:00 a.m. Amy McCulloch,
Jinxed
A CHILLING MIDDLE-GRADE
FANTASY about a boy’s race
to save the stars before their
Credit: Ryan Scott Miller Credit:
Photography Cheryl Colombo light is extinguished for good.
@bookexpo
FRIDAY, MAY 31ST
BLACKSTONE PUBLISHING
BOOTH #1411
9:15 AM-10:00 AM
ROBERT HALLER
signing Another Life
+ hardcover book giveaway
10:15 AM-11:00 AM
JILL CRISWELL
signing Beast of the Frozen Sun ARCs
+ ARC giveaway
10:15 AM-11:00 AM
COCO MA
signing Shadow Frost ARCs
+ ARC giveaway
11:30 AM-12:15 PM
CADWELL TURNBULL
signing The Lesson
+ hardcover book giveaway
1:30 PM-2:15 PM
ALEX MESSENGER
signing The Twenty-Ninth Day ARCs
+ ARC giveaway
© steve kagan
Serious Topics and Lively
Banter
The subject of each book introduced at yesterday morning’s Adult Book &
Author Breakfast was serious, but the authors certainly made a packed
ballroom of booksellers laugh during their lively presentations.
Rachel Maddow, the MSNBC host, moderated the panel with Malcolm
Gladwell, Karin Slaughter, Marjorie Liu, and Ta-Nehisi Coates. Maddow’s
second book, Blow-out: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the
Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth (Crown, Oct.), ties together the
connections between the oil and gas industry and Russia’s interference in
this country’s governance. Noting that “there’s a destructive dynamic at (From l.) Ta-Nehisi Coates, Malcolm Gladwell, Karin Slaughter, Marjorie Liu, Rachel Maddow.
work,” she said that the industry poses a threat to democracy in the U.S.
and around the world because it “bends the rules” while destroying the especially during road trips to visit her grandmother. Slaughter’s talent for
environment. It’s not that people profiting from oil and gas are necessarily writing thrillers further developed because her grandmother was a fan of
evil, she said, the companies themselves are evil—and there are “warm seats True Crime magazine. Although she hid it when Slaughter and her family
in hell” for Rex Tillerson, former secretary of state and former ExxonMobil visited, the girls would read it “to scare each other to death.”
chair and CEO, as well as other ExxonMobil executives. Marjorie Liu began the presentation for her Monstress graphic novel series,
The inspiration behind Malcolm Gladwell’s latest pop psychology book, the first volume of which is being reissued as a hardcover in July, with a
Talking to Strangers (Little, Brown, Sept.), was the death of Sandra Bland, an shout-out to illustrator Sana Takeda, whom she called her “better half.” Like
African-American woman from Chicago who was stopped by a police officer Slaughter, it was Liu’s grandparents who inspired her to write a fantasy full
while driving through Texas. Bland was arrested for arguing with the state of magic and terror. Her grandparents grew up in China during WWII, and
trooper and was subsequently found dead in her jail cell. “I decided to write Liu repeated stories they told her of war, hunger, and death. Even though
a book about what happened between those two people,” Gladwell said, their tales were “traumatic,” Liu said, they were also memories of love and
adding that while there was truth to allegations that the officer was racist hope; her grandparents’ experiences taught Liu that what really matters in
and perhaps even “a bad cop,” there was more to the miscommunication life is family and friends.
between the two, just as there was between Amanda Knox and Italian police The “Lost Cause” myth about the noble intentions of the Confederacy in
after Knox’s housemate was found murdered. “What is it about the dynamic the Civil War inspired Ta-Nehisi Coates to write his debut novel, The Water
between strangers that is problematic?” Gladwell asked, pointing out that Dancer (One World, Sept.), about a young man’s confrontation with slavery.
people often do not know how to talk to strangers. The morning’s last speaker, Coates said he wrote Water Dancer to “disrupt
Karin Slaughter introduced her latest thriller, The Last Widow (Morrow, the myth.” Myths shape people’s view of the world, he said, insisting that
Aug.), by describing her childhood growing up in the South, the youngest of anyone who subscribes to the myth of the well-intentioned Confederacy
three girls. Her father gave her a quarter for every story she wrote, the gris- believes “on some fundamental level that black people are not human
lier the better. He loved to tell stories “to take us out of our lives,” she said, beings.” —Claire Kirch
© steve kagan
selling author of The End of Your Life Book Club, among others, is also a
prominent podcast host of But That’s Another Story. Yesterday, he took his
podcast on the road to the Javits, where he moderated a panel featuring
three authors with forthcoming titles: Stephen Chbosky, author of Imagi-
nary Friend (Grand Central, Oct.), Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Patsy
(Liveright, July), and Aarti Shahani, author of Here We Are: American
Dreams, American Nightmares (Celadon, Oct.).
Schwalbe recorded their lively exchange for a future episode of his show,
which is organized around authors talking about a book (or books) that
changed their lives. Chbosky, best known for his 1999 bestselling high school
coming-of-age novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, cited both horror films
(l.–r.) Will Schwalbe, Aarti Shahani, Stephen Chbosky, Nicole Dennis-Benn.
and TV: “My parents would let me watch anything.” Stephen King’s classic
The Stand also had a big impact. “I couldn’t stop reading it for four days,”
he said. “I didn’t even go to work. It made me realize how a book can make Audre Lorde’s 1982 autobiography, Zami: A New Spelling of My Name,
you feel.” influenced Dennis-Benn, whose 2017 novel Here Comes the Sun, won the
Shahani, an NPR correspondent, whose memoir is about her family’s immi- Lambda Literary Prize. Dennis-Benn said that she identified with Lorde as a
gration to America from India, cited Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah, West Indian immigrant, a black woman, and a lesbian. “I was taught to respect
the story of a Nigerian woman and academic living in America. “The pro- shame rather than my own voice, which is the opposite of being a writer. I
tagonist of the book is looking to find her voice,” Shahani said, describing was coming out as a lesbian, and I grew up in Jamaica, where being a lesbian
how she read the book at a time when she was also searching for her iden- was taboo,” Dennis-Benn added. “Lorde was open about her sexuality and
tity. “I felt stronger reading her book.” that affected me profoundly.” —Calvin Reid
www.bookexpo.com
10
VISIT US AT BOOTH #1848!
TODAY’S ARC
GIVEAWAYS: Night Shade Books
Arcade Publishing 9781949102093 • July
9781948924139 • September “An eclectic selection of the past 50
A loving, laughter-filled homage to a loyal, years in lunar science fiction, written
big-hearted friend. Pat Conroy, the bestselling by a who’s who of speculative fiction
author of The Prince of Tides and The Great writers . . . will appeal to fans of
Santini, was beloved by millions of readers; futuristic science fiction and historic
Bernie Schein, Conroy’s best friend, offers space race aficionados.”
a trove of insights and anecdotes. —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
W W W. S K Y H O R S E P U B L I S H I N G .C O M • D I S T R I B U T E D B Y S I M O N & S C H U S T E R
BOOKEXPO SHOW DAILY
BOOTH 844
Slow Start for Book
Sales in 2019
After six straight years of
© steve kagan
growth in print sales, 2019
is off to a rocky start. At yes-
terday’s session on “The
State of the Publishing
Industry Today,” David Wal-
ter, executive director, cli-
101 OUTDOOR DON TROIANI’S ent development for NPD
ADVENTURES TO HAVE GETTYSBURG
BEFORE YOU GROW UP Stackpole Books • 9780811738354 Books, said that growth in
Falcon Guides • 9781493041404 Hardcover • May 2019 • $49.95 print sales is trending
Paperback • May 2019 • $19.95
down, with 2019 showing a
decline so far.
