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Another American Library Association (ALA) annual conference has come and gone. This year the librarians of America got to live it up in the nation's capital. While the librarians were sipping free champagne, schmoozing, learning how to keep their libraries current, and getting books signed, many Penguin authors were hard at work in the Penguin booth trying to get their books out to the masses and we've got video evidence to prove it!

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Penguin Group (USA) Has Major Presence at ALA Conference

Penguin Group (USA) had a major presence at the annual American Library Association conference in Washington DC, where 20,000 librarians converged this past weekend. The Penguin booth was packed throughout the conference with enthusiastic librarians who browsed and purchased display copies, snapped up galleys and promotional items, stood on long lines to meet signing authors, and did their best to avoid the 100 degree temperatures outside the convention center. The Academic Sales & Marketing team of Alan Walker, Dominique Jenkins, Tanya Leet, Sara Clemens and Kym Giacoppe was joined at the booth by Howard Wall and Joe Johnson from the PGI Sales division. The We Give Books program was also introduced to the library community, with the newest batch of live in-booth readers helping to push the running book donation total to over 12,000 by the end of the conference.  

As always, Penguin authors were the stars of the show: Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter Ann Kidd Taylor, Dave Isay and Junot Diaz all brought in big crowds as part of ALA's keynote auditorium speaker series. PGI authors were featured on every themed ALTAFF panel: Madeline Hunter, author of Ravishing in Red (Jove) in the Romance panel; Dwayne Betts, author of A Question of Freedom (Avery) (pictured here) and Randa Jarrar, author of A Map of Home (Penguin), both on the Diversity panel; Jean Kwok, author of Girl in Translation (Riverhead) on the First Authors panel; Jim Breuer, author of I'm Not High (Gotham) and Julie Klausner, author of I Don't Care About Your Band (Gotham) on the Humor panel; and Sophie Hannah, author of The Dead Lie Down (Penguin) at the ALTAFF Tea. Laney Salisbury, author of Provenance (Penguin Press), gave a great talk as part of ALA's prestigious Notable Books Breakfast, and Ann B. Ross' Miss Julia Renews Her Vows (Viking), Vicki Myron's Dewey's Nine Lives (Dutton), Sarah Blake's The Postmistress (Amy Einhorn/Putnam), Maggie Sefton's Skein of the Crime (Berkley) and Peter Bognanni's The House of Tomorrow (Amy Einhorn/Putnam) all made appearances at the booth for well-attended signings.

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Several Penguin Authors Set to "Thrill" the Audience at Thrillerfest 2010

International Thriller Writers' Thrillerfest 2010, a four–day celebration of thriller novels and the authors behind them, will take place July 7th – 10th at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in NYC. The event will include panel discussions with the industry's top authors in the genre, cocktail parties, banquets, and book signings. This year, Penguin authors take four of the eight honored 'special guest' spots at the event:

• Ken Follett bestselling author of Pillars of the Earth and the upcoming Fall of Giants (Dutton), – Thillermaster 2010
• Mark Bowde bestselling author of Killing Pablo and Road Work (Penguin) – 2010 True Thriller Award recipient
• Linda Fairstein bestselling author of Hell Gate (Dutton) – 2010 Silver bullet award
• Harlan Coben bestselling author of Caught (Dutton) – Spotlight Guest

These authors will be featured in special presentations where they will be interviewed by fellow authors. Follett, Bowde, and Fairstein will also be presented with their awards at the fifth annual Thriller Awards Banquet on Saturday night.

Putnam author Clive Cussler, an original member and supporter of Thrillerfest, will be featured on a special panel titled, "Inside the Thrillermasters Mind." In addition, many Penguin authors will be included in panel discussions throughout the weekend: Raymond Khoury, Chris Kuzneski, Meg Gardiner, Karen Harper, John Lescroart, Jennifer Allison, A.J. Hartley, Ridley Pearson, Christopher Golden, Sandi Ault, CJ Lyons, David Salkin, Grant Blackwood, Paul Kemprecos, Karen Dionne, Rebecca York, and Mark Greaney will all participate.

To view the panel schedule for the festival, click here.

International Thriller Writers annual celebration of the thriller world is the largest event of its kind, a meeting place for authors, readers, budding writers, and publishing industry professionals.

Find more information about ThrillerFest here.

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Penguin Group (USA) and Amazon.Com Announce the Third Annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Winners

Penguin Group (USA) and Amazon.com named Patricia McArdle and Amy Ackley the 2010 winners of the third annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. For the first time in the competition's history, two grand prizes were awarded: one for general fiction and one for best young adult novel.

