Author Events and Media - Penguin Group (USA) Weekly Update 10/3

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The 2009 National Book Festival Draws Record Crowd

The 2009 National Book Festival, which took place last weekend in Washington DC, was a major success, drawing a record number of attendees, with over 130,000 booklovers making it out to the National Mall, despite rainy weather.

Fifteen authors from Penguin Group (USA) participated this year, and all drew packed crowds for their presentations in the various pavilions on the National Mall on Saturday. Haynes Johnson/ Dan Balz (Viking/Penguin); Sue Monk Kidd/ Ann Kidd Taylor (Viking/Penguin); Junot Diaz (Riverhead); Daniel Silva (Putnam); Walter Mosley (Riverhead); Mark Kurlansky (Riverhead); Margaret Coel (Berkley); Craig Johnson (Viking/Penguin); and Ricky Minor (Gotham), as well as Penguin Young Readers Group authors Jon Sciezka; Jacqueline Woodson; Stephen Kellogg; and Nikki Grimes, all greeted hundreds of fans who braved the rain to hear their talks. In addition, Junot Diaz was a big hit as a featured headlining author at the festival's kick-off breakfast, hosted by the Washington Post, on Saturday morning, prior to the festival.

The Penguin Group (USA) booth area was constantly busy with readers of all ages who turned out to take photos with the Penguin and the Very Hungry Caterpillar, grab free Penguin Young Readers books and participate in a variety of book-related arts-and-crafts projects. Pictured here is Dr. James H. Billington, the Librarian of Congress, who stopped by the booth for an impromptu dance party with the Penguin.

Click here to view a slideshow of photos from the event.
 

Penguin Young Readers' Eric Carle to Kick Off 2009 Read for the Record Campaign on "The Today Show" with The Very Hungry Caterpillar 

Jumpstart, in partnership with Pearson, will celebrate the fourth annual Read for the Record campaign next week in an effort to raise awareness about the importance of early literacy. Penguin Young Readers Group published a custom edition of Eric Carle’s classic, The Very Hungry Caterpillar for the 2009 campaign. WalMart is this year’s official retail partner, and is currently selling the special campaign edition at 3,300 stores across the U.S.

In support of the campaign, Eric Carle will ring the Closing Bell at the New York Stock Exchange on October 7th. On October 8th, Jumpstart’s Read for the Record will attempt to break its own record as adults read the same book on the same day to more than one million children across the country. NBC’s "Today Show" will launch the nationwide read with a segment featuring Eric Carle, Mary Louise-Parker and LL Cool J reading to a group of pre-school children. Later that morning, The New York Public Library main branch will host a press conference and conduct a series of readings to young children. Read for the Record events will also be hosted in the San Francisco, Chicago, Atlanta, Washington DC, and Los Angeles.

As part of Read for the Record, Jumpstart will also donate more than 250,000 copies of the official campaign book to children in low-income communities. In addition, the campaign raises funding to support Jumpstart’s yearlong work with preschool children in low-income communities where Jumpstart is working toward the day all children enter school prepared to succeed.

Visit our feature page for The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
 

Patricia Cornwell and Nick Hornby to be Part of the New York Times Great Literary Conversation this Sunday, October 4th 

Two of our bestselling authors, Patricia Cornwell (Scarpetta and the upcoming The Scarpetta Factor) and Nick Hornby (Juliet, Naked), will participate along with three other authors in the prestigious New York Times,’ “The Great Literary Conversation” in New York City this Sunday, October 4th at TimesCenter. This is a major annual literary event, where these authors will be discussing their new books and their unique approaches to writing to a sold out crowd of almost 400 people.
 

Major Media and Publicity for the Launch of Nick Hornby’s Highly Anticipated Juliet, Naked 

It was standing room only in New York at Nick Hornby's launch event for his new Riverhead book Juliet, Naked at the Barnes & Noble in Union Square on Tuesday 9/29 (pictured).

