Author Events, Awards, and Media, Penguin Group (USA) Weekly Update - 6/8

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Penguin Group (USA) Generates Big Buzz at BEA 2009 

Expanding on last week's Spotlight coverage, Penguin Group (USA) had a strong presence at BookExpo America 2009, held this past weekend at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. The Penguin Group (USA) BEA booth, which included blow-ups promoting many of the house's big fall titles, was constantly buzzing with activity, as booksellers, librarians and members of the press flowed through and lingered.  On Friday morning, lines wrapped around the Penguin booth to get a signed galley of Level 26 from Dutton author Anthony Zuiker while a powerful and chilling video preview of his "digi-novel" played on a 50-inch plasma TV screen. Friday afternoon, Three Cups of Tea author Greg Mortenson (pictured here with Viking publisher Paul Slovak) drew a huge crowd and signed adult and young readers editions for an endless line of BEA attendees.  Other galley giveaways in the Penguin booth included the highly anticipated Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby (Riverhead), Lev Grossman's The Magicians (Viking) and Jonathan Tropper's This is Where I Leave You (Dutton) - which got a double-dose of attention as Dutton Senior Editor Ben Sevier touted the title at the BEA Editors Buzz Forum, then the author participated in the Authors of the Editors Buzz Forum reading and discussion. Riverhead author Steven Johnson, Viking author Lev Grossman and Penguin Editor-in-Chief/Associate Publisher Stephen Morrison also were part of fascinating BEA panels on Friday.

The high-profile Saturday BEA Book & Author Luncheon was very much a Penguin Group affair. The lunch began with Penguin Group (USA) sales rep Tom Benton receiving the Publishers Weekly Sales Rep of the Year Award, with his family, Penguin colleagues, and more than 600 booksellers, librarians, media and publishing professionals applauding this well-deserved honor. Luncheon Master of Ceremonies Ken Auletta gave a sneak preview of this upcoming Penguin Press book, Googled: The End of the World as We Know It, then Dan Pink talked about the stories behind his next Riverhead book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Truly Motivates Us. And while Mary Karr concentrated mostly on her upcoming HarperCollins book, Lit, she also referenced two of her acclaimed backlist titles, The Liars Club and Cherry, both of which Penguin publishes.

David Shanks and Susan Petersen Kennedy spent a great deal of time on Friday and Saturday meeting with the press corps, which resulted in Penguin Group (USA) being prominently positioned in key stories on BEA in USA Today, The New York Times, The Associated Press, Reuters, Publishers Weekly, Publishers Lunch, and other publications.

 

Penguin Young Readers Group Authors Make Big Impressions at BEA 

Penguin Young Readers Group author Tomie dePaola (pictured here with author Jan Brett) kicked off BEA early on Friday as a featured speaker at this year's CBC Breakfast, alongside MC Julie Andrews, Meg Cabot and Amy Krouse Rosenthal. After regaling the crowd with his own version of "The Sound of Music," dePaola drew a large crowd of fans as he signed posters for the newest Strega Nona picture book, Strega Nona's Harvest (G.P. Putnam's Sons / October). Gayle Forman, the mastermind behind If I Stay signed copies of the recent New York Times bestseller for a long line of hungry fans in the Penguin booth. Animal and comic strip lovers lined up for Berkeley Breathed's signing of Flawed Dogs (Philomel / September), a new chapter book about a gang of hard-luck mutts who storm the Westminster Dog Show. Jan Brett had a constant line of fans patiently wait for signed Jan Brett bags and copies of the 20th Anniversary edition of The Mitten (G. P. Putnam's Sons / October).  And Mike Lupica had his audience in stitches after his keynote speech about his upcoming novel Million Dollar Throw (Philomel / November) at this year's ABC Not-a-Dinner.  

Kristin Cashore, author of the highly-anticipated novel Fire (Dial / October), a companion to last year's much-loved Graceling, proved she is one of the industry's brightest new stars. Not only were both of Cashore's autographings huge hits, booksellers across the country were begging to have her on tour. Gennifer Choldenko thrilled fans of the Newbery Honor book, Al Capone Does My Shirts, when she signed copies of the long-awaited sequel, Al Capone Shines My Shoes (Dial / September). Mike Rex, the mastermind behind last year's #1 bestseller Goodnight Goon (G. P. Putnam's Sons) entertained a line as long as Jan Brett's for his upcoming parody, Runaway Mummy (G. P. Putnam's Sons / August). Rex also joined Josh Lieb, Executive Producer of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and debut author of I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Young Class President (Razorbill / October), for a busy hour of "Speed Dating" with booksellers. At the end of the event, Lieb's irreverent novel was the talk of the hall. And Sarah Dessen, author of the upcoming Along for the Ride (Viking / June 16), charmed hundreds of devotees, many of whom were shaking with excitement over meeting the #1 New York Times bestselling teen lit star.

 

Media Selects Nick Hornby's Juliet, Naked as One of the "Buzz" Books at BEA 

Members of the media who regularly cover the book industry were asked by BEA convention officials this year to submit their favorite buzz book of the show. According to Lance Fensterman, BEA's VP and Show Manager, Nick Hornby's upcoming Riverhead novel, Juliet, Naked, was among the nine books the press deemed "their favorite" of the countless titles presented at BEA.  

