First Novels | Fall Fundamentals
Get a bead on more than 200 fiction debuts coming this season to tantalize readers and deepen your collection By Barbara Hoffert, with Meaghan CurranOct 1, 2011
You’ve already heard plenty about Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus and Chad Harbach’s The Art of Fielding, poised to become big best sellers this fall. But they aren’t the only forthcoming first novels that promise good reading. Check out the following list of nearly 200 titles, published from September 1, 2011, to January 31, 2012, for a full range of options.
POP FICTION
Christopher Buehlman. Those Across the River. Ace: Berkley. Sept. (Florida) (LJ 8/11)
Paola Calvetti. P.O. Box Love: A Novel of Letters. St. Martin’s. Jan. (Italy)
M. Scott Carter. Stealing Kevin’s Heart. Roadrunner. Oct. (Oklahoma)
Alexandra Chreiteh. Always Coca-Cola. Interlink: Interlink Pub. Group. Nov. (Lebanon)
Rebecca Coleman. The Kingdom of Childhood. Mira: Harlequin. Oct. (Washington, DC, area) (LJ 6/15/11)
Gary D. Conrad. The Lhasa Trilogy. Rainbow. Jan. (Oklahoma)
Carolyn Dennis-Willingham. No Hill for a Stepper. CDW Creations LLC, dist. by Greenleaf. Oct. (Texas)
Karen Doornebos. Definitely Not Mr. Darcy. Berkley: Penguin Group (USA). Sept. (Illinois)
Erin Duffy. Bond Girl. Morrow. Jan. (New York)
Dalton Fury. Black Site: A Delta Force Novel. St. Martin’s. Jan. (USA)
Kim Gatlin. Good Christian Bitches. Hyperion. Dec. (Texas)
Mary Curran Hackett. Proof of Heaven. Morrow. Nov. (Ohio)
Tip “T.I.” Harris & David Ritz. Power and Beauty. Morrow. Oct. (USA) (BookSmack! 9/15/11) [Street Lit]
Barbara Hay. Lesson of the White Eagle. Roadrunner. Oct. (Oklahoma)
Geoff Hyatt. Birch Hill at World’s End. Vagabondage. Sept. (Illinois)
John Jacobsen. A Commodore of Errors. Arcade: Skyhorse, dist. by. Sept. (Florida)
Regina Jeffers. Christmas at Pemberley: A Pride and Prejudice Holiday Sequel. Ulysses.Nov. (North Carolina)
Kathryn Kay. The Gilder. Kensington. Jan. (Massachusetts)
Michele & Samantha Kleier. Hot Property. Harper: HarperCollins. Sept. (New York)
Isabelle Lafleche. J’adore New York. HarperCanada. Oct. (Canada)
N.B. Lakhani. Sun, Sand and Rock and Roll. 9ine Inc. Oct. (UK)
Alan Lazar. Roam. Atria: S. & S. Nov. (California) (LJ 10/1/11)
Tyler McMahon. How the Mistakes Were Made. Griffin: St. Martin’s. Oct. (Hawaii)
Ashley Memory. Naked and Hungry. Ingalls. Nov. (North Carolina)
Meredith Mileti. Aftertaste. Kensington. Sept. (Pennsylvania)
Sharon Osbourne. Revenge. Piatkus: Little, Brown UK, dist. by Trafalgar Square. Sept. (California/England) (LJ 9/1/11)
Sarah Rayner. One Moment, One Morning. Griffin: St. Martin’s. Dec. (England)
Suzzy Roche. Wayward Saints. Voice: Hyperion. Jan. (New York)
Lyndsay Russell. Making It Big. Oldcastle Bks., dist. by Trafalgar Square. Dec. (England)
Jessica Ruston. Luxury. Headline, dist. by Trafalgar Square. Sept. (England)
Jan-Phillip Sendker. The Art of Hearing Heartbeats. Other. Jan. (Germany)
J.H. Trumble. Don’t Let Me Go. Kensington. Jan. (Texas)
