Publishing News
General News
November 15-30, 2003 Edition GENERAL NEWS JK Rowling Tops
List of Best Paid
British Authors
LONDON/11/7/03According to the London Times, JK Rowling is the highest paid author in history, based on the number of words produced. Rowling’s income last year totaled £125m. Her books have sold more than 230 million copies worldwide.
The Sunday Times listed Rowling fifth among the UK’s top 500 best paid authors.
Rowling’s agent, Christopher Little, also appears on the list as number 37, with earnings of £18.75m. Mr. Little apparently queried 12 publishers before landing a sale to Bloomsbury for Rowling’s first book.
Authors Jackie Collins and Barbara Taylor Bradford both made the list with incomes of £10m and £6.45m respectively. Imprisoned politician Lord Archer earned £5.6m, the Times said. Others included crime writer Jack Higgins, with earnings of £2.8m, and Terry Pratchett, at £2m.
Among performing artists, Sir Paul McCartney ranked as the highest paid entertainer, earning £40m in the past year.
CAA to Open
New Branch
In New York
NEW YORK, NY/11/10/03Creative Artists Agency of Beverly Hills, CA, has just leased 15,000 square feet of office space at 21st and Fifth Avenue in New York. The agency is attempting to rival the huge William Morris Agency.
George Lane, formerly with William Morris, is the likely manager of the new office, which will employ about 15 agents.
The William Morris Agency, by the way, is the largest and most diversified talent and literary agency in the world, with principal offices in New York, Beverly Hills, Nashville, London and Miami Beach.
BOOKSELLING Miami Book
Fair Marks
Big Anniversary
MIAMI, FL/11/8/03The eight-day Miami Book Fair got underway Saturday November 8, marking its 20th anniversary with appearances by 350 authors, 75 of whom are Hispanic. The event was expected to draw a half million visitors.
The Mission of Miami Book Fair International is to promote reading, encourage writing, and heighten an awareness of literacy and the literary arts in our multi-ethnic community.
First called Books by the Bay in 1984, the two-day street fair has evolved into the largest and finest book fair in America. Attendance grew steadily and, by the late 1990s, hundreds of thousands of book lovers were eagerly participating in the annual literary festival. Since then, the Fair has blossomed to encompass numerous special programs.
Among famous authors appearing at the Fair for their own “evening” are Toni Morrison in a conversation with Fran Lebowitz, Garrison Keillor of PRI’s Prairie Home Companion, Mitch Albom, sports columnist and syndicated host for ABC and WJR-AM in Detroit, Elie Wiesel, 1986 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Two of Miamis favorite authorsfunnyman Dave Barry and novelist Carl Hiaasen, and modern dancer Twyla Tharp.
AWARDS National Book
Foundation
Picks 20 Finalists
NEW YORK, NY/10/16/03The National Book Foundation has announced 20 finalists for this year’s awards, from a list of 1030 submissions. Winners were to be announced in a ceremony November 19. At that time Stephen King will be presented with a Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.
Finalists in fiction are T.C. Boyle, “Drop City,” Shirley Hazzard, “The Great Fire,” Edward P. Jones, “The Known World,” Scott Spencer, “A Ship Made of Paper” and Marianne Wiggins, “Evidence of Things Unseen.”
Nonfiction finalists are Anne Applebaum, “Gulag: A History,” George Howe Colt, “The Big House: A Century in the Life of an American Summer Home,” John D’Emilio, “Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin,” Carlos Eire, “Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy” and Erik Larson, “The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America.”
Finalists in young adult literature are Paul Fleischman for “Breakout,” Polly Horvath, “The Canning Season,” Jim Murphy, “An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793,” Richard Peck, “The River Between Us” and Jacqueline Woodson, “Locomotion.”
Executive Director of the Foundation is Neil Baldwin.
PEOPLE Penthouse Founder and CEO Steps Down
NEW YORK, NY/11/7/03Penthouse magazine founder and CEO Robert Guccione resigned the chief executive post after declining circulation figures forced the parent company, Penthouse International Inc., to put the magazine up for sale. But he will remain publisher and editor-in-chief of the magazine. He also retains the title of CEO of General Media Inc., the unit that publishes Penthouse.
Guccione, age 72, founded Penthouse in 1965, and built a publication that rivaled other adult magazines such as Playboy and Hustler. The magazine audience has declined from about 5 million tot just 530,000 copies at the end of last year.
THE BOOK SENSE NATIONAL BESTSELLER LIST
Published Thursday, November 13, 2003 (for sales week ended Sunday, November 9, 2003).
