EarlyWord

Ta-Nehisi Coates and Roxane Gay are collaborating on a Black Panther spin-off, Black Panther: World of Wakanda, reports The New York Times. The poet Yona Harvey is also writing scripts.

It is the first time Gay will work on a comic, as it was the first time for Coates when he wrote the Black Panther re-launch earlier this year. As we have noted, that comic was a top seller and made King T’Challa of Wakanda a major player in the Marvel universe.

Now Coates is pushing to expand that world, recruiting both Gay and Harvey, says the NYT, because “he thought it was important to have female voices help breathe life into these characters.”

Describing her story in an interview posted on the Marvel site, Gay said: “my book is going to be pretty intimate. There’s going to be all kinds of action, but I’m also really excited to show Ayo and Aneka’s relationship, build on that love story, and also introduce some other members of the Dora Milaje … I love being able to focus on women who are fierce enough to fight but still tender enough to love.” (Ed. note. the Dora Milaje is the security force protecting the Black Panther).

“It’s the most bizarre thing I’ve ever done, and I mean that in the best possible way,” she told the NYT, continuing “The opportunity to write black women and queer black women into the Marvel universe, there’s no saying no to that.” In the same Marvel interview Coates says, “Wakanda is a deep, rich world. And I think Roxane is the perfect person to begin the literary excavations.”

As for Harvey, Coates told the NYT, “I have found that poetry is so correlated with writing comic books … That’s just so little space, and you have to speak with so much power. I thought she’d be a natural.” Her first story will be a “10-page second story … about Zenzi, a female revolutionary who incited a riot in the first issue of the Black Panther series.”

The Verge reports that “Coates recruited Gay and Harvey personally, and emphasized the importance of having diversity both on the page and on the payroll at Marvel.”

The start of the spin-off series is expected this November.

Lauren Oliver’s best selling 2010 YA novel Before I Fall has been adapted as a film that now has a release date of April 7, next year, reports Deadline. Told by a girl who has everything, but then dies in a car accident and gets to relive the last day of her life seven times, it stars Zoey Deutch, Halston Sage and Jennifer Beals.

A tie-in paperback is set to be published on December 6, 2016 (HarperCollins).

Also opening that weekend is the film adaptation of R.J. Palacio best selling middle grade title, Wonder. In the lead role is Jacob Tremblay, who starred in the Oscar-winning adaptation, Room. Julia Roberts plays his mother.

The double issue of Entertainment Weekly currently on newsstands, features the movie adaptation of Stephen King’s series, The Dark Tower, starring  Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba, scheduled to arrive in theaters February 17 next year.

The online site has just released a complete rundown of their stories from the last two weeks, including, “What the film changes (and keeps) from Stephen King’s books,”

The series is being re-released in mass market paperback in December in anticipation of the film’s release (see our list of tie-ins to upcoming movies).

Another Stephen King project, The Mist, Spike TV’s 10-episode series based on King;s novella, has begun production, No release date or tie-in has been announced.

The U.K.’s most prestigious literary award, the Man Booker Prize, is one of the few awards that affects sales in the U.S., surpassing even our own National Book Awards.

The longlist of thirteen titles was released earlier today. Six of the titles have not yet been published in the U.S., including the title regarded as the front-runner, J.M. Coetzee’s The Schooldays of Jesus, scheduled for release here in February (U.K. readers have to wait as well, it won’t be published there until September). Attached is a downloadable list, for your use in creating displays, Booker 2016 Longlist, Available in U.S.

The award is covered widely in the British press, but The Irish Times offers the most extensive coverage, amounting to a cheat sheet to each title., noting that the overall list is:

“… a solid, wide-ranging 13-strong selection dominated by the forthcoming novel from 2003 Nobel Literature Laureate, the South African-born J.M.Coetzee … There is no disputing [he] is one of the world’s finest living authors – and at a time when English-language fiction is being consistently overshadowed by the brilliance of literature in translation. Coetzee is the first double Booker winner … and any work from him is eagerly awaited.”