Patricia McArdle is the winner of the general fiction category for her novel, Farishta, which will be published by Riverhead Books. The novel centers around a female American diplomat who, transferred to a volatile, remote outpost in northern Afghanistan, provides aid to refugee women fleeing the violence. She becomes their farishta, or "angel," in the local Dari language. Julie Barer of Barer Literary, LLC, one of the contest's expert panelists, described McArdle's "Farishta" as "a moving and fascinating story of one woman's work in a place that few Americans have experienced beyond newspaper headlines and CNN stories. Both the originality of the setting and the quality of the writing make this debut stand out in the crowd."

Amy Ackley is the winner in the young adult fiction category for her novel, Sign Language, which will be published by Viking Children's Books. Inspired by the loss of her father and two close friends to cancer, Sign Language tells the story of 12-year-old Abby North. Her first hint that something is wrong with her dad is the scar that appears on his stomach after he goes in for kidney surgery. Soon, the thing she calls "It" has a real name: cancer. Before, her biggest concerns were her annoying brother, the crush unaware of her existence and her changing feelings for her best friend, Spence. Now, her mother cries in the shower, her father is exhausted and nothing is normal anymore. Penguin Young Readers author Nancy Werlin said the novel "tells its story beautifully and movingly, and it earns its hopeful ending. Ackley is without question a talented writer."

The 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition, which began on January 25th, 2010, drew thousands of entrants, representing all 50 U.S. states and 22 countries. The winners, selected by Amazon.com customers, were revealed at an event held at the Amazon campus in Seattle earlier this week.

Penguin Global Walk Is a Big Success 

David Shanks led more than 250 Penguin Group (USA) employees, as everyone braved the heat and humidity to participate in the New York leg of the 2nd Annual Penguin Global Walk last Friday.  Throughout last week, employees in our Kirkwood, East Rutherford and Pittston locations walked each day to log their mileage. Additionally, many employees who weren't able to take part in the Walk still helped raise funds for the cause. Thanks to everyone's efforts, over $20,000 was raised for The Nature Conservancy's Plant a Billion Trees Campaign! 

Lords of Finance Wins the 2010 Arthur Ross Book Award Gold Medal 

Penguin Press/ Penguin author Liaquat Ahamed is the winner of the Arthur Ross Book Award Gold Medal for Lords of Finance, it was announced earlier this week.  The annual Arthur Ross Book Award recognizes books that make an outstanding contribution to the understanding of foreign policy or international relations. It was endowed by Arthur Ross in  2001 to honor nonfiction works, in English or translation, that merit  special attention for bringing forth new information that changes our understanding of events or problems, developing analytical approaches that allow new and different insights into critical issues, or providing new ideas that help resolve foreign policy problems. 

Past Penguin Group (USA) winners include Ahmed Rashid, the 2009 recipient of the Silver Medal for Descent into Chaos (Viking/Penguin); Tony Judt, the 2006 Gold Medal recipient for Postwar (Penguin); and Steve Coll, 2005 Gold Medal recipient for Ghost Wars (Penguin).

Liaquat Ahamed's Lords of Finance is also the 2010 recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in History and the 2009 winner of the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award.

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Penguin Books Celebrates Its 75th Anniversary

July 30, 2010 is Penguin's 75th Anniversary. In honor of Penguin's legacy of publishing great books, there is a lot in store. The summer-long celebration of the Penguin Anniversary will kick-off at Book Expo America when the Penguin Anniversary-mobile (a Penguin-orange Mini-Cooper with the Penguin logo) will appear on display. Be sure to stop by the Javits Center entrance to visit it - you don't need a badge!

The Penguin Mobile will be touring throughout the US to increase awareness of The Nature Conservancy, and promote literacy. It will be appearing at bookstores across the country and will be bringing some of Penguin's well-known authors to anniversary parties at bookstores in their hometowns. Starting with Garrison Keillor in Edina, Minnesota, on June 13th, and ending with Melissa Bank on Long Island on August 7th, this summer will be a nonstop celebration of literacy, conservation, and Penguin Books! Other bestselling authors hosting parties include Sue Monk Kidd, Jan Karon, Michael Pollan, Geraldine Brooks, Kim Edwards, Janice Y. K. Lee, William Kennedy, and Nathaniel Philbrick.

