Penguin Group (USA) Weekly Update - 7/22:

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Penguin authors were real stars at the American Library Association annual conference, where over 21,000 librarians converged in Anaheim in late June. Greg Mortenson and Khaled Hosseini drew crowds of over 1,000 librarians, each in packed Auditorium Speaker sessions. June Casagrande author of Mortal Syntax and Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meanies performed with Paula Poundstone and other author/comedians at FOLUSA's (Friends of the Libraries) Laugh's on Us panel - always a big ALA highlight event. Smaller themed panels were all jam-packed with attendees this year: Dan Koeppel, author of Banana, was on an Environment panel; Anya Ulinich (Petropolis) and Kaya McLaren (Church of the Dog) stole the show at the First Author, First Book panel; and Bich Minh Nguyen (Stealing Buddha's Dinner) charmed all on an Ethnic Writers panel.

Ron Carlson and Patrick Rothfuss both spoke at the ALA Literary Tastes breakfast, where they received awards for Five Skies (ALA Notable selection for Fiction) and The Name of the Wind (Reading Council selection for Fantasy) respectively. Last but not least, Ellis Avery received the Barbara Gittings Stonewall Book award for The Teahouse Fire at ALA's GayLesbianBisexualTransgendered Round Table Book Awards program. Ms. Avery also performed a tea ceremony on the LIVE at Your Reading Stage on the exhibit floor.

And most of the above authors kept things jumping at the Penguin booth where they met, talked to and signed books for the always incredibly enthusiastic librarians. Alan Walker, Dominique Jenkins and Jim Dassise from the Academic/Library Marketing team, as well as Tiffany Tomlin from the Penguin Speakers Bureau and Fred Huber from Hardcover Sales all staffed the booth this year.

Movie Adaptation of The Secret Life of Bees to be Featured at Toronto Film Festival

The movie adaptation of The Secret Life of Bees will be one of two Gala Presentations in the program lineup for the Toronto International Film Festival which runs from September 4th - 13th.

Based on the New York Times bestselling novel The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin), and set in South Carolina in 1964, the film is the moving tale of Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning), a 14-year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother (Hilarie Burton). To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father (Paul Bettany), Lily flees with Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), her caregiver and only friend, to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by the intelligent and independent Boatwright sisters (Queen Latifah, Sophie Okonedo and Alicia Keys), Lily finds solace in their mesmerizing world of beekeeping, honey and the Black Madonna. The Secret Life of Bees is a Fox Searchlight Pictures presentation.

Great Coverage in Publishers Weekly for Berkley's Upcoming The Wednesday Letters

Berkley's plans to turn a surprise New York Times-bestselling hardcover published by an independent press into an even larger paperback success received some great coverage in PW Daily this week. The Wednesday Letters, by Jason F. Wright, reached #6 on the New York Times bestseller list last year and Berkley is launching the trade paperback edition of the book on August 26th, with ads in USA Today, a 13-city tour and a big push to book clubs. The Wednesday Letters, originally published by the small Utah-based press Shadow Mountain, is the story of a couple who die in one another's arms and the weekly letters they leave behind chronicling the ups and downs of their marriage. Berkley plans to include a reproduction of one of the book's "Wednesday letters" with each of the 225,000 copies of the book's first printing.

Berkley Books Editor Sandy Harding picked up a galley of The Wednesday Letters at last year's BEA, fell in love with the novel, and quickly made an offer to Shadow Mountain for paperback rights. Harding said, "Attending BEA always feels like a treasure hunt, and when I first saw a galley for The Wednesday Letters, I felt a tingle. In short, it's a story with a huge heart. But it's also a book that urges the reader to do something after they put the book on the shelf. In this case - tell your love. Write your own Wednesday letters to the people in your life. You never know what they may mean to those you love, and to those you'll one day leave behind."

To read the full PW piece, click here.

Reading the Man Wins 2007 Richard S. Slatten Award

Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee Through His Private Letters by Elizabeth Pryor (Viking/Penguin) has been selected to receive the annual Richard S. Slatten Award for Excellence in Virginia Biography from the Virginia Historical Society. The award will be presented officially at the society's annual meeting on November 19th, and is accompanied by a $1,000 cash prize.

This is the fourth prize thus far that Reading the Man has won. Pryor also received The Lincoln Prize, the Jefferson Davis Prize, and the Richard B. Harwell Book Award.

Justinian's Flea Nominated for the New Jersey Council of the Humanities Book Award

Justinian's Flea by William Rosen has been nominated for the New Jersey Council of the Humanities Book Award. Each year NJCH recognizes individuals whose exemplary work in the public humanities has made a significant and lasting difference in the lives of New Jerseyans.

