By Nancy Powell
“You smelt it, you dealt it”— a.k.a farts—generated huge laughs at the Simon & Schuster panel as the publishing firm’s marketing team (Anna Jarzab, Caitlin Sweeny, Jodie Hockensmith, and Liesa Abrams) dished on the buzziest titles to hit shelves this fall. In addition to the kid-friendly, parents-disapproved Someone Farted (Bruce Eric Kaplan), other eagerly anticipated titles include Cassandra Clare’s “start the clocks running” Queen of Air and Darkness (the third book of The Dark Artifices) and Buffy superfan Kiersten White’s Slayer. According to Abrams, the idea for this new series set in the Buffy the Vampire universe originated from a discussion at Comic Con 2012.
Several simultaneous and future book-to-film prospects also drop this fall: Wicked Deep (Shea Ernshaw) and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (Jenny Han) both have projects in development over at Netflix. And Neal Shusterman collaborates with son Jarrod in Dry, a prophetic imagining of desperation and survival in a drought-ridden California and also soon-to-be major motion picture. Simon & Schuster will give away promotional copies of Dry and Rabbit & Robot Friday in Booth 1128. Finally, Nic Shef’s 2007 addiction biopic Tweak hits in October as Beautiful Boy with Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet playing the lead roles.
The panel also announced an October 23 release date for The Books of Earthsea omnibus, which includes 50 illustrations by Charles Vess (whom Le Guin personally-commissioned prior to her death), essays, early short stories, and a never-before-published piece, all set in the Earthsea universe.
Last, but not least, the marketing team announced three giveaways (The Devil’s Thief, This Cruel Design, and The Reckoning of Noah Shaw) as part of their #BackForSeconds sequels campaign.
And drum roll please for Shadowhunter fans…mention the code words “Red Scrolls of Magic” Friday morning and receive a Magnus Bane plushy. Good while supplies last.
And that’s a wrap at Simon & Schuster!
