Larry Wells signs, GHOSTWRITER + FAIR YOUTH.

GHOSTWRITER: Two people, principal and ghostwriter, collaborate on the controversial story of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, and his alleged affair with Queen Elizabeth I. Part literary mystery, part an examination of what constitutes fiction versus reality, Ghostwriter is based on the true story of author Lawrence Wells, 45, hired by the University of Mississippi in 1987 to ghostwrite a novel for a wealthy, eccentric donor (“Mrs. F,” 75), who was convinced that Edward de Vere...

FAIR YOUTH:"Fair Youth" explores the legend that a love affair between Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, 20, Lord Great Chamberlain, and Queen Elizabeth I, 37, produced a son, Henry, born in secret and given to a nobleman whose heir died in infancy. Acting as Lord Chamberlain in charge of producing plays for Elizabeth's court, Oxford circulates sonnets that idolize a "Fair Youth" and hint that he

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Eli Cranor signs, BROILER.

Gabriela Menchaca and Edwin Saucedo are hardworking, undocumented employees at the Detmer Foods chicken plant in Springdale, Arkansas, just a stone’s throw away from the trailer park where they’ve lived together for seven years. While dealing with personal tragedies of their own, the young couple endures the brutal, dehumanizing conditions at the plant in exchange for barebones pay...

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Shaun Hamil signs, THE DISSONANCE.

From the acclaimed author of A Cosmology of Monsters ("I loved it" —Stephen King) comes an epic contemporary fantasy, a mixture of The Magicians and It: a story of dark magic, terrible mistakes, and second chances. "You can never go home again," the saying goes—but Hal, Athena, and Erin have to. In high school, the three were students of the eccentric Professor Marsh, trained in a secret system of magic known as the Dissonance, which is built around harnessing negative emotions: alienation, anger, pain...

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Steve Yates signs, THE LAKE OF SOUTHERN HOLLOW.

Casey, Tyndall, and Devon—kids from Southern Hollow subdivision—have been falling in and out of love with each other, and always at the wrong time. It’s a Thursday night in September 2019, their senior year. Anything seems possible. And Casey’s band, New Wave Vultures, packs them in on teen night at the Cedar Shake, a club on the square in downtown Springfield, Missouri. While all three feel trapped in...

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Amanda Bellows signs, THE EXPLORERS.

A fascinating new history of America, told through the stories of a diverse cast of ten extraordinary—and often overlooked—adventurers, from Sacagawea to Sally Ride, who pushed the boundaries of discovery and determined our national destiny. The archetype of the American explorer, a rugged white man, has dominated our popular culture since the late eighteenth century, when Daniel Boone’s autobiography captivated readers with tales of treacherous journeys. But our commonly held ideas...

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Shad White signs, MISSISSIPPI SWINDLE.

This riveting exposé details how a small team of auditors and investigators, led by the youngest State Auditor in the country, uncovered a brazen scheme where the powerful stole millions in welfare funds from the poor in a sprawling conspiracy that stretched from Mississippi to Malibu. Well-connected donors, highly placed officials, and popular public figures diverted tens of millions of dollars from the federal government's TANF — temporary assistance for needy families — program until a Republican auditor, his small team of dedicated investigators...

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Snowden Wright signs, THE QUEEN CITY DETECTIVE AGENCY.

Following an unforgettable cast of characters and a jaded female P.I. enmeshed in a criminal conspiracy in 1980s Mississippi, The Queen City Detective Agency is a riveting, razor-sharp Southern noir that unravels the greed, corruption, and racism at the heart of the American Dream. Meridian, Mississippi—once known as the Queen City for its status in the state—has lost much of its royal bearing by 1985...

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Julie Liddell Whitehead signs, HURRICANE BABY.

In 2005, Wendy Magnum of Hattiesburg, Mississippi suffers remorse after having an intimate encounter with Judd McKay, a friend her husband, Ray, trusted with his family during Hurricane Katrina. Tommy Hebert turns to alcohol to handle what he saw in search-and-rescue in Metairie, Louisiana. Mike Seabrook’s relationships with his God and his wife...

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