Debut novel by bestselling memoirist Bill Clegg is lead title

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, January 27, 2015 – Scout Press, a new imprint devoted solely to publishing literary fiction, was announced today by Jennifer Bergstrom, Publisher of Simon & Schuster’s Gallery Books. Scout Press will be dedicated to finding the next modern storytellers: “We will publish ambitious, conversation-starting novelists who are pushing the boundaries of contemporary fiction while also creating books that will stand the test of time,” said Bergstrom.

The first three titles on the Scout Press list are debut novels. Bestselling memoirist and literary agent Bill Clegg’s Did You Ever Have a Family will be published on September 15, 2015. In a Dark, Dark Wood, a debut novel of psychological suspense from British author Ruth Ware will be published in Fall 2015, and Tuesday Nights in 1980 by Brooklyn author Molly Prentiss will be published in Spring 2016.

Bergstrom says, “It has always been my hope to have an imprint devoted to publishing great accessible literary fiction. I couldn’t be more proud to be launching Scout Press with these three extraordinary, and important, debut novels.”

“I’m delighted to add Scout Press to Gallery’s already impressive array of imprints,” said Louise Burke, President of the Gallery Books Group. “Jennifer Bergstrom and her team make an impressive debut with their first three novels and I look forward to reading other books they will publish.”

Scout Press will reside within the Gallery Books Group with Bergstrom as Publisher. Alison Callahan and Karen Kosztolnyik, Executive Editors, will acquire for Scout. Callahan has published bestsellers including The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, A Dark Matter by Peter Straub and novels by Ann Patchett, Liane Moriarty and Armistead Maupin. Kosztolnyik has published critically acclaimed bestselling novels including Mrs. Poe by Lynn Cullen, Three Graves Full by Jamie Mason and Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall.

Scout Press will publish Bill Clegg’s debut novel Did You Ever Have a Family on September 15, 2015. Editor Karen Kosztolnyik acquired the novel in a two book deal with rights sold in 12 countries to date. Powerful, heartrending, and exquisitely written, Did You Ever Have a Family is the unforgettable story of a circle of characters in the aftermath of a tragic accident that claims several members of a family. Kosztolnyik says, “What Bill Clegg gets so right in his debut novel is how highly-charged situations in life are moments that ultimately shape our world, and that even as we try, we can’t get through it alone. Bill is able to elicit a deep, personal response from a reader to his work, as well as ignite conversation and connection. This is exactly the type of fiction I am looking for at Scout Press and Did You Ever Have a Family showcases that perfectly.”

Bill Clegg is a literary agent in New York and the author of the bestselling memoirs Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man and Ninety Days. He has written for The New York Times, New York, Lapham’s Quarterly, The Guardian and Harper’s Bazaar among others.

Clegg says, “I am honored to have my first novel included on the Scout Press inaugural list. It is a happy and hopeful occasion, the launch of a new imprint for fiction. My experience with the brilliant people at Scout Press has been nothing short of first-rate and I am grateful for their enthusiastic support.”

Scout Press will support the publication with a 10-city author tour, national print advertising, a NPR campaign, bookseller dinners, prepublication events, regional trade show appearances, library marketing, and appearances at BEA and the ABA Winter Institute.

British author Ruth Ware’s compulsive and darkly twisted debut novel of psychological suspense, In a Dark, Dark Wood has been met with strong interest in publishing circles worldwide. The story of a young reclusive crime writer who goes to a friend’s bachelorette weekend deep in the English countryside and wakes up 48 hours later in the hospital, injured and wondering not “what happened?” but “what have I done?” In a Dark, Dark Wood will be published by Scout Press in Fall 2015. Acquired at auction with rights sold in 5 countries to date, Editor Alison Callahan says of Ruth Ware’s debut thriller, “I tore through this book overnight in a way that hasn’t happened in years. As a fiction editor, I’ve been trained to poke holes in books as I’m reading them, to guess what the outcome is long before the final page is turned, and in this case, I went back and forth until the very end. I’m thrilled to bring Ruth Ware’s phenomenal debut to American readers who I know will stay up all night too.”

Ruth Ware grew up in East Sussex, UK. After graduating from Manchester University she moved to Paris, before settling in London. She has worked as a waitress, a bookseller, a teacher of English as a foreign language and a book publicist. Married, with two small children, In a Dark, Dark Wood is her debut thriller.

Molly Prentiss’ debut novel Tuesday Nights in 1980 is about a prestigious art critic and an artist on the cusp of his first success just as SoHo and the wild downtown art scene are beginning to roar. Editor Alison Callahan acquired the novel in a two book deal and calls it “a virtuosic debut and a gorgeously written snapshot of New York at a time rife with energy and artistic fervor.” Author Daniel Alarcón says, “It isn’t easy to write a novel about art, and even harder to write a novel about art this good, with this much energy and verve and sense of adventure – and Molly Prentiss has done it. Tuesday Nights in 1980 is much more than an accomplished first novel; it is a beautifully written story of creation and transformation, set against a backdrop of urban decay and political violence. I loved this book.”

Molly Prentiss received her MFA in Creative Writing from the California College of the Arts. She was a Writer in Residence at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, at the Blue Mountain Center, and was chosen as an Emerging Writer Fellow by the Aspen Writers Foundation. She lives in Brooklyn.

For more information please contact:
Kimberly Burns
KB Literary Publicity
(212) 226.0981
KB@KimberlyBurnsPR.com

Jennifer Robinson
VP Director of Publicity at Gallery Books
(212) 698.2719
Jennifer.Robinson@simonandschuster.com

 

GALLERY BOOKS is an imprint dedicated to publishing a variety of must-read books on a wide array of topics. Launched in February 2010, Gallery is designed to showcase established voices and to introduce emerging new ones—in both fiction and nonfiction genres. Some of Gallery Books’ bestselling titles include Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me Chelsea by Chelsea Handler, The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, Love Anthony by Lisa Genova, Mrs. Kennedy and Me by Clint Hill, Beautiful Bastard by Christina Lauren, The Tucci Table by Stanley Tucci, and The Untold History of the United States by Oliver Stone and Peter Kuznick.

SIMON & SCHUSTER, a part of CBS Corporation, is a global leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all ages, across all printed, electronic, and audio formats. Its divisions include Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Digital, and international companies in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com