Library Love Fest

LLF Staff Suggestions for the September LibraryReads List

Hello, librarian friends!

It's time to talk books! There are so many incredible reads headed your way this September from both long-time favorites and exciting new voices. Keep reading to find out more and remember: votes for the September LibraryReads list are due August 1st!

***

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
For fans of: Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver
The New York Times bestselling author of Commonwealth and State of Wonder returns with her most powerful novel to date: a richly moving story that explores the indelible bond between two siblings, the house of their childhood, and a past that will not let them go.

Request the egalley from Edelweiss
Request the egalley from NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: August 1, 2019

 

Cold Storage by David Koepp
For fans of: Artemis by Andy Weir and Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
For readers of Andy Weir and Noah Hawley comes an astonishing debut by the screenwriter of Jurassic Park: a wild and terrifying adventure about three strangers who must work together to contain a highly contagious, deadly organism.

"To be simultaneously terrifying and hilarious is a masterstroke few writers can pull off, but Koepp manages in this incredible fiction debut that calls to mind a beautiful hybrid of Michael Crichton and Carl Hiaasen. Cold Storage is sheer thrillery goodness, and riotously entertaining." 
—Blake Crouch, New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter

Request the egalley from Edelweiss
Request the egalley from NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: August 1, 2019

 

The Last Train to London by Meg Waite Clayton
For fans of: We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter and Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly
The New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Exiles conjures her best novel yet, a pre-World War II-era story with the emotional resonance of Orphan Train and The Nightingale, centering on the Kindertransports that carried thousands of children out of Nazi-occupied Europe—and one brave woman who helped them escape to safety. 

"The Last Train to London is an absolutely fascinating, beautifully rendered story.... Clayton perfectly captures the tension and heartbreak of the times, which feel so relevant today. It is a glowing portrait of women rising up against impossible odds to save children." 
—Kristin Hannah, New York Times bestselling author of The Great Alone and The Nightingale

Request the egalley from Edelweiss
Request the egalley from NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: August 1, 2019

The Nanny by Gilly Macmillan
For fans of: The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy and The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
The New York Times bestselling author of What She Knew conjures a dark and unpredictable tale of family secrets that explores the lengths people will go to hurt one another.

"The Nanny kept me in white-knuckled suspense until the very last page. Gilly Macmillan’s breakout thriller is a dark and twisted version of Downton Abbey gone very, very wrong." 
—Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of The Shape of Night

Request the egalley from Edelweiss
Request the egalley from NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: August 1, 2019

 

Elevator Pitch by Linwood Barclay
For fans of: The Breakdown by B. A Paris
The New York Times bestselling author of A Noise Downstairs and No Time for Goodbye returns with an edge-of-your-seat thriller that does for elevators what Psycho did for showers and Jaws did for the beach—a heart-pounding tale in which a series of disasters paralyzes New York City with fear.

"This novel moves as fast as a falling elevator and hits with just as much force. Linwood Barclay is a stone cold pro and Elevator Pitch is a shameless good time."
—Joe Hill, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fireman and Strange Weather

Request the egalley from Edelweiss
Request the egalley from NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: August 1, 2019

 

No Judgments by Meg Cabot
For fans of: My Not So Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella
In the New York Times bestselling author’s latest novel, the storm of the century is about to hit Little Bridge Island, Florida—and it’s sending waves crashing through Sabrina "Bree" Beckham’s love life...

Request the egalley from Edelweiss
Request the egalley from NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: August 1, 2019

 

After the Flood by Kassandra Montag
For fans of: Birdbox by Josh Malerman
An unforgettable, inventive, and riveting epic saga with the literary force and evocative imagination of Station Eleven, Zone One, and The Road, that follows a mother's desperate hunt for her missing daughter in a world utterly transformed by climate change.

"A soaring, brilliantly imagined novel about love and desperation, set in an astonishing new world that still feels utterly gripping and contemporary. Kassandra Montag is a visionary new talent!"
—Karin Slaughter, bestselling author of The Last Widow and Pieces of Her

Request the egalley from Edelweiss
Request the egalley from NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: August 1, 2019

 

Lost in the Spanish Quarter by Heddi Goodrich
For fans of: Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney
Told with the intimacy and ferocity of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels and set in the passionate, intense, and crumbling neighborhood known as the Spanish Quarter of Naples, comes a tale of two students searching for love and belonging in the city they so desperately want to call home.