Stephen Wetta. If Jack’s in Love. Putnam. Sept. (New York) (LJ 10/1/11)
LITERARY
Michael Adelberg. A Thinking Man’s Bully. Permanent. Dec. (Virginia)
Jamil Ahmad. The Wandering Falcon. Riverhead: Penguin Group (USA). Oct. (Afghanistan) (LJ 8/11)
Ayad Akhtar. American Dervish. Little, Brown. Jan. (New York)
Alice Albinia. Leela’s Book. Norton. Jan. (England)
Fadi Azzam. Sarmada. Interlink: Interlink Pub. Group. Nov. (United Arab Emirates)
Joshua Baldwin. The Wilshire Sun. Turtle Point, dist. by Consortium. Sept. (New York)
Ned Beauman. Boxer, Beetle. Bloomsbury, dist. by Macmillan. Sept. (UK) (LJ 8/11)
Naomi Benaron. Running the Rift. Algonquin. Jan. (Arizona) (LJ 8/11)
Andrez Bergen. Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat. Another Sky. Sept. (Japan)
Jim Cohee. The Swan. Indiana Univ. Sept. (California)
Lyn Di Lorio. Outside the Bones. Arte Público. Sept. (New York)
Warren Fitzgerald. The Go-Away Bird. Blue Door: HarperCollins. Dec. (England)
Jamie Fitzpatrick. You Could Believe in Nothing. Nimbus, dist. by National Bk. Network. Sept. (Canada)
Martin Fletcher. The List. Thomas Dunne: St. Martin’s. Oct. (Israel/New York)
Tom Gamble. Amazir: A Novel of Morocco. Beautiful Bks. Oct. (England)
Alex Gilvarry. From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant. Viking. Jan. (New York/Massachusetts)
Joshua Golding. The Conversation. Urim Fiction. Nov. (Kentucky)
Chad Harbach. The Art of Fielding. Little, Brown. Sept. (USA) (LJ 9/1/11)
Seré Prince Halverson. The Underside of Joy. Dutton. Jan. (California)
Chandra Hoffman. Chosen. HarperPaperbacks: HarperCollins. Nov. (Pennsylvania) (LJ 9/1/11)
Lars Husum. My Friend Jesus Christ. Portobello: Granta UK, dist. by Trafalgar Square. Dec. (Denmark)
Amy Jarecki. Koicto. Sunstone. Nov. (USA)
Nancy Jensen. The Sisters. St. Martin’s. Nov. (Kentucky)
Kirsten Kaschock. Sleight. Coffee House, dist. by Consortium. Oct. (Pennsylvania) (LJ 6/15/11)
Keshni Kashyap. Tina’s Mouth: An Existential Comic Diary. Houghton Harcourt. Jan. (New York) [Graphic Novel]
Alma Katsu. The Taker. Gallery: S. & S. Sept. (Virginia) (LJ 7/11)
Bronia Kita. The Swansong of Wilbur McCrum. Picador. Sept. (England)
Will La Page. The Cliff Dwellers. Sunstone. Dec. (USA)
Ben Lerner. Leaving the Atocha Station. Coffee House, dist. by Consortium. Sept. (Ohio) (LJ 7/11)
Sara Levine. Treasure Island!!! Europa. Jan. (Illinois)
Fleur McDonald. Red Dust. Allen & Unwin, dist. by Trafalgar Square. Sept. (Australia)
Jill McGivering. The Last Kestrel. HarperCollins UK, dist. by Trafalgar Square. Jan. (England)
Catherine McGuinness. Emperor’s Clothes. Greenleaf. Oct. (Texas)
Alexander Maksik. You Deserve Nothing. Europa, dist. by Penguin. Sept. (Iowa)
Annam Manthriam. After the Tsunami. Stephen F. Austin State Univ. Sept. (New Mexico)
Candi Miller. Salt and Honey. Tindal St., dist. by Trafalgar Square. Nov. (England)
Erin Morgenstern. The Night Circus. Doubleday. Sept. (Massachusetts) (LJ 6/15/11)
Bonnie Nadzam. Lamb. Other. Sept. (Colorado) (LJ 9/1/11)
Thad Nodine. Touch and Go. Unbridled. Sept. (California)
