Publishing News
General News
January 15-31 2004 Edition GENERAL NEWS Hughes to Become
Paris Review Editor
1/5/04Brigid Hughes, current managing editor of The Paris Review has been named executive editor of the publication, filling the post long-led by founder George Ames Plimpton, who died unexpectedly in October.
Thomas Guinzburg, a founding editor of the quarterly and member of the search committee, said the decision to name the 30-something executive as editor was unanimous as the right choice in a difficult transition.
The search team said it recognized it could enver replace George Plimpton, but that its goal wqas to keep the magazine going in the best possible way, and to maintain the high literary standards Plimpton brought to the publication.
Anne Rice Quits Writing Vampire
Novels, But There's More to Come
NEW YORK, NY/1/12/2004Anne Rice, one of the most popular vampire novelists today, will leave the vampire genre to write other tales, according to a recent interview in the LA Times. Rice's most recent book BLOOD CANTICLE was the last of her Vampire books, which have sold more than 100,000,000 copies worldwide.
The author has recently lost more than 100 pounds as a result of gastric bypass surgery in early 2002. She is now more able to meet her fans on book tours and to get feedback on what they want to read.
Rice, who has spent 30 years writing about the supernatural, is "weary of the constraints of the metaphor." But she plans to keep writing novels about philosophical questions"about good and evil, about whether there is a God, about our personal quest for redemption," she told CBS News in a January 5 interview. She likes creating suspense and characters with which both she and her readers can fall in love.
She expects to finish her next book, which she's been working on for a decade, by the end of January, and to see it in print next fall. Rice has a new series in mind about the supernatural, but it won't be about witches and vampires.
Anne Rice was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. She holds a Master ofArts Degree in creative writing from San Francisco State University and is the author of twenty-one novels. Her first novel, INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, was published in 1976 and has gone on to become one of the bestselling novels of all time. It was in INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE that Rice first introduced her vampire, the Vampire Lestat, to the world.
BOOKSELLING BISG Offers Conference
on Making Information Pay
NEW YORK, NY/1/15/04The Book Industry Study Group's newly formed Business Solutions Committee and VISTA International will sponsor a conference for publishing executives on how leading publishers, distributors and retailers are reinventing traditional iindustry pracdtices ot improve channel performance. The conference will be helpd from 8:30 a.m. to noon, February 4 at the Warwick Hotel, 65 West 54th Street in New York City
The conference will cover the full spectrum of the publishing supply chain and offer valuable insight into what top companies are doing to improve their bottom lines. Seakers will include representatives from Bowker, Baker & Taylor, Sourcebooks, and others who will share their views on how better information can significantly improve channel performance.
Among those who should attend are:
Publishers and Chief Executives who want more profitable product lines Operations and Finance Executives who want more accurate forecasts and fewer returns Sales & Marketing Executives who want more successful trading relationships
For more information, visit www.bisg.org
Drudge Says Franken
Continues to Outsell OReilly
NEW YORK, NY/1/8/04According to the DrugeReport.com, Al Franken outsold Bill O'Reilly in the week's unofficial Nielsen Bookscan statistics, but Hilary Clinton remains on top. Sales figures are quoted as follows for teh week of January 5:
Hillary Clinton: 1,121,340 Al Franken: 790,067 Bill O'Reilly: 605,910
However, some say Bookscan statistics are only about 70 percent accurate.
AWARDS Pen America Calls
for Fellowship Nominees
NEW YORK, NY/01/09/04Pen America Center will close nominations January 15 for three two-year fellowships for fiction writing.
Three PEN/Robert Bingham Fellowships for Writers (each $35,000 a year for two consecutive years) will honor exceptionally talented fiction writers whose debut worka first novel or collection of short stories published in 2002 or 2003represents distinguished literary achievement and suggests great promise.
To be eligible, a candidate's first (and only the first) novel or first collection of short fiction must have been published by a U. S. trade publisher between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2003. Candidates must be U. S. residents; American citizenship not required. There are no restrictions on the candidate's age or on the style of his or her work.
Winners must undertake and complete a project of public literary service that brings authors and their works to settings outside the literary mainstream, such as schools, adult educational programs, and literacy centers that serve low-income communities. These projects will be conducted under the auspices of PEN.
