Penguin Group (USA) Weekly Update - 4/28:

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Harlan Coben's Hold Tight Debuts at #1 on The New York Times Bestseller List

Dutton veteran Harlan Coben's newest thriller, Hold Tight, has debuted at #1 on The New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list for the week of May 4th, marking Coben's first New York Times #1 bestseller. And in addition to the New York Times list, the book also has the #1 position on Publishers Weekly's hardcover fiction list for the week of April 28th, as well as The Wall Street Journal's April 25th hardcover fiction list.

Hold Tight has received rave reviews, and Coben continues to get great media coverage for his opinions on parental use of spyware, including appearances on CBS' "The Early Show," CNN's "Glenn Beck," and in the pages of the New York Times. The book was also featured in the "Book Buzz" column of USA Today and a review of Hold Tight is expected to run in the upcoming edition of People magazine, on-stands April 25th.

Harlan has been greeted by swarms of fans as he tours around the country to promote the book. 300 people attended his first bookstore event at Bookends in New Jersey on April 13th, and another 200 turned out for his latest event at Barnes & Noble in Palm Beach Gardens last night. He also had a book party at The Stockyard in Boston, where over 100 people came to celebrate Hold Tight's publication.

Last weekend, Coben participated in a panel conversation at The Los Angeles Times Book Festival, and will be back in New York this week.

Viking Acquires Cindy McCain Memoir

In a competitive auction, Viking has won rights to publish the memoir of Cindy McCain, the wife of Republican Party presumptive presidential nominee, Senator John McCain. Viking will publish the as yet untitled memoir in September 2008, edited by Wendy Wolf. Cindy McCain and co-author Beth Brophy will be writing.

For the first time, Cindy McCain will write about her views and feelings concerning family and years of service; her meeting, courtship, and marriage to John McCain; life as a military mom in a family with a legacy of service; her experiences on the campaign trail; and looking ahead, after the election.

Viking plans to publish the hardcover in September 2008, and Penguin will publish the paperback edition one year later.

Sentinel Acquires Book by Governor Mike Huckabee

 

Presidential candidate and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has agreed to publish his next book with Sentinel. The currently untitled book will be published on November 18, 2008 and is being edited by Senior Editor Tim Sullivan.

Despite a tiny budget and small staff, the Huckabee campaign drew passionate, hard working volunteers from all over the country. His fans included not only Evangelical Christians, but others who felt he was the only conservative who really shared their values and understood the needs of middle class and working class citizens. He won eight Republican contests, including the fiercely contested Iowa Caucuses, and came in a strong second or third in many other states.

Governor Huckabee's book will lay out his optimistic vision for America's future and explain how the conservative movement can return to its principles, unify its factions, and take back America.

Two Penguin Group (USA) Authors Win IACP Cookbook Awards

 

Two authors from Penguin Group (USA) were selected as winners last Friday at the IACP's annual convention in New Orleans. Laura Shapiro took the prize in the "Literary Food Writing Category" for Julia Child (Viking); and Morimoto was named the winner for his book, Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking (DK) in both the "Chefs and Restaurants Category" as well as the "First Book: Julia Child Award Category."

Be sure to catch Morimoto when he appears on the "Today Show" on May 13th.

Eleven Penguin Group (USA) Authors Picked To Be Among the Top 50 Crime Writers of All Time by The Times (UK)

 

In the April 18th edition of The Times in the UK, the editors gave their opinions on the top 50 crime writers of all time. Out of those 50 all-time greats, eleven of the authors - over 20%! - are published by Penguin Group (USA). The authors (and their rankings), as well as the editors' reason for selection, are as follows:

2. Georges Simenon (Penguin): The Trojan horse of foreign crime-writing
6. Arthur Conan Doyle (Penguin): Creator of the ultimate hero-and-sidekick team
24. Wilkie Collins (Penguin Classics): Godfather of the detective novel
29. Edgar Allan Poe (Penguin Classics): Mold-setter for the modern sleuth
35. Walter Mosley (Riverhead): A bold American voice, not afraid to tackle race
38. Patricia Cornwell (Putnam): Shrewd pioneer of gruesome pathology
40. Dick Francis (Putnam): Former jockey and king of equestrian intrigue
43. Andrea Camilleri (Penguin): Italy's foremost crime export
44. Harlen Coben (Dutton): Mature metropolitan stylist loved for his twisting plots
45: Donna Leon (Penguin): American explorer of the Venetian underworld
50. Sara Paretsky (Putnam): Spirited creator of feminist sleuth VI Warshawski

To view the full list, click here.