Based on reporting from over 400 independent bookstores across America.
_______________________________________________________
New to the List this week:
A Ton of Great Debuts this Week
The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King (HF #3, 1880418568) The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings by Amy Tan (HF #14, 0399150749) Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter by Thomas Cahill (HN #15, 0385495536) The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2004 by Ken Park (Ed.) (PN #5, 0886879108)- The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by Brian Greene (PN #15, 0375708111) Lyra’s Oxford by Philip Pullman, John Lawrence (CI#9, 0375828192)
_____________________________________________________
HARDCOVER FICTION
1. The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown, Doubleday, $24.95, 0385504209
2. The Five People You Meet in Heaven
Mitch Albom, Hyperion, $19.95, 0786868716
3. The Dark Tower V: Wolves of the Calla – Debut
Stephen King, Donald M. Grant/Scribner, $35, 1880418568
4. Shepherds Abiding
Jan Karon, Penguin, $24.95, 0670031208
5. Love
Toni Morrison, Knopf, $23.95, 0375409440
6. Blow Fly
Patricia Cornwell, Putnam, $26.95, 0399150897
7. Bleachers
John Grisham, Doubleday, $19.95, 0385511612
8. The Namesake
Jhumpa Lahiri, Houghton Mifflin, $24, 0395927218
9. Vernon God Little
DBC Pierre, Canongate, $23, 1841954608
10. Blood Canticle
Anne Rice, Knopf, $25.95, 037541200X
11. The Time Traveler’s Wife
Audrey Niffenegger, MacAdam/Cage, $25, 1931561648
12. The Lovely Bones
Alice Sebold, Little Brown, $21.95, 0316666343
13. Split Second
David Baldacci, Warner, $26.95, 0446530891
14. Quicksilver
Neal Stephenson, Morrow, $27.95, 0380977427
15. The Wedding
Nicholas Sparks, Warner, $23.95, 0446532452
ON THE RISE:
17. Old School
Tobias Wolff, Knopf, $22, 0375401466
Can this really just be Wolff’s first novel? The award-winning author mulls over life and literature in a small New England prep school in the 60s.
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
1. The South Beach Diet
Arthur Agatston, M.D., Rodale, $24.95, 1579546463
2. Dude, Where’s My Country?
Michael Moore, Warner, $24.95, 0446532231
3. Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them
Al Franken, Dutton, $24.95, 0525947647
4. A Royal Duty
Paul Burrell, Putnam, $25.95, 0399151729
5. Bushwhacked
Molly Ivins, Lou Dubose, Random House, $24.95, 0375507523
6. The World According to Mr. Rogers
Fred Rogers, Hyperion, $16.95, 1401301061
7. Flyboys
James Bradley, Little Brown, $25.95, 0316105848
8. The Purpose-Driven Life
Rick Warren, Zondervan, $19.99, 0310205719
9. The Ultimate Weight Solution
Dr. Phillip C. McGraw, Free Press, $26, 0743236742
10. Under the Banner of Heaven
Jon Krakauer, Doubleday, $26, 0385509510
11. The Great Unraveling
Paul Krugman, Norton, $25.95, 0393058506
12. Every Second Counts
Lance Armstrong, Sally Jenkins, Broadway, $24.95, 0385508719
13. Who’s Looking Out for You?
Bill O’Reilly, Broadway, $24.95, 0767913795
14. The Opposite of Fate: A Book of Musings – Debut
Amy Tan, Putnam, $24.95, 0399150749
15. Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter – Debut
Thomas Cahill, Nan A. Talese, $27.50, 0385495536
ON THE RISE:
24. Living to Tell the Tale
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Knopf, $26.95, 1400041341
A magnificent memoir – the first of three – from the magical South American writer.
