This publishing season kicks off a new decade—and things may never be the same. In the following 60 pages, you will find hardcover books from commercial houses, university presses, and small independents taking center stage. When this decade ends, the book scene will be very different; new formats will have arrived, while terms such as “publishing house” and “spring season” might be things of the past. Still, this offering of books will be no different than the “books” of 2020, with greatly anticipated product coming from big names, as well as a flurry of innovative new voices, exceptional scholarship, and books both fun and necessary.
We heard from 700-plus publishers for these listings. In a departure from previous seasons—and as a sign of the times if Daniel Mendelsohn in this week's New Yorker is to be believed—biographies and memoirs lead the pack, with 115 titles represented here. There is big fiction aplenty—Ian McEwan, Isabel Allende, Sue Miller, Roberto Bolaño, Ann Beattie, along with two noteworthy sequels to career-making debuts from Scott Turow and Bret Easton Ellis. Perhaps they will tell us something about change.
As in the last two announcement issues, listings for forthcoming trade paper titles can be found online: www.publishersweekly.com/spring2010tradepaperlistings.
