Atelier26 Books is thrilled to announce the acquisition of
acclaimed author Harriet Scott Chessman’s new novel, The Beauty of Ordinary Things, for publication in November, 2013.
Chessman is the author of three previous novels, including the
#1 Indie Next Pick and book-club favorite Lydia Cassatt Reading the Morning Paper as well as the Good Morning America Book
Club selection and San Francisco Chronicle top pick, Someone Not Really Her Mother. Her fiction has been translated into
ten languages.
With The Beauty of
Ordinary Things, Chessman has fashioned a powerful new story about our
yearning for wholeness and the enduring weight of our briefest encounters. Set
in mid-1970s New England, the novel concerns a young Vietnam veteran and a
Benedictine nun as they each confront the realities of their very different
day-to-day lives. Deeply felt, often luminously moving, The Beauty of Ordinary Things carries forward the promise of Chessman’s
earlier work, revealing a writer richly aware of the range of human tragedy and
tenderness.
We're planning an exciting
lineup of pre-launch events for the novel, including an Atelier26 table at Wordstock in
Portland, Oregon and an appearance by Ms. Chessman at Litquake (San Francisco
Bay Area) this October.
We look forward to sharing more as the release date
approaches.