The PEN/Robert Bingham Fellowships have been established by the family of Robert Bingham to commemorate his contribution to literary fiction.
Pen America is a fellowship of writers working for more than eighty years to advance literature, to promote a culture of reading, and to defend free expression. For more information, visit www.pen.org/
EPIC ANNOUNCES 2004 EPPIE FINALISTS
/1/12/04The Electronically Published Internet Connection (EPIC) has announced the finalists for the fifth annual EPPIE Awards. The awards, which honor the finest electronically published books of the year, will be presented on March 13th in Oklahoma City as part of EPICon 2004.
"For an e-author, no other award is more sought after or carries more prestige than the EPPIE," said EPIC president Dusty Rhodes. "It is the ultimate recognition by one's peers for outstanding achievement in the electronic publishing industry. And as the e-publishing industry grows and continues to gain recognition, so will the EPPIE."
"Once again we've topped the number of entries from the previous year," said Betty Kasischke, who has been the contest coordinator since its inception. "The awards are growing more and more popular, and the quality of the entries just keeps getting better. Our judges had some amazingly difficult decisions to make."
Awards are given in twenty-one categories. In addition, each year EPIC presents the Quasar Awards for superior achievement in cover art, along with the newly renamed Patricia White Service Award to one individual who has made an extraordinary contribution to EPIC.
EPICon 2004 will take place March 12-14. Registration is open to anybody with an interest in electronic publishing, and the complete list of conference activities (which includes workshops, panel discussions, and a group booksigning) is available at http://www.epiconference.com.
For more information on EPIC, EPICon, and the 2004 winners, visit www.epicauthors.org.
ALA Names 2004 Winners
of Newbery and Caldecott Awards
SAN DIEGO, CA/1/12/04Kate DiCamillo has been awarded the prestigious Newbery award for The Tale of Despereaux, published by Candlewick. Winner of the Caldecott Medal for 2004 is Mordicai Gerstein, author and illustrator of The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, published by Roaring Brook. The awards were announced at a press conference January 12 during the ALA's winter conference in San Diego, Calif.
The medals are given annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association. The Newbery Medal goes to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. It was named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery.
The Caldecott Medal goes to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. children.ItIt was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott.
DiCamillo also won the Newbery Honor award in 2001 for her first novel, Because of Winn-Dixie. Gerstein's Caldecott award is the second consecutive win for publisher Roaring Brook in only three years of operation.
Davis Named Editor-in-Chief of Bookspan Children's Units
NEW YORK, NY/1/5/04Kaylee Davis has been named editor-in-chief of Bookspan Children's Book of the Month Club and Book Planet. She will report to editorial director Sharon Fantera. Davis formerly served as general manager of childrens bookstore Books of Wonder.
Bookspan is a partnership between Doubleday Direct, Inc. (now owned by Bertelsmann AG) and Book-of-the-Month Club Holdings LLC (now owned by AOL Time Warner Inc.). The partnership brings all the illustrious book clubs together under one nameBOOKSPAN
Mulders Forms Literary Agency
1/7/04Canada, Kathryn Mulders, who formerly served as group rights director for Random House, UK, and then with The Transatlantic Literary Agency, has formed her own literary agency. Among her clients are Canadian authors John Gould, Maggie de Vries, P.K. Page, and Tim Bowling.
Moir Named Editorial Director at Penguin UK
LONDON/1/8/04Judy Moir has joined Penguin UK as an editor at large. She will work from her home in Scotland to acquire high-quality literary works by Scottish writers. Before joining Penguin, she was editorial director at Canongate.
Weiss Joins Peter Rubie Agency
NEW YORK, NY/1/12/04Jodi Weiss has joined the Peter Rubie Literary Agency after having served as editorial director for The Princeton Review's K-12 Services Group. Her acquisition interets include literary fiction and quirky commercial women's fiction to academic, health and new age.
