photo credit: paul (dex)
Recently, Library Journal posted an extensive list (over 200 titles!) of debuts coming this fall. Here is a look at the list of “literary fiction” first-time novels. Not much to go on with “first-timers” except the title and any “buzz” — has anyone heard good things about any of the following (other than Art of Fielding and The Night Circus)?
Michael Adelberg. A Thinking Man’s Bully. Permanent. Dec.
Jamil Ahmad. The Wandering Falcon. Riverhead: Penguin Group (USA). Oct. (Afghanistan)
Ayad Akhtar. American Dervish. Little, Brown. Jan.
Alice Albinia. Leela’s Book. Norton. Jan.
Fadi Azzam. Sarmada. Interlink: Interlink Pub. Group. Nov.
Joshua Baldwin. The Wilshire Sun. Turtle Point, dist. by Consortium. Sept.
Ned Beauman. Boxer, Beetle. Bloomsbury, dist. by Macmillan. Sept.
Naomi Benaron. Running the Rift. Algonquin. Jan.
Andrez Bergen. Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat. Another Sky. Sept.
Jim Cohee. The Swan. Indiana Univ. Sept.
Lyn Di Lorio. Outside the Bones. Arte Público. Sept.
Warren Fitzgerald. The Go-Away Bird. Blue Door: HarperCollins. Dec.
Jamie Fitzpatrick. You Could Believe in Nothing. Nimbus, dist. by National Bk. Network. Sept.
Martin Fletcher. The List. Thomas Dunne: St. Martin’s. Oct.
Tom Gamble. Amazir: A Novel of Morocco. Beautiful Bks. Oct.
Alex Gilvarry. From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant. Viking. Jan.
Joshua Golding. The Conversation. Urim Fiction. Nov.
Chad Harbach. The Art of Fielding. Little, Brown. Sept.
Seré Prince Halverson. The Underside of Joy. Dutton. Jan.
Chandra Hoffman. Chosen. HarperPaperbacks: HarperCollins. Nov.
Lars Husum. My Friend Jesus Christ. Portobello: Granta UK, dist. by Trafalgar Square. Dec.
Amy Jarecki. Koicto. Sunstone. Nov.
Nancy Jensen. The Sisters. St. Martin’s. Nov.
Kirsten Kaschock. Sleight. Coffee House, dist. by Consortium. Oct.
Keshni Kashyap. Tina’s Mouth: An Existential Comic Diary. Houghton Harcourt. Jan.
Alma Katsu. The Taker. Gallery: S. & S. Sept.
Bronia Kita. The Swansong of Wilbur McCrum. Picador. Sept.
Will La Page. The Cliff Dwellers. Sunstone. Dec.
Ben Lerner. Leaving the Atocha Station. Coffee House, dist. by Consortium. Sept.
Sara Levine. Treasure Island!!! Europa. Jan.
Fleur McDonald. Red Dust. Allen & Unwin, dist. by Trafalgar Square. Sept.
Jill McGivering. The Last Kestrel. HarperCollins UK, dist. by Trafalgar Square. Jan.
Catherine McGuinness. Emperor’s Clothes. Greenleaf. Oct.
Alexander Maksik. You Deserve Nothing. Europa, dist. by Penguin. Sept.
Annam Manthriam. After the Tsunami. Stephen F. Austin State Univ. Sept.
Candi Miller. Salt and Honey. Tindal St., dist. by Trafalgar Square. Nov.
Erin Morgenstern. The Night Circus. Doubleday. Sept.
Bonnie Nadzam. Lamb. Other. Sept.
Thad Nodine. Touch and Go. Unbridled. Sept.
E.S. Parkinson. Somethin’ Else. Vagabondage. Nov.
Keija Parssinen. The Ruins of Us. HarperPerennial: HarperCollins. Jan.
Ismet Prcic. Shards. Black Cat: Grove Oct.
David Rowell. The Train of Small Mercies. Putnam. Oct.
Michael Schiavone. Call Me When You Land. Permanent. Oct.
Kristi Peterson Schoonover. Bad Apple. Vagabondage. Nov.
Steve Sem-Sandberg. The Emperor of Lies. Farrar. Sept.
Fred Setterberg. Lunch Bucket Paradise: A True-Life Novel. Heyday. Nov.
Alan Shapiro. Broadway Baby. Algonquin. Jan.
E. Carter Sickles. The Evening Hour. Bloomsbury, dist. by Macmillan. Jan.
Kjersti Skomsvold. The Faster I Walk the Smaller I Am. Dalkey Archive. Oct.
David Snodin. Iago. Holt. Jan.
Paolo Sorrentino. Everybody’s Right. Europa, dist. by Penguin. Sept.
