Author name: Library Love Fest

Hello, librarians!

We are back with another round of titles for your LibraryReads consideration. Find a list of our staff suggestions eligible for the September LibraryReads List here. Reminder: votes for the September LibraryReads List are due August 1st.

-The LLF Team (Virginia and Lainey)

On this episode, Emma Kupor, Assistant Editor at Harper Wave, interviews Yana Tallon-Hicks, author of Hot and Unbothered, available on August 16, 2022.

Listen to the episode below:

Find Yana's Instagram feed, referenced in the episode, here.

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-Lainey

There's a lot of loss in the world today. When we lose an animal, specifically, we grieve and then have to weigh if getting another pet is worth the pain of potentially losing them. This week, we explore that on our new podcast episode. We feature a conversation with E.B. Bartels, author of Good Grief, and her editor at Mariner Books, Ivy Givens. The book is an unexpected, poignant, and personal account of loving and losing pets, exploring the singular bonds we have with our companion animals, and how to grieve them once they’ve passed. This is a must-listen if you've lost a pet in the past.

Listen to the full episode here:

Books E.B. mentioned:

• The Loss of a Pet by Wallace Sife, Ph.D.
• Marley & Me by John Grogan
• Off the Leash by Matthew Gilbert
• Fetch by Nicole J. Georges
• Afterglow by Eileen Myles
• Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett
• Rabbit Cake by Annie Hartnett
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
• Dog Songs by Mary Oliver
• The Last Will and Testament of an Extremely Distinguished Dog by Eugene O'Neill

Good Grief is on sale August 2, 2022.

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-Lainey

Catherine Newman, author of We All Want Impossible Things, wrote a lovely ode to libraries. Read it here.

Catherine Newman, author of We All Want Impossible Things, wrote a lovely ode to libraries. Read it here.

Hello, librarians!

You voted, they counted, and the winners have finally been announced!

This month, we are thrilled to share that Susan Wiggs' Sugar and Salt and Paul Tremblay's The Pallbearers Club have been selected for the July LibraryReads list! 

Want to hear how our authors reacted to the big news? Listen to our latest episode of The Library Love Fest Podcast to hear their responses:

Find out more about each book and download egalleys here.

Congrats to both of our authors!
-Lainey

Hello, librarians!

Summer reading is here! Grab your beach umbrella and get ready to settle down with one of our hot, upcoming reads. Find a list of our staff suggestions that are eligible for the August LibraryReads List here. Reminder: votes for the August LibraryReads List are due July 1st.

-The LLF Team (Virginia and Lainey)

Sign up for our WORLD-FAMOUS book buzz on Saturday, June 25th from 8:30-10:00 AM ET at the Marriott Marquis, Marquis Ballroom Salon 6.

RSVP for the in-person portion of our buzz here.

RSVP for the virtual presentation of our buzz here.

Find a list of titles presented at the buzz here.

***

See a full list of our author signings and programs below. Stop by booth #1222 and say hello!

Listen in on a conversation with Mia Mercado and her editor at HarperOne, Sydney Rogers. They talk all about Mia's upcoming essay collection She's Nice Though. In this thought-provoking, humorous collection of essays, the author of Weird But Normal and morning blogger at The Cut explores kindness, agreeability, goodness, and the assumptions and expectations that come with being female, Asian, and Midwestern.

Listen to the episode below:

She's Nice Though is on sale August 30, 2022.

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-Lainey

This week on the podcast, we welcome Vice President and Executive Editor Lucia Macro back to the podcast to talk with Emiko Jean, the author of Mika in Real Life—a book Lucia describes as "one of my favorite books of the summer." Mika in Real Life is the brilliant new novel from the author of the New York Times bestselling young adult novel Tokyo Ever After. It's a whip-smart, laugh-out-loud funny, and utterly heartwarming novel about motherhood, daughterhood, and love—how we find it, keep it, and how it always returns.

A few of the rave reviews include:

Listen to the episode here: 

LibraryReads votes are due July 1st!

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-Lainey

Last month, one of our all-time favorite authors, Willy Vlautin, delivered the Closing Luncheon speech at the Public Library Association conference in Portland, OR.

His speech, excerpted here, is full of warmth, insight, and a reverence for libraries that borders on the spiritual.

Willy Vlautin is a magician with words: written, spoken, or sung, he’ll touch your heart with his flawed, human characters. You’ll root for the underdogs, exalt in their successes, and cry when life gives them a raw deal.

