2020 is just around the corner (which, is simply unbelievable. Wasn’t it just summer?!), so we wanted to give you a preview about some of the great books we’ve got planned for the new year. This post will cover, roughly, the first half of 2020 (with one book that’s set for release in late 2019), and part two, covering the rest of the year, is coming soon.
Many of these books are ready for pre-order right now, so if someone (you) were looking to add a few books to the to-be-read pile, someone (you) would be in luck. All right, onward!
December 2019
A gripping novel by Barbara Boswell. Unmaking Grace was the winner of the University of Johannesburg Prize for South African writing in the debut category, and we couldn’t be happier to be the book’s North American publisher. Unmaking Grace tells the story of Grace, a woman whose life has been forever changed by domestic violence, and her struggle to heal the wounds of her past. The novel has recently been featured in The New York Times, and Kirkus Reviews praised it as “a smart, compassionate portrayal of one woman’s quest to end the cycle of violence.” Unmaking Grace releases on December 3, and pre-orders are available now.
January 2020
Last year marked our entry into the world of non-fiction with our first memoir release A Road Called Down on Both Sides by Caroline Kurtz. We continue down this path, but with a twist. In our new Intimate Geography Series, memoir meets the map as authors tell their stories through places they love. Weaving details —history, culture, community— about these places in with their own experiences, readers will travel to places like Zurich, Lagos, Soweto, and, in the first release of the series, Cape Town. In Cape Town: A Place Between, author Henry Trotter gets under the skin of the city to reveal its intricacies and its contradictions. Henry will also be serving as the series editor going forward. You can read more about his vision for the series here. Cape Town is out on January 3, and pre-orders are available now.
Last year, we also released Crackerjack, the first book in Peter Church’s dark web trilogy—techno-thrillers that explore the dark corners of our digital lives. We continue the series with Dark Video, a look at the early days of internet video. It’s 2006. Online video and everything it would and could become was still unknown to many. But in a corner of this new world, is a group of people looking for the most disturbing videos, and willing to play any price for them. Dark Video is an exploration a sinister world where reality blurs and morals unravel. It releases on January 7, and pre-orders are available now.
Also out on January 7, The Thousand Steps by Helen Brain. The first book in Helen’s dystopian fantasy trilogy for young adults. The Thousand Steps is the story of 16-year-old Ebba who has lived her entire life in a bunker deep within Cape Town’s Table Mountain. When she is suddenly elevated from the bunker, she finds that everything she knew about her life, and the world “above,” was wrong. Now shouldering the immense responsibility of her new life, Ebba must fight to save her friends still trapped in the bunker and facing execution any day. Pre-orders are available now.
February 2020
We love helping kids become readers! One of the best ways to do that is to bring them smart and thoughtful stories, and we really think we’ve done that with the upcoming release Small Mercies by Bridget Krone. This book for middle-grade readers has heart. The novel is centered on 11-year-old Mercy, who lives with her eccentric foster aunts in a house that’s seen some better days. When developers start eyeing the house and her Aunt Flora’s health begins to worsen, Mercy feels like her life is falling apart. But some lessons from the past may just help Mercy change her future. Small Mercies is a beautiful book that teaches compassion and for standing up for what’s right. Sara Cassidy, author of A Boy Named Queen and Nevers, praised the book, writing: “You will root for Mercy from the very first page, and she will be in your heart long after you’ve read this vivid, beautifully written novel.” Small Mercies releases on February 4, and is available for pre-order now.
2019 saw the launch of our newest imprint, Powers Squared. Focused on science with a global perspective, Powers Squared aims to make science fun and accessible. This imprint will be led by writer and recovering scientist Matt Powers, and you can read more about his plans for the imprint in this Q&A. The imprint’s first release is Cat Among the Pigeons by Daviid Muirhead, a delightful collection of essays about the animals of Africa. Filled with fun, odd, and enlightening facts about the creatures we share our world with, this book will help us understand the societies, behaviors, and habitats of a wide variety of animals from cockroaches to lammergeiers. And hopefully, with that understanding, comes with the desire to protect and care for the planet that they (and we) call home. Sy Montgomery, author of Tamed and Untamed: Close Encounters of the Animal Kind writes: “[T]his clever, breezy book delivers delightful surprises on every page, along with a bracing dose of wonder.” It releases on February 4, and pre-orders are available now.
May 2020
Most of our books for young readers have been geared toward older kids, so we’re really excited to add a book for beginning readers to our catalog—make that two books! By the noted South African author and illustrator Niki Daly, the Lolo series is an adorable walk through the life of the creative, fun, and kind-hearted Lolo. In these two easy-to-read books— Here Comes Lolo and Hooray for Lolo— we follow her has she gets a gold star in school, takes care of her baby brother, and finds a lost ring. Each book contains four stories that are perfect for new solo readers. Both books release on May 12.
And a huge thank you to our talented cover designer Karen Vermeulen. She is responsible for the design of four of the above covers, and what a wonderful job she’s done. If you want the inside scoop about her work, be sure to check out this Q&A with her!
Read part two here
