Penguin Group (USA) Weekly Update - 1/15

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Penguin Group (USA) Dominates The New York Times Bestseller Lists Across All Categories and Holds Four of the Seven #1 Adult Slots on The New York Times Bestseller Lists, for the Fourth Time in Five Weeks

Penguin Group (USA)'s excellent New York Times bestseller performance continues to roar across the breadth of our publishing programs. We achieved New York Times bestsellers in every category, from hardcover fiction and nonfiction to trade paperback and mass market, as well the Advice, How-to & Misc. and children's lists, for the week of January 20th.

Penguin Group (USA) holds four of the seven #1 adult slots on The New York Times bestseller lists, for the fourth time in five weeks, with A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) #1 on the adult hardcover fiction list ; In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (The Penguin Press) debuting on top of the adult hardcover nonfiction list; Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin) at #1 on the adult nonfiction paperback list for the 35th time, in its 50th week on the list overall; and Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs (Ace), on top of the adult mass market fiction list, her first #1 New York Times bestseller, in its second week.
Overall, Penguin Group (USA) racks up 31 New York Times bestsellers across all categories for the Week of January 20th.

Here are some highlights:

New York Times-bestselling Author Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto Debuts at #1 on The New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction List Amidst Major Media

A major piece on Michael Pollan and his new book, In Defense of Food (The Penguin Press), ran on the front page of the Life section of USA Today's January 9th edition as the book debuts at #1 on The New York Times hardcover nonfiction bestseller list. The book shows us how we can start making thoughtful food choices that will enrich our lives, enlarge our sense of what it means to be healthy, and bring pleasure back to eating. Pollan launched his book with an interview on NPR's "Morning Edition" and his tour includes stops in New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Louisville, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Iowa City, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle throughout January and February. In Defense of Food will be reviewed in The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, and The San Francisco Chronicle, among many other national and local publications. His tour media includes NPR's "Science Friday", "On the Media", "To the Point", and "Marketplace" as well as appearances on "CBS Sunday Morning", C-Span's "Book TV" and local shows across the country. Stay tuned for more news about this author and book.

Pulitzer Prize-winning Author Geraldine Brooks' New Viking Novel, People of the Book, Debuts at #7 on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction List, and Featured on the Cover of USA Today's Life Section

Geraldine Brooks' People of the Book, her new Viking novel that follows her Pulitzer Prize-winning book, March, debuts at #7 on The New York Times hardcover fiction list. A glowing cover feature in the Life section of today's edition of USA Today said "booksellers are comparing it to The Da Vinci Code and calling it the first literary hit of 2008." More rave reviews have appeared in The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times, among many others. Geraldine has been profiled on "Morning Edition," interviewed on "Diane Rehm" and reviewed on "All Things Considered." Her tour kicked off this week with packed events, including a terrific reading at Barnes & Noble Union Square, and nearly 30 events in more than 20 cities still to come with great local media in every market.

Pulitzer Prize-winning Reporter David Cay Johnston's New Portfolio Book, Free Lunch, Jumps Onto The New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction List at #9 as NPR "Fresh Air" Segment Attracts Readers

Free Lunch by David Cay Johnston (Portfolio) jumped onto The New York Times hardcover nonfiction list after a double segment on NPR'S "Fresh Air" last Thursday. Johnston's 38-minute interview with Terry Gross can be heard here.

The author will be on "Bill Moyers' Journal" on PBS tomorrow night, and much more radio, print, and online media. Johnston, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The New York Times, explores in Free Lunch how government subsidies and new regulations have quietly funneled money from the poor and the middle class to the super-rich and the politically connected.

Living Well by Montel Williams' Lands on The New York Times Hardcover Advice, How-To, and Miscellaneous Bestseller List at #10 as Major Media Heats Up

Media is pouring in for Montel Williams' Living Well: 21 Days to Transform Your Life, Supercharge Your Health, and Feel Spectacular. In Living Well, Montel reveals his personal recipe for happy and healthy living, including his 21-day Living Well Food and Workout Program, an intense, three-phased health plan for fast, fit results. Montel dedicated an entire hour of his own show to Living Well and he will be appearing on the CW 11 Morning News in New York, "The View," Court TV's "Star Jones Show," Fox News' "Red Eye," and "Fox and Friends Weekend Show." In addition, great print attention is coming in, including reviews and interviews in the Columbus Dispatch, Indianapolis Star, Palm Beach Post, Los Angeles Daily News, and Washington Post Express.