"A declaration of love for Naples, and not at all superficial: it is powerful and authentic precisely because it is a foreigner’s point of view, one that is not afraid of this vast city that is often difficult to comprehend."
—Pier Luigi Razzano, La Repubblica, Napoli

Request the egalley from Edelweiss
Request the egalley from NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: August 1, 2019

 

The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup
For fans of: The Thirst by Jo Nesbø and The Kept by James Scott
The heart-pounding debut from the creator of the hit Scandinavian television show The Killing about a psychopath is terrorizing Copenhagen.

"A full-throttle thriller in the tradition of classic Stiegg Larsson, drenched in atmosphere and charged with adrenaline. Buckle up. You’ll gulp down every word. I loved this book."
—A. J. Finn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

Request the egalley from Edelweiss
Request the egalley from NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: August 1, 2019

 

Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes
For fans of: The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers and Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik
A hilarious, offbeat debut space opera that skewers everything from pop culture to video games and features an irresistible foul-mouthed captain and her motley crew, strange life forms, exciting twists, and a galaxy full of fun and adventure.

"Jam-packed with weird aliens, mysterious artifacts, and lovable characters...Eva and her family are Latinx and often include un-italicized Spanish in their dialogue, a rare find in a genre that usually uses whiteness as the default. A tremendously good time and an impressive debut."
—Kirkus  review

Request the egalley from Edelweiss
Request the egalley from NetGalley
LibraryReads Votes Due: August 1, 2019

For more great reading suggestions for September, check out our
September LibraryReads Suggestions Edelweiss catalog!

The deadline to submit your votes is August 1! 

***

We hope you enjoy the books! For more information about LibraryReads, visit their website. Remember: Vote early! Vote often!

-Chris

Our #BookinIt2DC Buzz Tour was a Blast!

Hey there, librarian friends! Our #BookinIt2DC Buzz Tour has come to a close and we're back in the HarperCollins offices reminiscing about our life on the road. Our tour took us from New York City to the Princeton Public Library in New Jersey, to the Free Library of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, to the Baltimore County Public Library in Maryland, and finally to Washington D.C. for the ALA Annual Conference. You can watch the replays of our three #BookinIt2DC buzzes here.

We also had a great time seeing so many of our librarian pals at the ALA conference! Our booth was packed Friday night when the doors opened up! 

Then on Saturday, June 22, we hosted our world-famous Adult Book Buzz to several hundred librarians. You can check out the scene below and listen to all of our title presentations on our official buzz page: librarylovefest.com/whatsthebuzz. Click here for our presentation handout!

We also had so many incredible authors in town for booth signings and author panels!

Saturday, June 22

Caitlin Starling getting ready to sign copies of The Luminous Dead

Meg Cabot getting ready to sign copies of No Judgments

Alicia Menendez signing copies of The Likeability Trap

Ann Patchett signing copies of The Dutch House

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linwood Barclay signing copies of Elevator Pitch

Charles Soule signing copies of Anyone

UFL Program: It’s a Mystery to Me with Linwood Barclay, Elevator Pitch

LibraryReads Program: Fiercely Female with Alicia Menendez, The Likeability Trap

Laura Lippman signing copies of Lady in the Lake

 

Andrea Rothman signing copies of The DNA of You and Me

 

Book Buzz Theater with Workman, Norton, & Sterling
Click here for a printable version of the handout!

 

Carnegie Awards with speaker Laura Lippman, Lady in the Lake

 

Sunday, June 23

RUSA Literary Tastes Author Panel Breakfast with Chelsey Johnson, Stray City (far left)

UFL Program: Must-Read Memoirs with Doris Payne, Diamond Doris 
(note: Doris Payne could not attend due to illness, so her longtime friend and lawyer, Blair Berk, came to discuss Diamond Doris.)

