Fiction
2009 The Best New Playwrights
Lawrence Harbison, Lawrence Harbison (Editor)
In its 12th volume, the New Playwrights just keep getting better. Lawrence Harbison handpicked the finest plays by new American Playwrights from the 2008-2009 theatrical season. A satisfying collection of comedies and dramas awaits you.AMERICAN HWANGAP by Lloyd Suh. It's dear old Dad's 60th birthday. Although he deserted his family years ago, they are holding a traditional Korean 60th birthday celebration (a hwangap) anyway. He comes back to the U.S. for his hwangap, and what ensues is funny and often quite poignant. Produced in NYC by Ma-Yi Theatre Co. and The Play Company. "Suh strikes just the right balance between humor and deeply felt emotion." Theatremania.ANIMALS OUT OF PAPER by Rajiv Joseph. A comedy from NYC's Second Stage. A high school teacher and Origami enthusiast is a big fan of the work of an origami artist. He asks her to tutor a gifted young student of his, who might just be the Tiger Woods of Origami.BEACHWOOD DRIVE by Steven Leigh Morris. This compelling drama from NYC's Abingdon Theatre Co. centers on a Ukrainian woman working as a prostitute in Los Angeles and a LAPD detective determined to bust the gangsters with whom she is involved."A police case study that is a truly chilling cautionary tale." - Backstage CROOKED by Catherine Trieschmann. Laney, a teenaged girl with a crooked spine, has moved to a new town with her mother. There, she meets another girl named Maribel, who changes her life."The themes -- mother-daughter tensions, adolescence itself and religion as a refuge -- emerge naturally from the fluent, often funny and sometimes fearlessly cruel dialogue." NY Times. Produced in NYC by The Women's Project. END DAYS by Deborah Zoe Laufer. The Steins are one strange American Family. Dad, Arthur, a World Trade Center survivor, suffers from terminal depression. Their daughter, Rachel, is an alienated goth chick, and Mom, Sylvia, thinks the Rapture is imminent. Neighbor Nelson, who dresses in Elvis' white jumpsuit, is an incorrigible optimist who loves Rachel and physics, and slowly but surely he straightens out the Stein family. Oh, and two of the characters, are none other than Jesus Christ and Stephen Hawking."Enormously funny, warm and uplifting." Curtain Up. Original produced by Florida Stage. Premiered in NYC at Ensemble Studio Theatre. FARRAGUT NORTH by Beau Willimon. This compelling drama is about skullduggery on the campaign trail."Beau Willimon's juicy and timely drama is a potent reminder that, like Hollywood, politics is a high-stakes game where one wrong liaison can finish you off. It's a place where friendships and loyalties are only as deep as the next cocktail or quick jump in the sack." NY Daily News. Produced in NYC by Atlantic Theatre Co. JESUS HATES ME by Wayne Lemon. This hilarious comedy premiered at the Denver Center and has gone on to several other productions around the country. Set in W. Texas, it takes place at a run-down mini-golf track with a religious theme. It's called "Blood of the Lamb" and its trademark is a crucified Christ."It disarms the audience with pointed one-liners and thoughtful existential observations. The audience laughs and hoots." Variety
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Women's Stage Monologues and Scenes
Lawrence Harbison, Lawrence Harbison (Editor)
This year Smith and Kraus has decided to combine its annual best monologues and best scenes anthologies. The scenes included in this book are either for two women or for one man and one woman. The latter are scenes in which the female role is predominant.Here you will find a rich and varied selection of monologues and scenes from plays that were produced and/or published in the 2008-2009 theatrical season. Most are for younger performers (teens through thirties), but there are also some excellent pieces for women in their forties and fifties, and even a few for older performers. Some are comic (laughs), some are dramatic (generally, no laughs). Some are rather short, some are rather long. All represent the best in contemporary playwriting.Several of the monologues are by playwrights whose work may be familiar to you, such as Don Nigro, Sam Bobrick, Adam Rapp, Bill Cain, Jose Rivera, Stephen Belber, Keith Reddin, Naomi Iizuka, Michael Weller, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Richard Vetere, and Nicky Silver; others are by exciting up-and-comers like Steven Leigh Morris, Saviana Stanescu, Liz Flahive, Stephanie Allison Walker, Cheri Magid, Jennifer Maisel, Andrew Grosso, David Caudle, Nina Raine, John Kolvenbach, Sylvia Reed, and Lucy Thurber.The scenes are by master playwrights, such as Rivera, Gina Gionfriddo, Jeffrey Hatcher, A. R. Gurney, and Aguirre-Sacasa, and by exciting new playwrights, such as Vincent Delaney, Stanescu, Lydia Stryk, Grosso, and Larry Kunofsky.
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Men's Stage Monologues and Scenes
Lawrence Harbison (Editor), Lawrence Harbison (Editor)
This year Smith and Kraus has decided to combine its annual best monologues and best scenes anthologies. The scenes included in this book are either for two men or for one man and one woman. The latter are scenes in which the male role is predominant.Here you will find a rich and varied selection of monologues and scenes from plays that were produced and/or published in the 2008-2009 theatrical season. Most are for younger performers (teens through thirties), but there are also some excellent pieces for men in their forties and fifties, and even a few for older performers. Some are comic (laughs), some are dramatic (generally, no laughs). Some are rather short, some are rather long. All represent the best in contemporary playwriting.Several of the monologues are by playwrights whose work may be familiar to you, such as Don Nigro, A. R. Gurney, Sam Bobrick, Terrence McNally, Adam Rapp, Steven Dietz, Itamar Moses, Stephen Belber, Keith Reddin, Naomi Iizuka, Michael Weller, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Richard Vetere, Bruce Graham, Jacquelyn Reingold, Sam Shepard, and Nicky Silver; others are by exciting up-and-comers like Octavio Solis, Lydia Stryk, Michael Vukadinovich, Liz Flahive, John Kolvenbach, Sylvia Reed, Barton Bishop, Padraic Lillis, Michael Golamco, and Lucy Thurber.The scenes are by master playwrights, such as Itamar Moses, Noah Haidle, Aguirre-Sacasa, and Silver, and by exciting new writers, such as Saviana Stanescu, E. M. Lewis, Jonathan Rand, Kolvenbach, Golamco, Larry Kunofsky, and Susan Bernfield.