“If we bring this right up
to date with figures from
David Walter
[Wednesday], the overall
market is down by about
2.5%,” Walter said. He
attributed a negative first How much
quarter (-2.9%) largely to the
lack of a blockbuster book like
will digital
audio grow the
MOM KNOWS BEST KNITS FOR TEENS
Gooseberry Patch Stackpole Books Michael Wolff’s Fire and Fury,
9781620933169 • Hardcover 9780811737104 • Paperback
which jump-started 2018’s first
overall book mar-
February 2019 • $17.95 March 2019 • $24.95
quarter sales. E-book sales, mean-
while, continued to slump for a
sixth straight year, a trend Walter ket?…[Will] digital
said he didn’t see ending. NPD’s
data does not include self-pub- audio bring new
lished books.
The good news for publishers is
consumers into
that digital audio continues to
surge and shows no signs of slow-
the book market?”
THE NEW YORK YANKEES SEATTLE FOOD CRAWLS ing. Many publishers report that the growth in digital audio is making up
OF THE 1950S Globe Pequot • 9781493038848
Lyons Press • 9781493038923 Paperback • May 2019 • $21.95
for lagging e-book sales. “The question that leaves us with,” Walter said, “is,
Hardcover • April 2019 • $26.95 how much will digital audio grow the overall book market?” He also asked
whether digital will eventually start to cannibalize book sales, or, as “a dif-
ferent experience,” will “digital audio bring new consumers into the book
market?” In the coming months, NPD Books will start to measure digital
audio sales, he noted.
Among the key trends affecting the book business, nonfiction has carried
industry sales in recent years, with adult fiction continuing to decline. And
after a number of bestsellers in 2018, Walter pointed to signs of “political
fatigue” setting in. He cited a 38% decrease in political book sales in the
first quarter of 2019, versus the first quarter of 2018. However, he added,
THE ORVIS FLY-TYING COMFORTABLY WILD that could change with Siege, Michael Wolff’s follow-up to Fire and Fury, set
GUIDE, REVISED Falcon Guides to publish next week.
Lyons Press • 9781493025817 9781493037797
Paperback • July 2019 • $39.95 PaperbackOct 2019 • $29.95 Other notable trends, Walter reported, include that “the middle is being
squeezed,” with the data showing that high-profile titles drove a larger per-
centage of industry growth in 2018, while backlist titles also are showing
growth. In fact, in 2018, consumers bought more books published before
2000 than books published in 2017 and 2018. And, Walter said, the 10
top-selling books last year, which included five million-sellers, was the big-
gest-selling top 10 since 2012, when Fifty Shades of Grey and The Hunger
Games dominated the bestseller lists.
In addition, the surge in popularity of comics and graphic novels suggest
www.GlobePequot.com that “visual storytelling” is also on the rise, which could help drive licensing
opportunities. “A cross-media presence,” Walter said, is becoming “increas-
ingly important to stand out in a crowded cultural landscape.”
—Andrew Albanese
www.bookexpo.com
12
WHITAKER HOUSE
Coming Soon!
CHILDREN’S
AUTHORS QA
Max Brooks Eoin Colfer
How to Win the Game of Thrones Keeping It All in the Family
When Max Brooks watches Game of In 2001, Eoin Colfer introduced
©
HBO series adapted from George eight-book series has sold more
R.R. Martin’s novels. “A lot of inno- than 25 million copies worldwide,
cent people die,” says Brooks, an and Walt Disney Studios will release
author and screenwriter who coed- an eponymous tie-in film in August.
ited Winning Westeros: How Game of Now Colfer shifts his focus to
Thrones Explains Modern Military Artemis’s younger twin brothers,
Conflict (Univ. of Nebraska/Potomac, Myles and Beckett, in The Fowl
Sept.). Brooks recalls one moment in Twins (Disney-Hyperion, Nov.).
the epic fantasy series when an
explosion sends a gigantic temple At what point did you decide to
bell careening down the street to write a novel centering on Arte-
crush a bystander. “This is what hap- mis’s siblings?
pens in war, from Dresden to Hiro- I think as soon as the twins showed
shima,” says Brooks. “The conse- up in the Artemis books, my writer’s
quences keep rolling. When you unsheathe your sword, you are going to set brain opened a file on them to be
sonya sones
waves in motion that are going to last decades.” revisited once Artemis had completed
Brooks has worked with martial strategists ever since his first novel, his transformation to good guy. When
©
World War Z (2006), got added to a reading list at the Naval War College. I finished the Artemis saga, I gave
Now, he’s a fellow at the Modern War Institute and the Atlantic Council’s Art myself five years to purge leprechauns
of Future Warfare Project. He also coedited Strategy Strikes Back: How from my brain before I would go back
Star Wars Explains Modern Military Conflict (2018). to the fairy world, but as it turned out,
Brooks thinks Game of Thrones reminds us of mistaken military assump- leprechauns will not be cast out.
tions after the Cold War ended. “We really thought that the new golden age
of humanity was upon us,” says Brooks. “Now we realize that simply is not Was it challenging to revisit Myles
true. There are threats coming from every angle and democracies being and Beckett as adolescents, given
rolled back all over the world.” Many leaders in the Game of Thrones series that you last knew them as
made similar assumptions about the security of their kingdoms, ignoring four-year-olds?
the return of an ancient enemy, the consequences of climate change, and a It was a little difficult to age them up, but I always enjoy a challenge—in fact,
brewing refugee crisis. I am not really interested in a project unless it stretches me a little bit. For
Winning Westeros measures the me, the main challenge was to have Myles take up the criminal mastermind
performance of fan-favorite characters mantle, but to distinguish him from Artemis. After a while, it became clear
against many real-life leaders. Imagin- to me that the best way to have Myles distinguish himself was to have him
ing how the hit HBO series might con- pity Artemis as a weaker intellect.
clude, Brooks parallels Game of
Thrones’ honorable leader, Jon Snow, Did you find it rewarding to portray Myles and Beckett at a similar age
with America’s first president. as the book’s middle grade readers?
“Snow’s greatest challenge will be It was great fun, and the further I went along in the book the more I knew the
how he handles victory,” says Brooks. characters and their quirks, so that eventually I had to go back and rewrite
“George Washington’s greatest tri- them with all this fresh information. I like to give the characters quirks to
umph was not on the battlefield. It establish them as individuals, but also ground them a little. For example,
wasn’t even in the presidency. It was in Myles may be a genius, but he suffers from migraines.
stepping down from the presidency.”
Legendary military leaders like Fidel What lies ahead for the twins?
Castro or Robert Mugabe won major At the moment, this is a duology, but I am very open to extending to a trilogy.
victories, but never relinquished con- I am working on book two and really enjoying myself. It is embarrassing how
trol of their countries. “It’s almost much I laugh at my own computer screen. I will see how the readers react. If
superhuman,” says Brooks, “to have the power of a god in your hand and to there is an appetite out there for more Fowl stories, I would love to tell them.
give it up because you know that it is the right thing to do, so that the sys- —Sally Lodge
tem will live on.” —Jason Boog
Today, 8–9:30 a.m. Eoin Colfer will speak at the Children’s Book &
Author Breakfast, on the Main Stage.
