Author Events and Media, Penguin Group (USA) Weekly Update - 9/14

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Gotham Author Michael Gates Gill Strikes a Positive Chord at Freshman Convocation

Michael Gates Gill, the son of a famous journalist (Brendan Gill of New Yorker fame), had it all: a beautiful family, a high-powered, high-paying Ad-Exec job, a mansion in the suburbs, perfect health, and a six-figure salary. At age 63, he then lost it all: he was divorced from his wife, estranged from his kids, downsized from his job, and even diagnosed with a brain tumor. His bestselling Gotham book, How Starbucks Saved My Life, talks about what happened next: he got a job at Starbucks. Being a barista gave him a new perspective on life in every way possible, and taught him a lesson that’s all too easily forgotten: one can always begin anew.

Recently Gill spoke about How Starbucks Saved My Life at Middle Tennessee State University, where his book was selected as assigned summer reading for the incoming class of nearly 4,000 freshmen. Speaking to about 5,000 new undergrads overall at convocation, Gill found his book practically everywhere on campus: on T-shirts, posters, and more. Above all, though, Gill enjoyed hearing feedback straight from fans of all ages: from teenagers, to fathers and sons, to entire families (one family remarked that it was their “summer read” for the beach).

Michael Gates Gill talks about his book and working for Starbucks in this podcast, as well as in this video.
 

Viking/ Plume Author David Benioff Featured at Groton Public Library’s One Book, One Region Celebration Event

Groton Public Library’s 2009 “One Book, One Region” selection for 2009 is New York Times bestselling novelist David Benioff's World War II coming-of-age story, City of Thieves. A host of programs this past summer, including special speakers, films, book discussions, and a family scavenger hunt, focused on themes from the book. This week, Benioff himself will participate in the celebration with speaking events at Waterford High School, Norwich Free Academy and Connecticut College.

Read an excerpt from City of Thieves and listen to a podcast with David Benioff.
 

Festival Shines Spotlight on Steinbeck’s The Acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights, and #1 Bestselling YA Author Christopher Paolini, Who Wrote the Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition Foreword

The 29th annual Steinbeck Festival, “Legends, Myth and Magic,” featured #1 New York Times bestselling author and award winner, Christopher Paolini, who wrote the forword to a new edition of John Steinbeck’s only work of fantasy literature, The Acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights. The festival, held annually in Salinas, CA, focused this year on Steinbeck’s life-long passion for King Arthur and coincided with the recent Penguin Classics Deluxe edition paperback release of John Steinbeck’s, The Acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights.

Paolini is pictured here signing copies of The Acts of King Arthur and his Noble Knights for fans at the festival.
 

More Great Media for Hudson Street Press’ Why Our Health Matters and The Meaning of Matthew 

On sale this week from Hudson Street Press, Andrew Weil M.D.'s Why Our Health Matters: A Vision of Medicine That Can Transform Our Future examines the current state of crisis of the U.S. health care system and provides a solution to make healthcare affordable, and put each of us on the road to optimum health. National media this week includes a live appearance on “Larry King,” and an interview with USA Weekend scheduled to run in the October 4th issue.

Judy Shepard's touching story of the life and death of Matthew Shepard, The Meaning of Matthew: My Son's Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed is on sale this week from Hudson Street Press. A stellar line-up of national media attention this week includes USA Today, People Magazine and Entertainment Weekly, which gave it an "A" rating and inclusion on their "The Must List." A CBS "Early Show" interview with Judy aired this morning.

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

Nami Mun’s Miles from Nowhere Selected as One of Booklist’s Top 10 First Novels 

Miles from Nowhere by Nami Mun (Riverhead), which received a starred review by Booklist last year, was selected as one of their top 10 First Novels. The full list will be featured in their Spotlight issue on October 15th. Previous PGI titles on the Top 10 First Novels list include: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (Riverhead) and Petropolis by Anya Ulinich (Viking).

Read an interview with Nami Mun.

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