Tag: nonfiction

2013 National Book Critics Awards Finalists

2013 National Book Critics Awards Finalists

Posted on January 13, 2014 by Anne Spieth
The National Book Critics Circle has named the finalists for its best books of 2013 and Macmillan is thrilled to have nine nominees from Farrar, Straus & Giroux and Bloomsbury!  

FICTION
SOMEONE by Alice McDermott

NONFICTION
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE by David Finkel
THE UNWINDING: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer

POETRY
METAPHYSICAL DOG by Frank Bidart

AUTOBIOGRAPHY
THE BOOK OF MY LIVES by Aleksandar Hemon
MEN WE REAPED by Jesmyn Ward

BIOGRAPHY
HOLDING ON UPSIDE DOWN: The Life and Work of Marianne Moore by Linda Leavell

CRITICISM
THE KRAUS PROJECT: Essays by Karl Kraus, translated and annotated by Jonathan Franzen
FORTY-ONE FALSE STARTS: Essays on Artists and Writers by Janet Malcolm

Click here to view the full list of nominees. Winners will be announced in a ceremony on Thursday, March 13, at 6:00 pm EST. Congratulations to all nominees! 

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Sneak Peek: The December 2013 Indie Next list

Sneak Peek: The December 2013 Indie Next list

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Anne Spieth
Indie Next logoThe December Indie Next list was recently announced and we're thrilled that it includes so many wonderful Macmillan titles! 

THROUGH THE EVIL DAYS by Julia Spencer-Fleming
The eighth book in the Clare Fergusson and Russ van Alstyne series is also #2 on the November LibraryReads list and is celebrating a very special #BookBday today!

JEEVES AND THE WEDDING BELLS by Sebastian Faulks
Bertie and Jeeves are back and in fine fettle, courtesy of Sebastian Faulks's homage to P.G. Wodehouse. Faulksie's done him proud: four outstanding starred pre-pub reviews. Well done, old chap!

THE HOUSEMAID'S DAUGHTER by Barbara Mutch
The great praise keeps coming in for this debut novel: "Rich in detail and subtle in its politics, this affecting novel tells a poignant, inspiring story." –Booklist, starred review

REPORT FROM THE INTERIOR by Paul Auster
In the bestselling author's most intimate autobiographical work to date, Auster describes his journey into adulthood through the postwar 1950s into the turbulent 1960s.

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The 2013 National Book Award finalists!

The 2013 National Book Award finalists!

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Anne Spieth
Excuse us while we shout the good news from the rooftops, but we're so happy to have several finalists for the National Book Awards! 

Nonfiction
THE UNWINDING: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer

Poetry
METAPHYSICAL DOG by Frank Bidart
INCARNADINE by Mary Szybist

See the full list of nominees here. 
Free e-books of excerpts from the finalists are available on the NBA website. Click here to download your copy. Winners will be announced on November 20. Congratulations to all nominees! 

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Win a copy of BEFORE I DIE for your library

Win a copy of BEFORE I DIE for your library

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Anne Spieth

Anne Before I DieWhen artist Candy Chang painted the side of an abandoned building with chalkboard paint and the wrote the words, "Before I die, I want to ______," she never expected it to become a worldwide phenomenon. Within a day of the wall’s completion, however, it was covered in colorful chalk dreams as people stopped and reflected on their lives. Since then, more than two hundred walls have been created by people all over the world.  

BEFORE I DIE is a celebration of people's hopes, fears, humor, and heartbreak, and serves as a reminder of our shared connections and a chance to contemplate life's most important question.

Anne shared her thoughts with her Macmillan colleagues in a piece to be featured on Buzzfeed:

"Before I die, I want to do stand-up comedy at an open mic night."

 

Now it's your turn! Tell us what you want to do before you die and you'll be entered to win one of twenty beautiful finished copies of BEFORE I DIE for your library!

To enter the giveaway, Send Library@MacmillanUSA.com an e-mail from your professional/library-issued e-mail address (subject: BEFORE I DIE for My Library) with your answer to the statement, "Before I die, I want to ______" and your library’s mailing address. Submit your entry by Friday, November 8th to be placed in the random drawing. 

This sweepstakes is open to librarians in the United States. More eligibility details below.

11/11 UPDATE: The sweepstakes is over and winners have been notified. 