Last year’s winning novel was A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James. After the announcement, it went on to the New York Times Paperback Fiction, rising to a high of #3. HBO has optioned screen rights.

The shortlist of six books will be announced on Tuesday, September 13 and the winner on Tuesday, October 25.

Below are the longlist titles, with U.S. publishing information and links to U.S. consumer reviews. U.S. covers are featured, where available.

Paul Beatty, U.S., The Sellout (Macmillan/FSG, 3/3/15; OverDrive Sample) — On several U.S. best books lists, including the NYT Book Review‘s Top Ten, it was heavily reviewed here.

J.M. Coetzee, South Africa/Australia, The Schooldays of Jesus (PRH/Viking) — Currently scheduled for publication in hardcover in the U.S. on Feb. 21, 2017.

A.L. Kennedy, U.K., Serious Sweet (Little A) — Scheduled for publication in hardcover in the U.S. on Oct. 8, 2016 Amazon’s literary fiction imprint Little A.

Deborah Levy, U.K.,  Hot Milk (Macmillan/Bloomsbury USA; OverDrive Sample; 7/12/16) — reviewed in the daily NYT and the Washington Post.

Graeme Macrae Burnet, U.K., His Bloody Project — UPDATE: Now scheduled for publication in the U.S. by Skyhorse, ship date, 9/27/16.   The Guardian called it “Perhaps the most eye-catching book on the list” since the Booker has rarely recognized a title in that genre.

Ian McGuire, U.K., The North Water (Macmillan/Holt; OverDrive Sample;  3/15/16) — Reviewed in the NYT Book Review by Colm Toibin, the daily NYT by Michiko Kakutani, as well as the Wall Street Journal.

David Means, U.S., Hystopia (Macmillan/FSG,; OverDrive Sample; 4/19/16) — A debut, it was reviewed widely and is on NY Magazine ‘s list of “The Best Books of 2016 (So Far)“.

Wyl Menuir, U.K., The Many — Not currently scheduled for publication in the U.S.

Ottessa Moshfegh, U.S., Eileen (PRH/Penguin; OverDrive Sample;  8/18/15) — Featured on the cover of the  NYT Book Review,  it was also reviewed in the LA Times, The Washington Post, and NPR, and made several 2015 “best”  lists. UPDATE: This title is being adapted as a movie.

Virginia Reeves, U.S., Work Like Any Other (S&S/Scribner; OverDrive Sample; 3/1/16) — Featured in Harper’s Bazaar as a Spring 2016 pick, it was reviewed by the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the Miami Herald.

Elizabeth Strout, U.S., My Name is Lucy Barton (PRH/Viking; OverDrive Sample; 1/13/16) — Reviewed widely in the U.S., in the NYT Book Review, The Washington Post, NPR, and New York Magazine.

David Szalay, Canada-U.K.,  All That Man Is (Macmillan/Graywolf; OverDrive Sample;) — Scheduled for publication in hardcover in the U.S. on Oct. 4, 2016.

Madeleine Thien, Canada, Do Not Say We Have Nothing (Granta Books; Knopf Canada; OverDrive Sample) — UPDATE: Scheduled for publication in the U.S. by W.W. Norton on 10/11/16.

Oprah’s Book Club 2.0 is turning famous authors into readers’ advisors, giving them a platform to suggest titles well worth seeking out in “15 Women Writers Discuss Their Favorite Overlooked Books.”

Elena Ferrante suggests fellow Italian writer, Elsa Morante, particularly her novel History (translated by William Weaver (Steerforth; OverDrive Sample; Feb. 2000) of which she says “One reads with one’s heart in one’s throat.”

Emily St. John Mandel offers J.M. Ledgard’s novel Submergence (Consortium/Coffee House; OverDrive Sample; Mar. 2013) saying it is a “masterpiece” that “both sings with tension and radiates immense humanity and tenderness.”

