2014's "Top Ten"s and "Best Of"s, a NYT bestseller, and a winner of the most "Best Of"s prize!

This year, JVNLA had seven books on a huge breadth of year-end “Top Ten” and “Best Of” lists! Including one book that topped lists ABOUT the top lists of the year: The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters.

Below is the round-up of these phenomenal books:

Lost in Translation by Ella Frances Sanders (Ten Speed Press, September 2014)

Amazon chose this gorgeous book of illustrations that depict untranslatable words for its Best Books of the Year: Art and Photography list!

Lost in Translation also recently hit the New York Times bestseller list in the Travel section! It reached #6 in December and climbed to #4 in January. Congrats, Ella!

Songs Only You Know by Sean Madigan Hoen (Soho Press, April 2014)

In its list of 10 Best Music Books of 2014, Rolling Stones spotlighted Hoen's “gritty, gripping punk-rock memoir” (as they called it), and heaped praise on it: "It's funny at times, always brutally honest; a half-healed bruise, tender and multi-colored. Few books convey the fever-pitch intensity of youth with such vividness and so little glamorization, or as deeply explore the heartbreaking complexity of family—both those we're born into and the ones we choose."

This Is a Moose written by Richard Morris and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, May 2014)

Morris and Lichtenheld's picture book collaboration is about a moose being filmed in a nature documentary who just wants to be an astronaut (to the chagrin of the director). Kirkus named it to its Best Children's Books of 2014 list, calling it “a humorous—make that hysterical—homage to movies and big dreams.”

Booklist named it to its Editors' Choice: Books for Youth 2014 list, raving that “this rambunctious picture book is stuffed with delightfully absurd chaos.”

This Is a Moose was also featured in ABC's Best Books for Children 2014 catalog!

And Amazon picked it for its Best Books of the Year: Ages 3-5 list!

The Swan Gondola by Timothy Schaffert (Riverhead, February 2014)

The Kansas City Star named The Swan Gondola, a "love story set at a steampunk carnival in turn-of-the-century Omaha, with a clever take on The Wizard of Oz" to their Best Books of 2014 list!

Archetype by M.D. Waters (Dutton, February 2014 hardcover, June 2014 paperback)

Pop Sugar featured this futuristic suspense novel reminiscent of The Handmaid's Tale on its Best Books for Women 2014 list!

The Tyrant's Daughter by J.C. Carleson (Knopf Books for Young Readers, February 2014)

Kirkus named The Tyrant's Daughter to its Best Teen Books of 2014 list, calling this YA about a girl whose family relocates to the US after her father is killed in a coup "smart, relevant, required reading."

Amazon also named it to its Best Books of the Year: Teen and Young Adult list!

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters (Riverhead, September 2014)

In a unique “Top Ten” approach, The Wall Street Journal decided to look at ten “Best Of” lists to find the books most often at the top. They named the “suspenseful and sensual” The Paying Guests as the winner who appeared most often! The Paying Guests is about a widow and her spinster daughter who must take in lodgers in 1922--though things are not nearly as simple as they seem. It won by appearing on the six below lists:

The New York Times's Notable Books of 2014

The Washington Post's Best Books of 2014

The Guardian's Best Books of 2014, chosen by various writers; Ruth Rendell chose The Paying Guests.

Kirkus's Best Fiction Books of 2014; The Paying Guests was also a finalist for 2014's Kirkus Prize.

The Telegraph's Best Books of 2014

Barnes and Noble's Words of the Year: The Best Things They Read in 2014, chosen by various writers; Michael Dirda chose The Paying Guests. Barnes and Noble also included The Paying Guests among its Top Fiction Books for the Holiday list.

Beyond these, there is an incredibly lengthy list of places that included The Paying Guests as one of their “top ten” or “best of” books! Below is just a very brief sampling of some of the rest:

People Magazine's Ten Best Books of 2014

Pop Sugar's Best Books for Women 2014, the #1 pick!