But you’ll always carry them with you.

They’re too beautiful to let go.

-Virginia

***

If I hit the lottery and came into millions of dollars, one of the first things I’d do would be to buy the downtown Reno library. And if they let me and I got it, I’d keep it exactly the same for as long as I lived. Because to me it’s the most beautiful library that’s ever been built. To me the idea of heaven is that library. In its own way the downtown Reno library is more magnificent than the Boston Central Library or the New York Public Library or the Los Angeles Central Library or even the George Peabody Library in Maryland. Now most of you, maybe all of you, think I’m nuts for saying that.

But love is a wild, unpredictable thing.

I grew up in Reno and had gone to the library occasionally as a kid but it was when I was older, maybe twelve or thirteen, that I began spending hours in the downtown library. There’s something about the promise of a library, even back then I felt it, the promise of…well…betterment. The idea that maybe there’s something more to you, something better about you and the library will help you find it, the library will help you get there. In that way libraries have always been my churches. Sanctuaries that, at least for a moment, take you from who you are to who you want to be.

The Reno library gave me My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George, the first novel that really floored me. The first that showed me the true power of the novel. I wanted more than anything to be the kid in that book, a kid who runs away and lives in a hollowed-out tree and loves nature, has a pet falcon, doesn’t need a family, and wants to be a biologist. He’s tough and not damaged and not scared or depressed and he has a mission. To live at one with nature. I read that novel over and over and began looking up books on biology, nature, and birds. I wanted to be like him and disappear into the idea of science and nature. But always when I tried, when I had those books stacked on a table, my eyes would glaze over and I’d give up. Because underneath I had no interest in biology or science. The truth was I wasn’t a great student, a great reader, or a great thinker.

Next I stumbled upon the James Herriot novel All Creatures Great and Small, a book about a country veterinarian in Yorkshire, England before World War II. I got so caught up in that one that I began working at a vet hospital on weekends. And when I’d go to the library after that, I’d look up books on horse and dog anatomy, books on diseases and common horse ailments or dog psychology, but again my eyes would glaze over. I didn’t get it and it didn’t get me closer to the book, only farther away. Because deep down I had no real interest in how the stomachs of a cow work or how the nose of a dog worked. I barely got through high school math and I’m ashamed to say I had to cheat my way through high school chemistry. So no I wouldn’t be James Herriot, the beloved vet, living in Yorkshire with a loving makeshift family, and free of myself.

The next discovery was John Steinbeck. A man who often wrote about people like me, people who can’t quite stand up, who are barely good and never great. And it was reading Steinbeck in the library that got me closer to who I was: an unstable kid who seemed to only get comfort from movies, books and records, and sitting in libraries. Comfort from escape.

I began to grow up.

My first girlfriend and I would spend weekends at the library. She would write things on her belly and then walk to a different part of the library and wave her hands until I noticed and then pull up her shirt so I could see what she wrote. And I came up with one of my first stories in that downtown Reno library, the story of a kid who gets trapped with his girlfriend in the library. They have a huge bed and a food replicator so they can eat anything they want whenever they want. And on the bottom floor of the library, where there’s a water feature, I wrote in a hot tub. In the story they never leave and they’re always happy. They are trapped there forever, imprisoned in heaven!

I think it’s safe to say I wasn’t a young Einstein or Shakespeare. I was just a guy who was in love with escape and in that way in love with novels without knowing he was in love with novels.

When I went to college I spent five nights a week in a library. That didn’t mean I got good grades, though. Because I spent my time there, not studying but reading novels. I sat in there night after night because libraries gave me comfort and not much else at the time gave me comfort. And of course by then I knew I wouldn’t be a veterinarian or a biologist or a mountaineer or business tycoon. I wouldn’t be a jet set writer like John le Carré or an iconic nature writer like Barry Lopez. I wouldn’t be Willie Nelson or Tom Waits either.

What I started to see was that I was a bit of wreck. Because the novels I found in the library that brought me the most comfort night after night were about guys who were beat up and wrecked. It’s a hard discovery to make about oneself, but a discovery I figured out in the safety of the place that had always made me feel the safest, the place that had made me feel, at least while I was there, that I was being the best version of myself.

So it’s safe to say I believe in libraries and I want to thank you all for being librarians. If I was Oprah, this would now be the time that I’d give each of you a brand-new Cadillac, color of your choice, of course.