Kevin Wilson signing copies of Nothing to See Here

 

United for Libraries Book Club Central panel: How to Book Club with Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie, and Kate Quinn, Ribbons of Scarlet (pictured here with Robin Hoklotubbe, United for Libraries Special Projects Coordinator)

 

Chelsey Johnson signing copies of Stray City

 

Stephanie Dray, Laura Kamoie, and Kate Quinn signing copies of Ribbons of Scarlet

UFL Editor’s Panel with Kevin Wilson, Nothing to See Here

 

Clyde W. Ford signing copies of Think Black

 

Pop Top Stage, ALMA/Authors in Conversation: Finding Identity with Clyde W. Ford, Think Black

 

Josh Gondelman signing copies of Nice Try

 

UFL The Laugh’s On Us with Josh Gondelman, Nice Try

 

Monday, June 24

Kate Elizabeth Russell signing copies of My Dark Vanessa

 

Book Buzz Theater with Harlequin
Click here for a printable version of the handout!

 

Stonewall Book Awards with Uzodinma Iweala, author of Speak No Evil, Honor Book for the 2019 Barbara Gittings Literature Award

UFL Gala Author Tea with Kate Elizabeth Russell, My Dark Vanessa

We'll continue to share memories from the #BookinIt2DC buzz tour and ALA Annual, so keep your eyes peeled!

-Chris

The July LibraryReads List is Here!

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

This month, we are thrilled to share that we have THREE authors selected for the LibraryReads Hall of Fame List!

Congratulations to Joshilyn Jackson, Laura Lippman, and Sarah MacLean for being selected for the LibraryReads Hall of Fame!  Click here to see the full list.

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson: New York Times 
bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson—"an admired writer who deserves to be a household name" (Kirkus Reviews)—displays her masterful talent in this dark and deliciously addictive tale of domestic suspense.

"Nail-biting suspense.... Jackson builds on her talent for creating imperfect, capable, and multi-layered characters to write smart suspense, driven by the intelligence and determination of the instigator and her prey.... Never Have I Ever marks a new high in Jackson’s career."
                                 —Booklist review

Previous LibraryReads Selections: Someone Else's Love Story, The Opposite of Everyone, and The Almost Sisters

Request the egalley from Edelweiss
Request the egalley from NetGalley

 

Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman: The revered New York Times bestselling author returns with a novel set in 1960s Baltimore that combines modern psychological insights with elements of classic noir, about a middle-aged housewife turned aspiring reporter who pursues the murder of a forgotten young woman.

"Smoldering.... Lippman’s fans will devour this sophisticated crime novel, which captures the era’s zeitgeist while painting a striking portrait of unapologetic female ambition."
—Publishers Weekly review

Previous LibraryReads Selections: After I'm Gone, Wilde Lake, and Sunburn

Request the egalley from Edelweiss
Request the egalley from NetGalley

 

Brazen and the Beast by Sarah MacLean: New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean returns with the next book in the Bareknuckle Bastards series about three brothers bound by a secret that they cannot escape—and the women who bring them to their knees.

"MacLean’s books should be required reading...She is, without question, the elegantly fuming, utterly intoxicating queen of historical romance."
—Entertainment Weekly

Previous LibraryReads Selections: No Duke Goes Unpunished
                                  and Never Judge a Lady by Her Cover

Request the egalley from Edelweiss
Request the egalley from NetGalley

Thanks to all who participated and submitted votes for the July LibraryReads list! Be sure to submit your votes for the Augst LibraryReads list by July 1st. You can see our recommendations here. Click here to learn more about LibraryReads.

-Chris

 

Editors Unedited: Editor Emily Krump in Conversation with Author Lori Rader-Day

On this week's episode of Editors Unedited on The Library Love Fest Podcast, William Morrow Senior Editor Emily Krump interviews Lori Rader-Day, Edgar Award®-nominated author of Under a Dark Sky. They discuss Lori's new book, The Lucky One, an unforgettable, chilling novel about a young woman who recognizes the man who kidnapped her as a child, setting off a search for justice. Lori also discusses the true crime story that was the inspiration for this novel. 

Listen to the episode below!

Lori is well known in the true crime world; she is the national Vice President of Sisters in Crime, a network for crime writers. Find out more on their website here. Be sure to check out The Lucky One, available on February 4, 2020.

-Lainey

Library Love Fest Is #BookinIt2DC! Be Sure to RSVP to One of Our Buzz Stops!

Hello, librarian friends!

Some exciting news from the Library Love Fest team: we're road trippin' to Washington D.C. for ALA Annual and will be stopping at libraries along the way! We'll be setting up our tiki hut and buzzing books at the Princeton Public Library in New Jersey, the Free Library of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, and the Baltimore County Public Library in Maryland. 
 

