New Bookpage Quick Peek

We think 2008 is shaping up as a very good year for debut novels, and in the next issue of BookPage we'll bring you our recommendations of the best in the bunch. You've probably already heard the buzz about David Wroblewski's The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, whose amazing journey through Wisconsin's north woods is cracking the bestseller lists. Also on our list of top debuts is The Gargoyle by Canadian writer Andrew Davidson, who spent seven years writing the gripping tale of a car crash victim reunited with his soul mate in a hospital burn ward. In an interview, Davidson tells us how it feels to be the beneficiary of a seven-figure bidding war among publishers eager to win the rights to his work. You'll also find reviews of The Lace Reader, Brunonia Barry's riveting first novel about women in modern-day Salem, Massachusetts, who can see the future in a piece of lace; Rachel Kushner's Telex from Cuba, which blends reality (Fidel Castro, United Fruit Company) and fiction to capture a unique view of 1950s Cuba; Undiscovered Country, the haunting debut by Lin Enger, brother of Leif (Peace Like a River); and many more. If you want to keep track of the rising stars in the literary world, it's a must-read issue.

Here's more of what's coming up in the next BookPage:

AUGUST FEATURES

• Even though her best-selling thrillers are dark and sometimes grisly, writer Karin Slaughter is a real Georgia peach with a lighter side and a keen sense of humor. Case in point: her answers to the Meet the Author Q&A in our August issue. My personal favorite is her brief but thorough explication of the Southern expressions "y'all" and "fixin' to." Though she's best known for her Grant County thrillers, Slaughter's latest novel, Fractured, is a sequel to the 2006 stand-alone, Triptych, featuring GBI agent Will Trent.

• When you're driving down a highway and encounter a sign warning that a lane is closed a mile ahead, do you immediately pull out of the closing lane? Or do you wait until the last minute to merge, earning the wrath of the "early mergers" beside you? I'm an early merger myself, but my approach is all wrong, according to Tom Vanderbilt, author of the endlessly fascinating new book, Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What It Says About Us). In a Q&A, Vanderbilt shares advice and insight about our lives behind the wheel, a subject that's become even more important with the recent leap in gas prices.

• For Southern comic novelist Clyde Edgerton, inspiration came in the form of a Flannery O'Connor tribute. Asked to write a short story for an O'Connor anthology, Edgerton plucked two of her favorite characters: a bible salesman and a misfit. His story grew into a novel, The Bible Salesman, which puts Edgerton's own unique spin on the ageless tale of an innocent challenged to take a new, harder look at the world. In an interview, Edgerton explains how he managed to conjure up Scripture-quoting cats and a car thief who resembles Clark Gable.

The August issue also features new craft books, an interview with children's author Dan Gutman, and several picture books to soothe the fears of little ones starting school this fall.