If there are saints drifting around Portland, and I think there are, one of them would be Ursula K. Le Guin. She was a brilliant writer, yes, but she was also a true advocate and champion of libraries. She said once, "Knowledge sets us free, art sets us free. A great library is freedom…and that freedom must not be compromised. It must be available to all who need it, when they need it, and that's always…" So wherever she may be, I want to thank her and all those who have made the Portland and Multnomah County library system one of the best in the country.

***

Willy Vlautin has been the recipient of three Oregon Book Awards, The Nevada Silver Pen Award, and was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame and the Oregon Music Hall of Fame. He was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award and was shortlisted for the Impac Award (International Dublin Literary Award). His novels include: The Night Always Comes, Don't Skip Out On Me, The Free, Lean on Pete, Northline, and The Motel Life. Two of his novels, The Motel Life and Lean on Pete, have been adapted as films.

Check out Willy's very cool website for more info.

Hear one of the songs from The Night Always Comes book soundtrack, titled "Lynette's Lament," which is performed by Willy's band The Delines and written by band member Cory Gray. Click below to listen!

Hello, librarians!

We hope you are having a fantastic Spring—hoping the warmer weather made it your way. We're back with a selection of titles eligible for the July LibraryReads List. Reminder: votes for the July LibraryReads List are due June 1st.

-The LLF Team (Virginia, Lainey, and Essie)

There has been so much love around the HarperCollins office for Jillian Medoff's When We Were Bright and Beautiful. We were so excited to be able to feature a podcast episode with the acclaimed author of This Could Hurt and her editor at Harper. She returns with When We Were Bright and Beautiful, her biggest, boldest novel yet—an electrifying, twisty, and deeply emotional family drama, set on Manhattan’s glittering Upper East Side, that explores the dark side of love, the limits of loyalty, and the high cost of truth.

Listen to the episode below:

When We Were Bright and Beautiful is on sale August 2, 2022.

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-Lainey

Hello, librarians! We're so excited for our second conference this year—and this time we're going to Dallas! Check out the schedule below to see all of the exciting events and author signings we have coming up. And if you missed out on a physical galley, check out our TLA 2022 Edelweiss Collection here! We can't wait to see everyone again!

We are so excited to share a new podcast episode between Readers' Advisor Becky Spratford and beloved author Paul Tremblay about his upcoming book, The Pallbearers Club—a cleverly voiced psychological thriller about an unforgettable—and unsettling—friendship, with blood-chilling twists, crackling wit, and a thrumming pulse in its veins.

Becky Spratford [MLIS] is a Readers' Advisor in Illinois specializing in serving patrons ages 13 and up. She trains library staff all over the world on how to match books with readers through the local public library. She runs the critically acclaimed RA training blog RA for All. She mentioned the 3rd edition of her book: The Reader’s Advisory Guide to Horror, which she named Paul Tremblay as an example of a great author working in psychological horror. You can follow Becky on Twitter @RAforAll. 

Listen to the episode below:

Paul also listed some of the books he is reading and loving:

• Ocean State by Stewart O'Nan
• Corpsemouth and Other Autobiographies by John Langan
• Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enriquez
• Helpmeet by Naben Ruthnum
• The Ghost Sequences by AC Wise
• Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison

The Pallbearers Club is on sale July 5, 2022

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LibraryReads votes are due June 1st.

A HUGE thank you to Becky and Paul for taking the time to record this episode!

-Lainey

Team America is a dynamic history of four military leaders whose extraordinary leadership and strategy led the United States to success during World War I and beyond, from national bestselling author and acclaimed military historian Robert L. O’Connell.

Today, we are honored to feature a guest post from Robert O'Connell about how this book is feeling very topical for our current climate:

***

Thank you so much, Robert! 

Team America publishes on May 17, 2022.

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Hello, librarians!

You voted, they counted, and the winners have finally been announced!

This month, we are thrilled to share that Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt made the May LibraryReads list! This book was our inaugural Galley Club selection as well as a HarperCollins Lead Read title. The team is over the moon that it made the LibraryReads list!

We also gave Shelby a call to tell her the good news. You can listen in to our conversation on our latest podcast episode here:

Find out more about the title selected here.