Justinian's Flea, which comes out in paperback from Penguin on July 29th, is a unique and sweeping account of how the bubonic plague changed the course of a continent; the epic story of the collision between one of nature's smallest organisms and history's mightiest empire.

The winner will be announced at a ceremony in October of this year, and will be presented with a $1,000 cash prize.

Five Skies Selected as Finalist for 2007 Utah Book Award

Five Skies by Ron Carlson (Viking/Penguin) has been designated a finalist for the 2007 Utah Book Award in Fiction. The Utah Book Awards were established to honor outstanding achievements by Utah writers and to recognize books written with a Utah theme or setting. The 2007 awards will be presented at the Literary Awards Ceremony, which will be held in Salt Lake City on October 22nd.

Famed Shakespeare Actor Ian McKellan Plugs Rafe Esquith's "Hobart Shakespeareans"

This month, famed Shakespeare actor Ian McKellen is plugging Rafe Esquith's "Hobart Shakespeareans" on his official website, where he introduces his fans to Esquith's website, describing what the "Hobart Shakespeareans" are all about. Read McKellen's piece here. Also, be sure to check out www.hobartshakespeareans.org, where new photos are up featuring Esquith's students performing at IRA in Atlanta. Esquith, author of Viking/Penguin's Teach Like Your Hair's On Fire, continues to tour the country, speaking to large audiences across the nation.

New York Times Bestselling Author Tana French Hits the Road for 12-City Tour

Edgar Award winner and New York Times bestselling author Tana French takes to the road next week embarking on a 12-city, 18-event whirlwind tour to promote both The Likeness (Viking) and In The Woods (Penguin paperback). The tour includes stops in Boston, Birmingham, New York, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Houston, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles. Reviews have already come in from the New York Daily News, Rocky Mountain News, Baltimore Sun, and Sacramento Bee. Marilyn Stasio - who raved about In the Woods last summer - will feature The Likeness in her crime column in the New York Times Book Review on July 27th, with coverage also expected in Entertainment Weekly, Washington Post, Dallas Morning News, Seattle Times, and many more publications. Her national media will also include an 18-market radio satellite tour the week of on-sale. In addition, both books have received heavy attention on mystery and other book blogs, and Tana stars in a book trailer video created by Turn Here, which you can view here.

Great Publicity and Praise for New York Times Bestseller The Beach House

New York Times bestseller The Beach House by Jane Green remains on the list for the 4th week in a row, and also lands slots on numerous other national bestseller lists including USA Today, Wall Street Journal and Publishers Weekly. Jane has received mentions and praise for her latest book from the New York Times, OK! Weekly, Woman's Day, Chicago Sun-Times, San Antonio Express-News, New Orleans Times-Picayune, and Cape Cod Chronicle, just to name a few. Jane has completed her 12-event tour and a large radio satellite tour, in addition to appearing on Sirius Satellite Radio's "The Candace Bushnell Show" and Plum TV. The Beach House was also chosen as a summer beach read on "Weekend Today." Be sure to tune in to "The Today Show" tomorrow, July 18th, to hear Essence Book Editor, Patrik Henry Bass discuss The Beach House along with other hot summer reads and to check out Jane's online interview on "GMA News Now," which will post tomorrow as well.

When Easy Rider Meets Paperback Writer: Craig Johnson's Motorcycle Chronicles

Not to be deterred by rising gas prices, cowboy mystery writer, Craig Johnson, takes his book tour to the open road on his motorcycle publicizing his new books Another Man's Moccasins (Viking) and Kindness Goes Unpunished (Penguin).

If you'd like to read about Craig Johnson's fascination with motorcycles, click here.

Celebs Still Abuzz About Eat, Pray, Love

It seems that the praise never stops for Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love, with celebrities still talking about it. This time, tennis star Anna Kournikova recommends the book during an interview with Sports Illustrated, commenting "It's spiritual, but well-written at the same time."

And, Stephen Collins of WB's "Seventh Heaven" fame, cites the book as "a brilliant piece of writing" that his wife recommended to him in this New York Post article.

When The Publicist Becomes The Reporter: Viking/Penguin Publicist Courtney Allison Switches Gears to Report the News

She spends the work week pitching authors to the media but on evenings and weekends, a workplace Freaky-Friday occurs when Viking Penguin publicist, Courtney Allison, dons her press badge and becomes a freelance lifestyle reporter for Long Island's Newsday. On Sunday, Courtney had her second article published - this time on Smart cars - in this daily paper that reaches a half million readers. Her editor thought it was so good that he put her article on the cover of the "Long Island Life" section. See for yourself.

New On The Penguin Website

Take a break from the heat and enjoy these movie tie-ins in the latest Postcard from a Penguin Summer. If you're looking for some great beach reads, see what's on the back of our Summer Romance postcard too!