Entertainment Weekly's 10 Best Fiction Books of 2014

NPR Fresh Air's Maureen Corrigan's Favorite Books of 2014; The Paying Guests was also front and center on NPR's Book Concierge, their Guide to 2014's Great Reads.

Slate's Best Books of 2014

The Seattle Times's Best Books of 2014

The Kansas City Star's Best Books of 2014

Amazon's Best Books of the Year: Literature and Fiction

Congrats to all!

Non-stop buzz for some phenomenal January/February releases

The past two weeks have seen quite a few of our books released, and this coming week will see even more! While book releases are always exciting, there's been nearly non-stop buzz for each of the below over the past few weeks. We decided to highlight some of our favorite promotions, publicity, reviews, and more.

Archetype by M.D. Waters (Dutton, February 6, 2014)

Archetype was named an Indie Next Pick for February by the American Booksellers Association (ABA)!  In the Indie Next write-up, Melissa Oates from Fiction Addiction in Greenville, SC, wrote, "This is a great futuristic novel that will lead readers to questions of ethics and provide lots of material for group discussions."

Dutton has also created amazing swag for the book, which was featured at ComicCon, the ABA Winter Institute, and the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting. Below is an image of the t-shirts that made an appearance. There were also tattoos and tote bags!

http://ow.ly/i/3dXjV

The back of the t-shirt says...

ARCHETYPE

 The original pattern from which all things of the same type are copies.

What's yours?

Coming 2/6/2014

www.mdwatersauthor.com

The Swan Gondola by Timothy Schaffert (Riverhead, February 6, 2014)

Tattered Cover Bookstore named The Swan Gondola a V.I.B.--Very Impressive Book!

They say about their V.I.B.'s, "Every now and then we encounter a new book that we're so excited about we want to shout it from the rooftops, so we've created a special tag to distinguish it from the rest: TC VIB (very impressive book)! That means it’s a true stand-out in a season of many excellent and compelling new books."

The Swan Gondola was also named a "Most Anticipated Book of 2014" by The Millions, among great company like Lorrie Moore and Haruki Murakami. Check out The Millions's blurb below:

Worthy Brown's Daughter by Phillip Margolin (Harper, January 21, 2014)

Publishers Weekly featured New York Times-bestselling author Phillip Margolin's latest in a huge, two-page spread! They also interviewed him about the writing process. Check out the first page below:

Worthy Brown's Daughter was also named to USA Today's Hottest Books List! The article said, "This departure for best-selling thriller writer Margolin might appeal to fans of the acclaimed movie 12 Years a Slave."

Dominion by C.J. Sansom (Mulholland Books, January 28, 2014)

The boon of all boons came the day before Dominion's release, when the great Stephen King himself tweeted about how much he loved the book!

 
Someone must have thought his first tweet was a gimmick, because he followed it up with another tweet:

As Stephen King explained above, Dominion is an alternate history of what might have happened had the Nazis won World War II and occupied Great Britain. To play up this idea, Mulholland Books created fantastic mock-ups of the British newspapers The Evening Standard, The Daily Express, and The Times of London as they might have looked had this alternate history really occurred. The papers were giveaways at Bourchercon and went into publicity mailings as well. Check out The Evening Standard below:

The Vanishing by Wendy Webb (Hyperion, January 21, 2014)

The Vanishing was named a Midwest Connections Pick by the Midwest Independent Booksellers Association! In its write-up, the booksellers association called the book "another escapist bit of commercial fiction with a mysterious edge that remains popular with readers."

Webb has also been in the midst of a whirlwind book tour throughout Georgia, North Carolina, and New Orleans, themed "the Southern gothic meets the Northern gothic"--since Webb's books are contemporary gothic novels set in the Midwest and the South is so famous for their own gothic novels.  Unfortunately, given the recent weather that's shut down places like Atlanta, some of Webb's book signings were put in jeopardy.  She tweeted about it below:

A Life in Men by Gina Frangello (Algonquin Books, February 4, 2014)

  
Like The Swan Gondola, A Life in Men was also named to The Millions's list of "Most Anticipated Books of 2014"!  The Los Angeles Times picked up The Millions's list too and gave a great shout-out to Frangello. Check out The Millions's blurb below:

Book Riot also named A Life in Men to its list of "The Best Books We Read in January"!  Contributor Marisa Atkinson wrote, "Frangello has given us one of the most authentic depictions of female friendship that I've ever read...A Life in Men is an important and powerful novel, and one I won't soon forget."

futuristic novel that will lead readers to questions of ethics and provide lots of material for group discussions - See more at: http://www.bookweb.org/node/28301#sthash.t0eKoUtp.dpuf

futuristic novel that will lead readers to questions of ethics and provide lots of material for group discussions - See more at: http://www.bookweb.org/node/28301#sthash.t0eKoUtp.dpuf

futuristic novel that will lead readers to questions of ethics and provide lots of material for group discussions - See more at: http://www.bookweb.org/node/28301#sthash.t0eKoUtp.dpuf

44 NaNoWriMo tips and tricks from 24 expert authors

National Novel Writing Month is that crazy time of year when writers drive themselves mad gunning for 50,000 words, a completed novel, and the glorious pride of writerly achievement, all by the end of November. Of course, it's also that time of year when agents become increasingly wary, concerned they'll receive NaNoWriMo manuscripts immediately on December 1...

After doling out revision tips last year, this year we wanted our JVNLA authors to weigh in with their own NaNoWriMo writing advice—whether it be related to revision, persistence, encouragement, or the craft of writing.

We didn't ask our authors to send advice in just any old, boring way, though. Instead, we took to Twitter!

Last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, our authors flooded a portion of the Twitter-verse with #JVNLAauthors and #NaNoWriMo hashtags. They were responding to this tweet:

We've compiled the 44 tips and tricks they sent in below, with each tweet on its own line under the author's name.

Our expert authors write a variety of genres for a variety of ages, but their advice is perfect for anyone. Take a look!

From Victoria Strauss, author of Passion Blue (Skyscape, November 2012) @victoriastrauss

You're challenging yourself, not competing against others

Take breaks. Go for a walk. Savor a cup of tea. Take a hot shower. Creativity blooms when you let your mind wander.

From Morag Joss, author of Our Picnics in the Sun (Delacorte Press, November 2013) @moragjoss

Keep going to the end of #NaNoWriMo and be proud. Then re-write. And re-write.

From Selena Coppock, author of The New Rules for Blondes (It Books, April 2013) @SelenaCoppock

My advice 4 writers doing #NaNoWriMo? Straight-up disconnect the internet from your computer. And write to Arcade Fire :)


Courtesy of joylajaxx.tumblr.com via giphy.com

From Anne Mazer, author of Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook (Square Fish Books, March 2010) @Annemazer

Listen deeply to your characters.

Don't be afraid to make mistakes - you can always fix them later.

From Adrienne Kress, author of Outcast (Diversion Books, May 2013) and The Friday Society (Dial, December 2012) @AdrienneKress

Hmm, I'd advise authors doing #NaNoWriMo to not be too self critical. This is the vomit on the page stage, just get it written!

From Jillian Cantor, author of Margot (Riverhead, September 2013) @JillianCantor

Set small page/word goal per day and stick to it no matter what. I do 5 pgs/day

From Victoria Loustalot, author of This Is How You Say Goodbye (St. Martin's Press, September 2013) @VLoustalot

No outlines! Too much planning suffocates the chance for magic.

From Kristi Helvig, author of Burn Out (Egmont, April 2014) @KristiHelvig

Just get the first draft down no matter what...it's supposed to be a hot mess!

Just remember not to submit that hot mess on Dec. 1. Take your time with edits!

Regarding this, Jeffry Halverson, author of Searching for a King: Muslim Nonviolence and the Future of Islam (Potomac Books, September 2012) (@JeffryHalverson), asked...

Other authors chimed in with answers:

From Susan Schoenberger, author of A Watershed Year (Lake Union, November 2013) @schoenwriter

I second @KristiHelvig Get it all down, and then make December #NaDeEdMo

Except it should probably be NaNoEdMo, now that I think about it.