The Book Sense National Bestseller List Published Wednesday, January 8, 2004 (for sales week ended Sunday, January 4, 2004.) Based on reporting from over 450 independent bookstores across America. Note: The list below includes ISBNs. To download a Word version, please click here: http://www.bookweb.org/docs/bsbl/031223bsbl.doc
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Debuts this Week
The Lady and the Unicorn, by Tracy Chevalier (HF #3, 0525947671) Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman, by Elizabeth Buchan (PF #9, 0142003727) House of Sand and Fog, by Andre Dubus III (PF #11, 1400077354) Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books, by Azar Nafisi (PN #1, 081297106X) The South Beach Diet Good Fats/Good Carbs Counter, by Arthur Agatston, M.D. (PN #3, 1579549586) What Should I Do with My Life?, by Po Bronson (PN #9, 0375758984) Key of Valor, by Nora Roberts (MM #6, 0515136530) A Cold Heart, by Jonathan Kellerman (MM #10, 0345452569) Dinosaurs Before Dark, by Mary Pope Osborne, Sal Murdocca (Illus.) (CI # 10, 0679824111)
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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 Lady and the Unicorn – Debut Tracy Chevalier, Dutton, $23.95, 0525947671
4. The Murder Room P.D. James, Knopf, $25.95, 1400041414
5. Pompeii Robert Harris, Random House, $24.95, 0679428895
6. The Namesake Jhumpa Lahiri, Houghton Mifflin, $24, 0395927218
7. The Time Traveler's Wife Audrey Niffenegger, MacAdam/Cage, $25, 1931561648
8. The Big Bad Wolf James Patterson, Little Brown, $27.95, 0316602906
9. Wolves of the Calla Stephen King, Donald M. Grant/Scribner, $35, 1880418568
10. Trojan Odyssey Clive Cussler, Putnam, $27.95, 0399150803
11. Old School Tobias Wolff, Knopf, $22, 0375401466
12. Bleachers John Grisham, Doubleday, $19.95, 0385511612
13. The Hornet's Nest Jimmy Carter, S&S, $27, 0743255429
14. Skipping Christmas John Grisham, Doubleday, $14.95, 0385508417
15. Blow Fly Patricia Cornwell, Putnam, $26.95, 0399150897
ON THE RISE:
24. The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters Elisabeth Robinson, Little Brown, $23.95, 0316735027
Moving, funny, and insightful, this epistolary novel set in Hollywood is a joy to read.
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. The Purpose-Driven Life Rick Warren, Zondervan, $19.99, 0310205719
5. Bushwhacked Molly Ivins, Lou Dubose, Random House, $24.95, 0375507523
6. The Ultimate Weight Solution Dr. Phillip C. McGraw, Free Press, $26, 0743236742
7. Under the Banner of Heaven Jon Krakauer, Doubleday, $26, 0385509510
8. The World According to Mr. Rogers Fred Rogers, Hyperion, $16.95, 1401301061
9. Living to Tell the Tale Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Knopf, $26.95, 1400041341
10. Benjamin Franklin Walter Isaacson, S&S, $30, 0684807610
11. Schott's Original Miscellany Ben Schott, Bloomsbury, $14.95, 1582343497
12. Franklin and Winston Jon Meacham, Random House, $29.95, 0375505008
13. Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea Thomas Cahill, Nan A. Talese, $27.50, 0385495536
14. Flyboys James Bradley, Little Brown, $25.95, 0316105848
15. The Power of Now Eckhart Tolle, New World, $22.95, 1577311523
ON THE RISE:
42. The Snowflake: Winter's Secret Beauty Kenneth George Libbrecht, Patricia Rasmussen (Photo.), Voyageur, $20, 0896586308
The loveliness of winter, in words and photos.
TRADE PAPERBACK FICTION
1. The Secret Life of Bees Sue Monk Kidd, Penguin, $14, 0142001740
2. Cold Mountain Charles Frazier, Vintage, $14.95, 1400077826
3. Life of Pi Yann Martel, Harvest, $14, 0156027321
4. Middlesex Jeffrey Eugenides, Picador, $15, 0312422156
5. #1 Ladies' Detective Agency Alexander McCall Smith, Anchor, $11.95, 1400034779
6. Girl With a Pearl Earring Tracy Chevalier, Plume, $14, 0452284937
7. Three Junes Julia Glass, Anchor, $14, 0385721420
8. The Piano Tuner Daniel Philippe Mason, Vintage, $14, 1400030382
9. Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman – Debut Elizabeth Buchan, Penguin, $14, 0142003727
10. Tears of the Giraffe Alexander McCall Smith, Anchor, $11.95, 1400031354
11. House of Sand and Fog – Debut Andre Dubus III, Vintage, $14, 1400077354
12. Bel Canto Ann Patchett, Perennial, $13.95, 0060934417
13. Master and Commander Patrick O'Brian, Norton, $13.95, 0393325172
14. The Lord of the Rings J.R.R. Tolkien, Houghton Mifflin, $20, 0618343997
15. The Little Friend Donna Tartt, Vintage, $14.95, 1400031699
ON THE RISE:
24. The Seduction of Water Carol Goodman, Ballantine, $13.95, 0345450914
A 76 Pick in hardcover. The author moves up the Hudson River and through time as the protagonist solves the mysteries of her mother's life.