Leigh Stein. The Fallback Plan. Melville House. Jan.
Jacques Strauss. The Dubious Salvation of Jack V. Farrar. Sept.
Abigail Tarttelin. Flick. Beautiful Bks. Oct.
Justin Torres. We the Animals. Houghton Harcourt. Sept.
André Carl van der Merwe. Moffie. Europa, dist. by Penguin. Sept.
Laurie Weeks. Zipper Mouth. Feminist Pr., dist. by Consortium. Oct.
Angus Woodward. Americanisation: Lessons in American Culture and Language. Livingston: Univ. of West Alabama. Sept.
I was able to get an advance copy of American Dervish and I can say that everyone needs to read this novel! It is inspiring and touching and not like any other novel I have read. Check out this review http://www.bookroomreviews.com/2011/07/06/american-dervish-book-review/
Looking forward to hearing more about this list. So glad to see this many new novelists hitting the market. It has been tough to get published.
Thank you, TayM and Lynne! I appreciate getting a “heads up” on American Dervish!
Though I love the list, there’s so much on it without any annotation that it’s hard to find it useful. I was looking at it the other day, trying to figure out the best way to find out more. Thanks for asking the question.
Two that I keep reading about are Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron and We the Animals by Justin Torres. I haven’t read either but from what I’m hearing they will have demand. Running the Rift is set in the time leading up to Rwanda genocide, and is about a Tutsi boy with a gift for running. We the Animals, a coming of age story about three brothers has garnered lots of buzz. I just purchased this for our collection so haven’t heard any feedback yet.
I understand, Carol — I almost didn’t post it for that reason, but decided that getting the names of new writers out was still worth it. Plus, my hope was that people would chime in with which titles they had enjoyed — as TayM did! Thanks again, TayM!
I’m really glad you did post and am hoping to hear from others on what they enjoyed…
I have been seeing Tobacco Stained Mountain Goat around a bit and very good reviews too, but I haven’t read it yet.
Hi Kristen. Believe me I was surprised when I saw my book on this list, especially without any description (not sure what my publisher was thinking). Koicto is a story of a Native American warrior forced to embark on a journey of discovery and transformation.
I’d love to have you visit my blog at http://amyjarecki.blogspot.com or watch the book trailer on YouTube (just search for Koicto).
Thanks for re-posting!
Amy
Hello, Kristen,
I also found my book on the list, RUNNING THE RIFT. The novel follows a young Tutsi boy in Rwanda as he comes of age in the time leading up to the genocide in 1994. It has received starred reviews from Library Journal, Publishers Weekly and Kirkus and was chosen as one of the top 8 new novels by the Daily Beast.RTR is a story not so much about genocide as about the resiliency of the human spirit to overcome. You can read an excerpt on my website, www.naomibenaron.com and in this month’s (November) Running Times.
Please feel free to contact me with any comments/questions.
Thank you so much for getting my name out there!
-Naomi Benaron
Thank you, Amy!
Thank you, Naomi!
I loved Angus Woodward’s Americanisation, a novel in the form of an ESL textbook. It’s a hilarious fable about a young man who comes to America from a third-world country to get a graduate degree in Spiritual Geography. In this rags-to-riches-to-rags tale, the naive but likeable Biti quickly finds himself curiously embroiled in a pyramid scheme, a lawsuit, and a romance. The American dream Biti experiences is more of an American Nightmare! You may want to check out this thoughtful review of Americanisation on the Oxford American website:
http://oxfordamerican.org/articles/2011/sep/14/books/
Thanks for listing my novel, A Thinking Man’s Bully, among the debut novels that your group is considering. My book is about a teen bully, Matt Duffy, a generation later. Matt is now a middle aged dad dealing with a son who is not only the neighborhood bully, but also suicidal. Matt enrolls into therapy upon the realization that he has transferred his worst demons to his son–and the book unfolds via his therapy sessions.
Despite the serious topic, A Thinking Man’s Bully is something of a comedy. I am pleased to note that it has received strong reviews from Publishers’ Weekly, Small Press Reviews, and other sources. Reviews are summarized in the link below, http://www.michaeladelberg.com/liberated_from_fact.html.
I will support any book club that wishes to take on my book. I will send along discussion questions or make myself available for an interview.
Happy Reading,
Michael Adelberg
PS… I liked Angus Woodward’s Americanisation a lot, and am happy to see the good words about this book in a previous comment.
Thank YOU for your offer to book clubs, Michael! I’m glad you stopped by and offered information about your novel — it sounds fascinating… I love sports, but the “bully” mentality of so many fans (as well as 15 years teaching high school) has made this a subject that interests me greatly. I look forward to checking out your novel!
Thank you for the nice sentiments, Kristen. Standing by, if I can be of assistance to your group.