From Mark Ferguson, author of The Lost Boys Symphony (Little, Brown, forthcoming Summer 2015) @thefergusonian

I say write forward. Don't edit what's already written. Doubt will slow you down.

Obviously you'll edit later, to be clear. That's why we call Dec-Oct #NaNoEdMo

To this, Selena Coppock (see her advice above) responded...

From M.D. Waters, author of Archetype (Dutton, February 2014) @_MDWaters

Fun Fact: #ARCHETYPE was my 2011 #NaNoWriMo novel. Finished in 5 weeks. Queried: May 2012 Agented: Oct 2012 SOLD: Dec 2012 #TakeYourTime

Use December to EDIT rather than QUERY.

Every scene needs a goal, motivation, and conflict... How else are you going to keep them entertained?

Your goal has motivation, but does it have CONFLICT?

Scene isn't working? Move characters to a new setting.

It takes more words to show a scene, fewer to tell it.

Pinterest is NOT your WIP. Neither is this, so stop reading
(But, really, keep reading this post and THEN get back to work :) )

Lose your muse? Steal someone else's. It's fair game.

Your antag has a story. I bet they even have good intentions.

That emotion you want to share? Amplify by 10 and write THAT.

Dishes? What dishes? That's what minions are for. WRITE

THIS. http://www.pinterest.com/pin/153966880984883798/

From Robert Repino, author of Mort(e) (Soho Press, forthcoming Fall 2014) @Repino1

This year trade football and Friday morning shopping for writing.

From Ellen Potter, author of Otis Dooda: Strange but True (Feiwel and Friends, June 2013) and Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook (Square Fish Books, March 2010) @Ellenpotter

When you get stuck, take your dog for a walk. Seriously, it works wonders.

Pledge that if u don't finish the novel you'll give $ to least fave organization

From Ellis Avery, author of The Last Nude (Riverhead, December 2012) and Broken Rooms: Haiku and Sculpture (The Crumpled Press, February 2014) @EllisAveryNYC

Let your characters want something. What do I mean? http://online.wsj.com/news/articles...

Here's an excerpt from that Wall Street Journal article, written by Avery:

Many of us have read subtle, well-wrought stories in which a character's most secret soul is illuminated—and yet (yawn) nothing really happens. The writer tried too hard to Make the Reader Care. There are also pyrotechnically masterful stories in which cars explode and the world ends—and yet (ho-hum) nobody cares. The writer tried too hard to Make Something Happen. To avoid both problems, I've found it helpful to ask three questions: What does my character want? What keeps my character from getting what he or she wants? Does my character get what he or she wants in the end or not?

From Wendy Webb, author of The Vanishing (Hyperion, January 2014) and The Fate of Mercy Alban (Hyperion, February 2013) @wendykwebb

Write each day, very early or late, as your household sleeps. No distractions.

Also: Set a goal for number of words, and stick to it.

Also: No social media or email until you reach your word count goal.

From Timothy Schaffert, author of The Swan Gondola (Riverhead, February 2014) and The Coffins of Little Hope (Unbridled Books, April 2011) @timschaffert

If a scene's not working, move characters onto a different set; one that's unexpected: rooftop, bottom of an empty pool.

Or the bottom of a...full pool.


Courtesy of cheezburger.com via giphy.com

From Susan Kelly, author of By Accident (Pegasus Books, May 2010) @susankellynovel

Go ahead and get up in the middle of the night to change "turn" to "pivot" and remove the exclamation marks.

From Alex C. Renwick (aka Camille Alexa), author of Push of the Sky (Untreed Reads, October 2012) @AlexCRenwick

Don't overthink it...At least, not until AFTER you have a draft.

From Dorothy Hearst, author of Secrets of the Wolves (Simon and Schuster, July 2012) @DorothyHearst

Make character influence action, and action change your characters

From J-Wunder, author of Wait...What?!: Life Advice from a Ghetto Genius (Diversion Books, July 2013) @MrJWunderful

drink until you feel the creative juices flow!