Today, 2–2:30 p.m. Max Brooks will speak on the panel “Winning West-
Today, 1–1:30 p.m. Colfer signs in the Disney booth (1713).
eros,” at the Indie Publisher Stage.
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14
“...a Dream Publisher”
“...every tweet and message I’ve had from audio listeners
has praised the narrator and the production values just
as highly as they’ve praised the writing itself.
Dreamscape really is a dream publisher!“
- Lisa Jewell
CHILDREN’S
AUTHORS
CELEBRATING Lupita Nyong’o
YEARS
UNFORGETTABLE
The Power of Stars
alexi lubomirski
of
LISTENING
©
Thank you to our authors, narrators, and everyone
who has contributed to the unparalleled collection of
audiobooks Hachette has produced throughout the years.
ENTER FOR A
CHANCE TO WIN
the Grand Prize, which consists of
A LIBRARY OF 25 ICONIC AUDIOBOOKS
a MINI TABLET, and WIRELESS EARBUDS.
Visit www.hachetteaudio.com/25
to enter and for Official Rules. The theme of beauty shines brightly in Academy Award–winning actress
Lupita Nyong’o’s debut picture book, Sulwe (S&S, Oct.), illus. by Vashti Har-
rison, author and illustrator of Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History.
Nyong’o describes it as “the story of a young girl and her journey to find the
beauty in herself.” The title, which means “star” in the Luo language that
Nyong’o spoke as a child in Kenya, is also the name of the book’s protago-
nist. Sulwe is a five-year-old Kenyan girl who is self-conscious about her
dark skin, which is “the color of midnight.”
Not so long ago, Nyong’o herself was an insecure teen who felt decidedly
un-beautiful because of her own dark skin. And it was another kind of
star—African supermodel Alek Wek—who eventually made Nyong’o feel
seen, and, yes, beautiful. Nyong’o memorably shared these sentiments in a
2014 speech at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon that
went viral. “I used my platform as an honoree to talk about my own feelings
about black beauty and the colorism I experienced as a child,” says
Nyong’o. “That speech offered the seeds of the book that would become
Sulwe.”
Though the seeds were planted then, the actress says that it was the liter-
ary division of the agency that represents her, Creative Artists Agency, that
“got the ball rolling” to encourage her to transform her story into a picture
book. After working on the project with those staffers, Nyong’o adds, “We
met with a number of children’s book publishers, deciding on Simon &
Schuster after a meeting with their team and a phone call with my now edi-
tor [Zareen Jaffery],” Nyong’o adds. Though Nyong’o prefers not to discuss
plans for future books, she has numerous film projects to keep her busy. “I
have a movie coming out later this year called Little Monsters, which was
quite fun to film,” she says. “It’s a dark comedy and I play a kindergarten
teacher. So I had the chance to work with some fantastic child actors.”
Nyong’o says she has been looking forward to her first BookExpo. “My
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE DOES NOT INCREASE CHANCE OF WINNING. understanding is it’s like ComicCon for books, which sounds very exciting.”
Void where prohibited. Must be legal US resident 18 years or older as of 5/29/19 to enter. —Shannon Maughan
Sweepstakes begins 5/29/19 at 12:01 am ET and ends 6/29/19 at 11:59 pm ET.
Visit www.hachetteaudio.com/25 for Official Rules and details.
Sponsor: Hachette Book Group, Inc., 1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104. Today, 8–9:30 a.m. Lupita Nyong’o will appear at the Children’s Book &
Author Breakfast, on the Main Stage.
HachetteAudio.com Also available in print and ebook wherever books are sold
Today, 10:30–11:30 a.m. Nyong’o and Vashti Harrison will sign prints
from Sulwe at the S&S booth (1838, 1839).
www.bookexpo.com
16
FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2019
CHILDREN’S
AUTHORS
Jenna Bush Hager and Welcome to BookExpo 2019
Barbara Pierce Bush Visit us in Booth #1338
Today, 8–9:30 a.m. Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush will
hachettebookgroup.com
cohost the Children’s Book & Author Breakfast, on the Main Stage.
17 www.bookexpo.com
BOOKEXPO SHOW DAILY
FLAME TREE PRESS
FICTION WITHOUT FRONTIERS
CHILDREN’S
Signings & Galleys
AUTHORS
Tomi Adeyemi
Table
Friday 5/31
9:30–10am
Keeping Fantasy Real
#3 Jonathan Janz
P.D. Cacek With five starred reviews,
Table
Tomi Adeyemi’s debut novel,
#4
Children of Blood and Bone,
the first book in her West
African–inspired YA trilogy,
the Legacy of Orïsha, was
thrust into the limelight. The
fantasy, about maji Zélie’s
struggle to restore eradi-
cated magic to the kingdom
PB • $14.95 9781787581852 PB • $14.95 9781787581579 of Orïsha, rose to the top of
HC • $24.95 9781787581876 HC • $24.95 9781787581593
the New York Times best-
288pp NEW Horror 304pp NEW Horror/Thriller
seller list and landed the
author a movie deal with
Friday 5/31 Fox 2000. Adeyemi will talk
Table 1:00 –1:30pm about the sequel, Children of
#2 Hopstaken & Prusi Virtue and Vengeance (Holt,
Andrew Post
Table Dec.), at today’s Children’s
#3 Book & Author Breakfast.
The inspiration for the
first-generation Nigerian-American’s fantasy was entirely serendipitous,
she says. After graduating from Harvard, she traveled to Salvador, Brazil,
on a fellowship to study West African mythology and culture. At a
museum gift shop, she spotted a postcard set in the magical, mythologi-
cal world of Orïsha. “I had never before seen images of black gods and
goddesses—deities who were darker
than I am,” she says. “In my mind,
PB • $14.95 9781787581715 PB • $14.95 9781787582835
they did not exist, and that postcard
HC • $24.95 9781787581739 HC • $24.95 9781787582859
384pp MAY Horror/Mystery 288pp JUNE Mystery/Thriller was life-changing. I knew right away I
had to write something set in this
world.”
Though Adeyemi had her setting,
she didn’t find a story to go with it
Galley until months later, when she saw a
Drop
digital illustration of a black girl with
titles
bright green hair. “I knew then I had
my story, and I began writing,” she
says. “The girl’s story captivated me,
and I knew it fit in the world of Orï-
sha I’d seen on that postcard in
PB • $14.95 PB • $14.95 Brazil. I wrote quickly—and just kept
9781787583047 256pp 9781787582903 320pp on going.”
HC • $24.95 AUGUST HC • $24.95 JULY A driving factor in Adeyemi’s fiction, she says, is “to give people who
9781787583061 Mystery/Thriller 9781787582927 Mystery/Thriller haven’t seen themselves in books the chance to do so. But I also feel
Baker & Taylor Publisher Services (FLAME TREE PRESS) Booth 239 passionate about telling stories about someone who is different from the
reader, to force readers to fall in love with what is different from them.”