E.S. Parkinson. Somethin’ Else. Vagabondage. Nov. (UK)
Keija Parssinen. The Ruins of Us. HarperPerennial: HarperCollins. Jan. (Missouri)
Ismet Prcic. Shards. Black Cat: Grove Oct. (Oregon) (LJ 7/11)
David Rowell. The Train of Small Mercies. Putnam. Oct. (Maryland)
Michael Schiavone. Call Me When You Land. Permanent. Oct. (Massachusetts) (Xpress Reviews, 9/2/11)
Kristi Peterson Schoonover. Bad Apple. Vagabondage. Nov. (Connecticut)
Steve Sem-Sandberg. The Emperor of Lies. Farrar. Sept. (Sweden) (LJ 7/11)
Fred Setterberg. Lunch Bucket Paradise: A True-Life Novel. Heyday. Nov. (California)
Alan Shapiro. Broadway Baby. Algonquin. Jan. (North Carolina)
E. Carter Sickles. The Evening Hour. Bloomsbury, dist. by Macmillan. Jan. (Oregon)
Kjersti Skomsvold. The Faster I Walk the Smaller I Am. Dalkey Archive. Oct. (Norway)
David Snodin. Iago. Holt. Jan. (England)
Paolo Sorrentino. Everybody’s Right. Europa, dist. by Penguin. Sept. (Italy)
Leigh Stein. The Fallback Plan. Melville House. Jan. (New York)
Jacques Strauss. The Dubious Salvation of Jack V. Farrar. Sept. (England) (LJ 6/15/11)
Abigail Tarttelin. Flick. Beautiful Bks. Oct. (England)
Justin Torres. We the Animals. Houghton Harcourt. Sept. (California) (LJ 7/11)
André Carl van der Merwe. Moffie. Europa, dist. by Penguin. Sept. (South Africa)
Laurie Weeks. Zipper Mouth. Feminist Pr., dist. by Consortium. Oct. (New York)
Angus Woodward. Americanisation: Lessons in American Culture and Language. Livingston: Univ. of West Alabama. Sept. (Louisiana)
MYSTERY
Ella Barrick. Quickstep to Murder: A Ballroom Dance Mystery. Obsidian: NAL. Sept. (USA) (LJ 9/1/11)
Fran Blacketer. You Can’t Kill a Dead Man. Sunstone. Oct. (USA)
Bruce Burrows. The River Killers. TouchWood Ed. Sept. (Canada) (LJ 7/11)
Howie Carr. Hard Knocks. Forge. Jan. (Massachusetts)
Tania Carver. The Surrogate. Pegasus. Sept. (England) (LJ 8/11)
Cheryl Crane. The Bad Always Die Twice. Kensington. Sept. (California)
Stuart Dill. Murder on Music Row: A Music Industry Thriller. Blair. (Tennessee) (LJ 9/1/11)
Betsey Draine & Michael Hinden. Murder in Lascaux. Univ. of Wisconsin. Oct. (Wisconsin)
Patricia Driscoll. Shedding Light on Murder. Gale/Five Star: Gale Group. Jan. (California)
Tricia Fields. The Territory. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. Oct. (Indiana) (LJ 10/1/11)
Rick Gavin. Ranchero. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. Oct. (USA) (LJ 8/11)
Tessa Harris. The Anatomist’s Apprentice. Kensington. Jan. (England)
Darrell James. Nazareth Child. Midnight Ink. Sept. (Arizona/California)
Charles P. Juraska. The Easy Ones. Rainbow. Jan. (Illinois)
Susan Koefod. Washed Up. North Star Pr. Sept. (Minnesota) (LJ 9/11)
Clea Koff. Freezing. Severn House. Dec. (USA)
Mitchell Scott Lewis. Murder in the 11th House: A Starlight Detective Agency Mystery. Poisoned Pen. Sept. (New York) (LJ 7/11)
G.M. Malliet. Wicked Autumn: A Max Tudor Novel. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. Sept. (England) (LJ 8/11)
Jon Mills. The Ronnie Gene. Gale/Five Star: Gale Group. Nov. (South Carolina)