From Nancy Springer, author of Drawn into Darkness (NAL, November 2013) @NancySpringer

Talking about your novel-to-be depletes the energy you need to write it. Don't blow it away w your mouth. Write it.

"Show, don't tell" = the reader visualizes everything you say. So be careful. Eyes fall (onto the floor?), roll...

Most likely yr critique group will focus on the surface of yr novel. Dig deeper. Think structure, story logic.

Find out the goofy way I got started writing in my new Goodreads post: https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_po…

From Patry Francis, author of The Orphans of Race Point (Harper Perennial, May 2014) and The Liar's Diary (Dutton, 2007) @patryf

"Don't confine truth to facts." 5 Writing Tips: Paul Harding publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/in… via @PublishersWkly

From Helen Maryles Shankman, author of The Color of Light (Stony Creek Press, October 2013) @hmshankman

What you write when you're inspired--and what you write when you're not inspired--by the time you're done editing...

...you won't know which was which. Just keep writing!


Courtesy of leahkonen.com via giphy.com

Paperback cover extravaganza!

Many of our books have just received beautiful new covers for their upcoming paperback releases, and we couldn't help ourselves from sharing!  Feast your eyes on the exciting covers below, and be sure to look out for the new editions in stores soon:

IF JACK'S IN LOVE by Stephen Wetta
Paperback: Berkley Trade, August 2012
Hardcover: Amy Einhorn Books, September 2011

"Deftly, Wetta illuminates the gulf between the innocence of age 12 and the realizations that arise at 13...At turns unsparing, tender, and disturbing...this is no typical bildungsroman....Intelligently, wonderfully conceived." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

THE COFFINS OF LITTLE HOPE by Timothy Schaffert
Paperback: Unbridled Books, April 2012
Hardcover: Unbridled Books, April 2011

"Memorably narrated by octogenarian obit writer Essie Myles, this is a witty, sometimes profound story about media, mortality, and rash acts undertaken in the name of love." --People, four stars

GRACE IN THE CITY by Victoria Brown
Paperback: Hyperion Voice, September 2012
Hardcover: Hyperion Voice, April 2011 (formerly titled MINDING BEN)

"Part of the novel's appeal lies in Grace's spirited voice, but the fascinating insider details on the nanny life add an extra dimension...A social satire...also a moving immigrant story.  Brown vividly depicts the vibrant and diverse West Indian communities...Fascinating, tender, and heartbreaking." --Library Journal, starred review and Editor's Pick

BEFORE VERSAILLES by Karleen Koen
Paperback: Sourcebooks Landmark, September 2012
Hardcover: Crown, June 2011

"A feast for the senses.  Readers will be swept back to the 1660s.  The atmosphere is electrifying, the liaisons are exhilarating, and the conversations and friendships are endlessly entertaining.  I was absorbed into the story on page one and couldn't put it down." --San Francisco Book Review

SECRETS OF THE WOLVES by Dorothy Hearst
Paperback: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks, TBD 2012
Hardcover: Simon and Schuster, August 2011

"Hearst writes convincingly and engagingly of lupine behavior, and the interactions among wolves and wolfpacks never fail to captivate." --Publishers Weekly

THE ORACLE GLASS by Judith Merkle Riley
Paperback: Sourcebooks Landmark, November 2012
Hardcover: Viking, 1994

The publication of THE ORACLE GLASS marks the return to print of beloved and internationally bestselling author Judith Merkle Riley's popular historical novels!  Sourcebooks will next be republishing Riley's THE MASTER OF ALL DESIRES.

"Intelligent, witty, and elegantly written." --San Francisco Chronicle

"Once again Riley has written an outstanding historical novel of 17th-century France, permeated by a feminist consciousness that enlivens her work...Based on a real-life scandal...this tale is riveting from start to finish." --Library Journal

Ten books on year-end "Top Ten" and "Best Of" lists!

The end of the year marks the moment when book reviewers closely scrutinize all the books they've reviewed in a year's span, seeking out those titles that rise to the top, that can be lauded "The Best."  We've been excitedly gathering the reviewers' notifications as they've come in over the past several weeks.  Now that 2011 is officially over, we are proud to announce that ten of our books have been honored among 2011's "Top Ten" and "Best Of" lists! 