BOOK TRADE REPRESENTATION: Book Travelers West, Fuji Associates,
Adeyemi sees her novels as an allegory for the black experience and
North East Publishers Reps, South East Book Travelers
“black pain” in America. “I believe that most science fiction, dystopian,
Join our Distribution: BTPS. Call 888-814-0208 and fantasy novels are about oppression—though they may replace real
ARC & Dan Verdick, Director of National Sales people with dragons or other mythological creatures,” she says. “The sto-
Offers list dverdick@btpubservices.com ries involve some entity in power abusing those without power, and that is
FLAME TREE PRESS launched to acclaim in 2018 with award- what people across the world face every day, especially the marginalized
winners and exciting, original voices. Join our mailing list for and those of color.” —Sally Lodge
ARCs and news at flametreepress.com
Today, 8–9:30 a.m. Tomi Adeyemi will speak at the Children’s Book &
Author Breakfast, on the Main Stage.
www.bookexpo.com
18
FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2019
CHILDREN’S
AUTHORS
Da Chen
An imprint of the HarperOne Group at HarperCollins
On Sibling Survival
That Da Chen’s Girl Under a Red Amistad is the nation’s oldest press
michael chen
Moon (Scholastic, Sept.) brings dedicated to publishing African-American
his family’s experiences during
voices. With a mission to embrace writers,
©
China’s Cultural Revolution into
clear view for young readers is explore issues and solutions throughout
only fitting: it’s one of the first the Diaspora, and to empower readers,
titles that Scholastic Press edito-
rial director Lisa Sendell acquired
Amistad titles break boundaries, educate,
for her Scholastic Focus imprint. enlighten, inspire, and entertain.
She approached Chen at a Poets
& Writers magazine annual gala
several years ago. “After dinner,”
says Chen, “Lisa came up and
said, ‘Da, do you remember me?
I’m starting a nonfiction children’s
imprint. Would you write me a
China book?’ ”
In Girl Under a Red Moon,
Chen shines a light on his beloved
and brave eldest sister, Sisi. He
recounts their childhood set against
the contrasting backdrops of a lush
countryside and a violent and tumultu-
ous period in Chinese history, the Cul-
tural Revolution.
Chen remembers Sisi as “very smart
and a very good student,” who, with
seven years—and three other sib-
lings—between them, became a
mother figure to him. “I spent most of
my time strapped to my sister’s back as
she walked all of us through the vil-
lage,” he recalls. One of their frequent
missions was collecting manure for
fertilizer.
As the Cultural Revolution took hold,
Chen’s grandfather, a wealthy landlord, was forced at gunpoint to turn over
his properties and was imprisoned in a labor camp. When he became too
frail to work, Chen’s father took his place, enduring torture and humiliation
at the hands of the Red Army. Chen says that the family became “pariahs Coming October 2019, from the
because of politics, something I didn’t fully understand as a child. But I was celebrated photographer Randee St.
acutely aware of the fact that I was not welcome in this village.”
The Chen family’s disgrace “descended very soon on my sister,” notes Nicholas, the ultimate collection of
Chen. At age 13, Sisi was expelled from school and threatened with jail.
photographs documenting the career of
She fled to an agricultural middle school in the mountains run by family
friends—with her little brother in tow. “I begged to go with her because one of the world’s greatest superstars.
we were so close,” Chen says. “This book is about her escape.”
Chen was widely recognized for his debut book, the bestselling 2000
adult memoir, Colors of the Mountain, and has written several other
adult and YA novels since. But writing this book, he says, was “very emo-
tional, very close to me. It taught me something every day. This story is F OR P U B L I C I T Y EN Q U I RI ES , P L EA S E C O N TA C T:
tragic, but the setting is so beautiful. I loved writing about that.”
Paul Olsewski, Senior Director of Publicity
—Shannon Maughan
paul.olsewski@harpercollins.com
Today, 8–9:30 a.m. Da Chen will speak at the Children’s Book & Author
Breakfast, on the Main Stage.
19 www.bookexpo.com
BOOKEXPO SHOW DAILY
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VASH
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HAVA
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NICK
TI H A
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RRIS
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PEDA
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www.bookexpo.com
20
INDIEPENDENT
JUST
LIKE
YOU
CHOOSE BOOKAZINE
Booth
Inquire@bookazine | 800.221.8112 #942
BOOKEXPO SHOW DAILY
David Yoon
David Yoon, Frankly in Love I’m so grateful that the novel will be featured on the YA
(Putnam, Sept.)
allan amato
Editors’ Buzz Panel, and my hope is that the book reaches
At first, my novel is about a boy and a girl who fake-date more readers and makes them feel less alone, especially
©
each other to hide their real love interests from their con- when it comes to any difficulties and questions surround-
servative Korean parents, who want them to date only ing their mental health.
other Koreans. But the story quickly twists and turns to
send our hero, Frank, onto a journey exploring race, iden- Brandy Colbert, The Revolution of Birdie
tity, heartbreak—and, ultimately, how to love your parents Randolph
even when they drive you crazy. (Little, Brown, Aug.)
Like Frank, I grew up as a hyphenated Korean-American My novel explores a summer in the life of a 16-year-old
kid struggling to define myself in between worlds—a strug- who feels constrained by her parents’ endless rules. When
gle that has continued into adulthood. When my father her mom’s sister shows up unexpectedly, fresh out of
became terminally ill, I couldn’t help wondering what he Kim Liggett rehab for addiction, Birdie is drawn to her warmth and
must be feeling and thinking. Was he proud of his son? free spirit. As she begins to break away from the rules,
Did he have regrets? Did he achieve all the things he once falling for a young man with a troubled past, Birdie slowly
dreamt of? All these questions led, in one way or another, realizes how long-held secrets can shape the future.
to a single answer in my mind: love, in all its various I was inspired to write this novel because of the role I’ve
forms. And I knew that Frankly in Love had to be a love seen addiction play in the lives of people I know. I’m
story, not just between a boy and a girl but between a son always struck by the secrecy around the issue, as well as
and his parents. the rifts it causes in relationships. I was also interested in
exploring how addiction affects the black community, and
Kim Liggett, The Grace Year particularly how it impacts families. This panel helps high-
(Wednesday Books, Sept.) light a story from an underrepresented group, and I
In an isolated village, 16-year-old girls, in order to rid believe there’s no better way to foster empathy than step-
themselves of their feminine magic to become purified and ping into the shoes of someone with a different back-
ready for marriage, are sent into the wilderness to endure Julia Drake ground. It’s important to me that teens know they’re not
their grace year. It felt like this novel’s premise came to me alone, no matter what difficult situation they’re facing,
all at once, hitting me like a runaway colt, but I’d been qui- and I believe readers will relate to Birdie’s journey.
etly seething over this topic for years: the things we do to
young women. I wanted to explore misogyny on every Erin Stewart, Scars Like Wings
level, not only the destructive force of a society that denies (Delacorte, Oct.)
women power, but the complex and sometimes twisted In my novel, Ava Lee loses everything—her parents, her
relationships between girls, the women they eventually best friend, and even her face—in a fire. Ten years ago, I
become, and the difficult decisions they make in between. met a boy named Marius who had been orphaned and
When I first started writing, a friend asked what my pie- badly burned after a fire. But he had something the fire
in-the-sky dream accomplishment would be. Without hesi- could never steal: an unwavering belief that he was so
tation, I replied, “Buzz Book!” It’s been a long, winding much more than his scars and this tragedy. Scars Like
path to get here, but I think that makes it all the sweeter. Wings would not have been possible without Marius and
There’s no better opportunity to get in front of the movers Brandy Colbert other burn survivors who shared their stories with me.
and shakers of our industry, and I will savor every moment Like these real-life heroes, Ava goes through moments of
talking about this story and how much it means to me. deep darkness and pain. But [the book] is also a story of
hope for anyone who has ever searched for light in the
Julia Drake, The Last True Poets of the Sea darkness. It is a story of choosing life—and love—despite
(Disney-Hyperion, Oct.) the scars.