-Lainey

On this episode, we welcome guest host Kaite Stover, Director of Reader's Services at The Kansas City Public Library. She interviews New York Times bestselling author Christopher Moore, author of Razzmatazz—an outrageous follow-up to his madcap novel Noir, returning to the mean streets of San Francisco.

Listen to the episode below:

Kaite is a rockstar!! She also did a tarot card reading for Christopher. Check out the screenshot from the recording:

Razzmatazz is on sale May 17, 2022

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-Lainey

PLA 2022 is in the books! We were so excited to host Edgar Award-winning author Meg Gardiner. Meg spoke at the PLA Mystery Program at the conference. She talked about her upcoming book, Heat 2, written in conjunction with Michael Mann, four-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker and writer-director of Heat, Collateral, Thief, Manhunter, and Miami Vice. They have teamed up to deliver Mann’s first crime novel, an explosive return to the world and characters of his classic film Heat—an all-new story that illuminates what happened before and after the iconic film. 

At the live program, Meg had very kind words for the librarians in the room. We wanted to share them with a larger audience. Meg was so gracious to share her remarks from the PLA Mystery Program below:

***

I want to thank all of you here who work in and for libraries day in and day out.

Several years ago I spoke at PLA—also here in Portland—on a panel with Karin Slaughter. She described libraries as part of the national defense. At the time, I thought: that’s a powerful metaphor.

Today, I know, she wasn’t speaking symbolically. Libraries are crucial to defining, defending, and determining who we are and will be as a country.

I live in Austin and teach seminars for Texas Writes, a non-profit that brings published authors to rural libraries across the state to give free writing workshops. I see how integral libraries are to small communities.

You are the core of what we are supposed to be: promoting free expression, knowledge, and inquiry; strengthening and supporting democracy, welcoming all. Guided not by fear or narrow interest, but serving everyone in the community.

I know that right now some of you feel an oppressive atmosphere. In Texas, many librarians are embattled and threatened for doing their jobs. I honor and support you for standing up for us all.

I also want to let you know that this conference will bring in more money than four games of the men’s NCAA basketball tourney held in Portland last week! That’s how big a deal PLA is. LIBRARIANS BEAT MARCH MADNESS.

***

Thank you so much, Meg! 

Heat 2 publishes on August 9, 2022.

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Hello librarians! 

If you have a moment today, sit back and listen to Bookreporter's interview with Gilly Macmillan, author of The Long Weekend (On-sale now!)

In Carol Fitzgerald's own words, tune into a " fabulously fun interview with Gilly about her very chilling book, which had me twisted more than once…especially at the first one…and then the second one!"

YouTube: https://youtu.be/vmH2hNHFH6U

Podcast: https://tbrnetwork.com/podcasts/bookreporter-talks-to/bookreporter-talks-to-gilly-macmillan-2022/

Enjoy! 

-The LLF Team

This week on the podcast, we featured a conversation between Jessica Williams, Executive Editor at William Morrow, and author Kirstin Chen. They discuss Kirstin's upcoming novel Counterfeit—the story of two Asian American women who band together to grow a counterfeit handbag scheme into a global enterprise—an incisive and glittering blend of fashion, crime, and friendship from the author of Bury What We Cannot Take and Soy Sauce for Beginners. It is perfect for fans of Hustlers and How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia.

Listen to the episode below:

Kirstin also wrote a few words about her research trip and provided photos!

"As I mentioned in the podcast episode, early in the process of writing Counterfeit, I was lucky enough to obtain a research grant to travel to the city of Guangzhou, the leather goods capital of China. My first stop was the Baiyun World Leather Trading Center, one of the country’s five largest wholesale markets, all two-hundred-square-feet of which is devoted to replica designer handbags. Nearly 1,200 tiny, fluorescent-lit shops pack this hulking shopping mall. I peered into one after another at the handbags crammed onto shelves like grocery cans, a compilation of the luxury industry’s greatest hits: the Gucci Dionysus next to the Fendi Baguette next to the Louis Vuitton Speedy.

It was in one of these stores that I first held a coral Hermès Kelly “superfake”— purported to be at least 98% identical to the real thing. The price tag? $1,200, which is about a tenth of what someone would be charged at an Hermès boutique. As far as I could tell, the only thing missing from the replica was the Hermès stamp, which the sales associate told me could only be added after I’d paid for it—some sort of insurance policy against police raids.