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Happy #BookBday (10/8/13 Edition)

Happy #BookBday (10/8/13 Edition)

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Anne Spieth
After several months of labor, we're proud to announce the birth of these fine books on today's #BookBday: 

 

MR. LYNCH'S HOLIDAY by Catherine O'Flynn
Catherine O’Flynn’s debut novel WHAT WAS LOST received a Costa First Book Award and was long-listed for the Booker Prize and the Orange Prize. In MR. LYNCH’S HOLIDAY, O’Flynn creates a moving and memorable portrait of reconciliation between a father and son. "Like her characters, O’Flynn has an eye for the beauty to be found amid squalor and chaos." –Publishers Weekly

JACOB'S OATH by Martin Fletcher
A Holocaust survivor must choose between keeping the woman he loves and seeking revenge against the camp guard who beat his younger brother to death in this "expressive...story of love and hatred, revenge and recovery." (Kirkus Reviews) "Fletcher has crafted a moving love story, a vivid portrait of a devastated and chaotic Germany immediately after the war’s end, and a remarkably insightful look into the minds of two survivors of the Holocaust. Fletcher’s style is spare and graceful, and it enhances the power of this small gem of a novel." –Booklist

TUDORS: The History of England from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I by Peter Ackroyd
The Tudor era was pivotal in English history and is still of great interest to many (just think of the dashing Jonathan Rhys Meyers in the TV show "The Tudors"). Ackroylishers Weekly) and rich in detail thanks to interesting anecdotes about key players.

FEAR OF FLYING by Erica Jong (the 40th Anniversary reissue edition with an introduction by Jennifer Weiner)
Originally published in 1973, Jong's internationally bestselling story of Isadora Wing launched a new way of thinking about gender, sexuality, and liberty in our society. This reissue edition comes of this seminal work comes just in time for the 40th anniversary, complete with a new introduction by New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner.

 Kitty cupcake [...]

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Happy #BookBday (10/1/13 Edition)

Happy #BookBday (10/1/13 Edition)

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Anne Spieth
Cue the music: ♫♪♫♫♪ Da na na na na NAH, You say it's your Birthday! Da na na na na NAH, It's my Birthday, too! ♫♪♫♫♪ 
OK, not really, but maybe we just wanted some cake. Today we wish a very happy #BookBday to:

THREE CAN KEEP A SECRET by Archer Mayor
To mark the 25th anniversary of a long-running, critically acclaimed, New York Times bestselling series, Archer Mayor has written one of his best Joe Gunther books. An October Indie Next pick, THREE CAN KEEP A SECRET involves a complex case with two corpses, one escaped mental patient, and a long-held secret that binds them together.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE by David Finkel
MacArthur Fellow and Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Finkel’s new book about life after war picks up with the same men he chronicled in his previous book, THE GOOD SOLDIERS. With three starred pre-publication reviews, such as this one from Booklist, it's not to be missed: "It is impossible not to be moved, outraged, and saddened by these stories, and Finkel’s deeply personal brand of narrative journalism is both heart-breaking and gut-wrenching in its unflinching honesty."

THE NIGHT GUEST by Fiona McFarlane
McFarlane's debut novel about trust, dependence, and fear centers on a widowed woman living outside an isolated beach town and the mysterious government care worker she admits into her home. Not only is it an Indie Next pick, it's also an Indies Introduce title--making it one of the ten best debuts of Fall 2013. "This book is at once a beautifully imagined portrait of isolation and an unsettling psychological thriller." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

Before we blow the candles out and dig in, don't forget there's an Early Word Galley Chat today! Join us at 4pm EST using the hashtag #ewgc. See you there!

Cat book bday

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We’ve got 2013 National Book Award nominees! WooHoo!

We’ve got 2013 National Book Award nominees! WooHoo!

Posted on September 20, 2013 by Anne Spieth
Over the course of this week the National Book Awards longlist was published and we are delighted to have several nominees! 

Longlist for Nonfiction

THE UNWINDING: An Inner History of the New America by George Packer
One of the finest political journalists of our generation, Packer weaves together complex narratives from the past three decades to create a riveting examination of a nation in crisis. It's already received three starred reviews, including this one from Booklist: "Packer offers an illuminating, in-depth, sometimes frightening view of the complexities of decline and the enduring hope for recovery."
Available in hardcover from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Longlist for Poetry

METAPHYSICAL DOG by Frank Bidart
A vital, searching new collection from one of finest American poets at work today. "The poems of METAPHYSICAL DOG are at once emotionally bracing and full of intellectual reward. Bidart is widely admired by other influential poets; he seems in line for even more attention than he has received." --Publishers Weekly, starred review & PW Pick.
Available in hardcover from Farrar, Straus and Giroux

INCARNADINE by Mary Szybist
The beautiful and inventive second book by the poet Mary Szybist, whose first book, GRANTED, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. "Whether or not readers are attuned to the religious content, these are gorgeous lyrics, in traditional and invented forms—one poem is a diagrammed sentence while another radiates from an empty space at the center of the page—which create close encounters with not-quite-paraphrasable truths. This is essential poetry." --Publishers Weekly, starred review & PW Pick.
Available in trade paperback from Graywolf Press

Longlist for Fiction

SOMEONE by Alice McDermott
The NBA nomination is another well-deserved accolade that this “stunning hymn to the ordinary” (More Magazine) has received in addition to being a PW Pick of the Week, September Indie Next selection and recipient of four starred pre-publication reviews. People gave it 3 ½ stars in the main review of the Sept. 16 issue and many others are singing McDermott's praises, including The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Elle, O Magazine, and NPR's Fresh Air.
Available in hardcover from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.