Troy D. Nooe. The Ocean Forest: Murder in Myrtle Beach. Ingalls. Sept. (South Carolina)
Leonard Rosen. All Cry Chaos. Permanent. Sept. (Massachusetts) (LJ 6/15/11)
Jaden Tarrell. Racing the Devil. Night Shadows. Jan. (Tennessee)
Jason Webster. Or the Bull Kills You. Minotaur: St. Martin’s. Sept. (Spain) (LJ 9/1/11)
SF/FANTASY
Natania Barron. Pilgrim of the Sky. Candlemark & Gleam. Dec. (North Carolina)
Sabrina Benulis. Archon: The Books of Raziel. Harper Voyager. Dec. (Pennsylvania)
Susan Jane Bigelow. Broken. Candlemark & Gleam. Nov. (Connecticut)
Allyson Bird. Isis Unbound. Dark Regions. Sept. 2011. (England) (LJ 9/1/11)
Paula Brandon. The Traitor’s Daughter. Spectra: Bantam. Oct. (NA)
Ryan Grabow. Caffeine. Splashdown. Nov. (Florida)
Jennifer Harlow. Mind over Monsters. Midnight Ink. Oct. (Virginia) (LJ 9/15/11)
Nick James. Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars. Flux. Sept. (Washington)
Ross Lawhead. The Realms Thereunder. Thomas Nelson. Sept. (NA)
Edward Lazellari. Awakenings. Tor. Sept. (New Jersey)
Linda Poitevin. Sins of the Angels. Ace: Berkley. (Grigori Legacy, Bk. 1). Oct. (Canada) (LJ 9/15/11)
Leonard Richardson. Constellation Games. Candlemark & Gleam. Nov. (New York)
Lev A.C. Rosen. All Men of Genius. Tor. Oct. (New York) (LJ 8/11)
M.J. Scott. Shadow Kin: A Novel of the Half-Light City. ROC: NAL. Sept. (Australia) (LJ 9/15/11)
Scott Tracey. Witch Eyes. Flux. Sept. (Ohio)
A.M. Tuomala. Erekos. Candlemark & Gleam. Sept. (New York)
CHRISTIAN
Shauna V. Brown. Threads of Faith. Cedar Fort. Sept. (Utah)
Shannen Crane Camp. Break-Up Artist. Cedar Fort. Dec. (Utah)
Amanda L. Davis. Precisely Terminated. Living Ink. Oct. (Tennessee)
Susan Dean Elzey. Miracle of the Christmas Star. Cedar Fort. Sept. (Virginia)
Serita Ann Jakes. The Crossing. WaterBrook: Random. Sept. (Texas)
Aaron Jordan. Insanity. Cedar Fort. Jan. (Virginia)
Melissa Lemon. Cinder and Ella. Cedar Fort. Nov. (Utah)
Jolene B. Perry. The Next Door Boys. Cedar Fort. Oct. (Alaska)
Tom Pollack. Wayward Son. Cascada Prods. Sept. (California)
Paul Rimmasch. The Lost Stones. Cedar Fort. Nov. (Utah)
Diane Stringam Tolley. Carving Angels. Cedar Fort. Sept. (Canada)
HISTORICAL
Karin Altenberg. Island of Wings. Penguin. Jan. (England)
Anne Clinard Barnhill. At the Mercy of the Queen: A Novel of Anne Boleyn. Griffin: St. Martin’s. Jan. (North Carolina)
Nancy Bilyeau. The Crown. Touchstone: S. & S. Jan. (New York)
Kimberly Cutter. The Maid. Houghton Harcourt. Oct. (New York) (LJ 8/11)
Tom Fitzgerald. Poor Richard’s Lament: A Most Timely Tale. Hobblebush. Jan. (Rhode Island)
Victor Davis Hanson. The End of Sparta. Bloomsbury, dist. by Macmillan. Oct. (California) (LJ 9/1/11)
Rashad Harrison. Our Man in the Dark. Atria: S. & S. Nov. (Illinois)
Ann Hite. Ghost on Black Moun tain. Gallery: S. & S. (Georgia) (Xpress Reviews, 9/2/11)
Duncan Jepson. All the Flowers in Shanghai. Morrow. Dec. (China)
Gary Madden. Time of Death. Gale/Five Star: Gale Group. Sept. (Indiana)