Hornby’s earliest books – particularly the novels High Fidelity and About a Boy, along with the memoir Fever Pitch – have solidified Nick’s fan base, and drew in more than 600 of his devotees to the event. With seats filled Nick got laughs from the crowd as he read from his highly anticipated novel about Tucker Crowe, a reclusive American singer-songwriter who lapsed into reclusiveness in the 1980’s.

Nick did a full day of media while in New York, including taping “Fresh Air,” and interviews with CNN.com, Reuters (TV, print and on-line), “First Look” / LX-TV, and “Leonard Lopate” to name a few.

Juliet, Naked has been included in Parade’s “Parade Picks,” and was part of The Daily Beast’s “This Week’s Hot Reads.” Reviewers praise Hornby’s new book. According to the Wall Street Journal “Juliet, Naked is a rich and perceptive novel, with a keen sense of the lives led by the trio at its core.” NPR.org writes: “This is what Hornby does, he does it well, and he's done it again.” Janet Maslin wrote a positive review in the New York Times, and wonderful features can be seen in the Boston Herald, Flavorpill and Gothamist.com.

View our Music Feature to read excerpts from both Juliet, Naked and An Education, and watch a video interview with Nick Hornby.
 

Rap Artist Jay-Z Picks Homer’s The Odyssey and Seth Godin’s Purple Cow as Two of Six Books that “Made a Difference”

In the October issue of O magazine, rapper Jay-Z shares six books that made a difference in his life. Among them are two Penguin titles: Homer’s The Odyssey (Penguin Classics); and Purple Cow by Seth Godin (Portfolio).

Jay-Z says about The Odyssey: "This epic poem was kind of difficult for me to get through, but it has a beautiful rhythm. I got lost in reading about Odysseus' struggle to get home and his longing for someone so strong, as his wife was, waiting for him. That’s like a dream – that kind of strength, love, loyalty.”

About Purple Cow, Jay-Z comments: “This is straight marketing advice: Your product has to be a purple cow – it has to be distinct in order to have any success. You have to be clear about your product, “What are you? What are you putting out there?” For years I never did an ad for [my company] Rocawear, because I cared more about the quality than the face in front. I hadn’t read this book back then, but when someone puts words to feelings you have, it’s like “Wow, that’s exactly what this is.”

To read the full article, click here.

Read an excerpt from Homer’s The Odyssey and listen to an audio excerpt from Seth Godin’s Purple Cow.
 

Plume’s How to Survive the End of the World Shoots Up to #4 on Amazon.com

How To Survive The End of The World: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies For Uncertain Times by James Wesley Rawles was published this past Wednesday by Plume and immediately shot up to #4 on Amazon. Survivalist expert James Wesley, Rawles is the founder of SurvivalBlog.com and this new book is the definitive guide on how to prepare for any crisis—from global financial collapse to a Swine flu pandemic. Rawles planned 9/30 as his “book bomb” date for which he encouraged all the thousands of subscribers of Survivalblog.com to purchase the book. A Twitter campaign also coincided with the release date. Additional publicity next week includes an interview with Laura Ingraham on Monday, October 5th and a 20-city radio satellite tour on Friday, October 9th.

Read an excerpt from How to Survive The End of The World.
 

Hudson Street Press’ Why Our Health Matters and DK’s Bed in a Tree Both Featured in USA Today 

Andrew Weil M.D.'s examination of the current state of crisis of the U.S. health care system, Why Our Health Matters: A Vision Of Medicine That Can Transform Our Future, continues to draw national media attention. Be sure to check out this Sunday’s USA Weekend, to see a feature story on the book.

In addition, DK’s Bed in a Tree was featured in USA Today as part of their “10 Great” series. Quotes from author Bettina Kowalewski, along with numerous photos, bring the piece to life. To check it out, click here.

Read the first chapter of Why Our Health Matters in The Publisher’s Office Reading Room.