AKASHIC BOOKS
Chicago Noir (Sept., $14.95), edited by Neal Pollack, collects new stories set in this rough-and-tumble locale by a diverse group of authors.
D.C. Noir (Feb., $14.95), edited by George Pelecanos, is an anthology about the underside of the nation's capital.
ALGONQUIN BOOKS
Best of the South (Sept., $15.95), selected by Anne Tyler, edited by Shannon Ravenel, gathers 20 stories that appeared in the annual New Stories from the South over the past decade. A Shannon Ravenel Book.
ALLEN UNWIN (dist. by IPG)
The Slapping Man (Nov., $16.95) by Andrew Lindsay. The townspeople of Salvation are waiting for a savior.
ARCADE
The Garlic Ballads (Jan., $12.95) by Mo Yan returns this epic Chinese novel to print.
AVON
Cracks in My Foundation (Sept., $12.95) by Marian Keyes combines short stories with essays on life, love, women and shoes. 75,000 first printing.
Making Mischief (Oct., $12.95) by Elizabeth Young revolves around a woman's itch for her best friend's boyfriend. 75,000 first printing.
Size 12 Is Not Fat (Jan., $12.95) by Meg Cabot features a pop star turned girl detective. 100,000 first printing.
BALLANTINE/ONE WORLD
Slipping (Sept., $12.95) by Y. Blak Moore. The 17-year-old son of a widowed Chicago police officer discovers crack. Ad/ promo.
Knockin' Boots (Oct., $12.95) by Tracy Price-Thompson. A preacher's daughter and ex-stripper must acknowledge her husband's sexual addiction. Ad/ promo.
BANTAM
She, Myself and I (Oct., $12) by Whitney Gaskell introduces the three Cassel sisters, who couldn't be more different from each other. 40,000 first printing.
Annie Freeman's Fabulous Traveling Funeral (Feb., $11) by Kris Radish. Annie leaves behind her ashes and a series of instructions that transform the lives of five women. 100,000 first printing. Ad/ promo.
BARBOUR
The Color of the Soul (Oct., $9.97) by Tracey Bateman. In 1948, a 100-year-old Southern woman is near death and feels the need to reveal her past.
BEHLER PUBLICATIONS (22365 El Toro Rd., Lake Forest, Calif. 92630)
Tetched: A Novel in Fractals (Oct., $13.95) by Thaddeus Rutkowski dramatizes an escape from rural America for a new life in the city. Author tour.
BERKLEY
Princess of Park Avenue (Sept., $13) by Daniella Brodsky. Lorraine Machuchi moves from Brooklyn to Manhattan to color the hair of the upper crust.
Dark Watch (Nov., $15) by Clive Cussler and Jack Du Brul is a novel from the Oregon Files that features hero Juan Cabrillo.
BERKLEY JAM
Hooking Up (Oct., $8.99) by Randi Reisfeld shares the adventures of four rich, famous and shameless divas at a Las Vegas high school.
BERKLEY SENSATION
Mercenaries (Sept., $14) by Angela Knight presents three erotic novellas.
BETHANY HOUSE
The Preacher's Daughter (Nov., $12.99) by Beverly Lewis mixes heartache with homespun delight. 250,000 first printing.
BLEAK HOUSE BOOKS
Chasing the Wolf (Jan., $12.95) by Nathan Singer unfolds along the banks of the muddy Mississippi. Author tour.
BRAVA
The Royal Pain (Nov., $14) by MaryJanice Davidson. This sequel to The Royal Treatment brings back the Baranov family.
Valentine's Day Is Killing Me (Jan., $14) by Leslie Esdaile, MaryJanice Davidson and Susanna Carr delivers three short romances.
CARROLL GRAF
Hot Animal Love: Tales of Modern Romance (Sept., $13.95) by Scott Bradfield is a satirical collection of twisted tales of love and hate in the animal kingdom.
The Sluts (Nov., $14.95) by Dennis Cooper. An escort's date evolves into a metafiction of pornography and lies.
CHAMBERLAIN BROS.
The Scarlet Letter (Sept., $14.95) by Nathaniel Hawthorne combines the 1850 novel with a DVD of the 1934 movie starring Colleen Moore and Alan Hale, with commentary by Susannah Gora.
DAFINA
Friends with Benefits (Sept., $14) by Lawrence C. Ross Jr. features a hard-partying lawyer in danger of losing the woman he loves.