Monday, June 17th

12:00pm 
Princeton Public Library
65 Witherspoon St
Princeton, NJ 08542

3:30pm
Free Library of Philadelphia
Parkway Central Branch
1901 Vine St
Philadelphia, PA 19103 
Room 131/132


Tuesday, June 18th

2:00pm
Baltimore County Public Library
Arbutus Branch
855 Sulphur Spring Rd
Arbutus, MD 21227
 

If you live within driving distance of any of these libraries, please join us in person! Click here to RSVP!

If you can’t make it to one of these libraries, do not fret! We'll be live streaming our buzzes on Facebook and documenting all the hijinks along the way on social.

We'll be releasing additional details between now and when we hit the road on Monday, June 17th, so make sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for updates.

The official hashtag of the Library Love Fest road trip is #BookinIt2DC.

Of course, if you can't join us at one of our library buzzes, we'll still be hosting our world-renowned book buzz at ALA Annual!

Saturday, June 22nd

8:30am-10:00am
HarperCollins Book Buzz
WCC, Room 202A Theater
RSVP: librarylovefest@harpercollins.com 
Subject: RSVP Book Buzz

 

Don't forget to let us know if you can make it to one of our book buzzes on the road to ALA in D.C. Click here to RSVP!

-Virginia, Chris, and Lainey

Editors Unedited: Editor Jessica Williams in Conversation with Author Kate Elizabeth Russell

On this week's episode of The Library Love Fest Podcast, Senior Editor Jessica Williams interviews author Kate Elizabeth Russell.

Kate's debut novel, My Dark Vanessa, explores the psychological dynamics of the relationship between a precocious yet naïve teenage girl and her magnetic and manipulative teacher. It is a brilliant, all-consuming read that marks the explosive debut of an extraordinary new writer.

Stephen King says: “I had the feeling you get at the end of some books, when you know the next one won’t be as good. My Dark Vanessa is a hard story to read and a harder one to put down...a well-constructed package of dynamite.”

The announcement of this book set off an industry-wide frenzy, selling in 25 territories and counting. Check out the Entertainment Weekly announcement here. My Dark Vanessa was also named a BookExpo 2019 Buzz Book! Find out more here.

Listen to the episode here:

We are all big fans of this book here at LLF and we can't wait for you to read it, too! It's truly a beautiful and unique reading experience.

You can also see Kate at ALA this June. She will be signing at our booth #1222 at 9 AM on Monday, June 24. She will also be speaking at the United For Libraries Gala Author Tea later that day at 2 PM.

Find out more about the book and download an egalley on Edelweiss and NetGalley now. LibraryReads votes are due December 1st, 2019.

-Lainey

William Morrow Has FIVE Nominations for the 2019 Anthony Awards!

We are excited to share that William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, has FIVE titles nominated for the 2019 Anthony Awards!

BEST NOVEL

November Road by Lou Berney (William Morrow): Set against the assassination of JFK, a poignant and evocative crime novel that centers on a desperate cat-and-mouse chase across 1960s America—a story of unexpected connections, daring possibilities, and the hope of second chances from the Edgar Award-winning author of The Long and Faraway Gone.

Sunburn by Laura Lippman (William Morrow): New York Times bestselling author Laura Lippman returns with a superb novel of psychological suspense about a pair of lovers with the best intentions and the worst luck: two people locked in a passionate yet uncompromising game of cat and mouse. But instead of rules, this game has dark secrets, forbidden desires, inevitable betrayals—and cold-blooded murder.

 

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL

If I Die Tonight by Alison Gaylin (William Morrow Paperbacks): Reminiscent of the bestsellers of Laura Lippman and Harlan Coben—with a dose of Big Little Lies or Stranger Things—an absorbing, addictive tale of psychological suspense from the author of the highly acclaimed and Edgar Award-nominated What Remains of Me and the USA Today bestselling and Shamus Award-winning Brenna Spector series, in which a seemingly open-and-shut police case with a clear-cut hero and villain turns out to be anything but simple.

Under a Dark Sky by Lori Rader-Day (William Morrow Paperbacks): From the critically-acclaimed author of The Day I Died comes a terrifying twist on a locked-room mystery that will keep readers guessing until the last page, set in a remote dark sky park.