Ann Patchett, who, as a bookseller as well as author and, has experience advising readers, suggests Geoffrey Wolff’s “brilliant essay collection and memoir,” A Day at the Beach (PRH/Vintage; OverDrive Sample; Nov. 2013). She says it “offers up tales of daring along with expansive thinking, the bright light of humor, and the dark night of the soul, and delivers it all in writing sharp enough to cut your fingers on.”

Ann Beattie, Amy Bloom, Roxane Gay, Elizabeth Gilbert, Jamaica Kincaid, Miranda July, Lorrie Moore, Mary Roach, Karen Russell, Rebecca Stead, Meg Wolitzer, and Jacqueline Woodson, round out the authors making suggestions.

On the site as well is “The 17 Best Books to Pick Up This August.” The list includes the buzzy Siracusa by Delia Ephron (PRH/Blue Rider Press; Penguin Audio/BOT; OverDrive Sample) as well as The Imperial Wife by Irina Reyn (Macmillan/Thomas Dunne; OverDrive Sample) and Champion of the World  by Chad Dundas (PRH/G.P. Putnam; Blackstone Audio; OverDrive Sample).

Joining the ranks of super hot shows such as Hamilton is the next adventure in the Harry Potter world. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child which opens on July 30th in London’s Palace Theater. It is already sold out until May 2017, at one point selling 175,000 tickets in 24 hours.

It is getting raves as critics slip into preview sessions.

“It is, quite simply, spellbinding” says Variety.

The Telegraph says in its five star review “British theatre hasn’t known anything like it for decades and I haven’t seen anything directly comparable in all my reviewing days.”

The Guardian gives it four out of five stars, saying it is “a thrilling theatrical spectacle.”

In their strong A- review, Entertainment Weekly says “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has pulled off a transfiguration challenge worthy of Professor McGonagall: Converting the visually arresting world of Harry Potter into stage play … as spectacular as it is ambitious, stuffed with special effects and twists that had a preview audience gasping, Cursed Child is a story that doesn’t play it safe with the Potter canon and will change how fans see certain favorite characters forever.”

The script of the show Harry Potter and the Cursed Child  (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine), will go on sale Sunday, July 31, which also happens to be Harry’s birthday. The script is by playwright Jack Thorne and is credited as “Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne.” Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016.Libraries are celebrating with special late night parties, live readings, and film screenings. As we reported last week, it is already a holds leader.

Close behind the holds leader for the week (and perhaps the summer),  Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine) is Liane Moriarty’s latest psychological thriller, published today, Truly Madly Guilty (Macmillan/Flatiron; Macmillan Audio; OverDrive Sample).

Holds have risen dramatically since we wrote about it on Friday, but if readers agree with reviewers, they may stall. The NYT gave it a less than stellar early review, USA Today chimes in today, calling it a “summer bummer,” accusing it of stringing out its mystery and not being “as much fun as The Husband’s Secret or Big Little Lies.”

There were plenty of famous characters at Comic-Con this weekend, from Gal Gadot the latest actress to play Wonder Woman, to various cosplay incarnations. But a handful of people got to pose questions, via satellite, to the real Edward Snowden, at the end of a private screening of Oliver Stone’s upcoming movie, Snowden. In the movie, he is played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. According to reports, the actor bears an uncanny resemblance in voice and mannerisms to the real person he portrays.

Stone, who has never appeared at Comic-Con before, injected a rare note of seriousness into the weekend, speaking during a separate Snowden panel about privacy. He also addressed the hot new game Pokemon Go, warning that it represents a “new level if invasion” into privacy, and that it is part of “survellience capitalism” that will lead totalitarianism (that discussion comes at the end of the panel, beginning at time stamp 41:03 in the video below).

A new trailer for the movie was also released.

Stone’s movie is partially based on Luke Harding’s The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the World’s Most Wanted Man, to be released as a movie tie-in next month (PRH/Vintage).

Another film about Snowden, titled Citizenfour, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2015.

The 28th annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Oscars of the format, were announced on Friday during Comic-Con.

What is essentially the best book of the year award went to Ruins by Peter Kuper (Abrams/SelfMadeHero, Oct. 2015) for “Best Graphic Album—New. “The publisher describes it as exploring “the shadows and light of Mexico through its past and present as encountered by an array of characters. The real and surreal intermingle to paint an unforgettable portrait of life south of the Rio Grande.”