Vivienne Schiffer. Camp Nine. Univ. of Arkansas. Nov. (Texas)
Anna Solomon. The Little Bride. Atria: S. & S. Sept. (Rhode Island) (LJ 8/11)
Stella Tillyard. Tides of War. Holt. Nov. (UK) (LJ 9/1/11)
Cecilia Velástegui. Gathering the Indigo Maidens. Libros Pub. Sept. (California)
ROMANCE
Isabel Cooper. No Proper Lady. Sourcebooks Casablanca. Sept. (Massachusetts) (LJ 8/11)
Tawna Fenske. Making Waves. Sourcebooks Casablanca. Sept. (Oregon) (Xpress Reviews, 8/19/11)
Sara Humphreys. Unleashed. Sourcebooks Casablanca. Oct. (New York)
Bethe Lee Moulton. Until Brazil. Glide. Nov. (Florida)
Heather Lynn Riguad. Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star. Sourcebooks Casablanca. Sept. (New York)
Theresa Romain. Season for Temptation. Zebra: Kensington. Oct. (NA)
Amanda Usen. Scrumptious. Sourcebooks Casablanca. Jan. (New York)
Thrillers
Corban Addison. A Walk Across the Sun. SilverOak, dist. by Sterling. Jan. (Virginia)
Neal Baer & Jonathan Greene. Kill Switch. Kensington. Jan. (California & New York)
David Bell. Cemetery Girl. NAL: Penguin Group (USA). Oct. (Kentucky)
Malcolm Berry. The Foulks Rebellion. Rutsatz. Oct. (USA)
Bryan Boswell. Tattoo. Piatkus: Little, Brown UK, dist. by Trafalgar Square. Nov. (Spain)
Keith Bulfin. Undercover: A Novel of a Life. Random Australia, dist. by IPG: dist. Oct. (New Zealand)
Donato Carrisi. The Whisperer. Mulholland: Little, Brown. Jan. (Italy)
Dean Crawford. Covenant. Touchstone: S. &. S. Oct. (England)
Maria Duenas. The Time In Between. Atria: S. & S. Nov. (Spain) (LJ 9/1/11)
Thomas Enger. Burned. Atria: S. & S. Oct. (Norway)
J.E. Fishman. Primacy. Verbitrage, dist. by Greenleaf Bk. LLC. Sept. (Delaware)
Tom Glosser. The Roadster Project. Sunstone. Sept. (USA)
Jens Lapidus. Easy Money. Pantheon. Nov. (Sweden) (LJ 10/1/11)
Dale Lovin. The Mirror in the River. Sunstone. Jan. (USA)
Q.R. Markham. Assassin of Secrets. Mulholland: Little, Brown. Nov. (New York)
Patrick Melton & Marcus Dunstan with Stephen Romano. Black Light. Mulholland: Little, Brown. Oct. (California) (LJ 10/1/11)
Mukoma Wa Ngugi. Nairobi Heat. Melville House. Sept. (Ohio) (LJ 6/15/11)
Daniel O’Malley. The Rook. Little, Brown. Jan. (Australia) (LJ 10/1/11)
Cover Rod Rees. The Demi-Monde: Winter. Morrow. Jan. (England)
Trevor Shane. Children of Paranoia. Dutton. Sept. (New York)
Johnny Shaw. Dove Season: A Jimmy Veeder Fiasco. AmazonEncore. (Oregon) (LJ 8/11)
Mark Allen Smith. The Inquisitor. Holt. Jan. (New York)
Simon Toyne. Sanctus. Morrow. Sept. (England) (LJ 9/1/11)
Elizabeth Voss. The Winslow Incident. Gale/Five Star: Gale Group. Dec. (California)
Katherine Webb. The Legacy. HarperPaperbacks: HarperCollins. Sept. (England)
Horror
Matthew J. Costello. Vacation. Thomas Dunne: St. Martin’s. Sept. (New York)
Tom Fletcher. The Leaping. Quercus, dist. by Trafalgar Square. Sept. (England)
Adam Nevill. The Ritual. Griffin: St. Martin’s. Feb. (England)
Michael Rowe. Enter, Night. ChiZine. Oct. (Canada)
| Author Information |
| Barbara Hoffert is Prepub Alert Editor, LJ. Meaghan Curran is Book Review Assistant, LJ |
