BROADWAY BOOKS
Spooning: The Cooking Club Divas Take Manhattan (Feb., $12.95) by Darri Stephens and Megan DeSales serves up recipes in each chapter in this soufflé of food, friendship and romance.
COFFEE HOUSE PRESS
Garner (Sept., $14.95) by Kirstin Allio is "Edith Wharton meets Ben Marcus"—a tale of morality, murder and smalltown secrets circa 1925. Author tour.
DENLINGERS PUBLISHERS
Window on the Wood: A Novel of Brazil (Sept., $8.95) by Carlton Jackson. Post—Civil War Confederate immigrants hope to resurrect antebellum lifestyles in Brazil.
Blauser's Building (Nov., $8.95) by Alan Neff is a darkly comic David-and-Goliath tale of Chicago lawyers.
DOWNTOWN PRESS
Love Will Tear Us Apart (Sept., $13) by Tara McCarthy. A celebrity journalist is asked to write a biography of Grammy-winning pop princesses who are Siamese twins.
Ex-Wife's Survival Guide (Feb., $14) by Debby Holt. A woman's husband leaves her for his co-star in a local theater production in this comic novel.
5 SPOT
Conversations with the Fat Girl (Sept., $12.95) by Liza Palmer reveals the self-deprecating wit of a plus-sized young woman who learns that you can outgrow your favorite old jeans and your oldest friend. Ad/promo. Author tour.
GENESIS PRESS
Red Polka Dot in a World Full of Plaid (Nov., $12.95) by Varian Johnson. A headstrong girl goes on a cross-country journey to find the father she thought was dead.
GROVE PRESS
Broken for You (Sept., $13) by Stephanie Kallos. The past pains of two women in self-imposed exile are transformed when their lives intersect. 100,000 first printing. Author tour.
HARCOURT
Karoo Boy (Sept., $13) by Troy Blacklaws. Against the backdrop of 1970s South Africa, young Douglas develops insight into himself and his place in the world.
Kung Fu High School (Sept., $13) by Ryan Gattis. What matters at MLK High School is not your skin color or how stylish your clothes are, but how well you can fight.
LITTLE, BROWN/BACK BAY
Frangipani (Feb., $12.95) by Célestine Hitiura Vaite is set in Tahiti, where professional cleaner Materena Mahi is a very good listener. Ad/promo. 6-city author tour.
NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY
The Great Pretender (Sept., $13.95) by Millenia Black puts a new spin on modern family drama as the perfect man comes undone by the consequences of a double life.
PARALLAX PRESS
Little Pilgrim (Sept., $18.95) by Ko Un is a meditation on spirituality and the nature of existence. Author tour.
PERENNIAL
Utterly Monkey (Jan., $13.95) by Nick Laird is set in London and Northern Ireland. One of two reunited friends accidentally steals money from paramilitary terrorists. 40,000 first printing.
SERPENTS TAIL
Taming the Beast (Jan., $15) by Emily Maguire is a darkly comic saga about a young woman's violent and illegal affair with her English teacher.
SHOEMAKER HOARD
Human Oddities (Oct., $15) by Noria Jablonski. In this debut story collection, the human body is the landscape.
SOFT SKULL PRESS
Manstealing for Fat Girls (Oct., $13) by Michelle Embree. This coming-of-age comedy is narrated by three misfit teenage girls. Author tour.
STEEPLE HILL CAF
Sahm I Am (Nov., $12.95) by Meredith Efken. Five friends affirm their faith as they chat on a Christian e-mail loop for stay-at-home moms.
TYNDALE HOUSE
Troublesome Creek (Nov., $12.99) by Jan Watson. The winner of the Jerry B. Jenkins 2004 Christian Writers Guild contest spins a coming-of-age tale set in the Kentucky hills.
UNIV. OF TEXAS PRESS
What Are You Afraid Of? (Dec., $12.95) by Michael Hyde. Ten stories imagine a world where dreams and reality merge; winner of the 2005 Katherine Anne Porter Prize.
WARNER BOOKS
Stag: A Story About Coming of Age—in a Bar (Sept., $13.95) by Tim Reif. The humorous chronicle of a 29-year-old English bachelor who refuses to grow up. Ad/promo.
