By Sophie.
One of the perks of being a bookseller is that sometimes you get invited to things like the Amsterdam Book Event, hosted by Van Ditmar Books. This year Bruna and Tiemen from the Amsterdam team and Naomi, Júlia, and myself from the The Hague/Leidschendam team were the lucky ones.
During this all-day event, nine publishers presented their big titles for the upcoming fall and into next spring. We heard and saw presentations by Bloomsbury, Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins UK, Penguin Random House US, Hachette, Penguin Random House UK, Thames & Hudson, Faber & the Independent Alliance, and Pan MacMillan. They all had half and hour, and all of them had so. Many. Awesome. Books! You are all in for some great reads this coming half year, let me tell you. I can honestly say I was a little bit dizzy by the end, even though the presentations were broken up by some coffee and (excellent) cake, as well as a delicious lunch (thank you Pllek).
Afterwards there was also a little time to mingle and chat with the publisher representatives – always great to put a face to an email address. And, biggest perk of all perhaps, we were all given very generously filled goodie bags with not just Advanced Reader Copies (ARCs) of some of the books mentioned, but also socks, incense, and bottle stoppers, among other things. All in all a fun, if tiring, day!
As for what we’re all looking forward to:
- Bruna is really looking forward to Gliff by Ali Smith, a captivating blend of Brave New World vibes and Scottish folktales (expected in October).
- Tiemen has already started his ARC of A Language of Dragons by S. F. Williamson, a mesmerizing tale set in an alternate 1923 London where dragons and humans are on the brink of chaos (expected in January).
- Naomi can’t wait for I Shall Never Fall in Love by Hari Conner, a heartwarming mix of Jane Austen vibes and queer history (expected in October), as well as Little Red Death by A. K. Benedict, blending fairy tales with crime fiction (expected in February).
- Júlia is looking forward to the pop-up edition of The Little Prince for her personal stash (expected in October), and Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake for her Romance section (expected in October).
- And I am hoping to dive into The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong for those cozy fantasy, found family vibes (expected in November), as well as The Names by Florence Knapp because I always love a story told from various angles (expected in May). Oh, and Universality by Natasha Brown (expected in March), because the solving of the crime is only the start of the story, and it’s all about how words matter.
But there are so many other great books coming out – by Samantha Shannon, Tracy Deonn, Bob Woodward, Haruki Murakami, Malcolm Gladwell, Brandon Sanderson, Rebecca Solnit, Kathleen Glasgow, Mary E. Pearson, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, among others – and we can’t wait to have them in stock for you!
About the Author: Sophie
