August 2024
Arcade Publishing Monthly Newsletter
“Arcade is a storied literary imprint (its original publisher discovered Samuel Beckett) that mirrors and embodies Tony Lyons’s fierce, lifelong commitment to writers and their art. After thirty-five years and fourteen novels, I have never been treated with more care, respect, and devotion, and have never, hands-down, had such beautiful books created from my work than with Arcade—which is already becoming a magnet for a brilliant new generation of authors such as Emmalea Russo, Matthew Davis, and Ben Faulkner. Long may Arcade (and Tony Lyons) live!”
—Bruce Wagner
From the Editor
It is August. The city is entirely too hot. Wet air, dirty sidewalks. It is enough to make one want to stay inside and read, like a summer of rainy days without rain. But thankfully reading is one of many parts of my job. Even better, quite a few exciting manuscripts have recently come our way. That is to say, we have much good news regarding upcoming Arcade titles that will soon be revealed, but not yet (you must wait, though you will be notified as soon as possible if you are subscribed here). In July, we published three backlist titles by Bruce Wagner (Dead Stars, Marvel Universe, I’m Losing You) in beautiful paperback editions, and three more will be coming in November. Now, in August 2024, we have the pleasure of putting two novels out into the world—into the jungle of independent bookstores, big box retailers, online conglomerates, and trusting consumers—and we hope that these titles will find all of these venues well.
Gemma by Lauren A. Forry, the author of They Did Bad Things, is a devious mystery and psychological thriller with a touch of horror that will keep the reader leaning forward, almost out of their seat, as they flip through twists and the occasional turn. Sarah L. Blair, author of the Tides of Darkness series states that “Forry is a master of mystery, [and weaves] intricate plot twists into this story that will keep you up all night turning pages.” The book is officially out on August 6th through our crime/mystery imprint, Arcade CrimeWise, though you can pre-order it here.
A week later, we will release Matthew Davis’s debut novel, Let Me Try Again, on August 13th. A bildungsroman that follows the neurotic character Ross, as he plots a scheme to win back his ex after he loses his parents in a tragic accident. Tao Lin, author of Tai Pei and Leave Society, stated that Davis’s writing is “Woody Allen-esque,” and Honor Levy (literary IT girl?) called Let Me Try Again “a total tour de force.” You can pre-order it here.
There will be more to look forward to in the coming months, for sure. September and October have some amazing titles coming out (see here), and we will fill you in on all of them along the way.
Hope you are well. Please read Arcade.
Matthew Davis’ LET ME TRY AGAIN
A 288-page Arcade Publishing novel. Out August 13th, 2024. ISBN: 9781648210747.
"I highly enjoyed this darkly comical, compulsively readable novel about love and obsession. Woody Allen-esque."—TAO LIN, author of Leave Society and Taipei
"A total tour de force. Voice of a generation mode. Beyond irony and sincerity, it's just real. Sweet, silly, sensitive, smart. :3"—HONOR LEVY, author of My First Book
A Romantic Tragicomedy of Faith, Family, and Folly
Ross, twenty-three, isn’t nearly as clever as he thinks he is. His brilliant idea to break up with his girlfriend, Lora Liamant, in an attempt to show her how terrible other men are and how empty life would be without him, has backfired spectacularly. Within weeks, he discovers she’s moved on with the brother of a famous network TV actor. In the midst of his heartbreak, Ross’s parents die tragically—in a helicopter crash at an all-inclusive resort in Turks and Caicos—leaving him with millions of dollars and custody over his teenage sister.
Traumatized, ruminating, and rich, Ross plots scheme after scheme to show Lora he’s changed into a responsible adult, even as she shows no indication of wanting that. Everything he does seems to make matters worse, as his misguided mission of self-transformation only leads to Lora’s confusion and dismay.
Let Me Try Again is an electric picaresque charting a young Jewish man’s spiral of neurotic pride and self-improvement within a culture that only caters to his worst impulses. Brimming with vitality and crackling with wit, Matthew Davis’s dynamic debut illuminates the absurdities of twenty-first-century life with ecstatic flair.
Matthew Davis is a software engineer whose work has been published in The Verge, Hobart, Forever Magazine, and Heavy Traffic, among other publications. He lives in New York City.