March: Book Two, John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Diamond/Top Shelf, Jan. 2015) won “Best Reality-Based Work.” Book Three in the series is schedule for release on Aug 2. PW reports that a delighted Lewis “bounded from his seat and ran to the stage at the announcement.”

Nimona, Noelle Stevenson (HC/Harper Teen, May 2015) won the Eisner for “Best Graphic Novel Reprint.” Librarians will recall it was a National Book Award finalist for Young Peoples Literature last year.

Image Comics swept the series stakes, winning all three categories:

Paper Girls: Volume 1, Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chian (Diamond/Image Comics, Apr. 2016) won “Best New Series.” Paper Girls: Volume 2 is forthcoming in December.

“Best Continuing Series” went to Southern Bastards, Jason Aaron and Jason LaTour. Southern Bastards Volume 3: Homecoming is the most recent (Diamond/Image Comics, July 2016).

The Fade Out, Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Diamond/Image Comics; OverDrive Sample) won for “Best Limited Series.” It was issued in three volumes starting in 2015 (vol 1, 2, 3) and will be released in a complete deluxe edition with added material this fall.

“Best Publication for Early Readers (up to age 8)” went to Little Robot, Ben Hatke (Macmillan/First Second, Sept. 2015; OverDrive Sample).

“Best Publication for Kids (ages 9-12)” was snagged by Over the Garden Wall, Pat McHale, Amalia Levari, and Jim Campbell (S&S/Boom! Studios, Sept. 2016; OverDrive Sample). Volume 2 is forthcoming in Feb. 2017.

SuperMutant Magic Academy, Jillian Tamaki (Macmillan/Drawn and Quarterly, Apr. 2015) won “Best Publication for Teens (ages 13-17).”

In a year that was particularly notable for the number of women nominees, Kate Beaton’s Step Aside Pops: A Hark! A Vagrant Collection (Macmillan/Drawn and Quarterly, Sept. 2015) won best humor publication, which The Hollywood Reporter points out, is “the first time in the Eisners’ long history that a woman has ever won that category solo.”

In addition, Lynda Barry and Matt Groening were voted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame. The full list of winners is available online.

Editors Note: GalleyChatter Robin Beerbower is off this month and we’re grateful to one of our go-to readers advisors, Jennifer Dayton of Darien (CT) Public Library for rounding up the titles from the most recent GalleyChat.

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It may be summertime and the living may be easy, but GalleyChatters are relentless in their quest for the next great thing. During the most recent chat, women’s history was a strong theme on the non-fiction side, balanced by serious escape reading on the fiction side.

We hope you will be inspired to download and read the eGalleys of the titles highlighted here.  If you love them as much as we do, be sure to consider nominating them for LibraryReads. We’ve noted in red the deadlines for those titles still eligible for nomination.

For a list of all 138 titles mentioned during the chat, check here.

Non-Fiction

Les Parisiennes: How the Women of Paris Lived, Loved, and Died Under Nazi Occupation (Macmillan/St. Martin’s, Oct.; LibraryReads deadline: Aug. 20) by Anne Sebba takes a long hard look at a piece of history that is often looked at through the rosy haze of time. Anbolyn Potter of Chandler (Ariz.) Public Library, says, “ In Les Parisiennes, Anne Sebba examines what life was like for Parisian women under Nazi occupation during WWII. Using stories gleaned from interviews and primary sources, she documents the everyday hardships and life-changing tragedies suffered by these resilient women. Women from all walks of life were forced to adapt to food shortages, the disappearance of family members, and potential capture or unwanted attention from German soldiers. How they chose to respond to these challenges often determined the fate of generations. Sebba’s lavish use of detail and her graceful, sympathetic writing add to this book’s powerful depiction of an era that still fascinates us today.”

