Penguin Group (USA) Weekly Update - 4/21:

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Penguin Paperbacks Dominate The New York Times Bestseller List for the Week of April 27th and Paperback Division's Outstanding Success Celebrated in Great AP Story

Penguin Group (USA) paperback titles own an impressive 22 slots on The New York Times bestseller list, for the week of April 27th, a record number of titles on a single week's list, so far in 2008. These titles account for 40% of the mass market list; 30% of the nonfiction list (trade and mass combined); and 25% of the trade fiction list, with all five Penguin Group (USA) trade titles hitting among the top ten trade fiction slots.

On the mass market side, Penguin Group (USA) continues to rake in the bestsellers and dominate The New York Times bestseller lists. For seven weeks of the year so far, Berkley/NAL has owned eight or more titles on the mass market list - 40%! - and on both February 24th and March 30th, scored a record nine titles on a single list. Every mass market imprint is up compared with last year. In addition, DAW books scored their first mass market New York Times bestseller, with The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, which hit at #11 this week.

In trade paperback, Penguin Group (USA) has three #1 slots: Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin) is #1 on the paperback nonfiction list; A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (Plume) continues to hold at #1 on the paperback advice, how-to and miscellaneous list; and The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards (Penguin) returns to the top of the trade fiction list, following the premiere of the Lifetime movie adaptation of the book this past weekend, with the program achieving record-breaking ratings.

These impressive stats are just part of Penguin's outstanding paperback story. An Associated Press article, "Penguin Group Enjoys Run of Paperback Hits," hit the wire last Friday and was placed in papers across the nation ever since. In the piece, reporter Hillel Italie comments on Penguin's "off the charts" success, "thanks to a combination of luck, instinct, and determination, where Penguin has mastered the paperback blockbuster, taking a book already out in hardcover and giving it the kind of promotion once reserved for a new release: prominent store placement, author tours, online marketing, appeals to book clubs and community reading organizations." Norman Lidofsky, President of Paperback Sales, was quoted in the piece, commenting that "the key is identifying a book that could become a 'word-of-mouth' seller, a conversation starter, a reading group favorite...There's no magic, no crystal balls. The books grow organically and then we focus on it and never stop." To read the full article, click here.

Penguin Group (USA)'s Great 2008 New York Times Bestseller Performance Hits All Categories

At the first quarter mark of 2008, Penguin Group (USA) continues to rack up phenomenal New York Times bestseller stats. Already, Penguin has scored 11 #1 bestselling titles in 2008 (compared with four at this point in 2007), at least one for every week of the year so far, with a combined 48 weeks at #1. Year-to-date, the house overall is up 40 bestsellers over last year, a 66% increase, and has spent a combined 489 weeks on the list. Each division is outperforming last year in a big way.

The hardcover division is up 57%, with 33 bestsellers already. For twelve of the first 17 weeks of the year, it has dominated the New York Times hardcover fiction list, occupying 40% or more slots on the list. The 33 bestsellers have spent a combined 137 weeks on the fiction and nonfiction lists - 88 more weeks than last year at this time. Putnam alone has already scored 15 bestsellers in 2008, up 6 titles from this point last year, and Dutton, the Penguin Press, Riverhead, Gotham, Roc, NAL, and Portfolio imprints are all up.

The paperback division is also having a great year, with 52 bestsellers to date. These titles have spent a combined 288 weeks on the list; a nearly 130% increase over 2007. In addition, a trade paperback bestseller has held at least one #1 slot for every week of the year in 2008.

And the Penguin Young Readers Group is ahead of last year's record bestseller pace, with 16 bestsellers already, up from 11 at this point in 2007. These titles have spent nearly double the amount of weeks combined on the list, so far in 2008.

In addition, Penguin Group (USA) has scored 11 #1 bestselling titles already in 2008, at least one for every week of the year so far combined 48 weeks at #1.

Donald Rumsfeld's Memoirs to be Published by Sentinel

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has agreed to write his memoirs for Sentinel, to be published in 2010. Mr. Rumsfeld will forgo an advance and donate his net proceeds to the not-for-profit foundation he recently established to fund global microfinance efforts, to foster public service among promising young individuals through educational grants, to build linkages between the U.S. and Central Asia, and to encourage informed dialogue about today's global challenges.

