Hold on — Didn’t I just get here? It wasn’t too long ago that I introduced myself in this column. Now, it’s goodbye for me and for the column. It’s not a bad sort of goodbye, though — more like a prelude to an exciting hello. Llewellyn is heading in a new and exciting direction with its young adult publishing program. Beginning this fall, Llewellyn will present the majority of its juvenile offerings under a new teen fiction imprint, Flux.

The teen books Llewellyn has published in the past five years have allowed the company to carve out a place in this exciting and fast-growing sector of the book industry. The success of all of Llewellyn’s young-adult authors has made it clear that the time is right for the next step, and that step is Flux.
Flux will publish 20 new titles a year, all aimed at the young adult audience (12 to 18 years old). Unlike Llewellyn’s previous teen offerings, which tended to focus on all things spooky, witchy and weird, Flux will cast a broader net. Don’t worry. We’ll still publish the great spooky, paranormal titles like Laurie Faria Stolarz’s Blue Is for Nightmares and Claudia Jones’ Riding Out the Storm, but we’ll also bring out books in other genres. Flux’s first offering includes great realistic literary fiction, chick lit, dark fantasy, sci-fi and plenty more. You’ll see some familiar faces in Flux as well as some exciting new voices in teen fiction.

Flux’s mission will be to publish teen fiction that takes risks and explores all aspects of teen experiences from around the world. No punches will be pulled. No prisoners taken. Teen readers know what they want and they aren’t afraid to take risks in their reading habits. Young adult isn’t a reading level, after all, it’s a point of view. If you haven’t checked out the teen section in your local bookstore, you might want to. It’s an exciting place to be.

Flux has its very own Web site, and in light of this progressive development, I’m following suit with my editorial. Which means that my column won’t be a regular part of New Worlds anymore, but I encourage you to check out Flux’s own Web site at www.fluxnow.com. Not only will you find out about the fabulous authors and great books in Flux’s first catalog, but you’ll find me (I told you it wasn’t goodbye). The site will feature a blog, written and moderated by myself. I’ll do my best to post entries regularly with the inside scoop about Flux books, teen publishing and anything else that might tickle my fancy. And, lest you all get tired of me too soon, I will regularly turn the blog over to authors, my fellow editors, cover designers and, naturally, readers. We’ll cover all the books and keep you up to date on interesting developments (and, when nobody is looking, I’ll try to pull back the curtain on the sometimes esoteric process of book publishing).

While Flux will be the home of all future teen fiction for Llewellyn Worldwide, Llewellyn Publications will continue to bring out excellent non-fiction Mind-Body-Spirit titles for the teen market from time to time. Thus, the addition of Flux to Llewellyn represents an exciting new direction and hopefully a strong addition to the company.

Flux’s first catalog will feature seven new titles and an exciting collection from an old favorite.

How It’s Done, the YA debut of children’s book author Christine Kole MacLean, is a beautifully written and keenly observed coming-of-age story about what happens when all the rules get broken.

Bonnie Dobkin’s first novel is Dream Spinner, a darkly imaginative vision of the thin border between wakefulness and dreams, reality and fantasy.

The Shalamar Code is the sixth novel of Mary Louise Clifford. Clifford offers a fast-paced thriller set in modern-day Pakistan involving drugs and international intrigue.

Mystery author Nina Wright’s initial foray into YA is Homefree, the story of a clever girl in an awkward situation. She’s got it under control, except for one thing — she has the irritating habit of astral projecting into the private lives of her friends.

Fantasy fans will want to check out the first book in Terie Garrison’s DragonSpawn Cycle, AutumnQuest. Garrison brings an intricate and complicated world with compelling characters to this new fantasy series.

Derailed is the latest book from experienced novelist Jon Ripslinger. Ripslinger exercises his pen with a young man on the cusp of the rest of his life, when just a few decisions can mean so much, including life and death.

How to Ruin a Summer Vacation is chick lit like you’ve never seen it. Simone Elkeles takes the best of chick lit — the clothes, the romance and the attitude — and sets them in the one place you’ve never imagined them.

Blue Is for Nightmares: The Collection brings all four of Laurie Faria Stolarz’s wildly popular novels together in one boxed set.