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Sentinel’s Mike Huckabee Hits the Road on a 60-Bookstore Tour through 21 States

On November 3rd, Sentinel will publish former Governor Mike Huckabee's new book, A Simple Christmas: Twelve Stories That Celebrate the True Holiday Spirit.

Unlike his previous New York Times bestseller, Do The Right Thing, this one has nothing to do with politics. It's a collection of true stories from his own life, ranging from childhood to the present -- all taking place at Christmas time. Some of these memories will bring a smile, some may bring a tear, but all will help readers reconnect with the things that really matter -- faith, family, love, and hope.

Huckabee is going on another massive national bus tour (his bus is pictured) - 60 bookstore signings in 21 states in 3 weeks. The events will cross-promote the paperback of Do The Right Thing. In addition, he is scheduled to make several national TV, radio, and print appearances, starting with his own talk show ("Huckabee") on Fox News Channel this weekend. In December, after the tour, he will wrap up with mainstream media including “The Daily Show” and “The View.”

For more information, click here.

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The New York Times Bestseller Highlights for the Week of November 8th

Penguin Group (USA) has two debuts on the New York Times bestseller list for the week of November 8th: The Scarpetta Factor by Patricia Cornwell (Putnam) hits the hardcover fiction list at #2; and Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin (Viking) is #4 on the hardcover nonfiction list. In addition, DK’s Lego Star Wars by Simon Beecroft hits the #1 slot on the children’s picture books list, in its third week.

Here are more New York Times bestseller highlights:

On the hardcover fiction list, The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Amy Einhorn Books/ Putnam) is #5 in its 30th week; A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris (Ace) is #12 in its third week, Rough Country by John Sandford (Putnam) is #15 in its fourth week; and The Professional by Robert B. Parker (Putnam) is #16 in its third week.

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Berkley Author Julie Hyzy Wins Two Awards at the 2009 Boucheron

Berkley Prime Crime author Julie Hyzy has won two awards for her book, State of the Onion: A White House Chef Mystery: the Anthony Award and the Barry Award in the Best Paperback Original category. Both awards were presented this past weekend in Indianapolis at Bouchercon, the largest annual meeting in the world for mystery lovers.

The Barry Awards are named for one of the most beloved ambassadors of mystery fiction, Barry Garner, and are voted on the readers of Mystery News and Deadly Pleasures. The Anthony Awards are named for Anthony Boucher, one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America, and are among the most prestigious awards in the world of mystery writers.

Julie Hyzy’s new White House Chef Mystery, Eggsecutive Orders will be out in January 2010 and features the White House Easter Egg Roll.
 

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Patricia Cornwell Launches the Seventeenth Novel in her Internationally Bestselling Kay Scarpetta Series 

Patricia Cornwell, the world’s #1 bestselling crime writer, launched the seventeenth novel in her bestselling Kay Scarpetta series this week, The Scarpetta Factor. Cornwell was interviewed on ABC Radio’s “Imus in the Morning” on the morning of publication, which was simulcast on the FOX Business network; click here to watch a clip of the interview. She was interviewed on almost 40 different programs across the country during her national television and radio satellite tours. Yesterday, Cornwell taped an interview for CNN.com’s "Book Report", which reaches millions of viewers online, and was interviewed live on WOR-AM’s “Joan Hamburg Show.. Parade magazine interviewed Cornwell for last Sunday’s issue, and her Q&A for “Pop Matters 20 Questions” went up this week on Popmatters.com and was syndicated nationwide on the McClatchy Newswire.
 

George Putnam, Grandson of Putnam Founder and Husband of Amelia Earhart, Featured in a New Movie

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Penguin Young Readers Group Dominates the New York Times Bestseller Lists

Penguin Young Readers Group dominates this week’s New York Times bestseller list, landing an impressive ten titles on the lists. The Young Readers Group occupies five slots on the children’s picture books list alone: Skippyjon Jones, Lost in Spice by Judy Schachner (Dutton) is #4 in its fifth week; Listen to the Wind by Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth (Dial) is #6 in its 38th week; and Otis, written and illustrated by Loren Long (Philomel) is #7 in its fourth week; The Runaway Mummy by Michael Rex (Putnam) is #8 in its second week; and Strega Nona’s Harvest, written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola (Putnam) is #9 in its fifth week. In addition, DK’s Lego Star Wars holds the #2 position for a second consecutive week.

On the children's chapter books list, Fire by Kristin Cashore (Dial) is #4 in its second week; and Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus (Dutton) is #7 in its second week. On the children's paperback books list, Three Cups of Tea: Young Readers Edition by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Puffin) is #3 in its 39th week; and Impossible by Nancy Werlin (Speak) is #9 in its fourth week. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (Razorbill) rounds out the total, appearing at #8 in its fourteenth week on the children’s series list.
 