"This memoir will be essential reading for everyone who wants to understand the monumental events of Donald Rumsfeld's six years at the Pentagon and his historic career," said Sentinel Publisher Adrian Zackheim. "The book will include previously untold stories and events, ranging from his youth during the Depression and World War II, to his time in Congress during the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations, to his service in the Nixon, Ford and Reagan Administrations. It will also cover his career in the private sector."

Patricia Cornwell Becomes First American to Win Galaxy British Book Awards' "Crime Thriller of the Year"

Patricia Cornwell, the #1 international bestselling crime writer of fiction and nonfiction, won the 2008 Galaxy British Book Awards' Books Direct Crime Thriller of the Year award for her #1 New York Times-bestselling novel, Book of the Dead, announced at a ceremony in London last week. Cornwell is the first American writer to ever win this prestigious award.

The Galaxy British Book Awards are the UK publishing industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards and are the top event on the UK book trade industry's calendar. The British Book Awards celebrate the UK's favorite books, authors and publishers and are the only UK awards which take votes from both the book-buying public and the Academy of the British Book Industry, made up of publishers, booksellers, past winners and other representatives of the British book industry.

Book of the Dead was published in hardcover by G. P. Putnam's Sons in October 2007 and was a #1 New York Times bestseller. The book will be published in paperback by Berkley Books in September 2008. Cornwell's next book, The Front, will be published by G. P. Putnam's Sons on May 20th.

Three Penguin Group (USA) Titles Named Kiriyama Prize Notable Books

Three Penguin Group (USA) titles have been selected as 2008 Notable Books, as part of the 12th annual Kiriyama Prize: Stealing Buddha's Dinner by Bich Minh Nguyen (Penguin); Brother One Cell by Cullen Thomas (Penguin); and Revolution of Hope by Vicente Fox and Rob Allyn (Viking).

These Notable titles were the most discussed by the judges for the prize, and they are books that will be recommended to their readers throughout the year.

Last year, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin) took home the 2007 Kiriyama Prize. For more details, check out the Kiriyama site.

The Movie Adaptation of The Memory Keeper's Daughter Becomes Lifetime Network's Most-Watched Original Movie Since 1995 and Patricia Cornwell Partners with Lifetime Television to Adapt Two Novels for Television

The Lifetime Original Movie adaptation of The Memory Keeper's Daughter, starring Dermot Mulroney, Emily Watson and Gretchen Mol, became Lifetime's most-watched movie since 1995 when the movie premiered this past weekend to 4.5 million homes. This week, The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards (Penguin) shot back up to #1 on The New York Times trade fiction bestseller list, in its 95th week on the list.

In addition to The Memory Keeper's Daughter, several other Penguin books titles have previously been adapted into popular movies by Lifetime. Four titles from Nora Roberts, including "Angels Fall" with Heather Locklear and "Montana Sky" with John Corbett, as well as Joyce Carol Oates' "We Were the Mulvaneys" and Sue Monk Kidd's "The Mermaid Chair" were all successful hits for lifetime.

And, just announced this week, Lifetime Television will become the first network ever to adapt acclaimed international author Patricia Cornwell's novels for television. Her #1 New York Times bestseller, At Risk, and its sequel, The Front, to be published by G. P. Putnam's Sons in May, have been optioned by the network.

VP Book Club Wins "Webby" Award

The VP Book Club has been honored again, this time with a Webby Award. The site was chosen as an Official Honoree in the Guides/Ratings/Reviews Category. The 12th Annual Webby Awards recognized sites and teams that demonstrated a particular standard of excellence. Of the more than 10,000 entries submitted, fewer than 15% were distinguished as an Official Honoree. The honor signifies an outstanding caliber of work. For the full list of winners, click here.

Penguin Classics Supports Nature Conservancy's "Plant a Billion Trees" Campaign

Penguin Classics is supporting the Nature Conservancy's Plant a Billion Trees, an ambitious reforestation plan to plant and restore one billion trees in Brazil's Atlantic Forest, with major marketing, publicity, and in-store promotions that will increase public awareness and participation in this timely campaign. One element of Penguin's marketing effort includes recycled paper bookmarks that promote three Penguin Classics that have environmental themes: Rachel Carson's Under the Sea Wind, John Muir's The Mountains of California and Ralph Waldo Emerson's Nature and Selected Essays. Launched the first of April, so far the campaign has planted nearly 220,000 trees - and every dollar donated to the conservancy will put another tree in the ground.

