MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
November 19 – November 26, 2009 Edition
Top Penguin Authors Recommend Books for Holidays
NEW YORK, NY/AUTHORLINK NEWS/11/17/09–Penguin Group (USA) has launched the second annual “What to Give & What to Get,” an opportunity for readers to find out what books are on their favorite writers’ holiday gift lists this year – both to give and to receive. Over forty beloved Penguin Group (USA) authors have shared the books that rank at the top of their lists for the 2009 gift-giving season, ranging from classic to current, fiction to nonfiction, adult to children’s, and from any publisher, to help spread the word that books make the perfect gift.
The “What to Give & What to Get” program includes many anecdotes from authors who have shared the books that have personal meaning to them and their loved ones: Elizabeth Gilbert comments that she is planning a “19th-century literature bender” in 2010, with books by George Eliot and Anthony Trollope topping her wish-list. Patricia Cornwell plans to give Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick, the book that inspired her visit to Graceland, and thinks Mike Lupica’s Million Dollar Throw “would be a great gift for a young person.” Sue Grafton will be giving Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink and The Outliers. Sue Monk Kidd would like to receive The Help by Kathryn Stockett – who in turn wants to give David Benioff’s City of Thieves. Jan Karon will give Brenda Ueland’s If You Want to Write to the aspiring writers on her gift-list. Jan Brett plans to give Born to Run by Christopher McDougall to family members that share her love for long-distance running. Geraldine Brooks will be sharing Jerry Pinkney’s The Lion and the Mouse with the young children on her list. Robert Crais will channel his “foodie” side and Southern background by giving My New Orleans by John Besh to his friends and loved ones. Mike Lupica hopes to get Spooner by Pete Dexter, who, in his opinion, “is always worth the wait.”
Jeff Gomez, Senior Director, Online Consumer Sales and Marketing, Penguin Group (USA), comments: “Last year’s inaugural ‘What to Give & What to Get’ program was met with a very enthusiastic response from readers and booksellers, and we’re happy to be able to share even more of our authors’ favorite books this year. Our hope is that readers everywhere will be inspired by our authors’ selections and begin to think about their own holiday gift choices.”
New to the program this year are videos featuring New York Times-bestselling authors Nick Hornby, Kate Jacobs, Robert B. Parker and Frank Bruni, who all share their favorite books in special video messages. In addition, the 2009 “What to Give & What to Get” webpage enables readers to e-mail and share their favorite authors’ suggestions with their friends and loved ones through a number of online and social networking applications, including Facebook, Twitter, Digg, and Delicious, among others.
The full list of New York Times bestselling and award-winning authors that comprise this year’s “What to Give & What to Get” program include: Patricia Cornwell; Elizabeth Gilbert; Sue Grafton; John Sandford; Jan Karon; Nick Hornby; Geraldine Brooks; Stuart Woods; Sue Monk Kidd; Ann Kidd Taylor; Jan Brett; Robert B. Parker; Robert Crais; Kate Jacobs; Kathryn Stockett; Chang-rae Lee; Sarah Waters; C.J. Box; T. Jefferson Parker; Mike Lupica; Sarah Dessen; Stewart O’Nan; Tana French; Janice Y.K. Lee; Mark Kurlansky; Leonard Maltin; Rafe Esquith; Craig Johnson; Frank Bruni; Jonathan Tropper; Antony Beevor; Reif Larsen; Ron Currie, Jr.; Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein; Mehmet Mura Somer; Sophie Hannah; Laura Shapiro; John Green; Ace Atkins; Randa Jarrar; Ceridwen Dovey; and Vicki Robin.
To view the entire list of author recommendations, click here.
Penguin Group (USA) Inc. is the U.S. member of the internationally renowned Penguin Group. Penguin Group (USA) is one of the leading U.S. adult and children’s trade book publishers, owning a wide range of imprints and trademarks, including Viking, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, The Penguin Press, Riverhead Books, Dutton, Penguin Books, Berkley Books, Gotham Books, Portfolio, New American Library, Plume, Tarcher, Philomel, Grosset & Dunlap, Puffin, and Frederick Warne, among others. The Penguin Group is part of Pearson plc, the international media company.
