PLA Galley Grab
Do you remember the bad old days when publishers didn’t bring adult galleys to the library shows?
Those days are long over. Today, the challenge is to figure out which galleys to grab and which ones to lug (or ship) back home.
Of course, you’ll be seeking out new books from long-time favorite authors, like Isabel Allende’s Island Beneath the Seas (HarperCollins, 4/27; booth #1232) and Alexander McCall Smith’s Corduroy Mansions (Pantheon/Random House, 7/13; booth #2570).
Not only are galleys available at the booths, there will also be author signings, including some big names — check out the ads in the PLA program (a preview of Penguin’s is here — hint — SUE GRAFTON!)
You’ll also be looking for galleys that have already been getting advance buzz, like Norton’s wonderfully-titled The Lonely Polygamist, by Brady Udall, which many considered the “Book of the Show” at the American Booksellers Assoc’s Winter Institute last month (it just received the ultimate New Yorker accolade; I was so absorbed in it the other day that I missed my subway stop. And, yes, I caught people staring at the title).
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The buzz on Ballantine’s apocolyptic vampire novel, The Passage, coming in June, has been building for months (see our January story). The publisher seems determined to blanket the earth with copies of the 700-page behemoth and Portland will be no exception (get it at the Random House booth, #2570).
But, the real “gets” of the show floor are the titles you didn’t know you were looking for. We talked to publisher’s library marketing folks to find out what you shouldn’t overlook. Their responses are below.
We want to hear about your finds at the show. On Friday, April 16th, after you’ve had some time to sort through your treasures, we will host a “Galley Chat” Tweetup. More details coming soon shortly.
Macmillan, booth #1058
Macmillan’s library marketing guru, Talia Sherer (recently named a “Mover & Shaker” by Library Journal; be sure to congratulate her!) says that Still Missing by Chevy Stevens is the BIG thriller debut from St. Martins Press.
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HarperCollins, booth #1232
Virginia Stanley wants you to look out for A Fierce Radiance by Lauren Belfer (you can listen here to her excitement when she presented it at the HarperCollins Book Buzz session during MidWinter). She says it’s a perfect book club book.
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Workman, booth #2477
Mike Rockliff is enthusiastic about Mrs. Darcy and the Blue-Eyed Stranger, by Lee Smith, which just got 4 of a possible 4 stars in People (3/29) and also:
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Random House, booth #2570
In the welter of galleys at the RH booth (they DO represent a lot of imprints), including The Passage, and Lisa Unger’s forthcoming Fragile (Shaye Areheart; August), Jen Childs says not to overlook a debut historical novel set in fifteenth-century Spain.
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W.W. Norton, booth #1302
We already mentioned The Lonely Polygamist, by Brady Udall. Golda Rademacher tells us that The Red Thread by Ann Hood, the author of The Knitting Circle, has been getting great response. Hood will go on an extensive national tour this spring/summer and is scheduled for the Diane Rehm Show (NPR) on 5/3. PW ‘s and LJ‘s reviews are in and are enthusiastic (LJ; “Hood offers a thoughtful novel about the yearning for a child that’s primed to be a book club pick”).
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Penguin, booth #1206
Penguin will be hosting some big names at their booth. In addition, Alan Walker points to galleys of the next big book by editor Amy Einhorn at Putnam (the first title under her recently-created imprint was The Help. She also published this season’s hit, The Postmistress). Called The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, it “imagines a love affair that would threaten Louisa’s writing career.”
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Wiley, booth #933
Howell has a book that to combines two subjects that appeal to librarians; earth friendliness and pets. The author will be signing in the booth on Thurs. at 3 p.m.
And, if you can tear yourself away from the goodies in the conference center to check out the city, be sure to check out Frommer’s online guide to Portland (published by Wiley).
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