This June, three new writers with literary connections are making their debuts.
First up, Carin Clevidence. She’s the stepdaughter of Annie Dillard, the author of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and other books. Her debut, The House on Salt Hay Road (FSG), is set at the seaside just before the fatal Long Island hurricane of 1938. FSG won the book at auction last year, and since they’re one of the best at launching literary debuts, we figure MFA grad Clevidence has found the right place to start.
Chris Binchy is the nephew of, you guessed it, beloved Irish novelist Maeve Binchy. His American debut, Five Days Apart (Harper), sounds a lot like his aunt’s work—a family drama, with themes of hope and redemption—and is actually his fifth novel. Will he make a splash on US shores?
And finally, there’s Maggie Pouncey—daughter of novelist Peter Pouncey, whose Rules for Old Men Waiting was one of our favorite books of 2005. Her novel, Perfect Reader (Random House), follows a young woman who moves back home to a sleepy college town to confront the legacy of her father, a famous academic who, it turns out, had more than a few secrets.
These three aren’t the first to follow in the footsteps of a literary relative, of course—Christopher Rice and Joe Hill spring to mind. Who’s your favorite author with a literary legacy?
