Archives par étiquette : Writers House

WHAT YOU MAKE OF ME de S.M. Dess

Intense, darkly humorous, and emotionally acute, WHAT YOU MAKE OF ME poses questions about love and obsession, about meaning and the purpose of art. What does it mean to use someone else’s life for your art? Where is the line? Does it matter?

WHAT YOU MAKE OF ME
by S.M. Dess
Penguin Press, March 2025
(via Writers House)

Demetri and his sister, Ava. Ava and her brother, Demetri. As fiercely competitive as they are co-dependent, the two have long been locked in an emotionally charged relationship. Ava, defiant and impassioned, grew up in the shadow of soft, charming, and intellectual Demetri. But in the aftershocks of familial trauma, it is Demetri who finds himself emotionally ruined, whereas Ava has no time nor patience for grief. As they grow up, following one another from city to city, the siblings are set on their own parallel paths as artists, thinkers, and lovers. Ava throws herself into her obsession with her art, which gradually leads to fame and financial stability – as well as extreme existential insecurity. But Demetri flounders, unable to escape the wake of tragedy.

When Nati, an Italian gallery owner, arrives in New York, Demetri and Ava orbit her, possessed by their own priorities. But when they both fall for her, Nati refuses to play their game. Once again, and perhaps for the last time, the brother and sister must face what they most want from each other, and what they’re unwilling to give.

S.M. Dess is a writer with fiction in The Paris Review, The Drift, Forever Magazine and more. She received her MFA from Columbia University in Spring 2023.

MONA ACTS OUT de Mischa Berlinski

Both beguilingly approachable and intricately constructed, at once funny and sad and wise, MONA ACTS OUT is a novel about acting and telling the truth; about how we play roles to get through our days; and how the great roles teach us how to live.

MONA ACTS OUT
by Mischa Berlinski
Norton Liveright, Winter 2025
(via Writers House)

Celebrated stage actress Mona Zahid wakes up on Thanksgiving morning to the clamor of a household of guests packed into her Manhattan apartment and to a wave of dread: her in-laws are lurking on the other side of the bedroom door; she’s still fighting with her husband, who has not forgotten what happened last night; and in just a few weeks she is supposed to step into the rehearsal room as Shakespeare’s Cleopatra. It’s the hardest role in theatre—and the first role Mona has ever attempted without her sister, who died just over a year ago, by her side. When her father-in-law starts fighting with her niece about Donald Trump, Mona bounds out the door with the family dog in tow (“I forgot the parsley!”) to find the only person she doesn’t have to act for: her estranged longtime mentor, Milton Katz, who may or may not be dying and who was recently forced out of the legendary theatre company he founded amid accusations of sexual misconduct. Mona’s trek turns into an overnight adventure that brings her face to face with her past, with her creative power and its limitations, and ultimately, with all the people she has loved and still loves.

A brilliant, highly-anticipated return of a writer of almost magical descriptive and imaginative powers.

Mischa Berlinski is the author of Fieldwork, a finalist for the National Book Award, and Peacekeeping. He has written for the New York Review of Books about Haitian politics, has tried to buy a zombie for Men’s Journal, and investigated a woman who married a snake for Harper’s Magazine. His writing has appeared in the Best American Essays and the Best American Travel Writing. He is the recipient of a Whiting Writers’ Award and the American Academy of Arts and Letters’ Addison M. Metcalf Award.

I AM EMILIA DEL VALLE d’Isabel Allende

I AM EMILIA DEL VALLE is a classic tale of love and war, of discovery and redemption, told by a valiant young woman who confronts monumental challenges, survives and reinvents herself.

I AM EMILIA DEL VALLE
by Isabel Allende
TBD
(via Writers House)

San Francisco, 1866. Emilia del Valle Walsh is born. Her mother, Molly Walsh, is an Irish nun who was seduced by a Chilean aristocrat. Pregnant and abandoned, Molly marries her friend, teacher Francisco Claro. Emilia grows up in the heart of a humble Mexican neighborhood, guided by the support of her stepfather, becoming a bright and independent young woman who challenges social norms to pursue her passion for writing.

At just sixteen, Emilia begins her career writing adventure novels under the pseudonym Brandon J. Price. After a few years, she secures a position as a columnist at the San Francisco Examiner, where she meets Eric Whelan, a respected journalist who becomes her mentor, despite competing for news coverage. Soon to expand her career, Emilia travels from California to New York City. There she meets Owen, Eric’s brother, who becomes her first lover. Summoned back to San Francisco and heartbroken, Emilia convinces her editor to send her to Chile to cover a civil war in which the United States has economic and political interests. Eric Whelan joins her in Chile as a correspondent.

Santiago, 1891. Emilia finds herself in a nation on the brink of an abyss. While covering the battle between President Balmaceda and the oppositional congress, she seizes the opportunity to explore her relationship with the del Valle family and meet her father, who is ruined and very ill.

