Today we publish new editions of our popular free ebook samplers, BUZZ BOOKS 2015: Spring/Summer and BUZZ BOOKS 2015 Young Adult: Spring. (The last time around we experimented with a separate YA collection and it was a clear hit, so Buzz Books YA is a standing part of the line going forward.) With 65 pre-publication excerpts between them, they are great preparation for next month’s Winter Institute 10 (over a dozen WI authors are sampled) as well as the full publishing season ahead.
Most Lunch readers will want the full “trade versions,” which include detailed marketing and publicity info on each titles and links to download full digital galleys if you like the excerpts. You can get Buzz and Buzz YA directly from our site as EPUB files, or if you prefer, both titles are “read now” downloads at NetGalley — or find each one on Edelweiss, as you prefer.
But you can send your readers and fans to any major ebookstore for the consumer versions. Both Buzz and Buzz YA are featured right now in best new releases carousels in the iBooks Store, and readers can find them broadly on their platform/store of choice.
Regular Buzz features anticipated books from well-known authors including Paolo Bacigalupi, Ian Caldwell, Dennis Lehane, Lisa Lutz, Ann Packer, Matthew Pearl, Neal Stephenson and S.J. Watson.
In debut fiction, we present a dozen excerpts from hot titles including Iowa Writer’s Workshop graduate Leslie Parry (Church of Marvels), Erika Swyler (The Book of Speculation), J. Ryan Stradal (Kitchens of the Great Midwest), Christopher Robinson and Gavin Kovite (War of the Encyclopaedists), and Jessica Knoll (Luckiest Girl Alive) — plus the debut novel Muse from Farrar, Straus and Giroux publisher Jonathan Galassi. (Also from publishing, we preview former editor George Hodgman’s memoir Bettyville, about going home to care for his irascible mother.)
The big nonfiction section includes books from well-known personalities including actor Maria Bello, TV host Mika Brzezinski, and NPR/Weekend Edition’s Scott Simon.
Buzz Books are designed to help the trade and consumers alike discover great new books publishing soon, filling orders and to-be-read lists alike. It’s your chance to sample titles sure to make “best of” and bestseller lists before everyone else. Along the way, we have seen the “buzz” on Buzz Books continue to grow as our program builds and readers await the new editions. (Last season’s two Buzz Books garnered almost 675 5- and 4-star reviews on NetGalley alone!)
These good-for-everyone samplers work thanks to the enthusiastic participation of publishers and featured authors. Ingram has been our stalwart publishing partner from the start, distributing the ebooks as well as producing the limited-edition print galleys that go to booksellers at Winter Institute and, with the help of the American Booksellers Association, out to hundreds of stores in their monthly white boxes. NetGalley drives more awareness and distribution through their growing community with each season, and now Edelweiss has joined us, too. The pr pros at Hilsinger-Mendelson help spread the word through the press and social media, and our PM projects director Robin Dellabough wrangles a process as complicated as publishing 65 books (or parts thereof) into flawless, on-time delivery. Our thanks to everyone for helping build awareness and excitement for great new books on the way.