(View entire post here)

Author John Lanchester has been chosen as the recipient of the E.M. Forster Award, given by the American Academy of Arts & Letters. The prize, worth $20,000, is given to a young writer from the United Kingdom or Ireland for a stay in the United States. His most recent book, Family Romance: A Love Story, was published last year in hardcover by Putnam and the trade paperback edition is currently available from Penguin.

The awards will be presented in New York in May at the Academy's annual Ceremonial. The literature prizes honor both established and emerging writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. The Academy's 250 members nominate candidates, and a rotating committee of writers selects the winners.

Monica Seles to Pen Memoir for Avery

Avery has acquired world rights to a new memoir by tennis icon Monica Seles, scheduled to be published in March 2009. In this inspiring and revealing memoir, Seles will explore her remarkable journey of brilliant tennis, fame, tragedy, loss and self-discovery. After years of having every aspect of her training, diet and life dictated and scrutinized by others, Monica took control, deciding what she wanted from life and set out to obtain it. Cutting through the fog of sadness, fear and frustration that made Seles overweight and unhappy, today she looks and feels better than ever and has created a life in balance. Seles is currently part of the cast of the sixth season of ABC-TV's hit show, "Dancing with the Stars."

(View entire post here)

All you out there reading this, if you want to meet the wonderful editors (that would be us!) who bring you all the wonderful Ace and Roc books, here's where we will be this year:

New York ComicCon April 18-20, Javits Center, New York, New York. There will be a booth and there will be Anne Sowards, Ginjer Buchanan and Jessica Wade, wandering about...

The Nebulas, April 25^th-27^th, Austin, Texas. Anne Sowards will be there to cheer on our two nominees, Joe Haldeman and Jack McDevitt!

Malice Domestic, April 25^th-27^th Arlington, Virginia. Malice is one of the major mystery conventions and our own Charlaine Harris is the GOH this year. Her editor, Ginjer Buchanan, will be in attendance, too.

San Diego Comic-Con, July 24^th-27^th, San Diego, California. Penguin (Ace and Roc's corporate parent) will be partnering with specialty bookstore Mysterious Galaxy again, we will have a booth, and Anne Sowards will be handing out this year's Ace/Roc sampler!

(View entire post here)

I'm getting very keyed-up about my forthcoming trip to the States to publicise the paperback version of No! I Don't Want to Join a Bookclub. One moment I can't wait to get out there, looking forward to meeting new people and seeing new cities. The next, I'm dreading it, imagining long lonely mornings sitting in a Holiday Inn bedroom with nothing to entertain me except a Gideon Bible and a thousand rubbish television channels. Followed by long waits at airports where I am frisked from top to toe in case I'm a terrorist. Interspersed with the odd talk at a bookshop to which no one turns up except a couple of stony-faced old ducks of ninety with sticks and frowns. Very worried about what I Can and Cannot Say, too. Can I use the F word (I only want to use it once)? Can I mention death as something to look forward to? I have this very ridiculous stereotypical view of all Americans as being very warm, generous, open, but also all being evangelical Christians and very disapproving underneath. I am just so longing to be proved wrong.

And will everyone say: "Have a nice day"? I think it was a rather sour Englishman who would reply: "Thank you, but I have other plans." I feel like a terrified child who's been asked to a party and whose mother keeps saying: "But it'll be lovely once you get there." Which I'm pretty certain it will. But it doesn't stop me hanging back, trembling with anxiety.