With the support of the publisher, Shelf Awareness celebrates Flatiron's new Pine & Cedar Books imprint and its first four titles.

Pine & Cedar Books, the new imprint from Flatiron Books, will highlight the kinds of books that the imprint's head, Christine Kopprasch, has published frequently during her 10 years at Flatiron. "They're compulsively readable, well-written novels with high commercial value," she says. "They often have twists or big moments, and they have major themes and something to say." Now with the launch of Pine & Cedar, she continues, she'll be able "to spotlight these incredible books on a small, focused list and be able to lavish lots of attention on them."

Pine & Cedar titles will range widely, across many categories. Some will be mystery and suspense books, with an occasional romcom and an occasional work of women's fiction. "It's an imprint that can do genre publishing and often does, but it's not a genre imprint," Kopprasch explains.

Pine & Cedar will publish 6-8 titles a year, starting with three in Summer 2025: King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby; We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough; and The Goldens by Lauren Wilson. This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum is tentatively scheduled for Winter 2026. (For more about these titles, see below.)

Among titles in the works for publication next year and beyond is a book by Alice Feeney, who has published several books with Flatiron, including the New York Times bestseller Beautiful Ugly, which came out earlier this month. Kopprasch calls the book Feeney is working on "very unputdownable, with absolutely bonkers twists that blow my mind." For her part, Feeney says, "Christine is the dream editor. Her attention to detail and passion for the books she publishes is second to none. She is one of my most favorite humans and I feel incredibly lucky to have her as my editor."

Jane Harper, also a Flatiron author, is also working on a new novel, another of her "big mysteries that are like perfect puzzles with big themes," Kopprasch says. In addition, there'll be another title from Kate Alice Marshall, who, she notes, "is really good at writing about dangerous girls and to-die-for friendships. The New York Times Book Review wrote how her first book 'evokes the dread and intensity of Gillian Flynn's Sharp Objects.' " Marshall says, "I am thrilled to be on the Pine & Cedar list--Christine is an exceptional editor, with a rare instinct for finding a story's dark heart and sharp edges and making them gleam."

Pine & Cedar's name is homage both to Flatiron's roots and to its present. When Flatiron was founded in 2012, it was named after the Flatiron Building, where the company's offices were. Now Macmillan's operations are on Lower Broadway, where the cross streets are Pine and Cedar. "Pine & Cedar was a nod to the evolution of Flatiron over the last 10 years and to where we are now," Kopprasch says. With a smile, she adds, "Plus, I like trees."

Christine Kopprasch

Kopprasch began her publishing career with internships at several literary agencies. Then she got an editorial assistant job at Henry Holt and eventually moved to Crown before joining Flatiron. But Kopprasch got her start with books much, much earlier. With a laugh, she says, "I grew up an absolutely crazy reader. I always had a book in my hand. I read all my mom's book club books and then all my dad's military thrillers. My family has stories about me in the shower, reading with one hand out the door, holding a book. One time I actually photocopied the next 10 pages of the book I was reading and taped them to the shower walls so I could keep reading while showering!"

Kopprasch sends a big thank you to booksellers and librarians "because it's all about the readers in the end, and booksellers and librarians do so much to get the books--the right books--into the hands of the right readers."

She adds, "I love hearing from booksellers and librarians, so I would be delighted if people want to say hi and tell me if they want sneak peeks."

King of Ashes by S. A. Cosby ($28.99, 9781250832061, June 10, 2025).

When eldest son Roman Carruthers is summoned home after his father's car accident, he finds his younger brother, Dante, in debt to dangerous criminals and his sister, Neveah, exhausted from holding the family--and the family business--together. Neveah and their father, who run the Carruthers Crematorium in the run-down central Virginia town of Jefferson Run, see death up close every day. But mortality draws even closer when it becomes clear that the crash that landed their father in a coma was no accident and Dante's recklessness has placed them all in real danger.

Roman, a financial whiz with a head for numbers and a talent for making his clients rich, has some money to help buy his brother out of trouble. But in his work with wannabe tough guys, he's forgotten that there are real gangsters out there. As his bargaining chips go up in smoke, Roman realizes that he has only one thing left to offer to save his brother: himself, and his own particular set of skills.

Christine Kopprasch comments: "[S. A. Cosby] pitched the book to me before I read it. He said, 'I want to do a Black, Southern take on The Godfather.' I said, 'That's exactly what I want.' " The result is "a very violent, very gritty story. He uses family drama to push the crime story, but it's also a story about siblings. It's very cinematic, very tense, and I love the siblings in the book."

S. A. Cosby

Cosby is the author of five Southern noir crime novels and "a gorgeous writer and a really great guy," says Kopprasch. "Everybody who meets him falls in love with him. I also love his own story: his words have taken him from a childhood of poverty to now being a bestselling, award-winning author."