TRADE PAPERBACK NONFICTION
1. Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books – Debut Azar Nafisi, Random House, $13.95, 081297106X
2. The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2004 World Almanac (Eds.), World Almanac, $11.95, 0886879108
3. The South Beach Diet Good Fats/Good Carbs Counter – Debut Arthur Agatston, M.D., Rodale, $7.99, 1579549586
4. Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling Ross King, Penguin, $15, 0142003697
5. Seabiscuit Laura Hillenbrand, Ballantine, $15.95, 0449005615
6. Tuesdays With Morrie Mitch Albom, Broadway, $12.95, 076790592X
7. Fast Food Nation Eric Schlosser, Perennial, $13.95, 0060938455
8. Bringing Down the House Ben Mezrich, Free Press, $14, 0743249992
9. What Should I Do with My Life? – Debut Po Bronson, Random House, $14.95, 0375758984
10. 1,000 Places to See Before You Die Patricia Schultz, Workman, $18.95, 0761104844
11. The Four Agreements Don Miguel Ruiz, Amber-Allen, $12.95, 1878424319
12. The Old Farmer's Almanac 2004 Old Farmer's Almanac (Ed.), Old Farmer's Almanac, $5.95, 1571982973
13. Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight Alexandra Fuller, Random House, $13.95, 0375758992
14. Nickel and Dimed Barbara Ehrenreich, Owl, $13, 0805063897
15. Small Wonder Barbara Kingsolver, Perennial, $12.95, 0060504080
ON THE RISE:
32. Loving What is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life Byron Katie, Three Rivers, $15, 1400045371 Getting down to "The Work" as a realistic means to self-realization.
MASS MARKET
1. Angels & Demons Dan Brown, Pocket, $7.99, 0671027360
2. The King of Torts John Grisham, Dell, $7.99, 0440241537
3. The Ultimate Weight Solution Food Guide Dr. Phillip C. McGraw., Pocket, $7.99, 0743490398
4. Deception Point Dan Brown, Pocket, $7.99, 0671027387
5. Digital Fortress: A Thriller Dan Brown, St. Martin's, $7.99, 0312995423
6. Key of Valor – Debut Nora Roberts, Jove, $7.99, 0515136530
7. Mystic River Dennis Lehane, HarperTorch, $7.99, 0380731851
8. Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution Robert C. Atkins, M.D., Avon, $7.99, 006001203X
9. Prey Michael Crichton, Avon, $7.99, 0061015725
10. A Cold Heart – Debut Jonathan Kellerman, Ballantine, $7.99, 0345452569
CHILDREN'S FICTION
1. Eragon Christopher Paolini, Knopf, $18.95, 0375826688
2. A Series of Unfortunate Events #10: The Slippery Slope Lemony Snicket, HarperCollins, $10.99, 0064410137
3. The Thief Lord Cornelia Funke, Chicken House, $6.99, 043942089X
4. Inkheart Cornelia Funke, Chicken House, $19.95, 0439531640
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. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Ann Brashares, Delacorte, $8.95, 0385730586
8. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire J.K. Rowling, Scholastic, $8.99, 0439139600
9. Captain Underpants and the Big, Bad Battle of the Bionic Booger Boy, Part 2 Dav Pilkey, Blue Sky, $4.99, 0439376122
10. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban J.K. Rowling, Scholastic, $7.99, 0439136369
11. A Series of Unfortunate Events #1: The Bad Beginning Lemony Snicket, HarperCollins, $10.99, 0064407667
12. The Tale of Despereaux Kate DiCamillo, Candlewick, $17.99, 0763617229
13. The Amulet of Samarkand Jonathan Stroud, Hyperion, $17.95, 078681859X
14. Artemis Fowl Eoin Colfer, Hyperion, $6.99, 0786817070
15. 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
CHILDREN'S ILLUSTRATED
1. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Robert Sabuda (Illus.), Lewis Carroll, S&S, $24.95, 0689847432
2. Olivia . . . and the Missing Toy Ian Falconer, Atheneum, $16.95, 0689852916