TRADE PAPER FICTION
1. The Secret Life of Bees
Sue Monk Kidd, Penguin, $14, 0142001740
2. Life of Pi
Yann Martel, Harvest, $14, 0156027321
3. #1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
Alexander McCall Smith, Anchor, $11.95, 1400034779
4. Middlesex
Jeffrey Eugenides, Picador, $15, 0312422156
5. Three Junes
Julia Glass, Anchor, $14, 0385721420
6. The Last Girls
Lee Smith, Ballantine, $14.95, 0345464958
7. The Little Friend
Dona Tartt, Vintage, $14.95, 1400031699
8. The Virgin Blue
Tracy Chevalier, Plume, $14, 0452284449
9. The Piano Tuner
Daniel Philippe Mason, Vintage, $14, 1400030382
10. Bel Canto
Ann Patchett, Perennial, $13.95, 0060934417
11. Disgrace
J. M. Coetzee, Penguin, $13, 0140296409
12. The Human Stain
Philip Roth, Vintage, $14.95, 0375726349
13. Blue Shoe
Anne Lamott, Riverhead, $14, 1573223425
14. Golden Buddha
Clive Cussler, Craig Dirgo, Berkley, $15, 0425191729
15. Tears of the Giraffe
Alexander McCall Smith, Anchor, $11.95, 1400031354
ON THE RISE:
18. Forever
Pete Hamill, Back Bay, $14.95, 0316735698
A 76 Pick in hardcover, now in paper. A history/love/story for New York City.
TRADE PAPER NONFICTION
1. Under the Tuscan Sun
Frances Mayes, Broadway, $15, 0767916069
2. Seabiscuit
Laura Hillenbrand, Ballantine, $15.95, 0449005615
3. Nickel and Dimed
Barbara Ehrenreich, Owl, $13, 0805063897
4. Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution
Robert C. Atkins, M.D., Quill, $13.95, 0060081597
5. The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2004 – Debut
Ken Park (Ed.), World Almanac, $11.95, 0886879108
6. Small Wonder
Barbara Kingsolver, Perennial, $12.95, 0060504080
7. The Four Agreements
Don Miguel Ruiz, Amber-Allen, $12.95, 1878424319
8. Fast Food Nation
Eric Schlosser, Perennial, $13.95, 0060938455
9. Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight
Alexandra Fuller, Random House, $13.95, 0375758992
10. The Old Farmer’s Almanac 2004
Old Farmer’s Almanac (Ed.), Old Farmer’s Almanac, $5.95, 1571982973
11. Running With Scissors
Augusten Burroughs, Picador, $14, 031242227X
12. The Bitch in the House
Cathi Hanauer (Ed.), Perennial, $13.95, 0060936460
13. Bringing Down the House
Ben Mezrich, Free Press, $14, 0743249992
14. Longitudes and Attitudes
Thomas L. Friedman, Anchor Books/Doubleday, $14.95, 1400031257
15. The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for
the Ultimate Theory – Debut
Brian Greene, Random House, $15.95, 0375708111
ON THE RISE:
31. Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary Creative Minds
Harold Bloom, Warner, $19.95, 0446691291
The prominent literary critic collects and examines one hundred historical literary geniuses.
MASS MARKET
1. Angels & Demons
Dan Brown, Pocket, $7.99, 0671027360
2. Mystic River
Dennis Lehane, HarperTorch, $7.99, 0380731851
3. Dr. Atkins’ New Diet Revolution
Robert C. Atkins, M.D., Avon, $7.99, 006001203X
4. Deception Point
Dan Brown, Pocket, $7.99, 0671027387
5. Q Is for Quarry
Sue Grafton, Berkley, $7.99, 0425192725
6. Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper – Case Closed
Patricia Cornwell, Berkley, $7.99, 0425192733
7. Dr. Atkins’ New Carbohydrate Gram Counter
Robert C. Atkins, M.D., M. Evans, $4.95, 0871318156
8. The Janson Directive
Robert Ludlum, St. Martin’s, $7.99, 0312989385
9. Seabiscuit
Laura Hillenbrand, Ballantine, $7.99, 0345465083
10. Key of Light
Nora Roberts, Jove, $7.99, 051513628X
CHILDREN’S FICTION
1. A Series of Unfortunate Events #10: The Slippery Slope
Lemony Snicket, HarperCollins, $10.99, 0064410137
2. Eragon
Christopher Paolini, Knopf, $18.95, 0375826688
3. The Thief Lord
Cornelia Funke, Chicken House, $6.99, 043942089X
4. Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part
2: Revenge of the Ridiculous Robo-Boogers
Dav Pilkey, Blue Sky, $4.99, 0439376122
5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
J.K. Rowling, Scholastic, $29.99, 043935806X
6. Holes
Louis Sachar, Yearling, $6.50, 0440419468
7. Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part
1: The Night of the Nasty Nostril Nuggets
Dav Pilkey, Blue Sky, $4.99, 0439376106
8. Loamhedge
Brian Jacques, Philomel, $23.99, 0399237240
9. Inkheart
