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| Deb Futter | |
Celadon Books co-founder Deb Futter is looking for titles that are "singular," she says, titles that "stand out and stand above in some way." And two of the books on Celadon Books's inaugural list are perfect examples of this. Both are "unique and fresh," she continues, and they're both coincidentally debut novels. The Silent Patient by Alex Michealides "may be the single best thriller we have ever read," Futter says. And Cape May by Chip Cheek is "a look at marriage and sex and the loss of innocence in a way we have never before read about.
She notes, too, that she's worked on "every kind of book imaginable" but has mostly focused on fiction "in the sweet spot between literary and commercial." Some of her acquisitions are more literary and some a bit more commercial, she says, "but I have been mining fiction for over 35 years and bring every bit of that experience to Celadon."
In her distinguished career, she's published many successful first novels, including White Palace by Glenn Savan, Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine by Ann Hood and Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz. At the same time, she has also acquired second and third books from authors that then broke out. Among these are A Map of the World by Jane Hamilton, Before the Fall by Noah Hawley, You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz, and Pachinko by Min Jin Lee.
Besides fiction, "I also love memoir," Futter says, noting that she has published many memoirs in the past, including She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney and Slow Motion: A True Story by Dani Shapiro. In addition, she has worked on books by Carol King, Ellen Degeneres, Scott Turow, Steve Martin, Barbara Ehrenreich, Susan Cheever and Peggy Orenstein. "If a book engages me, I feel it will engage others," she says. She's signed up several memoirs for Celadon Books.