DALKEY ARCHIVE PRESS
Look at the Dark (Feb., $13.95) by Nicholas Mosley. A retired academic who has become a minor media celebrity is the victim of a hit-and-run incident.
DORCHESTER
If the Shoe Fits (Sept., $12.95) by Stephanie Rowe. After a car accident, a female athlete gives up dreaming of Olympic gold to design high-fashion heels.
DOWNTOWN PRESS
Imaginary Men (Oct., $13) by Anjali Banerjee. At her sister's wedding in India, Lina Ray fibs about having a fiancé back in America.
Just Between Us (Jan., $15) by Cathy Kelly. In an Irish country town, the fabulous Miller girls suffer secret heartaches.
FEMINIST PRESS
Children of the New World: A Novel of the Algerian War (Dec., $15.95) by Assia Djebar depicts Algeria's anti-colonial struggle against France in the 1950s.
5 SPOT
Everyone Else's Girl (Oct., $12.95) by Megan Crane. Forced back to her hometown, Meredith discovers that a trip to the past may be the best way to move forward. Ad/promo.
DAVID GODINE/ BLACK SPARROW BOOKS
Here & Elsewhere: The Collected Fiction of Kenneth Burke (Nov.; $22, cloth $35) offers the novel Towards a Better Life along with 23 avant-garde short stories.
GROVE/BLACK CAT
Minaret (Sept., $14) by Leila Aboulela. A secular young Muslim woman in London gradually embraces her orthodox faith.
HAMPTON ROADS
Curious Lives: Adventures from the Ferret Chronicles (Oct., $15.95) by Richard Bach is a single-volume edition of the five novels in the series by the author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
HARCOURT/HARVEST
PopCo (Oct., $14) by Scarlett Thomas highlights a toy inventor disenchanted with her employer's exploitation of customers.
HARLEQUIN
More Than Words (Oct., $12.95) by Debbie Macomber, Sharon Sala, Jasmine Cresswell, Beverly Barton and Julie Elizabeth Leto consists of a short story from each author inspired by real-life women.
HESPERUS PRESS (dist. by Trafalgar Square)
No Man's Land (Oct., $14) by Graham Greene is an espionage tale found in a collection of the late master's papers.
HOMA SEKEY BOOKS
Willow Leaf, Maple Leaf: A Novel of Immigration Blues (Sept., $16.95) by David Ke weaves together fantasy and cultural myth, spiced with moral and sexual dilemmas.
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN
The Best American Short Stories 2005 (Oct.; $14, cloth $27.50), edited by Michael Chabon. Contributors to this latest installment include Dennis Lehane and Edward P. Jones. 125,000 first printing.
The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2005 (Oct.; $14, cloth $27.50), edited by Dave Eggers, includes fiction, nonfiction and alternative comics. 75,000 first printing.
HOWARD PUBLISHING
Fire (Sept., $12.99) by Bill Bright and Jack Cavanaugh is the second book in the Great Awakening series dealing with spiritual revival.
KENSINGTON
Every Sunday (Sept., $14) by Peter Pazzelli. A family is disrupted by the death of its patriarch.
Moon over Madeline Island (Oct., $14) by Jay Gilbertson. A beauty salon owner and her client take possession of a barn.
KENSINGTON/GENESIS PRESS
Rough on Rats and Tough on Cats (Sept., $12.95) by Chris Parker. Nedra and her dope-smoking roommate find the greatest love of all.
Beyond the Rapture (Sept., $9.95) by Beverly Clark. Lily must overcome childhood traumas to accept Philip's love.
KENSINGTON/STRAPLESS
Tight (Feb., $12.95) by Patrick Sanchez follows three women as they undergo cosmetic surgery.
LLEWELLYN
Magick in the West End: Stories of the Occult (Nov., $14.95) by Kala Trobe is a collection with spiritual themes that include true magick and the Kabbalah.
LOUISIANA STATE UNIV. PRESS
If the Sky Fall: Stories (Oct., $16.95) by Nicholas Montemarano `reflects on redemption.
LYONS PRESS
Unit Pride (Sept., $14.95) by John McAleer and Billy Dickson tells of men bonded by friendship and burned by war.
MACMILLAN CARIBBEAN (dist. by Interlink)
Marly: or, A Planter's Life in Jamaica (Nov., $15) by Anonymous, edited by Karina Williamson, is a novel from the 19th century about life on a sugar estate before slavery's abolition.