Happy 100th Birthday Ian Fleming

 

To coincide with the centennial anniversary of the birth Ian Fleming, Penguin has available all 14 James Bond 007 books from Casino Royal (1951) through Octopussy (1966). Penguin UK editor and Bond expert Simon Winder will be fielding interviews from London during a radio satellite tour on May 14th and 15th. Additionally, everyone's favorite secret agent will be getting ink from the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, and the Chicago Sun-Times, as well as feature coverage on NPR's "Morning Edition."

 

New on the Penguin Website

 

Read a Q&A with Harlan Coben, the first two chapters, and watch the trailer for his highly-anticipated new thriller, Hold Tight, in our Mystery & Suspense feature.

Listen now to Laurie Rigler who joins us to talk about her debut novel, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict.

 

The New York Times Bestseller Highlights for the Week of May 4th

 

Two new debuts for Penguin Group (USA) on The New York Times bestseller list for the week of May 4th: Hold Tight by Harlan Coben (Dutton) appears at #1 on the hardcover fiction list; and Bad Money by Kevin Phillips (Viking) hits at #7 on the hardcover nonfiction list.

In addition, Penguin holds four of the seven adult #1 slots. In addition to Hold Tight by Harlan Coben (Dutton) debuting at #1 on the hardcover fiction list (as detailed in the lead item), The Memory Keeper's Daughter is in the #1 position on the trade fiction list in its 96th week; Three Cups of Tea holds at #1 on the paperback nonfiction list in its 64th week; and A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle maintains a twelve-week run at #1 on the paperback advice, how-to and miscellaneous list.

Here are more New York Times bestseller highlights for the week of May 4th:

On the hardcover fiction list, Small Favor by Jim Butcher (Roc) is at #9 in its third week; A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) is at #12 in its 47th week; The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (Riverhead) is at #14 in its fourth week; and Winter Study by Nevada Barr (G. P. Putnam's Sons) is #16 in its third week.

On the hardcover nonfiction list, Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut (G. P. Putnam's Sons) is at #8 in its third week; and In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (The Penguin Press) is #9 in its sixteenth week.

 

On the trade paperback fiction list, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) is #4 in its 163rd week; The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (Berkley) is #5 in its sixteenth week; The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (NAL) is #8 in its 23rd week; and Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos (Plume) is #15 in its eighth week.

On the mass market paperback fiction list, The Woods by Harlan Coben (Signet) holds #2 in its third week; Creation in Death by J.D. Robb (Berkley) is #4 in its third week; The River Knows by Amanda Quick (Jove) is at #8 in its fourth week; A Lady's Secret by Jo Beverley (Signet) moves up to #10 in its third week; The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (DAW) holds at #11 in its second week; and Embrace the Night by Karen Chance (Roc) is #16 in its third week.

On the paperback nonfiction list, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin) is at #2 position in its 65th week; The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (Penguin) holds at #13 in its 34th week; I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley (Riverhead) is at #14 in its third week; and A Whole New Mind by Daniel H. Pink (Riverhead) is at #17 in its fifteenth week.

On the advice, how-to, and miscellaneous paperback list, Getting Things Done by David Allen (Penguin) is at #7 in its 23rd week.

In the young readers sector, Ladybug Girl is #9 on the children's picture book list in its fifth week; on the children's paperback list, Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (Speak) is #4 in its eighth week and Frostbite by Richard Mead (Razorbill) holds at #7 in its second week. The Big Field by Mike Lupica (Philomel) is #10 in its seventh 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 #6 in its 18th week.

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