Darin Strauss, award-winning author of the bestseller Chang and Eng, discusses his new book, More Than It Hurts You.

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

Tribute by Nora Roberts (G. P. Putnam's Sons) debuts at #1 on The New York Times bestseller list for the week of July 27th.

Here are more bestseller highlights:

On the hardcover fiction list, Tailspin by Catherine Coulter (G. P. Putnam's Sons) is #8 in its third week, and The Beach House by Jane Green (Viking) is #9 in its fourth week.

On the hardcover nonfiction list, My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor (Viking) is #10 in its sixth week; In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (Penguin Press) is #13 in its 20th week; and Me of Little Faith by Lewis Black (Riverhead) is #15 in its sixth week.

On the trade paperback fiction list, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) is #3 in its 175th week; In the Woods by Tana French (Penguin) is #7 in its seventh week; The Last Summer (Of You and Me) by Ann Brashares (Riverhead) is #10 in its tenth week; The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin) is #11 in its 106th week; The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (Berkley) is #12 in its 28th week; Second Chance by Jane Green (Plume) is #14 in its seventh week; The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards (Penguin) is #15 in its 108th week; and The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (NAL) is #18 in its 35th week.

On the mass market paperback fiction list, Double Take by Catherine Coulter (Jove) is #2 in its third week; The Navigator by Clive Cussler is #8 in its third week; The Secret Servant by Daniel Silva (Signet) is #13 in its third week; Into the Shadow by Christina Dodd (Signet) is #14 in its second week; and High Noon by Nora Roberts (Jove) is #18 in its seventh week.

On the paperback nonfiction list, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin) is #1 in its 76th week; Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin) is #2 in its 77th week; The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (Penguin) is #12 in its 46th week.

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (Plume) is at #1 on the paperback advice, how-to and miscellaneous list in its 24th week.

In the young readers sector, Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen (Viking) is #4 in its twelfth week on the children's chapter book list.

New This Week

The Forsaken by Tim Tzouliadis (The Penguin Press, 7/21)

Of the numerous histories devoted to Stalin's reign of terror, there is a remarkable story as yet untold. In The Forsaken: An American Tragedy in Stalin's Russia, documentary film-maker and journalist Tim Tzouliadis unveils in riveting detail and with exquisite research the story of how thousands of Americans, at the height of the Great Depression, were lured to Soviet Russia by the promise of jobs and better lives, only to meet a tragic, and until now forgotten, end.

The book begins with a 1934 photograph of a baseball team in Gorky Park. The young men are in their late teens and early twenties, and hail from working families all across America. With the hope of building Ford motor cars in the USSR, they left the joblessness and hopelessness of home as political idealists, and very quickly ended up as the victims of one of the very worst periods of mass terror in modern history. Within four years of when that photo was taken, many of the young men, their wives and children, would be arrested, their passports confiscated, and along with unaccounted numbers of Soviet citizens, imprisoned, tortured, or simply executed. Some would be sent to "corrective labor" camps, starved and worked to death, their bodies buried in the snowy wasteland. Two of the baseball players would survive, and their stories frame the book.

The result of over five years of groundbreaking research in American and Russian archives, The Forsaken gives an unprecedented accounting of the world inside Russia at the time of Stalin's Terror. In the tradition of the finest history chronicling genocide in the 20th-century, The Forsaken offers new understanding of the timeless questions of guilt and innocence that continue to plague us today.

Society's Child: My Autobiography by Janis Ian (Tarcher/Penguin, 7/24)

A versatile and talented performer, known for her "substance, depth, and musicality" (The New York Times), singer-songwriter Janis Ian was catapulted into the 1960s music scene at the age of fifteen with her controversial song Society's Child. Inspired by the sight of an interracial couple on the New York City subway, Society's Child tells the story of a white girl whose bigoted parents forbid her to continue seeing her black boyfriend. This courageous debut would earn her the moniker, the "musical spokesman for the 'now' generation" (The New York Times) and would launch a successful career of more than forty years in the music business. Ian's fascinating journey is chronicled in her long-awaited autobiography Society's Child, which fellow singer Joan Baez calls "Deftly written, the life experiences described by Janis Ian in this engaging memoir give us a peek into the anatomy of a brilliant songwriter."

O Magazine calls the book "hugely readable" and in a starred review, Booklist says it is "hard to put down." Janis will kick off a national concert/book tour in New York next week with an extensive radio tour including interviews on NPR's "All Things Considered" and "News and Notes," XM Radio, WOR's "The Joey Reynolds Show," and WHYY's "Radio Times". Upcoming feature and review coverage includes People Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Reader's Digest, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and UPI. Janis will appear at the Borders in Columbus Circle on July 24th and will perform at BB King's on July 25th.

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