Monday, April 23, 2007

Galleys to grab at BEA 2007, Part One

I'd been watching the BookExpo America website lately for their autographing schedule, because they usually announce it in April, but didn't spot it until yesterday. It's hidden under Show Info and Features -> Autographing. Just like I did last year, I thought I'd post about the titles I'd planned on getting copies of at the show. Not all of these will be galleys, though. If the pub date is June 2007 or earlier, publishers will be giving away the finished book.

The Publishers Weekly issue that gives a preview of BEA is probably out now, but it hasn't crossed my desk yet. PW lists the high-profile galleys that publishers will be giving away on the show floor (quite literally - you have to grab them off the floor in an embarrassing sort of feeding frenzy) in addition to those available at the autographing sessions.

As I'm attending partly to find out about new historical fiction titles, these are the ones that caught my attention. (I'll also be picking up books and ARCs on behalf of my library, but I don't think you'd be interested in hearing about those.)

In the main autographing area, Friday:

Deanna Raybourn, Silent in the Sanctuary. Second in the Victorian mystery series after Silent in the Grave (read my interview with Deanna here). From MIRA in Jan '08. I fully expect a headless woman cover.
Robert Barr Smith, Blood of the Eagle. "Race to uncover the secret of the murder of Hitler's mistress."
Cynthia Polansky, Far Above Rubies. "Holocaust novel based on true story of courage and survival." I believe this is a re-release.
Rick Atkinson, The Day of Battle. "The second volume of epic trilogy about the liberation of Europe in WWII." This is nonfiction, but I know some reviewers who'd love to read it.
Michael White, Soul Catcher. "A tracker, a runaway woman slave and the heart-rending journey home that will change them forever." A copy is going out for review any day now, but I wouldn't mind having my own. September, from Morrow.
Jennifer Donnelly, The Winter Rose. "A sweeping saga of an idealistic young female doctor who tends to the poor of Limehouse." I have the Australian edition already but need a copy to send for review. Out from Hyperion in Jan '08. It's about time. I picked up the galley of The Tea Rose at the first BEA I attended, in 2002. It was very good. Judging by the Australian edition, Winter Rose is quite the epic story (>700pp).

On Saturday:

Pete Hamill, North River. "A love story set against the backdrop of some of New York City's toughest streets." June '07 from Little Brown; my Booklist editor loved this one.
Katie Roiphe, Uncommon Arrangements. "Seven unconventional marriages in England at the beginning of the 20th century." Nonfiction. Bantam July '07.
William Martin, The Lost Constitution. "A thrilling race to find a lost draft of the Constitution!" May from Forge. This publisher has some great books and is very enthusiastic about them. Lots of exclamation points in their descriptions.
Robert Dunn, Meet the Annas. "Musical novel about a '60s girl group: romance, mystery, music." Coral Press, June.
Libba Bray, The Sweet Far Thing. "The final installment in the Gemma Doyle trilogy." A paranormal Victorian series for young adults. Random House Children's, Dec.
Lisa Sandell, Song of the Sparrow. "The tale of fiery, sixteen-year-old Elaine of Ascolat—who will one day be known as 'The Lady of Shalott.'" Scholastic, May. Another YA title.
Mitch Silver, On Secret Service. "This unique debut thriller links Ian Fleming's world of spies in WWII and today's headlines." Simon & Schuster, June.

And on Sunday:

Clare Clark, The Nature of Monsters. "An irresistibly modern sixteen-year-old heroine in London of the 1700s." Harcourt, May. Descriptions I've read make it sound creepy, but I'm curious.
Matt Bronleewe, Illuminated. "A rare-books dealer must unravel a secret that has been hidden in the illuminations of the Gutenberg Bible." Aug from Thomas Nelson, which means it has a Christian emphasis.

And we also have autographing at publishers' booths. For Friday:

Jenny McPhee, A Man of No Moon, Counterpoint. "A lush, cinematic novel set in post-War Italy."
Peter Melman, Landsman, Counterpoint. "A stirring, evocative epic novel of the Civil War." Blogged about this one a while back, and some of the author's students at Hunter College High School turned up to comment.
Anita Amirrezvani, The Blood of Flowers, Little Brown. "Dazzling debut set in 17th-century Persia." Am I greedy for wanting a hardcover when I already have an ARC?

Saturday:

Clare Clark, Nature of Monsters (again), Harcourt. Making note in case I can't make it to Sunday's signing, noted earlier.
Stephen Hunter, The 47th Samurai, S&S. "A shoot-em-up thriller combining the grittiness of 1945 Iowa Jima with the mystique of samurai culture." Yes, it does say "Iowa Jima" on the website. Spell-check gone bad, I think.
Gail Tsukiyama, The Street of a Thousand Blossoms, St. Martin's. "The story of two families in Japan before, during, and after World War II."
Andrea Barrett, The Air We Breathe, Norton. "An exquisite new novel set during WWI by the National Book Award winner for Ship Fever."

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