The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd (May 5)
The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd--whose Secret Life of Bees has sold more than six million copies and was adapted into a movie starring Dakota Fanning and Queen Latifah--was recently released in paperback and is continuing to show strong sales.
The book was inspired by Sarah Moore Grimké (1792-1873), daughter of a wealthy South Carolina plantation owner who became an abolitionist and advocate for women's rights. In the novel, Sarah Grimké is given Hetty "Handful" Grimké, a 10-year-old slave, as a gift for her 11th birthday. Sarah illegally teaches Hetty how to read, and both women struggle against the boundaries imposed on them by society.
The novel follows Sarah, Hetty and Sarah's sister Angelina over tumultuous decades, the include the exiling of the Grimké sisters from Charleston because of their radicalism. The Invention of Wings has given new life to historical figures who had previously been all but forgotten.
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng (May)
Celeste Ng's Everything I Never Told You has "really taken off in paperback," said Kathryn Court. "It's a very moving, beautifully written book about an Asian American family, about what went on in that family that led to a young girl's death. It's a book everyone enjoyed because it talks about how families struggle with things in their lives and what the results are, especially for children."
That struggle for the Chinese-American Lee family begins with the death of their daughter Lydia, found drowned in a lake near their small 1970's Ohio town. The Lee family's unraveling leads to an exploration of race, gender, achievement and alienation as Lydia's parents and siblings search for answers to Lydia's mysterious death.
The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness (May)
Deborah Harkness's All Souls Trilogy began in 2011 with A Discovery of Witches, a supernatural blend of witchcraft, alchemy, demons and vampires. The series continued in 2012 with Shadow of Night and concluded with 2014's The Book of Life. A paperback boxed set was released in May.
"It's very well written and fantasy, an area that's not something that Penguin has done a lot of," said Kathryn Court. "[It's] something we want to do more of, but finding a writer like Deborah is key."
Deborah Harkness is a history professor at the University of Southern California and the recipient of Fulbright, Guggenheim and National Humanities Center fellowships. She also writes a wine blog, Good Wine Under $20.
Miss Emily by Nuala O'Connor (July 14)
Irish author Nuala O'Connor, who also writes as Nuala Ní Chonchúir, made her American debut with Miss Emily on July 14. She has already published four short story collections and two novels in Ireland. Her second novel, The Closest of Savage Mementos, was shortlisted for the Kerry Irish Novel of the Year Award this year.
O'Connor's third novel, Miss Emily, imagines the private life of Emily Dickinson through a friendship with her Irish maid. Eighteen-year-old Ada Concannon is hired by the Dickinson family of Amherst, Mass. Despite her lower social status, Ada befriends the family's reclusive elder daughter, Miss Emily.
Emily spends her days inside the Dickinson estate. Her gift with words is as profound as her eccentricity: she lives like a spinster and wears only white. Emily's stubborn reclusiveness is put to the test when her new friend Ada's safety and reputation are imperiled.
After You by Jojo Moyes (September 29)
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes has been a runaway bestseller since its 2012 publication, selling more than five million copies and spawning an upcoming major motion picture starring Emilia Clark of Game of Thrones fame. "It's been a very big success and about to become a movie for summer next year," said Kathryn Court. "Moyes is like Sue Monk Kidd--she represents the sort of fiction we publish that can go wide and find lots of readers."
Me Before You tells the story of Louisa Clark, an average girl with an average life who takes a job with Will Traynor, a former business and extreme sports hotshot now wheelchair-bound by an accident. Will is a temperamental boss, but Lou becomes determined to raise his spirits and they grow increasingly attached. When she learns Will plans to commit suicide in six months, Lou must try to give her boss a reason to live.
A sequel, After You, will be published in hardcover by Pamela Dorman Books/Viking on September 29. The film version of Me Before You comes out June 3, 2016, starring Emilia Clarke as Louisa and Sam Claflin as Will. Jojo Moyes's other novels include One Plus One and The Last Letter from Your Lover.
Lost Ocean by Johanna Basford (October 27)
Scottish illustrator Johanna Basford became an international sensation with Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book, published in 2013, which led the pack in a rapidly expanding new genre: coloring books for adults. Readers shared their completed colorings of Basford's intricate designs over social media, and continued spreading the craze through word of mouth and bookstore coloring parties (usually accompanied by cocktails). A flood of other adult coloring titles have been released since Secret Garden's surprising success, including Enchanted Forest, Basford's second book.
This spring, Penguin Books acquired Basford's next two titles, the first of which is Lost Ocean: An Inky Adventure and Coloring Book, to be released October 27. Lost Ocean will showcase Basford's eye for whimsical complexity in an undersea world of ocean life, shipwrecks, seashells, pirate treasure and more. Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest have been difficult to keep in stock, so expect big demand for Lost Ocean.
The Fox and the Star by Coralie Bickford-Smith (November 10)
Coralie Bickford-Smith is the award-winning illustrator behind the covers of Penguin's Classics Hardcovers series. Her striking blend of understatement, bold color and symmetry have created beautiful companions to works like The Prince and Robinson Crusoe. Many of her designs evoke the style of Victorian book binding, and have been featured in publications like the New York Times, Vogue and the Guardian.
Bickford-Smith brings her artistic prowess to her authorial debut, The Fox and the Star, coming November 10. This illustrated tale follows the lonely Fox and his friend Star, who lights Fox's way as he searches for food and runs with rabbits in the dark forest. When Star's light suddenly disappears, Fox must journey through frightening darkness to an unfamiliar world, and perhaps a new star-filled sky.
The Fox and the Star uses art inspired by William Blake and the Arts and Crafts movement to encourage readers to "look up beyond your ears." It is another part of Penguin's relatively recent push into highly visual works.
13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad (February 23)
13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl is the debut novel of Mona Awad, an MFA graduate from Brown University whose work has appeared in McSweeney's, the Walrus, Joyland, Post Road and the St. Petersburg Review; she is currently earning a PhD in English literature and creative writing from the University of Denver.
13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl follows Lizzie, a young woman with self-image issues from Mississauga, Ontario, which she calls "Misery Saga." Despite reassurances from her friends and family, Lizzie feels deeply uncomfortable about her appearance. She decides to change it through exercise and dieting, eventually becoming the slim woman she had always hoped to be. But validation from her peers and spouse prove little comfort when Lizzie looks in a mirror--she still sees herself as a fat girl.
Awad satirizes a culture obsessed with body image and the value of women as measured by their physical appearance. "It's very honest and very raw and rather unsettling," Kathryn Court said. "This young woman has a real voice." Coming February 23, 2016, 13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl promises to be a tender and caustically humorous debut.
The Wander Society by Keri Smith (March 29)
Author, illustrator, blogger and guerrilla artist Keri Smith creates books about unleashing creativity. Her bestseller Wreck This Journal encourages readers to poke holes through pages, color outside the lines and partake in other stimulating acts of creative destruction. This Is Not a Book prompts readers to use the book in very unbookish ways, like tearing out pages to write secret notes or slamming the cover to make music. The Imaginary World of... (Perigee) creates entire fictitious worlds guided by reader's imaginations.
Smith's latest book, coming from Penguin Books March 29, 2016, is The Wander Society, which Kathryn Court called "something new" for Penguin Books.
The Wander Society cryptically promises that its purchasers will have joined a "secret underground movement," whose membership duties are creatively disrupting everyday life and experiencing unplanned time. Whatever activities the book includes, they are sure to inspire out-of-the-box thinking. --Tobias Mutter