This is a book about many things: the hunt for a long-lost I can’t wait for booksellers and teens to meet Ava, and
shipwreck, a fractured family, falling in love, finding new I’m excited for readers to watch as she discovers that the
friends, and surviving life’s challenges. The original inspira- amount of love and light she lets into her life—and gives
tion for the novel was Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, a mel- out in return—will determine the trajectory of her life
ancholy comedy full of memorable, lovable characters. I more than tragedy ever could. —Sally Lodge
first read the play when I performed as Viola in a high
school production, and her warmth and wit stayed with me Today, 9:30–10 a.m. The “Meet Young Adult Buzz
Erin Stewart Authors” panel will take place on the Downtown Stage.
for years.
www.bookexpo.com
22
WINNER of the IPPY AWARD
for BEST HORROR E-BOOK!
”RABID HEART evokes a mix of Misfits lyrics and grainy VHS horror classics.
The plot draws parallels to Cormac McCarthy's The Road...”
— Publishers Weekly
RiverdaleAveBooks.com JEREMY-WAGNER.COM
BOOKEXPO SHOW DAILY
Join with other librarians for author talks, giveaways, and food and drink. This
is all at the Publishers Weekly Librarians’ Lounge, in the main exhibit hall at
booth 557.
Meet the Authors and Editor Behind the New Make Me a World
Imprint, Courtesy of Random House Children’s Books
Today, 9:30–10:30 a.m.
“No one will disagree that there is a need for diversity
in children’s literature, and a need to respond to the
changing demographics of our country and our
world,” says Christopher Myers about the genesis of
Random House Children’s Books’ new imprint, Make
Me a World. “At the same time, as we look at the sta-
tistics, those books are not being published.”
That’s beginning to change even more rapidly with
the launch of Make Me a World’s inaugural list this
fall. “Discover a world where everything is possible,”
reads the imprint’s mission statement. Join us to talk with Myers and two of
the imprint’s first authors.
Myers, the son of acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers, began his own illus-
trious children’s book career as an author and artist by doing research to help
his father. He now serves as the driving force and creative director of Make
Me a World.
Authors on the inaugural Make Me a World list
include:
Sarah Deming, author of Gravity (Nov.): A boxer
and journalist, Deming, in her gritty, inspiring YA
novel, follows Gravity Delgado, a young Jewish-Domin-
ican teenager growing up in Brooklyn as she aspires to
greatness inside and outside the ring.
Akwaeke Emezi, author of Pet (Sept.): This book is
billed as a riveting and timely YA novel that takes on
the “difficult questions about what choices you can
make when the society around you is in denial.” A writer and video artist,
Emezi debuted her autobiographical adult novel, Freshwater, last year; it has
racked up numerous honors and is currently a finalist for a Lambda Literary
Award and the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award.
Learn More About Book Vine, with Two of the Company’s Authors
Today, 11 a.m.–noon
It’s a question more and more librarians are hearing these days: “How do I go about
publishing my book?” An author service provider, Book Vine Press will be on hand in
the lounge to answer questions about its services, along with two of its authors.
Leonard W. Heflich has a passion for developing future leaders—and for food writ-
ing. His latest self-published book, Live as Long as You Dare:
A Journey to Gain Healthy, Vibrant Years, combines his pas-
sions, offering readers simple, sustainable steps for living a
longer and better life.
Gabriel Moran, a professor emeritus of educational phi-
losophy at New York University, has worked with the Roman
Catholic Church’s educational programs for more than 50
years. His latest self-published book, Missed Opportunities:
Rethinking Catholic Tradition, is a dialogue between “the offi-
cial teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and the chal-
lenges of the contemporary world.”
From Rowman & Littlefield, get 30% off Mark Aaron Polger’s new
book, Library Marketing Basics
We know it, you know it—your library is a vital part of your community. But with a little marketing
help, think of how you could reach even more people. One of the Librarians’ Lounge sponsors,
Rowman & Littlefield, offers CUNY librarian Mark Aaron Polger’s recently published Library
Marketing Basics, an accessible, step-by-step, easy to understand resource for any librarians
interested in learning basic marketing tips to raise the profile of their library. Library Marketing
Basics will show that even if you don’t have a marketing budget or a dedicated staff member,
you can still step up and better market your library. This book will show you how a small team of
like-minded colleagues can make a big difference when it comes to creative ways to raise
awareness. Buy online, and use this special code to get 30% off: RLFAND30
25 www.bookexpo.com
BOOKEXPO SHOW DAILY
CHILDREN’S
AUTHORS
John Cena
Reving Up for Elbow
perrry hagopian
Grease’s Return
©
With his sonorous voice and stately
stature, wrestler, actor, and rapper
John Cena has long been a command-
ing presence in multiple entertain-
ment venues. He takes to a new stage
this afternoon as the headliner of
“John Cena Presents,” moderated by
BuzzFeed’s Isaac Fitzgerald.
Cena will talk about his role as a
picture book author, most recently of
Elbow Grease vs. Motozilla (Random
House, Oct.), a follow-up to his 2018
debut, Elbow Grease, both illus. by
Howard McWilliam. In his first book, Cena introduced a small monster
truck with four bigger brothers who is determined to prove his guts and
grit. It zoomed onto bestsellers lists and paved the way for Cena’s new
story, in which Elbow
Grease’s supportive siblings
roar to his side as he faces
off against Motozilla, a fero-
1o:00aM
Stop by for an ARC of The
years ago about writing his
autobiography, Cena says
that he didn’t want to write a
story that is still unfolding.
Friendship Lie by Rebecca Donnelly,
But he eventually found a
a story of friendship, growing up,
book idea that he did want
and being true to yourself.
to roll with. “I decided to
write something for the
demographic audience I reach through WWF, which is families and chil-
dren,” he says. “I wanted to create a story that would take the qualities and
values I stand for and put them in a whimsical universe.”
Cena’s memories of reading in childhood helped shape that story. “I loved
10:00- Richard Scarry’s books as a kid. And they were definitely an inspiration for
the character of Elbow Grease,” he says. “Cars and Trucks and Things That
Go was a particular favorite. With his brilliant illustrations of vehicles, from
11:00aM
Get a signed copy of Pink Hair and
small cars to big machinery, Scarry was able to create such an intimate and
fun universe.”
For Cena, the character Elbow Grease embodies what he wants young
readers and their parents to take away from his books. “In many ways,” he
Other Terrible Ideas by Andrea
says, “I’m stealing a page from my childhood and my adult life when I
Pyros. Can Josephine rethink
priorities when it matters most?
emphasize, in these stories, the importance of believing in yourself, team-
work, and never giving up.”
As for BookExpo, where he is appearing for the first time, Cena says, “I
wouldn’t be here if it didn’t mean something to me, but it really does. I am
passionate about these characters’ stories and their message. I hope peo-
ple realize that my voice is authentic—and that I really care.” —Sally Lodge
booth #938 Today, 12:50–1:30 p.m. John Cena will appear in “John Cena Presents,”
on the Downtown Stage.
Today, 1:30–2:30 p.m. Cena will sign at Table 3 in a ticketed event.
www.bookexpo.com
DM-19--2019 BEA Show Daily 3.indd 1 26
5/13/19 4:34 PM
Visit Us at Our Booth Today
For an Author Signing!