Kate Jacobs' The Friday Night Knitting Club Debuts at #12 on The New York Times Trade Paperback Fiction List and Draws Fans to Special "Knit Nights"

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (Berkley Trade Paperback) started off with a bang this week, securing the #12 spot on The New York Times trade paperback fiction bestseller list and #20 on the January 10th USA Today Bestseller List. It's not surprising given the latest sales figures! Knitting Club started with a 200,000 initial print run and with only one week of sales has already shipped 290,000 copies!

The national media is taking notice of these successful beginnings. Publishersweekly.com and PW Daily both ran features this week and USA Today talked up the book in a special bestsellers article.

And that's not all — Kate just completed the first week of her 18-city tour, and drew crowds of 50 and up at almost every store. All of the signings are augmented by local "knit nights" sponsored by area yarn shops and knitting groups in each market. Local media highlights include: features in The Atlanta Journal Constitution and The Seattle Times, radio interviews on KQED-FM in San Francisco and WRGA-FM in Atlanta, as well as a television spot on the " Fox-6 Wakeup Show " in Milwaukee.

When published in hardcover by Putnam in January 2007, The Friday Night Knitting Club landed on The New York Times extended bestseller list for seven weeks — an extraordinary feat for a debut novel by a previously unknown author. Kate's second novel, Comfort Food, will be published by Putnam on May 1st of this year.

Putnam Author Sara Paretsky's Latest Novel, Bleeding Kansas, Debuts on the Hardcover Fiction Bestseller List

Putnam published Bleeding Kansas by Sara Paretsky on January 1st and after only four days on the market the book hit The New York Times hardcover fiction bestseller list at #15. Bleeding Kansas is a departure from the V.I. Warshawski detective novels that made Paretsky famous, but the author's amazing skill for developing characters, her keen eye for detail, and her ability to craft riveting stories of the best and worst of humanity all shine through in these pages. In a starred review Publishers Weekly says, "Paretsky taps a different vein and strikes gold in this timely tale of fear and conflict in heartland America." Early media response for the book was positive, with rave reviews in all trade publications, including another starred review in Library Journal. Print coverage has included a feature in USA Today and reviews in the New York Times Book Review, Entertainment Weekly and OK! magazine. In addition, Paretsky kicked off a three-week tour on January 2nd.

Penguin Group (USA) Titles Dominate All Around the Country

In addition to dominating The New York Times bestseller list, Penguin titles, both in print and electronic, continue to hold the top positions on lists around the country.

On the Amazon Kindle's bestseller list, Penguin titles occupy the top four e-book slots, with Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin); A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead); In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (The Penguin Press); and Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson (Penguin). Of their top 20 bestselling positions, 14 are books (along with newspapers and magazines), and Penguin titles occupy seven of the 14 slots — 50%!

On the New England Bookseller Association Bestseller list for the week ending January 6th, Penguin titles dominate nearly every format's list: A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead); People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (Viking); and World Without End by Ken Follett (Dutton) top out the hardcover fiction list; and Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food is #1 on the hardcover nonfiction list. On the nonfiction trade list, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin); Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin); and The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (Penguin) lead the pack, while on the mass-market fiction list, The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (Signet); and Dust by Martha Grimes (Signet) come out on top.

Publisher's Marketplace announced the top 50 Imprints in the industry whose books received the most book reviews in 2007. Viking turned up in the #4 position with 90 books being reviewed 339 times. Not only that, but in the first wave of 2008's book reviews, two more Viking titles have received the most attention from reviewers: J. M. Coetzee's Diary of a Bad Year and Geraldine Brooks' People of the Book. Riverhead, Putnam, The Penguin Press, Gotham and Dutton were also among the top 50 most reviewed imprints.

In addition, Astrid & Veronika by Linda Olsson (Penguin) and Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin) taken the #1 spots for Harry Schwartz paperback bestsellers for 2007, for trade fiction and nonfiction respectively. Penguin Group (USA) had four of the top 10 fiction books, with Astrid & Veronika at #1; The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards (Penguin) at #6; The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) at #7; and The True Story of Hansel and Gretel by Louise Murphy (Penguin) at #9. And Penguin also claimed three of the top 10 nonfiction books, with Eat, Pray, Love at #1; Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson at #2; and The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan at #8.

Five Penguin Group (USA) Authors are Finalists for 2008 Essence Literary Awards

Five authors from Penguin Group (USA) have been selected as finalists for the first-ever 2008 Essence literary awards, honoring the best books/authors of 2007. Nuruddin Farah for Knots (Riverhead) in the Fiction category; Russell Simmons for Do You! (Gotham) in the Inspiration category; and The Three Doctors for The Bond in Nonfiction. In addition, Dutton author Eric Jerome Dickey is a finalist in the Essence Storyteller of the Year Award. In 2007 he wrote two novels, Sleeping With Strangers and Waking With Enemies and that both hit The New York Times Bestseller List in the #9 position. And, finally, Viking/Penguin author Terry McMillan has been chosen to receive this year's Essence Lifetime Achievement Award.