Finalists for the award will be announced on October 16 and the winners on November 20. Congratulations to all nominees!   [...]

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9/11: Twelve Years Later

9/11: Twelve Years Later

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Anne Spieth

Today is a painful day in our national history as we remember the tragic events of 9/11. There is a saying that "time heals all wounds" and while the truth of that statement may be up for debate, we can agree that time brings us insight and knowledge:

102 MINUTES: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers
by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn

At 8:46 am on September 11, 2001, 14,000 people were inside the twin towers. Over the next 102 minutes, each would become part of a drama for the ages. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with rescuers and survivors, thousands of pages of oral histories, and countless phone, e-mail, and emergency radio transcripts, New York Times reporters Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn tell the story of September 11 from the inside looking out.

A HISTORY OF THE WORLD SINCE 9/11: Disaster, Deception and Destruction in the War on Terror
by Dominic Streatfeild

Acclaimed author and journalist Dominic Streatfeild traveled across the world for years in pursuit of answers for this stunning collapse of international law. The results of his search form the most fully realized study of the war on terror yet written. Piercing reportage blends with sobering human drama, woven into eight narratives of how our world went wrong after 9/11.

THE 9/11 REPORT: The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
by Thomas H. Kean, Chair, and Lee Hamilton, Vice Chair; With analysis and reporting by The New York Times

A New York Times Notable Book of 2004, this complete edition of the 9/11 Report by the independent 9/11 Commission examines what happened that day, the lessons we learned and provides recommendations as to how we can prevent future attacks. 

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Starred Review for Telling Our Way to the Sea

Starred Review for Telling Our Way to the Sea

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Ali Fisher

By turns epic and intimate, TELLING OUR WAY TO THE SEA: A Voyage of Discovery in the Sea of Cortez by Aaron Hirsh captures the complex beauty of both the marine world he explores and the people he explores it with.

When Hirsh, fellow biologist Veronica Volny, and historian of science Graham Burnett lead twelve college students to a remote fishing village on the Sea of Cortez, they come upon a bay of dazzling beauty and richness. But as the group pursues various threads of investigation—ecological and evolutionary studies of the sea, the desert, and their various species of animals and plants; the stories of local villagers; the journals of conquistadors and explorers—they recognize that the bay, spectacular and pristine though it seems, is but a ghost of what it once was. 

"In prose that marries lush scientific details and poetic language (complete with transfixing descriptions of sea cucumber regeneration), Hirsh delivers an important work about the power of place and the power of stories—scientific, historical, and personal—to shape our understanding of our world." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The Daily Beast featured it in "This Week’s Hot Reads: August 5, 2013." They said,

"Skill as a scientist and skill as a writer rarely inhabit the same person, but when they do, the results can be incredible. [...] There is all sorts to enjoy here: adventure, exploration, local history, rigorous science patiently explained, even some sections about conquistadors (it’ll make sense when you get there), all told in deft prose. But what binds this book is Hirsh’s infectious enthusiasm."

Download the chapbook here (PDF). 

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Starred Reviews for The Unwinding

Starred Reviews for The Unwinding

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Ali Fisher

 

In THE UNWINDING George Packer, staff writer for The New Yorker, narrates the story of this America over the past three decades and tells the story of a superpower in danger of coming apart at the seams.

So far the reviews have been exceptional:

"Readers experience three decades of change via the personal histories of an Ohio factory worker, a Washington political operative, a North Carolinian small businessman, and an Internet billionaire. [...] Packer has a keen eye for the big story in the small moment, writing about our fraying social fabric with talent that matches his dismay." —Publishers Weekly (starred review, Top 10: Politics)

"Exemplary journalism that defines a sobering, even depressing matter. A foundational document in the literature of the end of America—the end, that is, for the moment." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Packer offers an illuminating, in-depth, sometimes frightening view of the complexities of decline and the enduring hope for recovery." —Booklist (starred review)

Find out how to get whitelisted for e-galleys on Edelweiss and then download a review copy.

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