 

BEST CRITICAL OR NON-FICTION WORK

Dead Girls: Essays on Surviving an American Obsession by Alice Bolin (William Morrow Paperbacks): In this poignant collection, Alice Bolin examines iconic American works from the essays of Joan Didion and James Baldwin to Twin Peaks, Britney Spears, and Serial, illuminating the widespread obsession with women who are abused, killed, and disenfranchised, and whose bodies (dead and alive) are used as props to bolster men’s stories. Smart and accessible, thoughtful and heartfelt, Bolin investigates the implications of our cultural fixations, and her own role as a consumer and creator.

The Anthony Awards will be voted on by attendees at the 50th annual Bouchercon® World Mystery Convention in Dallas, Texas and presented on Saturday, November 2.

-Chris

The June LibraryReads List is Here!

                           

You voted, they counted, and the winners have been announced. We are excited to share that Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey has been selected for the June LibraryReads list! A huge congratulations to all the titles on the list! See the full list here.

Fix Her Up by Tessa Bailey: New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey delivers a fun, sexy romantic comedy—perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Sally Thorne—about a party planner and a professional baseball player-turned house flipper whose fake relationship takes a very real turn.

Request the egalley from Edelweiss
Request the egalley from NetGalley

Thanks to all who participated and submitted votes for the June LibraryReads list! Be sure to submit your votes for the July LibraryReads list by June 1st. You can see our recommendations here. Click here to learn more about LibraryReads.

-Chris

Editors Unedited: The Editors of Avon Books on HOW TO WRITE A ROMANCE

On this week's episode of The Library Love Fest Podcast, I sat down with Associate Editor Elle Keck and Editor Nicole Fischer to hear more about How to Write a Romance, an upcoming romance writer's journal from Avon Books.

Sharing wisdom and expertise from editors, How to Write a Romance guides you through the basic construction of a romance novel and highlights the most common pitfalls to avoid. It also includes 180 prompts touching on every aspect of romance writing: dialogue, character development, scene description, situational entries, and more.

This is a great resource for writers and romance readers alike. Be sure to listen to the interview with Elle and Nicole below:

Want to start reading romance novels but don't know where to start? We asked the Avon editors featured in this podcast interview to list their top five romance recommendations!

Elle's Top Five:

1. The Soldier's Scoundrel by Cat Sebastian
2. Love On My Mind by Tracey Livesay
3. Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas
4. Dangerous Games by Tess Diamond
5. The Winter King by C.L Wilson

Nicole's Top Five:

1. Destiny’s Surrender by Beverly Jenkins
2. Ten Kisses to Scandal by Vivienne Lorret
3. A Duke by Default by Alyssa Cole
4. The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
5. Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews

We hope you enjoyed this exclusive interview with two of our Avon editors. Be sure to check out How to Write a Romance, available July 9, 2019.

-Lainey

An Interview with Jaclyn Moriarty, Author of GRAVITY IS THE THING

On this week's episode of The Library Love Fest Podcast, Sarah Lambert, the Marketing Assistant at Harper, called her author Jaclyn Moriarty to talk about her upcoming U.S. adult debut, Gravity Is the Thing.

Gravity Is the Thing tells the story of single mother and cafe owner Abigail Sorenson. Twenty years ago, her brother Robert went missing one day before her sixteenth birthday, never to be seen again. That same year, she began receiving scattered chapters in the mail of a self-help manual, the Guidebook, whose anonymous author promised to make her life soar to heights beyond her wildest dreams. Now, two decades after receiving those first pages, Abi is invited to an all-expenses paid weekend retreat to learn “the truth” about the Guidebook.

Gravity Is the Thing is a smart, unusual, wickedly funny novel about the search for happiness that will break your heart into a million pieces and put it back together, bigger and better than before.

A book Marian Keyes calls “one of the most magical, different, interesting, likable, lovable, beautiful, sad, lovely, immensely uplifting books I have ever read. I read it in an agony of loving it but also being so humbled by the fact that if I lived to be 7,022 years old I would never be able to write a book as good as this. You will adore it—it’s an instant classic.”

Be sure to listen to the interview below!

You can download an egalley on Edelweiss and NetGalley now.

-Lainey