Emilia’s reporting places her at the heart of the war, enduring situations of terrible violence on the battlefield, in the

hospital, and in prison, where she is on the verge of death. When she reunites with Eric, love blossoms between them. Meanwhile, her father passes away, leaving her an inheritance of land in the deep south of Chile, surrounded by forests, lakes, and volcanoes. The horrors of war do not reach her there, and soon she discovers that she belongs in that country, in that landscape.

Isabel Allende won worldwide acclaim in 1982 with the publication of her first novel, The House of the Spirits. Since then, she has authored a number of bestselling and critically acclaimed books including Violeta, A Long Petal of the Sea, Eva Luna and Paula. Her books have been translated into more than fifty-two languages and have sold more than seventy-seven million copies worldwide. In addition to her work as a writer, Allende devotes much of her time to human rights causes. In 1996, following the death of her daughter Paula Frias, she established a charitable foundation in her honor, which has awarded grants to more than one hundred nonprofits worldwide on behalf of women and girls. In 2014, President Barack Obama awarded Allende the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, and in 2018 she received the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation. She has also received PEN Center USA’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

KID YOUTUBER PRESENTS: HALL MONITORS #1 de Marcus Emerson

From the creator of Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja comes HALL MONITORS!

KID YOUTUBER PRESENTS: HALL MONITORS #1
by Marcus Emerson
Self-published, July 2023
(via Writers House)

Meet Parker Ronald, captain of the Hall Monitors. Not every school has them, but Wood Intermediate does, at least for one more week.

Being a Hall Monitor ain’t always pretty, but somebody’s gotta do it. And after a high-speed chase ends with two kids kaboomed against a trophy case, the principal has decided to cut the program. But with the help of Davy Spencer and a little something called YouTube, Parker will try to prove to everyone why the Hall Monitors shouldn’t get axed. Oh, and the school’s most prized possession also gets ganked, so that’s a whole thing, too.

HALL MONITORS is a funny children’s book for ages 9-12, middle school students, and adults who never grew up.

Marcus Emerson is the author of Kid Youtuber, Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja, and The Super Life of Ben Braver.

THE EYES AND THE IMPOSSIBLE de Dave Eggers, illustré par Shawn Harris

From the award-winning author of The Every and the illustrator behind the beloved picture book Her Right Foot comes an endearing and beautifully illustrated story of a dog who unwittingly becomes a hero to a park full of animals.

THE EYES AND THE IMPOSSIBLE
by Dave Eggers,
illustrated by Shawn Harris
Knopf Books for Young Readers, May 2023
(via Writers House)

Johannes, a free dog, lives in an urban park by the sea. His job is to be the Eyes—to see everything that happens within the park and report back to the park’s elders, three ancient Bison. His friends—a seagull, a raccoon, a squirrel, and a pelican—work with him as the Assistant Eyes, observing the humans and other animals who share the park and making sure the Equilibrium is in balance. But changes are afoot. More humans, including Trouble Travelers, arrive in the park. A new building, containing mysterious and hypnotic rectangles, goes up. And then there are the goats—an actual boatload of goats—who appear, along with a shocking revelation that changes Johannes’s view of the world. A story about friendship, beauty, liberation, and running very, very fast, THE EYES AND THE IMPOSSIBLE will make readers of all ages see the world around them in a wholly new way.

NEWBERY MEDAL WINNER

★ “Utterly delightful…. Eggers touches on deep topics with a light hand, effortlessly building suspense and a wonderful sense of adventure.” —Booklist, starred review

★ « One remarkable creature vividly shows readers that ‘there is so, so much to see.’” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ “Eggers crafts a marvelous, fully fleshed protagonist in Johannes….whose compassionate narration delivers a rousing tale of community, joyful self-reliance, and the pleasures of running very, very fast.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ « Animal lovers will be enthralled, and even for readers who mostly stick with humans, this is a standout example of the power of chosen family rather than biological ones. » —The Bulletin, starred review

★ “The Eyes and the Impossible is compelling and heartfelt, destined to be read again and again.” —Shelf Awareness, starred review

★ “Almost proselike, the voices and personalities of Johannes and his comrades are endearing; their unique story will enchant readers and encourage them to focus on what is most important in life.” —School Library Journal, starred review

“Johannes is a highly engaging narrator whose exuberance and good nature run like a bright thread through the novel’s pages.” —The New York Times

Dave Eggers is the author of the Newbery Medal winner The Eyes and the Impossible, along with bestsellers The Every, The Monk of Mokha, The Circle, A Hologram for the King, and A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. His work has been nominated for the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He is the founder of McSweeney’s, an independent publishing company based in San Francisco, and cofounder of 826 National, a network of educational centers around the country offering free tutoring to kids of all backgrounds. He lives in Northern California with his family.

Shawn Harris is the author/illustrator of Have You Ever Seen a Flower?, which won a Caldecott Honor Award. He is the illustrator of Her Right Foot by Dave Eggers, which received seven starred reviews, was an Orbis Pictus Award Honor Book, an ALA Notable, and a PW Best Book of the Year. His other picture books include Eggers’s What Can a Citizen Do (a Time Magazine Best Children’s Book), Everyone’s Awake by Colin Meloy, and A Polar Bear in the Snow by Mac Barnett.