Through January 15th, be sure to go to www.essence.com/essence/literaryawards to cast your vote Eric Jerome Dickey for Storyteller of the Year. All of the winners will be announced on February 7th.

Viking's Reading the Man Nominated for the 2007 Lincoln Prize

Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee Through His Private Letters by Elizabeth Brown Pryor (Viking, May 2007) has been named one of four finalists for the very prestigious Lincoln Prize, given annually by Gettysburg College for the best book on or related to the Civil War. The prize comes with a $50,000 cash award. The winner of this year's award will be announced on Lincoln's Birthday, February 12th.

Stealing Buddha's Dinner by Bich Minh Nguyen is a 2008 Michigan Notable Book

In addition to Write It When I'm Gone by Thomas DeFrank (G. P. Putnam's Sons) as noted in last week's Spotlight, Stealing Buddha's Dinner by Bich Minh Nguyen (Viking) has also been chosen as a Michigan Notable book for 2008. This exclusive and prestigious list is compiled annually and is limited to only 20 of the most notable Michigan titles published in the previous year. The program honors and promotes quality publications about the State of Michigan or the Great Lakes, written by a Michigan author, or set in Michigan. The committee spent the last six months discussing well over 300 different titles in order to select the books most reflective of Michigan's diverse ethnic, historical, literary, and cultural experience.

The New York Times Bestseller Highlights for the Week of January 23rd

As mentioned in the lead item of today's Spotlight, Penguin Group (USA) once again dominates The New York Times bestseller list, scoring four #1 slots simultaneously for the week of January 20th. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) holds at #1 on the hardcover fiction list in its 33rd week; In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (The Penguin Press) debuts at #1 on the hardcover nonfiction list; Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs (Ace) is at #1 on the paperback mass-market list in its second week; and Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin) is #1 in its 50th week on the paperback nonfiction list.

In addition, Penguin Group (USA) had eight debuts this week: on the hardcover fiction list: The Shooters by W.E.B. Griffin (G. P. Putnam's Sons) appears at #3; People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (Viking) debuts at #7; and Bleeding Kansas by Sara Paretsky (G. P. Putnam's Sons) is at #15. On the hardcover nonfiction list, in addition to In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (Penguin Press) which appeared at #1, Free Lunch by David Cay Johnston (Portfolio) debuts at #9. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (Berkley) is at #12 on the trade paperback list, while on the mass-market paperback list Morning Light, by Catherine Anderson (Signet) appears at #7 and The Suspect by John Lescroart (Signet) is at #11. And finally, Living Well by Montel Williams (NAL) debuts at #10 on the hardcover advice, how-to, and miscellaneous list.

Here are more bestseller highlights for the week of January 20th:

On the hardcover fiction list: World Without End by Ken Follett is #4 in its thirteenth week; and T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton (A Marian Wood Book/Putnam) is at #5 in its fifth week.

The Age of Turbulence by Alan Greenspan (The Penguin Press) is at #11 in its sixteenth week on the hardcover nonfiction list.

On the trade paperback fiction list, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) holds at #2 in its 148th week; The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (NAL) is at #3 in its eighth week; and The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards (Penguin) holds at #8 in its 81st week.

On the mass-market paperback fiction list, Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts (Jove) is #2 in its seventh week; Wizard's Daughter by Catherine Coulter (Jove) is #13 in its second week; The Hunters by W.E.B. Griffin (Jove) is #16 in its third week; The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (Signet) is at #17 in its eleventh week; and The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers by Lilian Jackson Braun (Jove) is #18 in its third week.

On the paperback nonfiction list, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin) holds at #3 in its 49th week; The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (Penguin) is #8 in its nineteenth week; and This is Your Brain On Music by Daniel J. Levitin (Plume) is at #17 in its eighteenth week.

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

In the young readers sector, on the children's picture book list, The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore (various Penguin Young Readers Group imprints) is at #5 in its fifteenth week; How to Find Flower Fairies written and illustrated by Cicely Mary Barker (Warne) is at #8 in its third week; The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett (Putnam) is #9 in its sixteenth week. And on the children's series list, The Alex Rider Adventures by Anthony Horowitz (Philomel/Speak, hardcover and paperback) is at #7 in its 44th week.

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