 

 

 Penguin Group Employees to Walk Around the World In Support of "Plant A Billion Trees" on World Environment Day 

A team of 1,000 Penguin Group employees from its offices around the world will walk along the Great Wall of China in Beijing, through the Royal Parks in London, and along the Hudson River in New York City today as part of the 2009 Penguin Global Walk. Starting in Auckland, New Zealand, Penguin people will walk around the clock, in Melbourne, Australia; Beijing, China; Delhi, India; Johannesburg, South Africa; London, England; Dublin, Ireland; New York, New York; and Toronto, Canada. The sponsored walk will raise funds for the Nature Conservancy's and United Nations Environmental Program's "Plant a Billion Trees" initiative.

Even as you read this, over 250 Penguin Group (USA) New York employees are gathering this morning at the 375 Hudson Street offices to commence a 4K walk down the Hudson River through Battery Park. Be sure to check out next week's Spotlight for photos and highlights

Blonde Roots by Bernadine Evaristo Is Orange Prize Youth Panel Winner 

Blonde Roots by Bernadine Evaristo (published by Riverhead in the US and Hamish Hamilton in the UK) has been selected by the six members of the Orange Prize Youth Panel as their overall winner. The panel, three girls and three boys recruited from the teenage website, spinebreakers.co.uk, to raise awareness for the Orange Prize, read the 20 books longlisted for the 2009 Orange Prize before meeting to choose their shortlist of six. The members have also been sharing their experiences of judging a book prize publicly online at Spinebreakers since they began reading in March. The group decided their overall winner, Blonde Roots, at a meeting facilitated by Kate Mosse, Putnam/Berkley author and Honorary Director of the Orange Prize.

Evaristo said, "This is such a lovely surprise, and I'm absolutely delighted to receive this recognition for Blonde Roots. It's also a great new Orange Prize initiative to embrace and encourage the readers of the future."

The Orange Prize for Fiction is the UK's only annual book award for international fiction written by a woman. Now in its fourteenth year, the Prize celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women's writing from throughout the world and is awarded for the best novel of the year written by a woman.

Moustafa Bayoumi’s How Does it Feel to be A Problem? Wins 2008 Arab American Book Award 

How Does it Feel to be a Problem? by Moustafa Bayoumi (Penguin) has won the 2008 Arab American Book Award for Nonfiction, given out by the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, MI.

The Arab American Book Award encourages the publication and excellence of books that preserve and advance the understanding, knowledge, and resources of the Arab American community by celebrating the thoughts and lives of Arab Americans. The purpose of the Award is to inspire authors, educate readers and foster a respect and understanding of the Arab American culture.

To read more about the award, click here.

Read this interview with author Moustafa Bayoumi.

Impossible Receives Massachusetts Book Award Honor


Impossible by Nancy Werlin (Dial) has been named a 2009 Massachusetts Book Award Honor Book. Each year, the Massachusetts Book Awards, sponsored by the MA Center for the Book, recognize significant achievements in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, and children's literature. To be eligible, books must have been written by authors who currently live and work in Massachusetts or must present topics of particular and specific importance to the Commonwealth regardless of their author's residency.

Read an excerpt from the first chapter of Impossible.
 

 

Major Pre-Publication Buzz for Level 26 by Anthony Zuiker, Visionary Creator of CSI

Publishing in the digital age dominated talk at BEA this past weekend, and Dutton's Anthony Zuiker was at the forefront.  USA Today featured Level 26 before BEA on the front page of the Life section (Level 26 Marks Origin of ‘Digi Novel'), and after BEA as one of the books to watch with its own category, multimedia.  Zuiker signed 500 books in the Penguin Booth, with a line that had to be cut off after an hour.  The book was also featured in PW's BEA Show Daily and on lots of major bookseller and librarian blogs.  

Level 26 has continued to evolve and now has a cover and illustrations throughout from renowned designer Marc Ecko.  Next up for Anthony Zuiker will be a major panel at ComicCon where he will be giving away a limited quantity of ARC's and Marc Ecko designed tee-shirts!  

Also just announced, actor John Glover will be recording the audio version of Level 26.  John Glover's many Broadway credits include Waiting for Godot, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Love! Valour! Compassion! He has received five Emmy Award nominations for his work on television and can be seen in numerous films including Payback, Batman and Robin, Julia and Annie Hall.

Penguin Canada Author Alice Munro wins 2009 Man Booker International Prize

 

Penguin Group (Canada) author Alice Munro has won the third Man Booker International Prize. The prize, worth £60,000, is the international version of the UK's Man Booker Prize and is awarded once every two years to an author for a body of work with outstanding international impact.

The judging panel said: "Alice Munro is mostly known as a short story writer and yet she brings as much depth, wisdom and precision to every story as most novelists bring to a lifetime of novels. To read Alice Munro is to learn something every time that you never thought of before."

Originally from the small southwestern Ontario community of Wingham, Munro has garnered praise for her tales of women living in small towns. She is a three-time Governor General's Award winner, a two-time Giller Prize winner and was also nominated for the international Booker in 2007.
 

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