MERCER UNIV. PRESS
CrossRoads: A Southern Culture Annual 2005 (Dec., $22), edited by Ted Olson, is the second in this series.
MIRA
Lost Highways (Sept., $12.95) by Curtiss Ann Matlockunfolds in the South, with a woman on a lonesome road.
Heathen Girls (Jan., $12.95) by Luanne Jones. Three cousins and childhood friends reunite in rural Arkansas to stir up the town.
The Cotton Queen (Feb., $12.95) by Pamela Morsi zeroes in on a mother-daughter relationship and the notion of "home."
NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY
The Last Heiress (Oct., $14) by Bertrice Small is the fourth and final book in her Friarsgate Inheritance series.
Over the Moon at the Big Lizard Diner (Nov., $13.95) by Lisa Wingate. The smalltown protagonist is a single mother and a fossil expert.
NAL SIGNET ECLIPSE
Suite Fantasy (Jan., $13.95) by Janice Maynard presents three erotic novellas with a fantasy hotel setting.
NORTH ATLANTIC BOOKS/FROG LTD.
I, Stagolee (Sept., $14.95) by Cecil Brown is based on the true story of a shooting on Christmas night 1895 commemorated in the song "Stagger Lee.".
W.W. NORTON
I'll Go to Bed at Noon (Sept., $14.95) by Gerard Woodward. The darkly funny narrative about a family of drinkers bounces from farce to tragedy.
OTHER PRESS
Three Horses (Sept., $11.95) by Erri De Luca is a poetic portrayal of a gardener in love.
Kilter: 55 Fictions (Nov., $12.95) by John Gould collects "flash fiction."
OVERLOOK
Gascoyne (Sept., $13.95) by Stanley Crawford brings back to print this cult novel from 1966 that mixes such influences as Alfred Hitchcock, jungle war novels, SF and mad-doctor movies.
PENGUIN
Dearest Dorothy, Who Would Have Ever Thought?! (Sept., $13) by Charlene Baumbich continues the series as the residents of Partonville prepare a Thanksgiving dinner at the local church. 50,000 first printing.
PERENNIAL
The Electric Michelangelo (Oct., $13.95) by Sarah Hall concerns Cy Parks, an apprentice to a vicious but masterful drunken tattoo artist. 35,000 first printing.
POLYGON (dist. by Interlink)
Last Orders at Harrod's (Sept., $15) by Michael Holman. A widowed East African bar owner is threatened by the London store in a dispute about their shared name.
PERSEA
A Good Place for the Night (Jan., $14) by Savyon Liebrecht collects thematically linked stories about Israelis in love and away from home.
POCKET BOOKS
Crave the Night (Sept., $13) by Susan Sizemore is an omnibus edition that contains three contemporary vampire romances.
Crazy Love (Sept., $13) by Desiree Day follows two best friends in Atlanta who attempt to sleep their way to "happily every after."
One Last Look (Jan., $13) by Linda Lael Miller. Attorney Clare Westbrook and Tony Sonterra are back in the conclusion to the series that included Don't Look Now and Never Look Back.
RED DRESS INK
Do They Wear High Heels in Heaven? (Oct., $12.95) by Erica Orloff. Best buddies Lily and Michael face their biggest challenge—cancer—with a little fashion intervention.
Scenes from a Holiday (Nov., $12.95) by Laurie Graf, Caren Lissner and Melanie Murray serves up a trio of stories, one about Christmas, one about Hanukkah, the third about New Year's.
The Breakup Club (Jan., $12.95) by Melissa Senate. Three employees at a major publishing house form a support group for dumpees.
REVELL
New Town (Oct., $12.99) by Harry Blamires is an allegory about searching to belong written by a protégé of C.S. Lewis.
RIVERHEAD
The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil (Sept., $13) by George Saunders has its setting in a strange country large enough for only one resident at a time.
SERPENTS TAIL
Billie Morgan (Sept., $15) by Joolz Denby concerns a former bike chick who has cleaned up her act, but her past won't remain dormant.
SS/TOUCHSTONE
Those Pearly Gates: A Homegrown Novel (Sept., $13) by Julie Cannon. In the series' third book, Imogene has married Reverend Peddigrew and moved into town, where her new neighbors suffer great tragedy.
SOFT SKULL PRESS
Homewrecker: An Adultery Anthology (Sept., $13), edited by Daphne Gottlieb, compiles stories by contemporary authors.
Brontë Boy (Oct., $13.95) by Douglas A. Martin is biographical fiction that details the decline of Branwell Brontë while his sisters thrive. Author tour.