Lyz Lenz
Friday, May 31st
11 am – Booth 826
Visit
Nimbus at
Book Expo!!
SIGNIN
FRIDAY G 11am
, MAY 3
1
(Nimbus Publishing,
booth #964) A GIANT MAN FROM A THERE BE PIRATES! FIRST DEGREE: FROM MED
TINY TOWN: A STORY OF SWASHBUCKLERS & ROGUES SCHOOL TO MURDER, THE STORY
ANGUS MACASKILL OF THE ATLANTIC BEHIND THE SHOCKING WILL
Story by Tom Ryan By Joann Hamilton-Barry SANDESON TRIAL
Art by Christopher Hoyt 978-1-77108-579-3 | $15.95 By Kayla Hounsell
978-1-77108-654-7 | $22.95 Children’s Non-Fiction 978-1-77108-666-0
Children’s picture book (Ages 3-7) (Ages 7-10) $24.95 | True crime
For US orders, contact Orca
(children’s titles): 1-800-210-5277
For Canadian orders
call: 1-800-646-2879
Order online at nimbus.ca
Follow us online:
www.bookexpo.com
28
FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2019
#SimonBookLovers
SimonandSchusterPublishing.com/BEA
29 www.bookexpo.com
BOOKEXPO SHOW DAILY
9:30 – 10:15am
Teresa Sorkin &
Tullan Holmqvist
10:30 – 11:15am
Scott Ryan, David Bushman,
Mya McBriar, Melanie
McFarland, and Lauren Fox
The Women of David Lynch
12:30 – 1:15pm
Komal Kapoor, Caitlyn Siehl,
and Wilder
[Dis]Connected: Poems and
Stories of Connection and
Otherwise Volume 2 FRANK SILEO
1:30 – 2:15am
Snitchy Witch
Charley Beal & Signing: 1:00-2:00PM
Jay Blotcher
Rainbow Warrior:
My Life in Color
www.bookexpo.com
30
FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2019
31 www.bookexpo.com
BOOKEXPO SHOW DAILY
CHILDREN’S
QA
Bob Shea and Zachariah
OHora
‘Who Wet My Pants?’
“Who wet my pants?” shouts mortified Reu-
ben the bear when he realizes his friends are
staring at the telling wet spot on his own
pants. Reuben’s sham question became the
title of a picture book by Bob Shea and
Zachariah OHora, who talk about collabo-
rating on Who Wet My Pants? (Little, Brown,
Bob Shea
Sept.), a tale of blame, empathy, and
forgiveness.
Today, noon–12:30 p.m. Bob Shea and Zachariah OHora will sign f&gs
at Table 3.
Today, 1–2 p.m. Shea will be at the ABC/CBC Speed Dating Tea, in
Rooms 1E07/1E08.
www.bookexpo.com
32
The Life of a Wannabe Mogul
Mental Disarray
a book by Bella Thorne
JULY 2019
RAREBIRDBOOKS.COM
Distributed by Publishers Group West
BOOKEXPO SHOW DAILY
AUTHORS
Susannah Cahalan
Unscientific Method
shannon taggart
What do you do when one of your
idols turns out to be a fake? How do
you reconcile his influence on you, and
©
on the world, with his dishonesty?
These questions drive journalist
Susannah Cahalan’s forthcoming book
The Great Pretender (Grand Central,
Nov.), which centers on David Rosen-
han, a Stanford psychologist whose
reform-spurring research into insane
Our finished product is elegant with a rare autoimmune disease that was
first misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder.
to see as well as be seen in. When she encountered Rosenhan’s classic
study, “On Being Sane in Insane Places,”
she found that it reflected her own experi-
ence of crossing the border between “sane”
and “insane.”
For the study, which was published in the
early 1970s, Rosenhan and seven other
people got themselves admitted to insane
asylums by faking symptoms of mental ill-
ness. Their reports on their experiences in
the asylums—and their struggles to prove
themselves “sane” enough to be let out—
shed unflattering light on how caretakers treated the mentally ill and has-
tened the closure of psychiatric institutions.
For Cahalan, the study captured the particular trauma of being labeled
“insane,” even if only temporarily. She says, “This feeling of depersonaliza-
tion, this feeling of doctors wanting to distance themselves from you, feeling
‘other,’ ” all of which resonated with her. But when she began to look into the
story behind the study, which was originally published in the journal Science,
BOOTH 2849
she found troubling inconsistencies.
Cahalan gained access to Rosenhan’s files, as well as medical records from
the insane asylums he studied. She also interviewed study participants who’d
SPECIAL DISCOUNTS FOR ABA MEMBERS never spoken publicly about the experiment. (Rosenhan himself died in
& INDIE BOOKSTORES 2012.) Eventually, Cahalan began to suspect that portions of the study had
been fudged. “The questions kept coming,” she says.
Cahalan found it difficult to square the positive effects of the study with its
scientific shakiness. Rosenhan exposed widespread maltreatment of men-
tally ill patients and inspired soul-searching in the psychiatric community.
Should his mendacities necessarily negate that?
In Ken Kesey’s classic insane-asylum novel, One Flew over the Cuckoo’s
Nest, he writes: “It’s the truth even if it didn’t happen.” It’s a line Cahalan
returned to often while writing the new book.“There’s something about that,
that I like,” she said. “Even though this study needs a kind of reckoning, I do
believe it has a message.” —Daniel V. Lefferts
2020VISIONUSA.COM
orders2020vision@yahoo.com Today, 11-noon. Susannah Cahalan will sign The Great Pretender at
Table 3.
34
Ad2020visionusaExpo.indd 1 5/22/19 8:52 PM
www.bookexpo.com
FRDAY, MAY 31, 2019
Broadening the
Conversation
The notion of “Giving a Voice to the
thomas kristich
Voiceless” lends itself to a range of
interpretations. At today’s stage
©
event of the same name, a range of
authors and illustrators will talk
Business.
about how that guided them in their
most recent books.
Panelist Sharon Robinson, daugh-
ter of baseball legend Jackie Robin-
Unlimited.
son and author most recently of Child
of the Dream: A Memoir of 1963
(Scholastic Press, Sept.), shares her
13-year-old perspective on key events
of that year, including her family’s
participation in the March on Wash-
ington as guests of Dr. Martin Luther Business.
King Jr. The story behind Dr. King’s “I
Have a Dream” speech, delivered during that march, inspired Barry Witten- Club.
stein’s picture book A Place to Land: Martin Luther King Jr. and a Speech
That Changed the World (Holiday House/Porter, Sept.), illus. by panelist
Jerry Pinkney.
King indefatigably used his voice in the service of the voiceless, notes
Pinkney, calling the activist “the voice of the civil rights movement in its early Hold your meetings
chapters, and his country’s trumpeter for social justice.” While working on
A Place to Land, the illustrator adds, “I became aware of the many voices away from the crowd,
MLK had used to express his message. His tone could be angry, direct, get in touch with key
hopeful, and positive, but he always spoke with a humbled elegance.
Through the process of creating the images for this book, I sought to visu- players, and benefit
ally interpret Dr. King’s vulnerability and courage, his profound concern
alongside his vision of unflappable hope. It changed my own lens in viewing
from premium services.
this country’s repressive past
and its moral compass for Frankfurter Buchmesse’s
seeking equality and justice.” Business Club.