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race (HarperCollins/Morrow, Sept. 6)  by Margot Lee Shetterly is the compelling story of the African-American women who were the secret backbone of NASA in its infancy.  Vicki Nesting of St. Charles Parish Library, Destrehan, La., says, that it’s  “a fascinating book about black female mathematicians (or ‘computers’) who worked for the space program back in the 50s and 60s. A movie based on the book is scheduled for release in January, starring Octavia Spenser, Janelle Monae and Taraji P. Henson.”

I am an evangelist for Victoria:  The Queen: An Intimate Biography of the Woman Who Ruled an Empire  (PRH/Random House, Nov. 29; LibraryReads deadline: Sept. 20)  by Julia Baird. This is a totally engrossing look at a woman who we all think we know: staid, button-upped, humor-less. With newly found scholarship  (yeah Librarians!), we learn that this woman who was a mere 18 years old when she ascended the throne was in fact a passionate leader who loved as fiercely as she ruled. I think that this wonderfully readable book may just become the new standard in Victoria bios.

Fiction

There was lots of excitement for The Golden Age (Europa, Aug. 16) by Joan London.  Janet Lockhart, Collection Development Librarian, Wake County, N.C.,  sums it up, “Young Frank Gold and his family escaped from WWII Europe to Australia, only for him to fall victim to polio. He is sent to recover at The Golden Age, a children’s hospital in 1950s Australia, where he meets and falls in love with Elsa, to the consternation of the adults.  A moving story of displacement and recovery with wonderfully drawn characters and setting.”

Robin Beerbower, GalleyChat Wrangler Extraordinaire, was not alone in her love for The Bookshop on the Corner (HarperCollins/Morrow, Sept. 20)  by Jenny Colgan and while she does have some reservations, her enthusiasm shines through. “I loved this book about a librarian getting laid off from her readers’ advisory job and opening a ‘bookshop-on-wheels’ in Scotland. A tad predictable but so what?  It was a fun journey.”

Perennial GalleyChat favorite Carl Hiassen’s forthcoming book is Razor Girl (PRH/Knopf, Sept. 6).  While he needs no “help” from us, it is clear that there is a reason he is a favorite go-to pick for readers advisors.  Abbey Stroop, of Herrick District Library, Holland, Mich., says, “All of the best things about Carl Hiaasen are on full display in his new book Razor Girl: crazy plot twists mixed with quirky characters ranging from the mob to a Duck Dynasty-esque reality TV star. Andrew Yancy, from Sick Puppy, is back, still working Roach Patrol and trying to get his detective badge back when he gets involved with Merry Mansfield, a woman hired by the New York mob to create convenient traffic crashes. Sexy hilarity ensues alongside clumsy extortion plots the way only Hiaasen can manage.”

Small Admissions  (S&S/Atria, Dec. 27; LibraryReads deadline: Nov. 20) by Amy Poeppel is a debut novel for which Beth Mills of New Rochelle (N.Y.) Public Library, gave a serious shout-out. “When twenty-something Kate, devastated at being dumped by her Parisian boyfriend, finally starts getting her life together she finds herself launched into the high-pressure world of a NYC private school admissions office. Hyper parents, over-privileged kids, eccentric relatives and well-meaning friends–some of whom are harboring explosive secrets–keep the story moving briskly and provide more than a few laughs along the way.”

Please join us on Aug. 2 at 4:00 ET with virtual happy hour at 3:30 for our next Chat!  See you all then!

Two adaptations open this week, one based on a 2008 Philip Roth novel and the other on a 2012 YA novel by Jeanne Ryan, Nerve.

Nerve, opening nationwide on July 27, sports the first Pokémon Go  promotional tie-in. Producer Lionsgate is sponsoring PokéStop locations outside movie theaters in several U.S. cities.

The fast-paced YA SF thriller is about an online, voyeuristic, game of truth or dare, which according to Kirkus, reflects themes from another book Lionsgate successfully adapted,  The Hunger Games. Nerve stars Emma Roberts, Dave Franco and Juliette Lewis.

A tie-in came out a week ago, Nerve Movie Tie-In, Jeanne Ryan (PRH/Speak; Blackstone Audio; OverDrive Sample).