In the neighboring city of Dongguan, I toured a luxury handbag factory that made bags for several well-known American and European designers. Across the border in Hong Kong, I consulted with an IP lawyer who specialized in copyright infringement in China, and who informed me, pointedly, that if the international brands didn’t try to cut costs by dividing their manufacturing among the very cheapest factories, they might maintain better control of their blueprints.

Many of these details made it into the novel in some form. Further, my research gave me the confidence to invent and imagine the rest of the story."
-Kirstin

***

Counterfeit is on sale June 7, 2022.

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-Lainey

The winners of the 2021 National Book Critics Circle Awards have been announced and we are so honored to say we have not one, but TWO books on the list! Congratulations to the Ecco and Harper teams who worked so hard on these titles, and of course congratulations to both authors! The winners are: 

The Love Songs of W.E.B Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

Afterparties by Anthony Veasna So

Congratulations again to the winners! 

—The LLF Team

Sarah McCoy's Mustique Island will sweep you away to the rich and colorful island of Mustique in the Caribbean during the 1970s. Mustique is tucked into the southernmost curve of the Caribbean, a private island that has become a haven for the wealthy and privileged. Its owner is the eccentric British playboy Colin Tennant, who is determined to turn this speck of white sand into a luxurious neo-colonial retreat for his rich friends and into a royal court in exile for the Queen’s rebellious sister, Princess Margaret—one where Her Royal Highness can skinny dip, party, and entertain lovers away from the public eye. This book has so many layers: how mothers and daughters understand each other and how social status changes the way we treat each other, with plenty of pop culture mixed in along the way. And of course—cocktails!

I had the honor of interviewing New York Times, USA Today, and international bestselling author—and kindred spirit—Sarah McCoy on our podcast. Sarah's research was extensive. She takes so much care with her work and introduces her complicated characters into the world with a lot of empathy for their situations.

Listen to the episode below:

Sarah also put together an amazing playlist for readers:

There's also a fantastic press kit on her website that contains a character list and all of the wonderful praise for the book. This is a great document for book clubs. Take a look here.

Sarah also shared a video from the 70's that was taken on Mustique Island. You may even see some characters from the book! Watch it here.

And, Sarah's Pinterest board is full of inspiration from the book. Super fun!

Mustique Island is on sale May 10, 2022.
LibraryReads votes are due April 1st.

Request an egalley on Edelweiss+
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-Lainey

Dearest librarians, we are SO excited to be back! We're thrilled to have a wonderful line-up of authors, events, AND book buzzes full of exciting upcoming titles. Use our schedule below to mark your calendars so you don't miss a thing!

Couldn't grab a galley? Grab the e-galley here!

Check out our full PLA 2022 schedule below!
Booth #2249

Wednesday, March 23
11:30 – 12:30 PM
BOOK BUZZ!
Booklist PLA Buzz
Virginia Stanley, HarperCollins
B113-116

12:45 PM PT
John Searles Virtual Interview
Available for viewing in the Virtual Conference

Thursday, March 24
9:30-10:30 AM
Juhea Kim
Beasts Of A Little Land
Signing at Booth

11:30 AM-12:30 PM
Mystery Program
Meg Gardiner/Heat 2
Daniel Nieh/Take No Names
Room B113-116

2:30-3:30 PM
Vanessa Riley
Sister Mother Warrior
Signing at booth

3:00-4:30 PM
BOOK BUZZ!
ALMA PLA Buzz
Lainey Mays, HarperCollins
Book Buzz Stage in Exhibit Hall

3:30-4:30 PM
Kate Quinn 
The Diamond Eye
Signing at Booth

5:00-6:00 PM
"Your Evening Is Booked!" Event
Kate Quinn
The Diamond Eye
Room D137-D140

Friday, March 25

10:30-11:30 AM
Willy Vlautin
The Night Always Comes
Signing at Booth

12:30-1:45 PM
PLA Luncheon
Willy Vlautin
The Night Always Comes
Convention Center
Oregon Ballroom 201

Hello, librarians!

You voted, they counted, and the winners have finally been announced!

This month, we are thrilled to share that we have THREE authors who made the April LibraryReads list: Sarah Pinborough's Insomnia, Janelle Monáe's The Memory Librarian, and Mia Sosa's The Wedding Crasher.

Want to hear how our authors reacted to the big news? Listen to our latest episode of The Library Love Fest Podcast to hear their responses:

Find out more about the titles selected here.

-Lainey