Stephana I. Colbert, author
of Ordinary Extraordinary Afri-
can American Women: The
Elders (Jewell Jordan Publish-
ing, 2017), rounds out the
panel, moderated by Miranda
Spigener-Sapon, creator of the
upcoming Amazon Prime SAVE TICKET
series Marisa Romanov and DISCOUNT!
author of Charles: A Marisa
Romanov Story (Winterwolf
Press, Nov.), the first of four
prequels to that series.
“Giving a voice to the voiceless is so key,” Spigener-Sapon says, “because
everyone deserves a chance to be heard, and I want to contribute in any
way possible to ensure that we apply inclusivity to society.” Without the
#fbm19
books the panelists have created, she continues, “We might never get to
learn these stories—and there are so many more out there. I’m a strong
Enter the code by 23 June 2019 to save
supporter in utilizing the arts, entertainment, and literary worlds to give a 30% when booking your premium fair
voice to those who need to be heard the most.” —Sally Lodge experience with the Business Club:
B C 3 0_5 7 76
Today, 9:30–10:30 a.m. Barry Wittenstein and Jerry Pinkney will sign A
buchmesse.de/business-club
Place to Land at Table 10.
Today, 2:15–3 p.m. The “Giving a Voice to the Voiceless” panel takes
place on the Downtown Stage.
35 www.bookexpo.com
BOOKEXPO SHOW DAILY
ye rin mok
©
Stargazing by Jen
Wang (First Second,
Sept.)
In this story of two young
Chinese-American friends—
impulsive, artistic Moon and
her opposite, Christine—
Moon’s sudden illness puts
their friendship to the test.
Ages 8–12. —Judith Rosen
www.bookexpo.com
38
BOOKEXPO SHOW DAILY
AUTHORS AUTHORS
Chris Ware Bassey Ikpi
Achingly Real Comics Facing the Truth
Chris Ware’s comics look almost mechani- “There are whole chunks of my life that I don’t remember because all of my
marnie ware
cal, with their smoothly drawn lines and bandwidth and emotions were devoted to just existing,” recalls Bassey Ikpi,
flat areas of color, but the characters that author of I’m Telling the Truth, but I’m Lying (Harper, Aug.). Ikpi’s memoir, a
©
inhabit them are achingly real. “I want collection of candid essays that fuse poetry and stream of consciousness,
[the drawings] to be as clear and readable illuminates the Nigerian-American writer’s struggles with bipolar II disorder.
as possible so the story can be as tangled But she wasn’t always eager to share, in unflinching, accurate detail, her
and uncertain as life and experience seem everyday turmoil. “The hardest
aniekan umoren
to be,” he says of Rusty Brown, the comic thing I’ve ever done is give the
he has been working on for the past 18 book permission to be what it
©
years. Pantheon will publish the first of needed to be,” she adds.
two volumes in September. Her first attempt at the memoir
Ware began serializing his comics in his felt wrong to her from the get-go,
college newspaper, the Daily Texan, at and Ikpi thought it necessary to
the University of Texas at Austin, and later lie about the problems she faced
was a contributor to Raw, the comics in her life. She couldn’t “acknowl-
magazine edited by edge what was really going on.”
Françoise Mouly and her Then, a few years ago, when she
husband, Maus creator Art was in a deep crisis, tired of fight-
Spiegelman. He launched his ing the darkness that kept return-
comics series, The Acme ing and tired of not being able to
Novelty Library, in 1993. say, “I’m not okay,” Ikpi was finally
Both Jimmy Corrigan, his ready to reveal the unvarnished
first graphic novel, and truth. This time, the words rushed
Rusty Brown first appeared out of her, leading to the book that
as part of the Acme Novelty had been germinating for almost
Library series before being 20 years.
published as books (the new Instead of relating a clinical
edition of Rusty Brown will include previously account of bipolar II disorder, Ikpi embraced a more intimate approach. “I
unpublished material). Building Stories, which collects 14 different wanted to tell it from within the diagnosis, within the depression, within the
comics printed in a variety of formats that together tell a single story, is one grief. I didn’t want people to attach themselves to my diagnosis, but to what
of Ware’s most unusual works and also got its start in the Novelty Library. was happening to me,” she explains.
When published as a book in 2012, it was named a Top 10 Book of the Year Ikpi has appeared on HBO’s Def
by the New York Times Book Review. Poetry Jam and has been part of the
After finishing Jimmy Corrigan, Ware says that he started Rusty Brown as Tony Award–winning Broadway show’s
“a humorous tension reliever.” He adds, “It had vague ambitions of being a touring company.“I got onstage and
shortish origin story about a middle-aged toy collector I’d been drawing for did what I needed to do, but no one
a couple of years, both as a parody of American materialism and infantilism saw the terror and will it took,” she
and my own participation therein.” As he wrote it, though, it morphed into a says. That’s why even mundane rou-
much bigger story about the toy collector’s childhood and what Ware tines—sleeping, bodega runs—are
describes as “the three-dimensional framework of the characters who sur- given prominence in the book,
round and form him.” exposing how the bipolar disorder
Ware sees comics as akin to mental images, like memories. “In regular fic- permeates her life.
tion, printed words on the page are translucent, if not transparent,” he says, In addition to her writing, Ikpi is a
“creating images in the reader’s imagination—which is, by far, one of the mental health advocate who founded
strangest and most unpinnable phenomena there is. Whereas in comics the the Siwe Project and #NoShameDay
reader ideally ‘reads,’ or sees through, the drawings to have the simultane- for awareness in the black community
ous sensation of something happening not only in their own minds, but also and to help alleviate entrenched
before their eyes.” stigmas. The book, then, is also a
At their heart, though, Ware’s comics are not formal exercises but stories bold extension of that educational platform.
about people. “What’s most compelling to me as a writer and a person is “The way we are taught to write about ourselves and the way we actu-
how we become who we are,” Ware says. “How do we go from that kid on ally live our lives are so different,” she says. “Sometimes you are just within
the playground who made that weird animal sound whenever he caught a yourself, without understanding what’s going on around you. Being open
ball to being a mixed-use real estate developer?” —Brigid Alverson gives me a greater responsibility for my wellness. It allows me the room to
find things to be better for.” —Alia Akkam
Today, 10:20–11:05 a.m. Chris Ware will participate in the “Graphic
Novel Spotlight” on the Choice Stage. Today, 2–2:30 p.m. Bassey Ikpi signs at Table 9.
www.bookexpo.com
40
November 17-24, 2019
MIAMI, FLORIDA
POETRY, FICTION & NONFICTION FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD
STREET FAIR / PUBLISHERS & BOOKSELLERS
CHILDREN’S AUTHORS & ACTIVITIES
MIAMIBOOKFAIR.COM
/miamibookfair #MiamiBookFair2019
BOOKEXPO SHOW DAILY
AUTHORS AUTHORS
Alafair Burke Cadwell Turnbull
Mixing Thrillers and Family Learning ‘The Lesson’
Today marks the final stop on Alafair In his intimate debut novel, which received a starred review from PW, Cad-
Burke’s 15-city tour for her new well Turnbull depicts the shattering aftereffects of an alien race’s arrival on
novel, The Better Sister (Harper), Earth—specifically, their appearance in the skies over his native St.
