(View entire post here)

Penguin Group (USA) Owns The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Bestseller List for the Week of November 11th

Penguin Group (USA) holds an impressive six out of 16 slots on this week's New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list — nearly 40% of the titles are ours — including the #1 position, where Patricia Cornwell has debuted with her newest Kay Scarpetta novel, Book of the Dead.

The other Penguin Group (USA) titles on The New York Times hardcover fiction list include World Without End by Ken Follett (Dutton) at #4 in its third week; A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) at #7 in its 23rd week; Dark of the Moon by John Sandford (G. P. Putnam's Sons) at #9 in its fourth week; and Shoot Him If He Runs by Stuart Woods (G. P. Putnam's Sons) at #16 in its fifth week.

Junot Díaz Wins 2007 John Sargent Sr. First Novel Prize

Riverhead author Junot Díaz, with his acclaimed novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, was named the winner of the 2007 John Sargent Sr. First Novel Prize by the Mercantile Library Center for Fiction. The award was presented on Monday, October 29th at The Mercantile Library Center for Fiction's Annual Benefit and Awards Dinner in New York City.

This is the second year in a row that a Penguin Group (USA) author has won this award. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl (Viking Penguin) won the 2006 John Sargent Sr. First Novel Prize in its inaugural year. The Sargent Prize, which includes a $10,000 cash award, was created by the Mercantile Library Center as part of its mission to promote the art of fiction in the United States, in recognition of John Sargent Sr.'s lifetime of reading and distinguished work as President and CEO of Doubleday and Company for many years.