IF JACK'S IN LOVE by Stephen Wetta

According to The Wall Street Journal, today is "a new Golden Age of crime fiction," a Golden Age which encompasses everything from detective novels to more literary crime novels.  Among the top ten 2011 titles the newspaper highlighted as perfect evidence of such an age is Stephen Wetta's debut novel.  The Wall Street Journal called IF JACK'S IN LOVE "funny and suspenseful, poignant and joyous--a one-of-a-kind work worthy of any Golden Age."  Link here.

IF JACK'S IN LOVE was also featured on About.com in their "Top 10 Books of 2011" list.  About.com called IF JACK'S IN LOVE "a debut novel not to miss."  Link here.  The website praised the book glowingly: "IF JACK'S IN LOVE has that spark of a writer who fully invests himself and writes with a startlingly bittersweet humor, infusing his first novel with a tinge of something special...Wetta is an author to watch."

IF JACK'S IN LOVE published in September 2011 by Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam.

A DOUBLE LIFE by Lisa Catherine Harper

The National Book Critics Circle named A DOUBLE LIFE their #4 choice for the year's "Best of the Small Presses"!  The NBCC lauded Harper's memoir as "incredibly rich and enlightening...a clear example of the successful merging of memoir and scientific study."  They added, "[Harper] remains centered...with frequent moments of self-awareness and grace."  Link here.

The memoir came out in March 2011 from University of Nebraska Press.

Lisa Catherine Harper has appeared on another "Best Of" list as well.  Her essay "Poems from My Ex" was named the #5 most read article on PoetryFoundation.org.  Link here.

THE LAST NUDE by Ellis Avery

This novel was only released yesterday, but it made Library Journal's 2011 list of top 25 books to look forward to in 2012.  In the Library Journal starred review, the novel was called "an evocative, heart-cutting work" and "absorbing, affecting, and agitating...highly recommended."  Link here.  THE LAST NUDE was also named a January 2012 Book Pick from Library Journal. 

Riverhead published THE LAST NUDE in January 2012.

BEFORE VERSAILLES by Karleen Koen

Library Journal's "Best Of's" don't end with THE LAST NUDE!  The journal also released a list of "Best Books of 2011 in Historical Fiction," on which BEFORE VERSAILLES was featured.  "Lush prose illuminates one of the most powerful and glittering courts in European history," Library Journal wrote in a rave review.  Link here.

Additionally, The Houston Chronicle's book review blog, Bookish, named a list of top 2011 Texas book picks.  Prominent among them was Texan author Karleen Koen's BEFORE VERSAILLES.  Link here.

BEFORE VERSAILLES was released in June 2011 by Crown.

HEARTSTONE by C.J. Sansom

Marilyn Stasio, columnist for The New York Times Book Review, created a list of "Notable Crime Books for 2011."  Featured among these was British author C.J. Sansom's HEARTSTONE.  Link here.  In an earlier review, The New York Times Book Review said "HEARTSTONE may be the best novel in [Sansom's] richly entertaining and reassuringly scholarly series...History never seemed so real."

HEARSTONE appeared in January 2011 from Viking.

BECOMING FAULKNER by Philip Weinstein

This book was actually released in hardcover at the end of 2009 and will appear in paperback in 2012, but it was a big book under consideration in 2011 for the C. Hugh Holman Award.  And win the award it did!  The C. Hugh Holman Award is given by the Society for Southern Literature for the best and most significant book of Southern Literary Studies for the year.  More information about the award can be found here.

BECOMING FAULKNER will soon arrive in paperback, in April 2012, from Oxford University Press.

THE LAND OF PAINTED CAVES by Jean M. Auel

THE LAND OF PAINTED CAVES hit three top ten bestseller lists of the year!  It was #6 in hardcover fiction for the ABA's "Indie Bestsellers List of 2011," and it was #9 in fiction for the UK's The Sunday Times.  Also in the UK, The Guardian newspaper printed the top 2011 books listed on the Nielsen UK sales charts.  Here, THE LAND OF PAINTED CAVES appeared at #7 in hardcover fiction.