"Matthew Davis has a distinct, charming and compelling voice—funny, original, contemporary and clear, with sprinkles of Bret Easton Ellis, Philip Roth, and even Helen DeWitt."—SHEILA HETI, New York Times bestselling author of Motherhood and How Should a Person Be?
“Matthew Davis is that startling anomaly: a real writer in unreal times.”—BRUCE WAGNER, author of Dead Stars and Roar: American Master
"Matthew Davis's singular voice gripped me from the first page and didn't let go. I adored this off-kilter, hilarious, and surprisingly vulnerable novel."—ANNA DORN, author of Perfume and Pain
"Genuinely funny and subversive in the blasphemous spirit of Roth. Matthew Davis has created a truly diabolical protagonist."—LEXI FREIMAN, author of The Book of Ayn
Lauren A. Folly’s GEMMA
A 268-page Arcade CrimeWise novel. Out August 6th, 2024. ISBN: 9781648210280.
"Forry is a master of mystery, weaving intricate plot twists into this story that will keep you up all night turning pages." —Sarah L. Blair, author of the Tides of Darkness series
"Lauren A. Forry . . . is obviously well-versed in nightmares." —The Skinny
What happened at the river last night? A twisty psychological thriller for readers of Megan Miranda, Megan Abbot, Taylor Adams, and Catriona Ward
Sometime between the late night and early morning hours, in a dank, uncomfortable interrogation room, sits a young woman about to tell you a chilling story. Her pregnant sister, Sarah, is missing. Her cousin is somehow involved. They were all down by the Schuylkill River last night, she says, but she won’t say why. She’s cold, terrified, and confused about what happened. Or is she just lying?
Her story seems plausible on the surface. But as you dig deeper, it’s clear something is very wrong. Instead of helping to find her sister, she keeps telling you stories about her ex-roommate, Gemma. Gemma, who came into their lives offering a six-month cash deposit up front, proffered from a dirty gym bag. Gemma, who disrupted their routines with her manipulative behavior, her bizarre habits, and her secrets. Gemma, who disappeared quietly several months ago, leaving no trace of where she went or that she had ever lived with them all.
Who was Gemma and what happened to her? What does it have to do with Sarah’s disappearance? Are they part of some elaborate game or is something else going on? And what happened by the river last night? Why can’t she just tell the truth?
From the author of They Did Bad Things, Gemma is a devious new mystery and slowly escalating psychological thriller with a touch of horror.
Lauren A. Forry was brought up in the woods of Pennsylvania before moving to New York City to earn her undergraduate degree in Cinema Studies and Screenwriting from New York University. She later earned her MA and MFA in Creative Writing and Publishing from Kingston University in London, England. There she was awarded the Faber and Faber Creative Writing MA Prize for her thesis work, Abigale Hall, published by Arcade. She is also the author of They Did Bad Things, published by Arcade CrimeWise. She is a faculty member at Harcum College in Bryn Mawr, PA and also adjuncts for Southern New Hampshire University’s MFA program. She and her former roommate were only suspected of kidnapping once.
"Gemma is a twisty, sprawling web of lies and misdirection. A novel of heart and neurosis, presented by one of the least reliable narrators of all time, a narrator that confounds and weedles, working at the edge of the reader's nerves until you're ready to scream 'but what happened!' and then it all clicks into place with a wonderous, sickening realization. Forry is a master of her craft and doesn't mess around." —Adam Cesare, author of Clown in a Cornfield and Influencer
"A tour-de-force of unreliable narration and duplicity that kept me gasping from page one. Forry is a magician, and Gemma is her wildest trick yet." —Paul Witcover, author of Lincolnstein
Links:
Matthew Davis presents Let Me Try Again, in conversation with Adam Friedland
8/14/24 McNally Jackson Seaport 4 Fulton St. NY, NY RSVP Required
https://www.mcnallyjackson.com/event/matthew-davis-presents-let-me-try-again-event
Event for Gemma by Lauren A. Forry - Doylestown & Lahaska Bookshops
Author of Gemma, Lauren A. Forry in conversation with Adam Cesare
8/24/24
https://doylestownbookshop.com/cesare/forry
Vivienne by Emmalea Russo review by John Pistelli
Vivienne by Emmalea Russo excerpt in Forever Magazine