We’ve collected the books debuting on Indiebound’s Indie Bestseller List for the week ending August 19, 2012–a sneak peek at the books everybody will be talking about next month.

(Debuted at #5 in Children’s Fiction Series) The Kill Order (The Maze Runner series) by James Dashner: “Before WICKED was formed, before the Glade was built, before Thomas entered the Maze, sun flares hit the earth and mankind fell to disease. Mark and Trina were there when it happened, and they survived. But surviving the sun flares was easy compared to what came next.” (August 2012)

(Debuted at #7 in Hardcover Nonfiction) I Could Pee on This: And Other Poems About Cats by Francesco Marciuliano: “Cat lovers will laugh out loud at the quirkiness of their feline friends with these insightful and curious poems from the singular minds of housecats. In this hilarious book of tongue-in-cheek poetry, the author of the internationally syndicated comic strip Sally Forth helps cats unlock their creative potential and explain their odd behavior to ignorant humans.” (August 2012)

Read more

Romance author Kresley Cole has landed a deal with Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for her first young adult novel.

Entitled Poison Princess, the first book will launch The Arcana Chronicles series. Publication is set for October 12th. Writers House literary agent Robin Rue represented Cole on this deal.

Here’s more from the release: “Poison Princess centers on sixteen-year-old Evangeline “Evie” Greene, a privileged teenager from Louisiana. When an apocalyptic event decimates her hometown, killing everyone she loves, Evie realizes the hallucinations she’d been having for the past year were actually visions of the future—and they’re still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux. As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call.” (Photo Credit: Deanna Meredith Studios)

Read more

Philippa Gregory (pictured, via), author of The Other Boleyn Girl, will publish four young adult historical romance books with Simon & Schuster. The first title is slated for a summer 2012 release.

Children’s publishing director Ingrid Selberg (Simon & Schuster UK) and publisher Jon Anderson (Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing) negotiated the deal. Fiction editorial director Venetia Gosling will edit.

Anderson had this statement in the release: “Gregory is the gold standard for historical fiction. These books are an irresistible combination that will introduce a whole new group of readers to Philippa Gregory, and we look forward to working closely with Philippa to make this new venture a great success.”

Novelist Philippa Gregory (pictured), the author of The Other Boleyn Girl and The Red Queen, just inked a three-book deal with Touchstone and Simon & Schuster.

The first book of the series will be published in 2012, bearing the tentative title, The Kingmaker’s Daughters. The next two books are tentatively titled The White Princess and The Last Rose.

The publisher has acquired all world rights. Anthony Mason negotiated the deal. Touchstone EIC Trish Todd joint edits Gregory’s work, and will continue the relationship with the new titles.

While writing “The White Queen,” Philippa Gregory confronted a dark corner of English history, bucking centuries’ worth of male-dominated records.

Gregory explained in a recent video interview: “I read the record, which is written not just by men, but often by men who hate women. It’s an incredibly misogynistic record.” Her new book studies the life of Elizabeth Woodville, a women literally demonized by historians of her time. Re-writing that record was no easy task, as you can see by the video interview after the jump…

Here’s more about the book, from the site: “The White Queen tells the story of a woman of extraordinary beauty and ambition who, catching the eye of the newly crowned boy king, marries him in secret and ascends to royalty. While Elizabeth rises to the demands of her exalted position and fights for the success of her family, her two sons become central figures in a mystery that has confounded historians for centuries: the missing princes in the Tower of London whose fate is still unknown.”

Read more

Simon & Schuster named Mark Gompertz executive vice president of digital publishing. In the new post, Gompertz will coordinate digital publishing efforts at all levels of the company, from editorial to sales.

Since 1993, Gompertz been the publisher of Touchstone Fireside, working with bestselling authors like Philippa Gregory, Ursula Hegi, and Bethenny Frankel. During his tenure, he doubled the size of the publisher.

Here’s more from Simon & Schuster CEO, Carolyn K. Reidy: “As we explore these new digital formats, complications will inevitably ensue, and Mark will help all of us at Simon & Schuster, as well as our authors and our accounts, to find solutions to these complex issues. His job will also entail originating and acquiring digital content, developing policies, working out processes, and educating and informing us so we can all learn as we seek new revenue streams.”

Usually when authors do some kind of web-based event, it’s through text or audio. But Simon & Schuster is going the extra mile for Philippa Gregory, author of the soon-to-be-a-movie THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL and other historical fiction bestsellers, on Sunday, Sept. 16th at 2:00pm EDT. The 90-minute webcast will be of Gregory speaking in London, though she’ll engage with fans remotely by Q&A. S&S also plans a live event in New York at Borders in Columbus Circle.