There is a new imprint being introduced to the world today and it is called Soho Teen. An imprint of Soho Press, known for its literary and international crime fiction, Soho Teen will be handled in much the same way. Kicking off with their debut title What We Saw at Night by Jacquelyn Mitchard, which is being released today, there is already no doubt that this imprint will bring great things to the world of publishing. Their exact description from the Soho Press website is:
"Soho Teen, coming in 2013, publishes a select list of YA mysteries and thrillers by international bestsellers, award winners, and debut novelists with stellar credits. Born of the conviction that compelling YA of any genre involves thrill and mystery, Soho Teen’s titles include the paranormal and dystopian, the humorous and realistic, the tragic and uplifting—whatever serves a great story best. Soho Teen’s small list is unique in that every title has a high-stakes, page-turning puzzle at its heart."
Their other titles, to release once a month through June, include Who Done It? (a collection of 83 famous YA authors, including Libba Bray, David Levithan, John Green, Lemony Snicket, Lauren Myracle), Escape Theory by Margaux Froley, Strangelets by Michelle Gagnon, The Sweet Dead Life by Joy Preble, and Deviant by Helen FitzGerald.
There will be reviews coming of the first three titles, the first to show right here on January 11th.
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How long have you been with Soho? What interested you about the emerging teen imprint specifically?
I’ve been at Soho since March 2011. When I first met with Bronwen Hruska, Soho’s Publisher, she had a vision for a small and nimble YA mystery imprint, one with the same high literary caliber of Soho’s Crime and Press titles. The timing was (almost weirdly) fortuitous; I’d just left HarperCollins as Director of Intellectual Property development was in discussion with various publishing houses about creating an imprint that could strike a balance between IP and regular acquisitions. Mystery is my first love, and Bronwen and I clicked. And I’d already been a fan of Soho Press as a reader.
Soho Teen will focus on mysteries and thrillers in the same way Soho Press does. What is it about that aspect of the story that you find most compelling?
Soho Teen will focus on mysteries and thrillers in the same way Soho Press does. What is it about that aspect of the story that you find most compelling?
As an author, I’ve always found myself writing mysteries even when I don’t think of them specifically as such. (For example, I always thought of The Wessex Papers as a comic farce, but it ended up winning the 2003 Edgar for best YA. I still have no idea why.) As an editor, I gravitate towards the mystery in any story. What’s cool about Soho Teen is that its definition of mystery is very simple and broad: There is a puzzle at the heart of every novel. Other than that, our list encompasses novels as diverse as teens’ tastes—dystopian, contemporary, paranormal etc.
The exact wording on the website is that you publish "a select list...by international bestsellers, award winners, and debut novelists with stellar credits." How do you choose which books make the cut? What is the number one thing that makes you look over a book and know it's the one?
The exact wording on the website is that you publish "a select list...by international bestsellers, award winners, and debut novelists with stellar credits." How do you choose which books make the cut? What is the number one thing that makes you look over a book and know it's the one?
Our first list is mostly comprised of authors I’ve known for years and whose writing I love. With an eye towards the future, as I look over submissions and samples, my biggest criterion is the thrill of surprise. That really comes down to a writer’s voice. Plot can always be tweaked, but a voice belongs to the author alone. If that voice surprises and thrills me—and the plot is in good shape—then that’s the one.
What was it like, working on such a small yet diverse collection of novels? Is there one that you're particularly connected to?
It’s the only book on our list that isn’t a novel, but I am very connected to WHO DONE IT? as it boasts such an extraordinary talent pool—and because its proceeds benefit www.826nyc.org Plus, it’s wacky and hilarious.
What are you looking forward to most with the 2013 launch of Soho Teen? Where do you hope to see the imprint go in the future?
I hope that readers connect with our books. If that happens, we’ve succeeded, and will (knock on wood) continue to succeed. Most of all, I hope to keep putting our readers first during every step of the publishing process—to listen to them, and to address their needs, desires, and tastes. Being small and nimble helps!
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And don't forget to run to your nearest bookstore to pick up your very own copy of What We Saw at Night today! And check back on the 11th for our review and a guest post from Jacquelyn about the relationship with editorial!
Written by Renee Combs