Sponsored by Penguin Classics and Planet Green, the new multimedia content initiative from Discovery Communications that includes the first-ever 24-hour television network dedicated solely to green lifestyle programming, the Conservancy's Plant a Billion Trees campaign supports efforts to restore and plant trees on 2.5 million acres and connect more than 12 million acres of new forest corridors in Brazil's Atlantic Forest by 2015.

You can learn more about Plant a Billion Trees on the campaign's web site, www.plantabillion.org

Penguin Group (USA) Well Represented in "May Is Latino Books Month" Initiative by the AAP

The "May Is Latino Books Month" campaign administered by the Association of American Publishers is underway and Penguin Group (USA) is the most widely represented of all major trade publishers in their brochure "Latino Voices." The brochure features close to 100 Penguin titles written in both English and Spanish and will be distributed to libraries, trade associations and media companies invested in promoting literacy and those that target the growing Latino demographic. Copies of the brochure will also be personally delivered to each member of the Hispanic Congressional Caucus with a letter urging them to continue influencing child literacy.

Throughout the month of May, booksellers, librarians, and others in the book industry are encouraged to promote reading within Latino communities, and to raise awareness of the rich variety of books authored by Latinos.

To view the "Latino Voices" brochure click here. Penguin titles are featured on pages 25-36. For a hard-copy of the brochure, contact Christina Castro.

New on the Penguin Website

Earth Day is today, April 22nd. So take a few minutes to read about what Penguin Classics is doing to support The Nature Conservancy's Plant a Billion Trees campaign. And while you're at it, visit our Green Penguin page to learn about Penguin's many other green initiatives.

Robyn Scott joins us to discuss her new book, Twenty Chickens for a Saddle: The Story of an African Childhood.

The New York Times Bestseller Highlights for the Week of April 27th

Three new debuts for Penguin Group (USA) on The New York Times bestseller list for the week of April 27th: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz (Riverhead) returns to the hardcover fiction list in 2008, after winning the Pulitzer Prize for fiction; The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (DAW) appears at #11 on the mass-market fiction list; and Frostbite by Richelle Mead (Razorbill) is at #7 on the children's paperback list.

Here are more New York Times bestseller highlights for the week of April 27th:

On the hardcover fiction list, Small Favor by Jim Butcher (Roc) is at #5 in its second week; A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) is at #10 in its 46th week; and Winter Study by Nevada Barr (G. P. Putnam's Sons) is #16 in its second week.

On the hardcover nonfiction list, Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut (G. P. Putnam's Sons) is at #5 in its second week; In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (The Penguin Press) is #11 in its fifteenth week; The Bin Ladens by Steve Coll (The Penguin Press) is #14 in its second week; and The Reason For God by Timothy Keller (Dutton) is #16 in its eighth week.

On the trade paperback fiction list, The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards (Penguin) shoots up to the #1 position in its 95th week; The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (Berkley) holds at #4 in its fifteenth week; The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) is #5 in its 162nd week; The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (NAL) is #8 in its 22nd week; and Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos (Plume) is #9 in its seventh week.

On the mass market paperback fiction list, The Woods by Harlan Coben (Signet) is #2 in its second week; Creation in Death by J.D. Robb (Berkley) is #5 in its second week; The River Knows by Amanda Quick (Jove) is at #12 in its third week; A Lady's Secret by Jo Beverley (Signet) is at #14 in its second week; Embrace the Night by Karen Chance (Roc) is #15 in its second week; Sacred Stone by Clive Cussler and Craig Dirgo (Berkley) is #17 in its thirteenth week; and High Profile by Robert B. Parker (Berkley) is #20 in its fifth week.

On the paperback nonfiction list, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin) holds at #1 in its 63rd week; Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin) is at #2 position in its 64th week; The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (Penguin) is at #13 in its 33rd week; I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley (Riverhead) is at #15 in its second week; A Whole New Mind by Daniel H. Pink (Riverhead) is at #19 in its fourteenth week; and Grace (Eventually) by Anne Lamott is #20 in its seventh week.

On the advice, how-to, and miscellaneous list, A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (Dutton) returns to the hardcover side, at #7 in its third week. On the paperback side, A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (Plume) holds at #1 in its eleventh week; and Getting Things Done by David Allen (Penguin) is at #7 in its 22nd week.

In the young readers sector, Ladybug Girl is #6 on the children's picture book list in its fourth week; Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (Speak) is #4 on the children's paperback list; The Big Field by Mike Lupica (Philomel) is #6 in its sixth week on the children's chapter book list; and on the children's series list, Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan (Philomel, hardcover and paperback) is at #7 in its 17th week.

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