THE LAND OF PAINTED CAVES, the sixth book in Jean M. Auel's bestselling Earth's Children® series, came out in March 2011 from Crown.

THE COFFINS OF LITTLE HOPE by Timothy Schaffert

Rachel Manwill at BookRiot.com named five "Best Books of 2011," and ranking high on her list was THE COFFINS OF LITTLE HOPE.  She lauded the book as having "so many striking elements and...language...so evocative, that [COFFINS] manages to be the rare book where both the forest AND the trees are perfect."  Link here.

This book has received outrageously phenomenal reviews over the course of the year.  The New York Times called "each of Schaffert's books...a quirky little gem," People praised COFFINS (in no less than a four stars review) as "memorably narrated" and "a witty...profound story," and The Washington Post deemed it "alluringly strange to the very last page."

THE COFFINS OF LITTLE HOPE was released in April 2011 by Unbridled Press.

A SEA IN FLAMES by Carl Safina

A SEA IN FLAMES was named by the Project on Government Oversight as one of "Ten Books That Matter" for 2011.  According to their website, the Project on Government Oversight is "a nonpartisan independent watchdog that champions good government reforms."  Link here.  Elsewhere, A SEA IN FLAMES has been praised as "an illuminating, monitory study" (Kirkus), full of "factual elegance" (The Washington Post), and "a revealing, thoughtful history...an insightful work" (The New York Times Book Review, Editors' Choice).

Crown published A SEA IN FLAMES in April 2011. 

THE VIEW FROM LAZY POINT by Carl Safina

Another book by Carl Safina received acclaim in "Best Of" lists this past year: this time THE VIEW FROM LAZY POINT in Newsday's "Best Books of 2011" list.  In a separate review, Newsday said the following about the nonfiction work: "Before Carl Safina, environmentalists could often be heard wondering where the next Rachel Carson, Aldo Leopold, or Henry Beston might be hiding...[Safina writes] pure sensuous detail, seeing the natural world from a variety of angles."  Link here.

After reviewing this book, the New York Post called Safina "a Thoreau for the 21st century"; The New York Times featured THE VIEW FROM LAZY POINT on a full page feature, named it Editors' Choice, and remarked that "Safina's book soars"; and Huffington Post praised it as "striking," a book "about what it means to be human in a world where the rhythms of life have been thrown askew, indeed, burst asunder."

THE VIEW FROM LAZY POINT appeared in hardcover in January 2011 from Henry Holt, and it arrived in paperback this month from Picador.

Rave reviews for Timothy Schaffert's THE COFFINS OF LITTLE HOPE

Due to publish on Tuesday, THE COFFINS OF LITTLE HOPE by Timothy Schaffert has been receiving phenomenal press, and the feature that appeared in The New York Times on Wednesday is only the latest! The book is also an Indie Next List pick for May 2011 and has received a starred Publishers Weekly review. Here is a sampling of some of the excellent quotes:

“Each of [Schaffert's] books is a quirky little gem, particularly the first one...There’s a lot of plot to THE COFFINS OF LITTLE HOPE. But Mr. Schaffert’s style is so gossamer-light that the story elements don’t become cumbersome. His book can accommodate a large cast of characters who bump into one another with an almost screwball regularity...Mr. Schaffert’s sly wit and frank affection for his characters can make him sound like a very American Alexander McCall Smith. ..A faint but important frisson of fear runs all through this seeming lightheartedness, giving the book a spooky undercurrent.” --The New York Times

Read the full NYT review by clicking HERE.

“It's small town, big drama in Schaffert's sublime latest...Schaffert spins out the story and its offbeat characters with compassion, spoofing the nation's voracious appetite for "news" and suggesting that perhaps not all stories are created equal. Piercing observations and sharp, subtle wit make this a standout.” --Publishers Weekly, starred review

Unbridled Press, April 2011