BTW News Briefs

Harlequin’s MIRA to Launch Literary Fiction Imprint

Harlequin’s MIRA Books has announced the launch of Park Row Books, a new literary fiction imprint. The new line will publish works that feature “powerful stories that inspire discussion” written by “talented literary voices whose books have mainstream appeal.”

Led by Margaret Marbury, Harlequin’s vice president of general fiction editorial, and executive editor Erika Imranyi, Park Row will launch next summer with The Improbable Flight of Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig. The imprint will publish new works by authors such as Karma Brown, Christopher Meades, Mary Kubica, Heather Gudenkauf, Elizabeth Heathcote, and Phaedra Patrick, eventually building to 25 to 30 titles per year.

According to Harlequin, the name “Park Row Books” was inspired by the well-known street that runs through downtown Manhattan and ends at the Woolworth Building, where the company’s offices were housed for many years.

“With the success of MIRA’s rapidly expanding literary fiction program, we decided to establish a dedicated imprint that focuses on the incredible novels we are publishing,” said Marbury. “Park Row Books allows us to create new opportunities for talented literary writers who want a boutique publishing experience with the support of a powerhouse commercial publisher.”

Amazon Rumored to Plan Bricks-and-Mortar Bookstore for NYC

The New York Post has reported that Amazon is planning to open a bricks-and-mortar bookstore and café in Manhattan..

Sources have told the Post that Amazon Books is slated to open in Hudson Yards, a massive retail, commercial, and residential space developed by Related Cos. and Oxford Properties Group, which is projected to open in late 2018 or early 2019.

Amazon’s first physical bookstore opened last year in an upscale mall in Seattle. In addition to stocking print books, the store doubles as a digital showroom that displays the company’s Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets, and other devices. In February, Amazon announced it would be opening a second physical bookstore in San Diego; in June, Amazon revealed it had plans for a third store in Portland, Oregon.

However, an Amazon spokesperson declined to comment to the Post on the possibility of a New York City store.

2016 Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize Winners Announced

The Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance has announced the nine winners of its 2016 Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize. The winners on SIBA’s list represent the best of Southern literature as chosen by Southern indie booksellers.

Formerly known as the SIBA Book Award, the Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize features an expanded list of categories inspired by the tastes and inclinations of Southern readers, each of which are named after one of the late author’s novels.

Nearly 40 finalists were nominated by booksellers and their customers, vetted by bookstores, and selected by a jury of Southern booksellers. The finalists were narrowed down to nine winners:

• The Great Santini Fiction Prize: My Sunshine Away by M.O. Walsh (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
• The Prince of Tides Literary Prize: Above the Waterfall by Ron Rash (Ecco Press)
• The Beach Music Mystery Prize: Bull Mountain by Brian Panowich (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)
• The Lords of Discipline Thriller Prize: The Bone Tree by Greg Isles (William Morrow & Company)
• The Pat Conroy Cookbook Prize: Soul Food Love by Alice Randall (Clarkson Potter Publishers)
• The Death of Santini Nonfiction Prize: Dispatches from Pluto by Richard Grant (Simon & Schuster)
• The Water is Wide History & Life Stories Prize: Jacksonland by Steve Inskeep (Penguin Press)
• The Poppy’s Pants Young Adult Prize: Mosquitoland by David Arnold (Viking Books for Young Readers)
• The Poppy’s Pants, Jr. Youngsters Prize: Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty (Disney-Hyperion)