BEA 15- Book Group Speed Dating with Publishers- Part 1

One of the events that has grown over the past few years is Book Group Speed Dating with publishers. Carol Fitzgerald and her team at BookReporter.com invite publishers to go from table to table to talk about their upcoming books with librarians and book club leaders. This year there were 27 publishers, and over 250 people eager to hear what is on deck.

This is one of my favorite BEA events, I particularly enjoy the interaction with the publishers. The most successful presentations are by publishers who have perfected their 'elevated elevator' pitches. They have less than 10 minutes to cover 5 or more books, and get us interested.

Each table had nine different publishers, and these are the highlights from my table:

Corsortium Books presented two thrillers, Lost Canyon and The Do-Right. 

• Lost Canyon  by Nina Revoyr, from Akashic Books, was described as "Wild meets Deliverance" about four backpackers who find more than they bargained for while backpacking in the Sierra Nevadas. On sale August 25th
• The Do-Right  by Lisa Sandlin from Cinco Puntos Press is getting rave reviews already for her story of a PI's secretary who, after spending 14 years in prison for killing one of the men who raped her, runs into the other man who raped her. The main character here is described as "kick-ass", and the dark side of the city of Beaumont is a major character as well. On Sale October 13th

Hogarth also had two books I am interested in:

• The Gap of Time by acclaimed writer Jeannette Winterson kicks off their Hogarth Shakespeare series as authors reinterpret famous works by the Bard. Winterson retells The Winter's Tale,  set in 2008 London and a storm-ravaged city New Bohemia in America. Ann Tyler and Margaret Atwood will be taking on other Shakespeare works, and this is a very exciting project. On sale October 6th
• The Tsar of Love and Techno by Anthony Marra, called a modern day Tolstoy, are linked short stories that continue in the vein of his brilliant novel A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, which I loved. I can't wait to read this one.  On sale October 13th

Little, Brown and Company had three books that piqued my curiosity:

• Early One Morning by Virginia Bailey is being compared to The Lifeboat and The Paris Wife. Set during WWII, it tells the story of a woman who sees a family being loaded onto a truck to go to a concentration camp. She makes a split second decision to claim one of the children as her own and rescue him. This decision has long-lasting complications. On sale September 29th
• The Three-Year Swim Club by Julie Checkoway and published by Grand Central, will appeal to readers who liked Unbroken and The Boys in the Boat. It's about a group of young children from Maui who became Olympic-level swimmers in the 1930's to escape poverty. This one was an Editor's Buzz Book selection. On sale October 27th
• After the Crash by Michel Bussi and published by Hachette, is translated from a hugely popular French novel about a plane crash in the Alps. There is only one survivor, a three-year-old girl, and two families fight over whom the girl really belongs to. On sale January 5, 2016 

Harper presented three books that intrigued me:

• The Sunrise by Victoria Hislop's comparison to Beautiful Ruins captured me right away because I loved that book. We meet a Greek family and a Turkish family whose lives are destroyed during the Cypriot coup of 1974, and it's about love, loss, loyalty and resilience. On sale July 7th
• The Story of Land and Sea by Katy Simpson Smith is published by Harper Perennial and like The Orchardist (which I loved) and Geraldine Brooks' books is a lyrical, quieter book  about three generations of family during years after the American Revolution dealing with love, war and slavery in North Carolina. On sale July 21st
• The Art of Crash Landing by Melissa DeCarlo is a debut novel from a fresh, funny voice about a lovable character who always seems to mess things up and the family secrets she uncovers. On sale September 8th

Part Two is posted here.