Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begin

by
Staff
From the May/June 2009 issue of
Poets & Writers Magazine

A man had accidentally gone to bed." See Jack (University of Pittsburgh Press, April 2009) by Russell Edson. Nineteenth book, poetry collection. Agent: None. Editor: Dorine Jennette. Publicist: Maria Sticco.

"Carmen was awakened by the loud sound of a masculine voice in Spanish as the clock radio clicked on." Marielitos, Balseros and Other Exiles (Ig Publishing, May 2009) by Cecilia Rodríguez Milanés. First book, story collection. Agent: None. Editor: Robert Lasner. Publicist: Robert Lasner.

"By the time Helen comes in from her run, the first sparks of dawn, pale orange and chilly, are reaching through the bare trees in the backyard." Hello Goodbye (Random House, May 2009) by Emily Chenoweth. First book, novel. Agent: Henry Dunow. Editor: Laura Ford. Publicist: Jynne Martin.

"At its northernmost limit, the California coastline suffered a winter of brutal winds pitched against iron-clad fog, and roiling seas whose whiplash could scar a man's cheek as quickly as a cat-o'-nine-tails." Sunnyside (Knopf, May 2009) by Glen David Gold. Second book, novel. Agent: Susan Golomb. Editor: Sonny Mehta. Publicist: Michelle Somers.

"In 1975 my mother left my father for the last time." Where Did You Sleep Last Night? A Personal History (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, May 2009) by Danzy Senna. Third book, first memoir. Agent: Jin Auh. Editor: Jonathan Galassi. Publicist: Kathy Daneman.

"Jimmy Luntz had never been to war, but this was the sensation, he was sure of that—eighteen guys in a room, Rob, the director, sending them out—eighteen guys shoulder to shoulder, moving out on the orders of their leader to do what they've been training day and night to do." Nobody Move (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, May 2009) by Denis Johnson. Thirteenth book, eighth novel. Agent: Robert Cornfield. Editor: Lorin Stein. Publicist: Jeff Seroy.

"The war had ended as wars sometimes do, unexpectedly." Wanting (Atlantic Monthly Press, May 2009) by Richard Flanagan. Seventh book, fifth novel. Agent: Melanie Jackson. Editor: Morgan Entrekin. Publicists: Deb Seager and Martin Wilson.

"The key to this job is to always remember that you aren't replacing anyone's grandmother." Tunneling to the Center of the Earth (Harper Perennial, April 2009) by Kevin Wilson. First book, story collection. Agent: Julie Barer. Editor: Lee Boudreaux. Publicist: Jessica Purcell.

"It was a hot September afternoon in 1965 when I joined other writing students in our Quonset hut classroom at the University of Iowa." Love As Always, Kurt: Vonnegut As I Knew Him (Da Capo Press, April 2009) by Loree Rackstraw. First book, memoir. Agent: Joy Tutela. Editor: Renée Sedliar. Publicist: Lindsey Lochner Rudnickas.

"Go to Berlin, you really should." German for Travelers: A Novel in 95 Lessons (Coffee House Press, May 2009) by Norah Labiner. Third book, novel. Agent: Jim Rutman. Editor: Christopher Fischbach. Publicist: Esther Porter.

"Already yesterday November was arriving." The Russian Version (Ugly Duckling Presse, April 2009) by Elena Fanailova. Fifth book, poetry collection. Translators: Genya Turovskaya and Stephanie Sandler. Agent: None. Editor: Matvei Yankelevich. Publicist: Matvei Yankelevich.

"In the late winter of 2006, I returned to my home town and bought 612 acres of land on the far western edge of the county." Castle (Graywolf Press, April 2009) by J. Robert Lennon. Sixth book, fifth novel. Agent: Jim Rutman. Editor: Ethan Nosowsky. Publicist: Mary Matze.