STEEPLE HILL
In Sheep's Clothing (Sept., $12.95) by Susan May Warren. An American missionary is being stalked in Siberia.
Over the Waters (Oct., $12.95) by Deborah Raney. Another American missionary, this time in Haiti, finds love with—Dr. Botox!
STEEPLE HILL CAF
Million Dollar Dilemma (Sept., $12.95) by Judy Baer. When a vast fortune falls into a preacher kid's lap, it proves a mixed blessing.
SUSPECT THOUGHTS PRESS
A Scarecrow's Bible (Oct., $16.95) by Martin Hyatt mixes aspects of "Southern Grit Lit" with "Queer Misfit Lit."
THREE RIVERS PRESS
Diary of a Married Call Girl: A Nancy Chan Novel (Oct., $12.95) by Tracy Quan is a sequel to Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl. Married to investment banker Matt, Nancy turns a few tricks on the side.
THUNDERS MOUTH PRESS
Inside the Hornet's Head: An Anthology of Jewish American Writing (Nov., $17.95), edited by Jerome Charyn, anthologizes the writing of Bellow, Roth, Ozick, Singer and Woody Allen.
THOMSON/FIVE STAR
Side Canyons (Sept., $13.95) by Laurie Wagner Buyer is based on the author's trip through the Grand Canyon over nine life-changing days.
TOKYOPOP
War on Flesh, Vol. 1 (Sept., $9.99) by Greg Hildebrandt et al. In the deep South, an ancient voodoo curse unleashes a hellish plague of hornets; a manga graphic novel.
Devil May Cry 3 (Oct., $9.99) by Suguro Chayamachi. The epic clash continues between Sparda's twin sons, now grown men, as they pursue different goals; a manga graphic novel.
I Love Halloween, Vol. 1 (Oct., $9.99) by Ben Roman and Keith Giffen chronicles the misadventures of a disturbing group of trick-or-treaters; a manga graphic novel.
TYNDALE HOUSE
Forgiven (Oct., $13.99) by Karen Kingsbury. This second book in the Firstborn series introduces a new generation of the Baxter family.
UNBRIDLED BOOKS
The Singing and Dancing Daughters of God (Nov., $14.95) by Timothy Schaffert tells of a divorced father who wants to reunite his family.
UNIV. OF CHICAGO PRESS
Shoot! The Notebooks of Serafino Gubbio, Cinematograph Operator (Dec., $18) by Luigi Pirandello. Originally published in Italian in 1915, Shoot!is based on the absurdist journals of a fictional Italian.
UNIV. OF HAWAII PRESS
Entrys (Sept., $18.95) by Peter Bacho explores the issues of race, war, culture and hope through the experiences of a half-Filipino, half-Yakima protagonist.
UNIV. OF IOWA PRESS
The Thin Tear in the Fabric of Space (Oct., $15.95) by Douglas Trevor collects stories about coping with grief, trying to love and leaving behind old versions of the self.
UNIV. OF MICHIGAN PRESS
A Near-Perfect Gift (Oct., $14.95) by R.M. Kinder tells stories of smalltown life.
VERTICAL
A Rabbit's Eyes (Sept., $14.95) by Kenjiro Haitani is an anthem to dedicated schoolteachers in the inner cities of Japan.
VILLARD
First & Fifteenth: Pop Art Short Stories (Oct., $17.95) by Steve Powers tells urban short stories through original pop art works.
WALK WORTHY PRESS
Soul Matters (Sept., $13.95) by Yolonda Tonette Sanders. Infidelity threatens a Christian family. Ad/promo.
WASHINGTON SQUARE PRESS
Where Love Is Found: 24 Tales of Connection (Jan., $14), edited by Susan Burmeister-Brown and Linda B. Swanson-Davies, gathers stories from Glimmer Train that explore love from many angles.
WATERBROOK
Saturday Morning (Sept., $13.99) by Lauraine Snelling deals with four women's efforts to save a women's shelter.
WESTBOW PRESS
Hot Flashes and Cold Cream (Nov., $14.99) by Diann Hunt is a humorous novel about growing older with grace.
The Best Christian Short Stories (Jan., $14.99), edited by Bret Lott, gathers tales that share a distinctly Christian viewpoint.
ZONDERVAN
Even Now (Dec., $14.99) by Karen Kingsbury. A young woman whose mother gave her up for adoption learns a life lesson.