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Indian Summer
Tracy Richardson
Luminis Books presents this harrowing tale of friendship, adventure, and doing the right thing, no matter what the cost. Can a spirit from the past come back to help us solve a problem in the present? Expecting another lonely summer at her grandparents' cottage in the woods, twelve-year-old Marcie Horton gets more than she bargained for when the area is threatened by a wealthy university president, who has no problem replacing the quaint, historic area with over-sized mansions. Marcie refuses to sit back and watch her childhood memories disappear into the past--she'll do anything to save the centuries-old forest from destruction. Bewildered by the enormous task ahead, Marcie finds unexpected guidance when the spirit of a Native American girl presents herself, offering cryptic-dream like messages that are clearly the key to succeeding in her quest. Although she seems to be making real progress on her mission to save the forest, her budding friendship with the university president's daughter--her one summer-time companion--threatens to unravel everything. Will Marcie stay true to her friends even if it means giving up everything she's fought so hard to protect? Or, will she choose to save the forest at great personal sacrifice? INDIANA / FOREST / NATIVE AMERICANS / SAILBOAT RACES / ENVIRONMENTAL FICTION / FRIENDSHIP / MIDDLE-GRADE
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Best Bet
Laura Pedersen
Since Hallie's father died and left behind ten children, money at the Palmer household is tighter than ever. And just when Hallie thought she was graduating from college, it turns out she's four credits short. A professor needs one more student for a project that will take her around the world, only longtime boyfriend Craig has another proposition for Hallie. Thus begins Hallie's great odyssey, for the first time she ventures outside the safety of Cosgrove County and the sixty-mile radius in which she's functioned for her entire life. But somehow, escaping home doesn't translate into leaving behind all of her problems, and, unfortunately, not all can be solved by putting her superior gambling skills to work. Eventually, it's time to return home to all the good people who are great at driving each other crazy. Hallie must finally face the biggest decision of her life. Humorous and heartfelt, Best Bet underscores the importance of friends, family, and a sense of belonging. The characters in this modest, but neighborly, small town prove that an ordinary existence made up of small but genuine moments can satisfy a soul that's hungry for life in all of its glories and disappointments.
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Fallen
Lauren Kate
The first book in the worldwide bestselling FALLEN series is now a motion picture available for streaming!#1 New York Times bestseller A USA Today bestsellerOne of NPR.com's 100 Best-Ever Teen NovelsMore than 3 million series copies in print!Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, Fallen by Lauren Kate is a page turning thriller and the ultimate love story. There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce--and goes out of his way to make that very clear--she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her."Sexy and fascinating and scary . . . I loved loved loved it!"--New York Times bestselling author P.C. Cast
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Counterfeit Son
Elaine Marie Alphin
Cameron Miller is pretending to be someone he isn't. When he began presenting himself as Neil Lacey, it was the only way he could think of to distance himself from what Pop had done, to finally climb out of his nightmarish existence. He thought it would be easy--playing the rich kid, sailing his boat--but he didn't count on Cougar. Now Cougar, his father's old accomplice, has tracked Cameron down and presented an ultimatum: Share the wealth or be exposed. Will Cameron give up his new identity to protect Neil's family? Or will he let his search for a new life destroy those around him?
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Xoe Meyers had a normal life. So she was stuck going to high school, and she only had a few friends to call her own. She liked her normal life. Things were about to change though, because there's a new guy in her small town, and he is anything but normal. Before Xoe can say, "Werewolf," her best friend's life is in peril, and Xoe's world is turned upside-down. Then, of course, there's Jason. Xoe doesn't trust him as far as she can throw him, and given that he's a vampire, she'd have to be able to catch him first.
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Esther remembers her own experience of the Holocaust as a Jewish girl living in Amsterdam, and recounts to her grandson Daniel and his friend Jeroen how she escaped from the Nazis and survived by going into hiding in the countryside. Her parents were not so lucky. Esther knows they were sent to a concentration camp and died there, and with Daniel’s help she embarks on a search to discover what happened to them during the last months of their lives. After tracking down an old friend who now lives in Israel, Esther finally learns the shocking story of how her parents met their fates at Auschwitz.
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Center Field
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Mike has his junior year well under control. He's got a solid group of friends. He's dating Lori, one of the hottest girls in school. And Coach Cody has all but given him the starting spot as the Ridgedale Rangers' varsity center fielder. And then Oscar Ramirez shows up. Oscar is an amazing ballplayer, as talented at the plate as he is in center field, and it's not long before Mike loses control. He's on the bench, he's getting into fights, and he finds himself in weekend detention with Katherine Herold, the most mysterious, abrasive, alluring girl in school. Mike is lost, confused, and looking to Coach Cody to help him get back on track. But the coach has his own set of rules for Mike to play by, and the decisions Mike makes are going to impact more than just the starting lineup.Robert Lipsyte, one of the most celebrated writers in young adult literature, has crafted a subtly intense tale of adolescent struggle, a sports story about much more than sports—one that shows us how the moves one makes off the field matter even more than the moves one has on it.
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