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The New York Times Bestseller Highlights for the Week of October 25th

Penguin Group (USA) lands eight debuts on The New York Times bestseller list for the week of October 25th: on the hardcover fiction list, A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris (Ace) hits at #2, while The Professional by Robert B. Parker (Putnam) is #4. On the mass market fiction list, Heat Lightning by John Sandford (Berkley) is #4, while Shadowlight by Lynn Viehl (Onyx) is #17. The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowel (Riverhead) is #13 on the paperback nonfiction list. In the young readers category, Lego Star Wars by Simon Beecroft (DK) is #2, while The Runaway Mummy by Michael Rex (Putnam) is #9, both on the children’s picture books list; while on the children’s chapter books list, Return to the Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus (Dutton) is #3, and Fire by Kristin Cashore (Dial) is #4.

Here are more New York Times bestseller highlights:

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Actor Mario Lopez Garners Major Media for New Celebra Picture Book, Mud Tacos!

Actor and “Extra” Host Mario Lopez has written his first children’s book with his sister Marissa Lopez Wong titled Mud Tacos!, which was published this week by Celebra children's books, simultaneously in English and Spanish. Mud Tacos! is a loving tale about their family and the nurturing bond between a brother and sister. The story follows Mario and Marissa and their cousins Chico and Rosie playing in their nana’s backyard and using their imagination to have fun.

Mario Lopez was on "Live with Regis and Kelly" yesterday morning and also did a cooking segment on “The Today Show” where he made tacos. Mario has been talking about his book all week on “Extra” and will also be featured on “Ellen” and the “Wendy Williams Show.” People, OK!, amNewYork, Hartford Courant, San Diego Tribune, WNBC, and News12 Long Island, among many others, will all feature Mud Tacos! and Mario Lopez.
 

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Penguin’s Ann Lauterbach Is Named Finalist for 2009 National Book Awards

The 2009 National Book Awards finalists were announced this week and Penguin's Ann Lauterbach is among those selected in the Poetry category for Or to Begin Again. The winner in each of four categories – Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry and People's Literature – will be announced at the 60th National Book Awards Benefit Dinner and Ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on Wednesday, November 18th. Each winner will receive $10,000 and a bronze statue, and each finalist will receive a bronze medal and $1,000.

The Foundation will also announce the winner of its Best of the National Book Awards Fiction Poll where Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow (Penguin) was one of the six finalists.

In addition, as reported last week, Ceridwen Dovey, author of Blood Kin (Viking/Penguin), has been selected by 2008 National Book Award Fiction Finalist Rachel Kushner for the National Book Foundation’s fourth annual “5 Under 35” Honor, which recognizes and celebrates the next generation of fiction writers, as determined by past National Book Award winners and finalists.

To view the complete list of 2009 finalists, click here.

And, to vote for the best National Book Award Fiction winner, click here.

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The Help, Audible.com’s Highest Rated Audio Book Ever, Wins South Africa’s Exclusive Books’ 2009 Boeke Prize

The Help by Kathryn Stockett (Amy Einhorn Books/ G. P. Putnam’s Sons) is now the highest rated audio book ever sold by Audible.com, one of the largest distributors of downloadable audio books. The 4.89 star rating is based on 2,013 consumer ratings (a majority being 5 stars, with the overall number of reviews/ratings increasing daily) of the Penguin Audio edition of The Help, narrated by Cassandra Campbell, Jenna Lamia, Octavia Spencer and Bahni Turpin.

The Help’s ever-growing success, with nearly 740,000 copies in print and the still the longest-running New York Times bestseller currently on the hardcover fiction list, now at #5 in its 27th week, continues to extend to other parts of the world.

This week, The Help won Exclusive Books’ 2009 Boeke Prize in South Africa. The Boeke Prize is a South African book award, modeled after the UK's Man Booker Prize and sponsored by Exclusive Books, South Africa’s largest retail book chain. Although “boeke” is the plural of “book” in the Afrikaans language, the Boeke Prize has only been awarded to novels written in English. The competition was launched in 1995 and 11 of the 14 winners have been debut novels, including The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead), which was a co-winner in 2004. The books are judged by a panel of book critics based in South Arica.

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The Very Hungry Caterpillar Author Eric Carle Appears on “The Today Show” to Celebrate Jumpstart’s Fourth Annual Read for the Record Campaign

Acclaimed Penguin Young Readers author Eric Carle appeared on NBC’s “Today Show” yesterday in celebration of Jumpstart’s fourth annual Read for the Record campaign. Jumpstart was aiming to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to one million children in one day. They now estimate that they far surpassed that target, and expected that the book will have been read to close to 1.6 million children during the course of yesterday.

Celebrities joined Eric Carle on “The Today Show” plaza to lend their names to this important cause. Among them were actress Mary Louise Parker, actor Vince Vaughn, Disney actresses Madison Pettis and Jennifer Stone, and celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis who made Very Hungry Caterpillar-inspired cookies on the show.

Following “The Today Show,” Mr. Carle appeared at a press conference at the New York Public Library alongside actresses Mary Louise Parker and Stephanie March ("Law and Order SVU"), New York City’s Deputy Mayor, Jumpstart officials, and Bill Barke, CEO of Pearson's Higher Education Arts & Science Group. At the conference, it was announced that Mayor Bloomberg had officially declared October 8, 2009 Read for the Record Day.