3. Henry Climbs a Mountain D.B. Johnson, Houghton Mifflin, $15, 0618269029
4. The Polar Express Chris Van Allsburg, Houghton Mifflin, $18.95, 0395389496
5. Goodnight Moon Margaret Wise Brown, Clement Hurd (Illus.), HarperCollins, $7.99, 0694003611
6. Diary of a Worm Doreen Cronin, Harry Bliss (Illus.), Joanna Cotler/ HarperCollins, $15.99, 006000150X
7. How I Became a Pirate Melinda Long, David Shannon (Illus.), Harcourt, $16, 0152018484
8. Walter the Farting Dog William Kotzwinkle, Glenn Murray, Audrey Colman (Illus.), Frog, $15.95, 1583940537
9. Stranger in the Woods Carl R. Sams II, Jean Stoick, Carl R. Sams II Photography, $19.95, 0967174805
10. Lyra's Oxford Philip Pullman, John Lawrence (Illus.), Knopf, $10.95, 0375828192
11. The Night Before Christmas Pop-Up Robert Sabuda (Illus.), Clement Clarke Moore, S&S, $24.95, 0689838999
12. Dragonology Ernest Drake, Helen Ward (Illus.), Douglas Carrel (Illus.), Candlewick, $18.99, 0763623296
13. The English Roses Madonna, Jeffrey Fulvimari (Illus.), Penguin, $19.95, 0670036781
14. Dinosaurs Before Dark – Debut Mary Pope Osborne, Sal Murdocca (Illus.), Random House, $3.99, 0679824111
15. The Very Hungry Caterpillar Eric Carle, Putnam, $9.99, 0399226907
ON THE RISE:
32. Mosque David Macaulay, Houghton Mifflin, $18, 0618240349
The newest subject for this children's architectural de-constructionist is a mosque in 16th-century Istanbul.
May We Recommend
Hardcover
RETRIBUTION, by Jilliane Hoffman (Putnam, $24.95, 0399151273) "This first novel is a fantastic legal suspense tale from a former Florida states attorney. I hope Hoffman follows up with more books featuring C.J. Townsend!" Joseph Biernat, Hudson Valley Book Stop, Kingston, NY Also a Putnam Berkley Audio (039915129X, Abridged CD)
HIDING THE ELEPHANT: How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learned to Disappear, by Jim Steinmeyer (Carroll & Graf, $26, 0786712260) "Jim Steinmeyer is a renaissance man: historian, writer, Disney Imagineer, television producer, and one of the foremost designers of illusion in the past century. Here, he reveals tightly kept magical secrets while spinning a wonderful and compulsively readable tale about how Houdini made an elephant vanish, and how magicians learned to disappear." Erik Hemming, University Book Store, Madison, WI
Paperback
FAT GIRLS AND LAWN CHAIRS, by Cheryl Peck (Warner, $12.95, 0446692298) "It took me about three pages to fall in love with Peck's voice: self-deprecating yet confident, and funny beyond imagining. Ten pages later, I realized she was willing to drive this voice into country few comic writers are willing to explore. Peck's personal essays are the real thing, the work of a woman who has come to terms with herself in a way that few of us do." Paul Ingram, Prairie Lights Books, Iowa City, IA
For Children
(Ages 4 to 8) SKIPPYJON JONES, by Judy Schachner (Dutton, $15.99, 0525471340) "Any cat who creates a Chihuahua alter ego for himself, complete with costume, theme song, and parallel universe gets our vote. He gets the job done, yes indeed-o!" Jessica Bryant, Bound to Be Read, Albuquerque, NM
(Ages 9 to 12) THE CONCH BEARER, by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (Roaring Brook, $16.95, 0761319352) "An unlikely group wends its way across India from Kolkata to the great Himalayas, in a race against time to save themselves and all of mankind from evil and destruction. A first-rate fantasy with valuable lessons about friendship, family, and loyalty." Sarah Parker, Scott's Bookstore, Mount Vernon, WA Also a Listening Library Audio (0807219592)
