We’re excited to tell you that HarperCollins has just announced the formation of a new imprint called Dennis Lehane Books! Working with his longtime editor, Claire Wachtel, Dennis Lehane will help identify and acquire literary fiction with a dark urban edge.
Lehane says, “My goal is to call attention to worthy writers, who for some unknown reason aren’t as popular as they deserve to be. I just want to publish good work — an enthralling story gracefully told.”
The full press release from HarperCollins:
BESTSELLING AUTHOR DENNIS LEHANE
TO CURATE A LINE OF BOOKS WITH WILLIAM MORROW
New York, NY (October 10, 2011) – William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, announced today that it will begin a new relationship with Dennis Lehane, bestselling author of Moonlight Mile, Mystic River, Shutter Island, and The Given Day. Lehane will oversee an eponymous line of books at HarperCollins that will publish a select number of fiction titles a year. With his impeccable publishing credentials, strong film and television connections, and a history of supporting emerging and established writers, Lehane will help identify and acquire literary fiction with a dark urban edge.
The establishment of this line was negotiated by Michael Morrison, HarperCollins President and Publisher of U.S. General Books and Canada, and Liate Stehlik, Senior Vice President and Publisher of William Morrow, with Lehane’s agent, Ann Rittenberg, President of the Ann Rittenberg Literary Agency, Inc. Lehane will work with his longtime Harper editor, Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Claire Wachtel. Stehlik says, “Dennis is a treasured house author, who embodies that definition in every way; and William Morrow is proud to have been his publisher since almost the very beginning of his career—a relationship spanning 17 years. In a world where computer algorithms and screen placement often replace in-store recommendations, having a line of books with a talented and highly regarded writer like Dennis is a great way to help readers discover what to read next. The list will be made up of the kind of high-quality writing that Dennis most admires and that readers would associate with his name. We are thrilled to work with him on this line of books, giving voice to a new generation of authors and showcasing some great unheralded talent.”
“I’m one of those people,” says Lehane, “who buys ten copies of a book I like and sends it to people I think would enjoy it. My goal is to call attention to worthy writers, who for some unknown reason aren’t as popular as they deserve to be. That’s a reason to get out of bed every morning. My background—where I grew up in Boston, the kinds of novels I like to read and write, my time spent as a writer on ‘The Wire’—will influence the kinds of books I acquire. But I just want to publish good work—an enthralling story gracefully told.”
About the Author
Dennis Lehane is the author of nine novels—including New York Times bestsellers Gone, Baby, Gone; Mystic River; Shutter Island; Moonlight Mile; and The Given Day—as well as Coronado, a collection of short stories and a play. He and his wife, Angie, divide their time between Boston and the Gulf Coast of Florida.
