As part of my research for a feature story on the future of books, “e-Books: Averting a Digital Horror Story,” I reached out to book agents, publishers and other industry experts to spotlight some of the most anticipated books of 2010 and how they will be released. Here they are:
NON-FICTION
War by Sebastian Junger, Twelve (May 11, 2010).
The Hachette imprint plans to release an electronic version of Junger’s book about American soldiers in Afganistan complete with video clips. But Hachette has said it will release certain e-books well after the hardcover debut to avoid cannabilizing sales, and Junger’s book is a likely candidate for such treatment, given his popularity.
Overhaul by Steven Rattner, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Fall 2010)
The former auto czar for the Obama Administration is likely to release hardcover and digital versions of his memoir of the auto bailout simultaneously.
Valley of Death: The Tragedy at Dien Bien Phu that Led America into the Vietnam War Ted Morgan. Random House (February 23, 2010).
This 700-page history book by a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter will probably be released in hardcover and digital forms at the same time.
The Language of Life: DNA and the Revolution in Personal Medicine by Francis Collins, Harper (January 5, 2010).
The director of the National Institutes of Health will likely release the hardcover and digital versions of this science book simultaneously.
Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip and Dan Heath. Broadway Business (February 16, 2010)
The authors of the best-selling Made to Stick have already decided to have the hardcover and digital versions of their next book released at the same time.
FICTION
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson, Knopf (May 25, 2010)
The Swedish author’s final installment of his Millenium Trilogy will likely be released first as a hardcover and later in digital form because of the popularity of his previous books.
Private Life by Jane Smiley, Knopf (May 4, 2010)
The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres will probably get a simultaneous release for hardcover and digital versions of her upcoming book.
The Pregnant Widow by Martin Amis, Jonathan Cape (May 11, 2010)
The best-selling English author will probably see delays in the release of this book’s electronic version given his track record of strong sales
Parrot and Olivier in America by Peter Carey, Knopf (April 20, 2010)
The Australian author of Oscar and Lucinda and the True History of the Kelly Gang could see delays in the digital release of his upcoming novel.
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet by David Mitchell, Random House (June 29, 2010)
The cult fiction writer will likely see simultaneous releases of this upcoming book in hardcover and electronic form.
OTHERS TO WATCH:
Here’s a list of books suggested by the American Library Association’s Booklist Magazine.
Adult Fiction:
Jonathan Franzen. Freedom (Farrar)
David Foster Wallace. The Pale King (Little, Brown)
Scott Turow. Innocent. (Grand Central Publishing)
Roddy Doyle. The Dead Republic (Viking)
Henning Mankell. The Man from Beijing. (Random House)
Ian McEwan. Solar. (Doubleday/Nan A. Talese)
Adult Nonfiction:
David Kirkpatrick. The Facebook Effect (Simon & Schuster)
Jonathan Alter. President Obama: Inside the Early Days (Simon & Schuster)
Laura Bush. Spoken from the Heart. (Scribner)
Nicole LaPorte. The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called Dreamworks. (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Ian Johnson. A Mosque in Munich: Nazis, the CIA, and the Rise of the Muslim Brotherhood in the West (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Children’s and Young Adult:
Suzanne Collins. Hunger Games #3 (Scholastic)
Rick Riordan. The Kane Chronicles, Book One: The Red Pyramid (Disney-Hyperion)
Jeff Kinney. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #5 (Abrams/Amulet)
Jon Scieszka and Francesco Sedita. Spaceheadz (Simon & Schuster)
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