Cosby is pleased to have King of Ashes on the debut Pine & Cedar list. He says, "It is truly an honor to work with Christine. Her instincts as an editor are unmatched in the industry and I am incredibly fortunate to have her in my corner. I can't think of a more qualified or visionary person to lead this new endeavor and I couldn't be happier to have Pine & Cedar be the home for my work."

We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough ($28.99, 9781250394057, May 20, 2025).

After an accident that nearly kills her, Emily and her husband, Freddie, move from London to a beautiful Dartmoor country house called Larkin Lodge. The house is gorgeous and striking--but to Emily, something about it feels deeply wrong.

Old boards creak at night, fires go out, books fall from the shelves, and all of it stems from the terrible presence she feels in the third-floor room. But these things happen only when Emily's alone, so are they happening at all? She's still medically fragile; her postsepsis condition can cause hallucinatory side effects, which means she can't fully trust her own senses. Freddie doesn't notice anything odd and is happy with their chance at a fresh start.

Emily, however, starts to believe that the house is being haunted by someone who was murdered in it, though she can find no evidence of a wrongful death. As bizarre events pile up and her marriage starts to crumble, Emily becomes obsessed with discovering the truth about Larkin Lodge.

"There're lots of amazing twists," says Christine Kopprasch. "We published Sarah's Behind Her Eyes in 2017 and the hashtag for that was #wtfthatending. This has that similar sense of rising dread and eeriness and then the shocking twists that Sarah has come to be known for."

Sarah Pinborough

Sarah Pinborough is an English author of more than 20 novels and novellas. Behind Her Eyes was adapted into a hit Netflix series in 2021. She comments, "I'm so excited to be part of Pine & Cedar's first roster of novels, and with the editing superstar Christine Kopprasch and her vision at the helm, I feel like, as a storyteller, I've spiritually come home. Pine & Cedar are going to be a force to be reckoned with!"

The Goldens by Lauren Wilson ($28.99, 9781250362308, July 15, 2025).

Chloe Hughes has always dreamed of becoming a bestselling writer. Then she meets Clara Holland, a prominent influencer, socialite, and model. Clara is enigmatic, dazzling, gorgeous. And at last, ordinary Chloe has something to write about.

Bonding instantly, Chloe moves into Clara's grand family estate. They spend long afternoons together, writing Clara's memoir, polishing social media posts, and planning sumptuous, decadent parties: fairy lights in the orangery, themed cocktails, sequined backdrops, roaring bonfires. But as Clara opens her home to more girls who want to live like her and inspire one another, the media calls them a cult.

As life becomes claustrophobic, Chloe begins to hear unsettling rumors about Clara. When a girl goes missing after a spectacular New Year's Eve party, she begins to wonder if her new best friend is hiding a sinister secret. If she can't escape Clara's influence, everything Chloe holds dear may be in danger.

"This is the only debut on [our] summer list," says Christine Kopprasch. "It gives you the feeling of living in an Instagram influencer story or living in a Pinterest board, where it's obsessive and culty in the best way. It has dark academic vibes and delves into the darker side of social media as well as the sort of desperate, crazy friendships that a young woman can have at a certain age. Also, really rich people behaving badly is always fun."

Lauren Wilson

The Goldens is British writer Lauren Wilson's debut novel. She previously worked for Mslexia, a magazine that advocates women's writing.

This Story Might Save Your Life by Tiffany Crum (Coming 2026)

Benny Abbott and Joy Moore host one of the most beloved podcasts in the world. Each week, they delight listeners with a different "against-all-odds" survival story, gleefully finding the weird, life-affirming humor in near-death experiences. Since their first episode on Joy's own experience with narcolepsy, they've been the best friends everyone wants to befriend, and thanks to the meticulous management of Joy's spouse, Xander, they've built a lucrative empire.

The problem is that their next survival story may be their own. When Benny arrives at Joy's home studio for their usual Tuesday recording, he finds shattered glass and an empty house. Xander and Joy are nowhere to be found. The only clue shedding light on the couple's disappearance is the incomplete, previously unseen first draft of Joy's memoir. Benny is desperate to find them, but as the hours tick by and the police zero in on Benny as their prime suspect, the odds seem increasingly stacked against Joy and Xander being found alive. And not even the most devoted fans could guess the secrets their favorite famous BFFs have hidden from the world--and from each other.

"This is a big new debut, the first debut I bought specifically after the imprint had launched," says Christine Kopprasch. "It's part missing person thriller, part love story, and features some of the most delicious on-the-page dialogue that I've read in a long time."

Tiffany Crum

Tiffany Crum was born and raised in Southern California before moving to Atlanta, Georgia. This Story Might Save Your Life is her debut novel. She says, "I am delighted beyond reason to have joined the Pine & Cedar list. Working with Christine has been a collaborative dream come true, and I couldn't be prouder of the end result. I cannot imagine an editor better equipped to bring This Story Might Save Your Life into the world."