Cornelia Funke, Chicken House, $19.95, 0439531640
10. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Ann Brashares, Delacorte, $8.95, 0385730586
11. Thanksgiving on Thursday
Mary Pope Osborne, Random House, $3.99, 0375806156
12. A Series of Unfortunate Events #1: The Bad Beginning
Lemony Snicket, HarperTrophy, $10.99, 0064407667
13. Haunted Castle on Hallow’s Eve
Mary Pope Osborne, Random House, $11.95, 0375825215
14. The Tale of Despereaux
Kate Dicamillo, Timothy B. Ering (Illus.), Candlewick, $17.99, 0763617229
15. Because of Winn-Dixie
Kate DiCamillo, Candlewick, $5.99, 0763616052
CHILDREN’S NONFICTION
1. Olivia . . . and the Missing Toy
Ian Falconer, Atheneum, $16.95, 0689852916
2. Dragonology
Ernest Drake, Helen Ward (Illus.), Douglas Carrel (Illus.), Candlewick,
$18.99, 0763623296
3. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll, Robert Sabuda (Illus.), S&S, $24.95, 0689847432
4. Goodnight Moon
Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illus.), HarperCollins, $7.99, 0694003611
5. On Noah’s Ark
Jan Brett, Putnam, $16.99, 0399240284
6. Pat the Bunny
Dorothy Kunhardt, Golden, $9.99, 0307120007
7. Tails
Matthew Van Fleet, Red Wagon, $12.95, 0152167730
8. Diary of a Worm
Doreen Cronin, Harry Bliss (Illus.), Joanna Cotler/ HarperCollins, $15.99,
006000150X
9. Lyra’s Oxford – Debut
Philip Pullman, John Lawrence (Illus.), Knopf, $10.95, 0375828192
10. Walter the Farting Dog
William Kotzwinkle, Glenn Murray, Audrey Colman (Illus.), Frog, $15.95,
1583940537
11. The English Roses
Madonna, Penguin, $19.95, 0670036781
12. Brundibar
Tony Kushner, Maurice Sendak, Hyperion, $19.95, 0786809043
13. The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Eric Carle, Putnam, $9.99, 0399226907
14. Babar’s Museum of Art
Laurent Brunhoff, Abrams, $16.95, 0810945975
15. Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Bill Martin, Eric Carle (Illus.), Holt, $7.95, 0805047905
May We Recommend
Hardcover
POPULAR MUSIC FROM VITTULA, by Mikael Niemi, Laurie Thompson (Trans.) (Seven Stories Pr., $21.95, 1583225234) “Popular Music From Vittula is bound to become a classic of cold-weather literature. Jack London with the imagination of a Borges might have produced a work so wise and witty in weather so unpleasant, but, probably, only Mikael Niemi, with his intrepid translator, Laurie Thompson, could have made so much art out of so much ice. It’s like the invention of ice cream.” Paul Ingram, Prairie Lights Books, Iowa City, IA
CHUCK CLOSE PRINTS: Process and Collaboration, by Terrie Sultan (Princeton Univ. Pr., $35, 069111577X) “Combining interviews, essays, and prints, Sultan provides an unprecedented look at Close and the creative process behind his extraordinary art.” Ann Ellenbecker, Powell’s Bookstore, Beaverton, OR
Paperback
THE GERMAN MONEY, by Lev Raphael (Leapfrog Pr., $14.95, 096795200X) “When his mother suddenly dies, Paul is shocked and bewildered to find she has left him the entire amount of “the German money,” the money paid by the German government as reparations to his mother, a survivor of the Holocaust. Whether or not Paul can come to terms with his mother’s legacy depends on whether he can unravel a past that holds him prisoner.” Nicki Leone, Bristol Books, Inc., Wilmington, NC
For kids, ages 9 – 12
IMAGINE A NIGHT, by Sarah L. Thomson; Rob Gonsalves (Illus.) (Atheneum, $16.95, 0689852185) “Stretch your imagination with these clever paintings, which are totally off-the-wall and gorgeous! Imagine a train roaring into your house to take you away, think of a fiddler playing to a field of daisies with faces the paintings by Ron Gonsalves are a joy to imagine!” Sue Carita, The Toadstool Bookshop, Milford, NH
THE JACKET, by Andrew Clements (Aladdin, $4.99, 0689860102) “This is an excellent book to get middle-schoolers thinking about racism and the subtle ways it affects our thinking. After accusing a black student at his school of stealing a jacket, a fifth-grader realizes he is prejudiced and decides to do something about it. Andrew Clements has again succeeded in creating strong characters kids can relate to while exploring an important issue.” Philip Schweiger, Children’s Corner Bookshop, Spokane, WA