At each anniversary event, a set of 75 of the most iconic titles from Penguin Books will be donated to a local library or literacy group. Each author will sign the Penguin-mobile as it makes its way across the United States, and the summer's events will culminate with a party at the New York Public Library in September. When the celebration is complete Penguin will auction the car with the proceeds going to the New York Public Library.  Penguin will also be donating sets of 75 books to numerous U.S. military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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Ace Author Charlaine Harris Debuts at #1 on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller Lists 

Charlaine Harris, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Sookie Stackhouse series, debuts in the #1 position on the latest New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists with Dead in the Family (Ace), the 10th book in the series.   Following a major Q&A in the New York Times Magazine and two solid days of media in New York City, Charlaine kicked off her two-week tour at Barnes & Noble Union Square on May 4th. More than 800 people lined up to hear her speak, ask questions and have their books signed.  As Charlaine entered the room the crowd jumped to their feet like they were at a concert - cheering and clapping for their favorite author. Many of the fans were wearing t-shirts from "True Blood," HBO's runaway hit series based on Charlaine's books, and asking tons of questions about the new book and what they can expect to see on the new season of the show. 

Since the kick-off event, Charlaine has signed books for massive crowds in Philadelphia, Washington, DC, and San Diego.  The tour continues up the west coast and then back down to Texas and Arkansas.  Charlaine will be working on the 11th Sookie book as soon as she's back home.    

There are currently over 800,000 copies of Dead in the Family in print, and Bookscan reports that about 200,000 copies of the book sold in the first week of sales.

View our Charlaine Harris feature page to see a timeline of things to come, read Sookie book excerpts, and watch our video exclusive with Charlaine Harris.

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Berkley Achieves Two #1 New York Times Paperback Fiction Bestsellers as Nora Roberts and Christine Feehan Titles Simultaneously Top the Trade and Mass Market Lists 

The Berkley Publishing Group holds the top spots on both New York Times paperback fiction bestseller lists and the #2 position on the hardcover fiction bestseller list for the week of May 16th.

Nora Roberts's Savor the Moment debuts at #1 on the trade paperback fiction list. Savor the Moment is the third book in Roberts's Bride Quartet, her first trade paperback original series. The first two books in the series — Vision in White and Bed of Roses — also hit #1 on the New York Times trade fiction bestseller list. Savor the Moment also landed at #2 on this week's USA Today bestseller list. Last week, Nora was featured in The New York Times when an article in the "Escapes" section of the paper highlighted Inn Boonsboro, the hotel that Roberts owns in her Maryland hometown. There are currently more than 3 million copies in print of the first three books in the Bride Quartet.

Christine Feehan's Wild Fire (Jove) debuts at #1 on the mass market fiction list. Wild Fire is the newest book in Feehan's bestselling Leopard series about a group of shape shifting leopard people who perform dangerous rescue missions while trying to keep their identities and passionate animalistic natures secret. This is Feehan's second #1 New York Times bestseller this year. In January, the eighth novel in her GhostWalker series, Street Game (Jove), also debuted at #1 on the mass market list. In 2009, all four books that Feehan published with Berkley, each representing one of her four different series, debuted at #1 on the New York Times mass market fiction list!

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Maybe I should do my own remix of the American Express "priceless" trailer because the rollercoaster ride since the April 15^th debut of my urban fiction novel, Secret Saturdays, truly has been "priceless".
 
I call my recent rollercoaster ride my "Secret Saturdays Shuttle." :)
 
Some peaks include:

• -A surprise email from a dad of an eleven-year old, praising a NY Post write-up of me and the book and I didn't even know this cool guy or that I'd be in the NY Post.
• -A chain of self set-up book readings. Wow, it's hard arranging them, yet "Oh what a feeling" when it happens! I was just invited back to my alma mater, Vassar College, as an author to give a reading!  Very thrilling.
• -Students of varying ethnic and socio-economic groups from my school shouting compliments at me from sidewalks as I mountain-bike to and from school. This morning it was a teen girl, "What's good, Mr. T?  I love your book!"

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Four PGI Books Recognized by Booklist as "Best Crime Novels"

Four books from Penguin Group (USA) have been recognized by Booklist as being among the best crime novels of the year:

Two Viking titles were selected as among the Top Ten Crime Novels of the Year: The Dark Horse by Craig Johnson and A Thousand Cuts by Simon Lelic.

Two Putnam titles were listed as Best Crime Novel Debuts: Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan and Snow Angels by James Thompson.

Click here for the full list.

Craig Johnson is a frequent contributor to the Penguin Blog, read his posts and listen to his podcast about The Dark Horse.

View the A Thousand Cuts reading group guide to read a Q&A with author Simon Lelic.

Read an excerpt from Snow Angels and listen to our podcast with James Thompson about the book.