About(Revised: 30 May 2009)Juno Books is an imprint of Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster. Originally an imprint of independent press Prime Books/Wildside Press, a co-publishing agreement for Juno with Pocket went into effect in January 2009. Juno's first books were published in the fall of 2006. The initial 17 books were in trade paperback format. Starting in Septemebr 2007, Juno switched to a mass market paperback format. (Many Juno Books backlist titles are still distributed nationally by Diamond Distributors. Others are still available directly from Wildside.) From the beginning, Juno specialized in a variety of fantasy featuring strong female characters in richly imagined contexts. As it moves into its new era with Pocket, the concentration will still be on female protagonists and high imagination, but the general direction will be towards contemporary/urban fantasy/paranormal. Paula Guran is the editor of Juno Books. She is now working with Jennifer Heddle, a Senior Editor at Pocket. Our current and forthcoming releases can be found on our Schedule Page. A complete list of all Juno titles published previous to the incarnation of Pocket/Juno can be found on the Juno Backlist page.
More About JunoJuno Books takes its name from a Roman goddess. In ancient Roman religion, Juno was queen of the gods and female counterpart to her husband/brother Jupiter. Juno was a daughter of Saturn, sister to Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto, as well as Jupiter's consort. Juventas, Mars, and Vulcan were her children. Juno was closely identified with the Greek goddess Hera and connected to all aspects of women's lives -- fertility, pregnancy and childbirth, and especially marriage. Individualized, Juno was a female inner force, a female principle of life. Each man had his genius, every woman her juno. A Roman's genius was the spirit enlivened and made him and sexually active; so, too, was each woman's juno.Juno was worshipped in many guises, each with a different function. As Juno Regina (Juno the Queen), she was a member of the Capitoline Triad along with Jupiter and Minerva -- three supreme deities worshipped in an elaborate temple on Rome's Capitoline Hill, the Capitolium. Juno Moneta (perhaps meaning the Warner) warned the Romans when the Gauls tried to take the Capitolium in 390 BCE. Coins were later minted at the Temple of Juno on the Capitoline Hill, and our word money is derived from moneta. Juno Sospita (Juno the Savior) was the patron goddess of the Roman state. Juno Quiritis protected spearmen. Juno Lucina was goddess of childbirth who brought newborn children into their first light. Juno is often portrayed wearing a diadem and veil and holding a scepter. The peacock was sacred to Juno. The Juno Books logo is a stylized peacock feather.
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