about two estranged sisters, Chloe Thomas. Already optioned for television by AMC, The Lesson (Blackstone,
and Nicky, who each marry the same June) is, in part, Turnbull’s attempt to make sense of the complicated his-
man. When high-powered Manhat- tory and consequences of colonization in his native Virgin Islands.
tan attorney Adam McIntosh (Chloe’s “I think the big thing that I want people to take away from the book is
current and Nicky’s former husband) that cycles repeat themselves,” Turnbull says. “When we traumatize peo-
is murdered at his East Hampton ple, we’re not just giving them trauma in the moment, we’re giving them
beach house, they join forces to save something that they will pass on.”
the teenage boy accused of killing In The Lesson,
anju manandhar
him. trauma results, in
“It’s the first time that I’ve written a part, from how the
book with two main characters,” says Ynaa (Turnbull’s
Burke. “And anyone who has a sibling alien race, pro-
will recognize that little line between nounced “ee-nah”)
loyalty and rivalry.” She sees The Bet-
ter Sister as making up a thematic Anyone see humans—as infe-
riors, not equals. The
trilogy with two earlier novels, The Ex
and The Wife. “They all explore the who sole exception to that
rule is Mera, the Ynaa
roles a woman has to play—daughter,
wife, sister—even as they try and have has a sibling emissary and healer
who hides among the
their own lives,” Burke says.
For The Better Sister, Burke chose will recognize peoples of the Carib-
bean for centuries
the Met Gala, one of New York’s most
glamorous events, for one of its early that little line before making herself
known. Here, too,
scenes. Although she’s never attended
the event, she has an unexpected con- between Turnbull drew on the
history of the region to
nection—her husband does security
management at the Metropolitan loyalty and flesh out his narrative.
www.bookexpo.com
42
Texas Book
Festival 2019
TWO DAYS 300+ AUTHORS
Free and open to the public
THE BIGGEST BOOK PARTY IN TEXAS
Join us in supporting libraries and literacy!
AUTHORS AUTHORS
Joe Hill Sarah MacLean
Going ‘Full Throttle’ The Need for a Brazen Heroine
With the release of the short story collection Full Throttle (Morrow, Oct.),
Joe Hill is poised to return to the style that launched his career—in a par-
ticularly big way. The story “In the Tall Grass,” one of two collected here
that he co-wrote with his father, Stephen King, is the basis for a feature film
from Netflix.
For a writer who can’t help
joe hill
Today, 1:30–2:30 p.m. Joe Hill will do a ticketed signing at Table 4. Today, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Sarah MacLean will sign ARCs at a ticket-
ed signing at Table 2.
www.bookexpo.com
44
Summer
GET YOUR
Read On
BOOKEXPO SHOW DAILY
AUTHORS AUTHORS
Jasmine Guillory Michael Koryta
From the Bar to the Party Locked-in
Tara Beckley is hurrying to drive her passenger to campus in time for his lec-
andrea scher
ture at the liberal arts college in rural Maine where she is a student. He
demands that she take a detour, takes out his phone, and asks her to pose
© for a photograph. He hands her the phone. Moments later, he is killed in a
freak accident, which knocks Tara into the river and an apparent coma. It
turns out Tara is fully alert, but unable to move a muscle or express herself.
She has locked-in syndrome. In If She Wakes (Little, Brown, May), Michael
Koryta, a former private investigator and newspaper reporter, uses every
detail of this short journey to build a suspenseful story.
Koryta says that he was influenced by books and movies to write the
detective and ghost stories, as well as family and survival dramas, for which
he is known. “I grew up watching old films with my film noir fan father. As a
teenager I read Dennis Lehane, Michael Connelly, and Stephen King,” he
adds.
The romance genre is undergoing a vibrant Unlike some writers, Koryta, who has written more than a dozen novels,
revival with a host of new authors who reso- prefers writing standalone books. “I don’t want to write one type of book,”
nate with a far more culturally, racially, and ethnically diverse readership he says. “There is an exuberant feeling of meeting a new cast, as I begin
than in past decades. At the vanguard of this revival is Jasmine Guillory, each book.” As for the Maine setting of If She Wakes, he says that he
who until very recently was a lawyer by day and bestselling author by night. wanted to root the book in real situations. “I live part of the year in Camden,
Now she’s the latter 24/7. and the drive from Maine to Boston is very familiar to me.”
Whether it’s because of her Wellesley College and Stanford Law School When Koryta was researching locked-in syndrome, a rare neurological dis-
pedigree, or simply because she writes great books, Guillory is commanding order, he was drawn to how it is diagnosed. One way involves showing vic-
some serious attention. Her January 2018 debut, The Wedding Date, tims a short Hitchcock movie while they are inside the scanner for an MRI.
smashed onto bestseller lists and won praise from the likes of the Washing- “The connection becomes obvious,” says Koryta. “When I was revising the
ton Post, the Associated Press, and NPR. Her second book, The Proposal initial draft of the book, I realized that an unintended relevance of the story
(also in 2018), won her a feature in the Atlantic and the attention of Reese [and locked-in syndrome] is that it reflects what is happening to so many of
Witherspoon, who made it the February 2019 pick for her book club. us. We are bombarded with threats that we don’t feel able to affect, and we
Now comes her third, The Wedding Party (Berkley, July). Only a few years suffer from a voicelessness. Even with the availability of social media, we
ago, Guillory didn’t know whether she would ever get her first novel pub- have a hard time feeling that we are heard.”
lished, but she did have a vision for Maddie and Theo, two characters from Koryta enjoys attending BookExpo. “The work of writing is isolated,” he
that book. “What I initially thought would happen with those two when I wrote says. “BookExpo connects every facet of the publishing industry, and meet-
The Wedding Date changed when I actually wrote them into a particular scene. ing readers is exciting. When I came when The Prophet appeared [in 2012],
I knew their backstory and I knew that I wanted to write a book about them.” that was the first time that I was in a room with people who had read some-
And now they are the major players in her third novel. thing I had written.” —Jeremy Solomons
All three books are interrelated, as characters in one book show up in the
others. Alexa, a main character in the author’s debut, takes a backseat to her Today, 10–10:30 a.m. Michael Koryta will sign at Table 5.
friends in this latest one. “One of the things that really weaves throughout
this book and my other books is friendship,” Guillory says. “This book cov-
jonathan mehring
ers the period of time leading up to Alexa’s wedding. Both Maddie, her
bridesmaid, and Alexa’s co-worker, Theo, have a strong relationship with
Alexa. There’s a lot of love in my book, not just romantic love, but the love
©
www.bookexpo.com
46
H A P P E N I N G T O D AY
DISNEY PUBLISHING WORLDWIDE • BOOTH #1713
MEET
LEUYEN PHAM
9:30 AM
Receive a signed copy of Elephant & Piggie Like
Reading!: The Itchy Book! and a oversized postcard
of Grace Goes to Washington. The first 30 guests will
also receive a signed copy of Grace for President.
MEET
RYAN T. HIGGINS
ON SALE
6.25.19
11:00 AM
Receive a signed copy of
World of Reading: Bruce’s Big Fun Day
and a Bruce’s Big Storm umbrella!*
ON SALE
10.1.19
MEET
ASHLEY ELSTON
12:00 PM
Receive a signed advance copy of 10 Blind Dates
ON SALE
11.5.19 MEET
EOIN COLFER
1:00 PM
Receive a signed advance copy of The Fowl Twins
and a signature pair of Artemis Fowl sunglasses*
George Will
Karen Pence