The Brunswick: Book Launch
My debut novel The Brunswick releases May 19, 2026! While historical fiction, this is a deeply personal and surprisingly relevant story tackling the complicated choices love requires.
Quick things to know about this book:
The one-line summary: When a woman in small-town Georgia offers to house Jewish refugee children in her family’s old hotel, she must confront the choices her own parents made in order to finally feel worthy of love herself.
Here’s what NY Times bestselling author Lisa Wingate said about it: “The horror of war, the beauty of hope, and the power of human connection combine in Callie Murray’s brilliantly executed debut.”
And #1 NY Times bestselling author Allen Levi (Theo of Golden) said: “The Brunswick is a delight and a beautiful bit of art.” Ah!
It’s my first novel and is being published traditionally via Baker/Revell.
It’s historical fiction set in 1939, in both Norcross, Georgia and Vienna, Austria.
Thematically, it’s a positive look at foster care/adoption and found family. It’s also very much a romance.
It covers some hard topics like ALS, suicidal thoughts, and the events leading up to WWII, but it is clean and redemptive. (Your moms, preteen daughters, and book club could all read the novel without it embarrassing you.)
💛 You’ll hear more about this in the book’s Author’s Note, but David & I have created a fund through Promise 686 with the book’s advance and will add 100% of subsequent royalties. The fund will be used in support of vulnerable children through grants to foster, adoptive, and preservation families. I therefore have no problem asking you to help me sell a billion copies of it.
So, here’s how to help me sell a billion copies…
#1. Read it.
The Brunswick is available for purchase now! You can order as an ebook, audiobook, or paperback.
Maybe even buy a few copies to give as gifts???
Order from my local bookstore Freckles & Co. (pick-up only) here.
This will include an art print inspired by the book + a map to a Norcross scavenger hunt.
If you’re local to Norcross, give this store some love!
You can also buy it from Barnes & Noble, bookshop.org, Amazon, or other online retailers.
You can call your favorite local bookstore and ask them to order it for you.
This is actually very helpful in getting on booksellers’ radars.
#2. Tell people about the book.
My hope is that this book sells via word-of-mouth channels, and that starts with you!
Facebook is not dead! A post on Facebook with a link is incredibly effective.
A direct text message to someone is also gold. It could be as simple as: Have you heard of the novel The Brunswick yet? I think you’d like it.
So who might like it?!
Historical fiction lovers
Foster/adoptive parents
Those who do community really well
Your mom or mother-in-law
Anyone you know from Georgia or the South
People who love the banter and tension of a good romance without scenes that make you embarrassed to read or recommend it
Your book club or your friend who is in a book club
Anyone who liked The Correspondent, Theo of Golden, The Nightingale, Before We Were Yours, or The Things We Cannot Say
You can also send them my landing page for ordering options & info: www.calliemurray.com
Or, if they will find the launch and behind-the-scenes stuff interesting, you can send them this link: www.calliemurray.com/book
#3. Help launch it.
Here are ten really, really helpful things to get the book flywheel spinning:
Leave a review on Goodreads and/or Amazon.
You must have purchased the book via Amazon in order to leave a review, but you can leave a review on Goodreads at any point.
Add it to your “Want to Read” on Goodreads. This helps it show up on other people’s feeds.
Follow me on Instagram and on my author Facebook page.
Comment on this post and tag friends that might be interested. We’ll use this post for ads, so engagement is great. Consider sharing it on your story with a link to purchase the book.
Post about The Brunswick on your social media or in any groups you may be a part of (group texts, Facebook or Slack groups, etc).
Feel free to share this link: https://www.calliemurray.com/
Post about The Brunswick in a Facebook group or comment about the book on applicable posts.
Friends & Fiction or Historical Fiction Book Lovers or Book Club Favorites are great ones.
Don’t do this until you’ve actually read the book!
If you have or know of a book club, check out this page.
There’s a list of questions and a few fun surprises for your book club there.
Join me at one of my launch events.
Send a copy to an adoptive or foster mama friend of yours.
If you order from my local bookstore Freckles & Co., it will include a watercolor art print about grafting family trees, a big theme in the book.
Join my author newsletter here.
Forward it to any book-ish friends of yours. This is where I’ll share updates about the grants we give out.
Visit or email your local Barnes & Noble and/or your local bookstore and ask them to stock it.
Request The Brunswick from the Libby library app by searching for The Brunswick and clicking Notify Me.
Finally, here’s more than you want to know about this book:
🥐 The story on how The Brunswick came to be
🥐 The back cover blurb:
In 1939 Georgia, far removed from the war brewing overseas, Cora Cain's world feels small--and shrinking. There, she runs The Brunswick, her family's once-grand hotel, which is now struggling as the town's general store. When Thomas Watkins arrives seeking work and solace after his mother's death, a connection sparks between them. Through Thomas, Cora glimpses a life beyond obligation and her war hero father's unpredictable moods.
But everything changes when Cora's asked to turn The Brunswick into a sanctuary for Jewish refugee children fleeing persecution in Austria. As Cora and Thomas prepare for the children's arrival, they struggle to confront their pasts--and the prejudice of their neighbors--as their fragile hope is put to the test.
Meanwhile, in Vienna, ten-year-old Charlotte is offered refuge in America. But even with the horrors she sees around her, Charlotte wonders how her parents could possibly send her away. As war's shadow begins to reach small-town Georgia, each person must face what love demands and decide what they must hold on to and what they must let go.
Inspired by true events, Callie Murray weaves a sweeping and heartfelt tale of courage, romance, and the extraordinary choices that define us.
🥐 Some reviews and endorsements:
“The horror of war, the beauty of hope, and the power of human connection combine in Callie Murray’s brilliantly executed debut. The Brunswick’s characters rise from the page, compelling and entirely real, as does the Brunswick itself. This is a story readers will devour and book clubs will discuss late into the night.” –Lisa Wingate, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Shelterwood and Before We Were Yours
"A delight, and a beautiful bit of art. I both smiled and cried in all the right places." -Allen Levi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Theo of Golden
“I loved the sense of place, the relationships between the characters, and the emotional depth of the story that never sacrificed on propulsion in the plot. This is historical fiction that feels different: it’s a story and perspective I’ve not read before and the themes are timeless and ripe for discussion. This one has stayed with me.” –Sherri Puzey, VP Marketing for Zibby Books
“In a world with endless WWII books, The Brunswick tells a story I’ve never heard or even thought of. No cliches or over-done storylines—just compelling and complicated characters in a layered and thought-provoking story. It was captivating as I read it, and it lingered when I finished.” –Melanie Morris, a Goodreads 5-star review
🥐 The lovely Publisher Weekly summary & review
🥐 The book’s media kit with nitty-gritty specifics + marketing images: https://www.calliemurray.com/media-kit