Algonquin Expands into YA, Middle Grade Fiction

By Dennis Abrams

CHAPEL HILL: Algonquin Books, the publisher known for nurturing such talented southern writers as Lee Smith and Kaye Gibbons, and for publishing best-sellers such as Water for Elephants and Last Child in the Woods has announced the launch of a young reader program, focusing on YA and middle grade fiction.

Elise Howard, the former HarperCollins senior v-p and associate publisher who worked on both the HarperTeen and Harper Imprint lines will be overseeing the new program. The imprint is expected to launch by the end of 2012 with as many as six titles. Howard, who will be working out of the publisher’s New York office, will start for the company in mid-November.