Introducing Graydon House Books

Expansion of Harlequin's Trade Publishing Program Continues with Launch of New Imprint

TORONTO, Oct. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Harlequin continued the expansion of its trade publishing program today by announcing the official launch of Graydon House Books, a select hardcover and trade paperback imprint that will showcase commercial women's fiction with a relationship element woven through. Stories will range in tone from lighthearted humor to emotional tearjerkers and edgier drama. These book club–worthy novels will introduce promising new voices such as Eva Woods, as well as spotlight established names including bestselling authors Kristan Higgins and Kelly Rimmer, among others. Graydon House Books is led by Dianne Moggy, Vice President, Editorial, and Susan Swinwood, Executive Editor. Inaugural titles are slated for release in September 2017.

"We're seeing a real shift towards bigger, more layered commercial fiction where the characters are dealing with a variety of relationships—with siblings, spouses, friends, lovers—and that's where Graydon House's focus will be," said Swinwood. "The unconventional love story, modern relationship fiction, with topical issues for book club discussions, women coping with the ups and downs of life, careers, dating, marriage, divorce, even death."

"Graydon House is a destination for talented writers who have fresh, enthralling stories and are in search of an accomplished publisher who is excited about bringing their work before eager readers," said Moggy.

Graydon House Books takes its name from the historic Georgian mansion once situated on a hundred-acre property in the north Toronto neighborhood that is home to Harlequin's offices. Today the heritage-designated estate is a premier destination for celebrations of life's greatest milestones. As such, Graydon House Books is dedicated to publishing fiction as memorable and diverse as the events the mansion has played host to throughout its rich history.

"Our trade publishing program is robust and growing," said Loriana Sacilotto, Executive Vice President, Global Publishing and Strategy at Harlequin. "The launch of Graydon House Books is the next phase of a plan to significantly expand our hardcover and trade paperback fiction publishing program."  

Graydon House will launch with HOW TO BE HAPPY by Eva Woods, acquired in a six-figure preemptive deal. Described as Me Before You meets Beaches, the novel explores the unlikely friendship between two very different women—one has reached a crossroads after a shattering tragedy imploded her marriage and the other has just been given three months to live—who jointly embark on an unexpected journey toward redemption, love and happiness.

International bestselling author Kelly Rimmer joins Graydon House with BEFORE I LET YOU GO, a powerful and absorbing look inside one woman's difficult choice to help her drug-addicted sister when her newborn baby is taken into foster care, knowing that the chaos that follows could permanently damage her career and relationship with her fiancé. 

Graydon House will also be home to NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT, the highly anticipated new novel by New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins. NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT tells the humorous and bittersweet story of a woman who returns to her hometown on a remote island in Maine after a decade's absence hoping to resuscitate her relationship with her family, only to discover that her homecoming is not as welcome as she had imagined. Higgins, a five-time nominee for the Kirkus Prize for best work of fiction, is the author of more than a dozen novels, many of which have been translated into more than twenty languages.

Other exciting titles from Graydon House's inaugural list include Jamie Raintree's PERFECTLY UNDONE, in which a young doctor struggles with the role she may have played in her sister's death amid her own unraveling relationship; HOUSE OF SHADOWS, a time-slip mystery from USA TODAY bestselling author Nicola Cornick that weaves together the lives of three women, separated by hundreds of years but bound by the enduring effects of one lie; Falguni Kothari's MY LAST LOVE STORY, an unconventional tale of a dying man looking to set up his wife with her former lover, who happens to be their mutual best friend; BEST DAY EVER, a riveting novel of domestic suspense by USA TODAY bestselling author Kaira Rouda about a husband who takes his wife on a romantic weekend getaway but who may, in fact, have more sinister intentions; and debut novelist Emily Belden's BURNED, which follows a young woman thrust into the Chicago restaurant scene when her recovering addict turned celebrity chef boyfriend vanishes after she sinks her life savings into his hip new restaurant.

Agents with manuscripts featuring multifaceted, provocative and original stories with commercial, mainstream appeal may send material to Susan Swinwood or Graydon House New York senior editor Margo Lipschultz.

For more information on Graydon House Books, please visit GraydonHouseBooks.com.

About Harlequin

Harlequin (Harlequin.com) is one of the world's leading publishers of books for women, with titles issued worldwide in as many as 32 languages and sold in up to 93 international markets. The company publishes more than 110 titles monthly and more than 1,300 authors from around the world. Harlequin is a division of HarperCollins Publishers, the second-largest consumer book publisher in the world, and has operations in 11 countries. For more information, please visit Harlequin.com and Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks. Follow Harlequin on Twitter: @HarlequinBooks.

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