Indignation, adapted from Philip Roth’s 2008 novel, starring Sarah Gadon, Logan Lerman, and Tracy Letts, opens on July 29 in NYC and LA.

It premiered at Sundance this year to mixed reviews. The Hollywood Reporter says it is “A warmly satisfying screen translation of a work by an author who has rarely been served well on film” and the NYT listed Gadon as one of their “Breakthrough Performances.” The Guardian, however, writes, “For a first-time feature, Indignation is undoubtedly accomplished, with handsome production values, stellar performances, and [a] … tour-de-force scene that bodes of great things to come from the budding film-maker. Unfortunately, on the whole, Schamus’ debut feels too self-serious to fully engage.”

A tie-in comes out next week, Indignation, Philip Roth (PRH/Vintage).

The first teaser trailer for BBC America’s adaptation of Douglas Adams’s 1987 novel, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency was featured during a panel at Comic-Con this weekend.

The 8-episode series will debut on BBC America on Oct. 22. Variety describes it as being about “the surreal adventures of a highly unconventional detective, Dirk Gently (Samuel Barnett) and his reluctant assistant Todd (Elijah Wood ). Together they navigate one big metaphysical mystery per season.”

Adams, best-known for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, published two titles featuring Gently, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency,and Dirk  Gently’s Long, Dark Tea-time of the Soul, He had plans for a third novel, which he did not finish before his death. The incomplete novel was included in the posthumous collection, The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time.

Comics publisher IDW, which is also a producer for the BBC America series, is publishing graphic novels that feature Gently. These are entirely new stories that take up where the books left off.

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency: The Interconnectedness of All Kings, Chris Ryall, Tony Akins, Ilias Kyriazis (IDW January 26, 2016)

Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency: A Spoon Too Short, Arvind Ethan David, Ilias Kyriazis, (IDW September 20, 2016).

Making its debut at this week’s Comic-Con in San Diego, is a new, longer trailer for  Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, based on a spin-off of the Harry Potter franchise.

The film, starring Eddie Redmayne as magician Newt Scamander, as well as Ezra Miller, Colin Farrell, and Katherine Waterston. is directed by David Yates, who was responsible for 4 of the 7 original Potter films. It is scheduled to release on November 18, 2016.

The screenplay, written by Rowling, will be released as a book the day after the movie debuts, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay, by J K Rowling (Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine Books).

Debuting at Comic-Con is the first view of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, adapted by Starz as a TV series.

Reporting from the conference, io9 writes that, as part of the process of making the series, Gaiman looked through earlier drafts of the novel as fodder for additional screen stories. He announced that some of what he found might ,are its way into “the next American Gods book if I do another novel, which is seeming more and more likely these days.”

If that were not news enough for fans, after a very slow wind-up to get the iconic book to any screen, big or small, it seems Starz has hit the sweet spot with a spot-on adaptation.

Neil Gaiman said, “As a general rule, if you loved it in the book, it is probably going to end up on your screen.”

In a statement that is sure to thrill and intrigue readers of the novel, executive producer Bryan Fuller (Hannibal and Pushing Daisies) said the show is “fan fiction, in a wonderful way.”

Revealed as well is the news that a major element of the book, the journey the old gods take to the US, will get due attention and be treated as “trampolines into more stories.”

The Verge says more casting decisions were also announced. Kristin Chenoweth (Wicked, Glee, The West Wing, Pushing Daisies) will play Easter,  “a member of the old gods. (Her traditional name in mythology is Ostara, the Germanic goddess of the dawn).” USA Today has a run down on the rest of the cast.

The show is set to premiere sometime in 2017.

Season 2 of Amazon’s hit series, The Man in the High Castle, based on the book by Philip K. Dick, was introduced at Comic-Con by executive producer Ridley Scott.

A new trailer was released a few days ago:

No release date has been announced. One source reports it’s not clear whether it will air this year or in early 2017.

A trade paperback tie-in was released last year and a new hardcover version is set for publication in October.