Penguin Group (USA) announced yesterday that it has built a primary school in Afghanistan, in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the United States Association for UNHCR. The school (pictured here) is located in Arababshirali, roughly 150 miles from Kabul, in Kunduz Province. The school, which recently opened its doors to 270 students, grades one through six, is a tribute to American booksellers, librarians, and educators who supported Khaled Hosseini's #1 New York Times-bestselling and internationally acclaimed novels, The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, published by Riverhead Books.

In 2006, Khaled Hosseini was honored by the UN Refugee Agency and named a U.S. envoy to the UNHCR. In this role, he traveled to war-torn villages in the northern region of his native Afghanistan in 2007. During this trip he witnessed firsthand the overwhelming desire of Afghan people to provide an education and a better future for their children. Now, in 2008, Penguin Group (USA) is proud to play a key role in turning that desire into a reality.

Susan Petersen Kennedy, President of Penguin Group (USA), commented: "Changing the world can sometimes start with a single act of kindness. Our hope is that this new school is one of those acts. We know that the children it serves will contribute to their world and ours, and we wanted to help provide a place where they can learn, grow, and dream. For us, education matters, books matter, and these children matter."

Mrs. Kennedy continued, "We are grateful to our author, Khaled Hosseini, and UNHCR for making this gift possible, and for inspiring us and enriching our view of the needs and struggles faced by families in Afghanistan. As an international publisher, Penguin Group is committed to making a difference in communities worldwide by embracing those differences that exist among us. It is often through the voices of our authors, such as Khaled Hosseini, and their books, that we discover the connections we have to each other."

Khaled Hosseini said, "Novels evoke universal human experiences. They are uniquely suited to create empathy and understanding between people of different cultural and religious backgrounds. Over the past few years, I have been humbled by the outpouring of empathy and compassion from my readers for the people of my homeland. It is a great honor to me when readers write me to say that they have found a personal connection to Afghanistan and the suffering of its people through my novels. To me, this school is the physical expression of that connection."

More than 350 booksellers, librarians, and educators across the United States were recognized for their support of Hosseini's #1 New York Times-bestselling first novel, The Kite Runner, with personalized donation certificates that read "Some novels make a world of difference," each signed by Hosseini.

Read full article

Denis Leary came out swinging with the launch for Why We Suck (Viking), with huge events at Borders/Penn Station and Barnes & Noble/Staten Island to kick things off. Publicity began with a feature in USA Today, spots on the "Opie & Anthony Show," "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," "Hardball with Chris Matthews," "The View," "Imus in the Morning," "Morning Joe," the "Today Show, and a two-part segment on "Access Hollywood."

Next week, be sure to catch him on "The Late Show with David Letterman" on Thursday, November 27th, followed by "Jimmy Kimmel Live" on December 3rd, and "Rachael Ray" on December 5th. On NPR, hear him on "Day to Day" on December 1st, and "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me!" on December 4th. In addition, Playboy is featuring the first serial (on-stands now). Next stop: Boston!

Several major national media appearances have been lined up to promote Do the Right Thing by Mike Huckabee (Sentinel), which went on-sale this past Tuesday. There's been plenty of controversy surrounding the book, triggered by this Time magazine article, and Huckabee will appear on many national shows to discuss it, including several Fox News shows, "The View," CNN, MSNBC, NPR, C-Span, major Christian shows, and major conservative radio shows.

Two Penguin Group (USA) authors, Riverhead's Aleksandar Hemon for The Lazarus Project in the Fiction category; and The Penguin Press' Jim Sheeler for Final Salute: A Story of Unfinished Lives in the Nonfiction Category, were honored as finalists Wednesday night at the 2008 National Book Awards, held at Cipriani in New York City.

In addition, Peter Matthiessen, whose backlist is published by Penguin, was named the winner in the fiction category for his novel, Shadow Country. Matthiessen previously won the National Book Award in 1979 for The Snow Leopard, which was published by Viking in hardcover and is now a Penguin Classics title.

For more information on the Awards, visit the National Book Awards website.

In honor of the 15th Anniversary Penguin edition of The Stone Diaries, Carol Shields' Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "Live from the NYPL" (New York Public Library) hosted a beautiful celebration of Carol Shields last Thursday, November 13th.

The event included Anne Giardini (Carol's daughter); Martin Levin; Sarah McNally; David Staines; Jane Urquhart; Meg Wolitzer; and Don Shields (Carol's husband) talking about their relationship to Carol and the book. It was moderated by Shelagh Rogers and Sara Botsford, who read the book for the audio edition of the book, read excerpts from each chapter.

Pictured from left to right: Sara Botsford, Don Shields, and Shelagh Rogers (photo Credit: Peter Foley) .

Greg Mortenson (pictured) was greeted by a standing ovation at a lecture event last week at DePauw University, where he gave another inspired talk to an audience of approximately 700. After the lecture, attendees lined the Great Hall of the Green Center for the Performing Arts for a book signing session of his #1 New York Times bestselling Three Cups of Tea, which continued long into the night.

"The more I do this, I'm convinced that education should be the top global priority," Greg Mortenson told the audience. "We can drop bombs, we can build roads, we can put in electricity, but unless the girls are educated, a society won't change."

To read an article about the event and view video clips of his lecture, click here.

Earlier this month, Penguin Young Readers Group launched an innovative online marketing campaign for John Flanagan's Rangers Apprentice Book 5: Sorcerer of the North. The campaign includes animated 15-second spots which will run on two Times Square Toys "R" Us JumboTrons from November 3rd through December 15th, and will reach 90 million viewers.

A redesign of the Ranger's Apprentice minisite includes a Ranger's widget, new book trailer, author video, downloadable wallpapers and avatars. The widget drew a whopping 500,000 viewers in its first four days online!

In addition to print ads, a multi-tiered advertising campaign will run on www.addictinggames.com, the largest free gaming site for teens online. The promotion includes leaderboard ads, placement of our Ranger's widget on targeted game pages including adventure and sports as well a dedicated Ranger's Apprentice spot for one week on the homepage.

For the week of November 30th, Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (Razorbill) debuts at #4 on the children's series list.

Here are more bestseller highlights for the week of November 30th:

Salvation in Death by J.D. Robb (G. P. Putnam’s Sons) is at #8 in its second week on the hardcover fiction list.

On the hardcover nonfiction list, My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor (Viking) is #14 in its fourteenth week

On the trade paperback fiction list, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin) is #2 in its 124th week; World Without End by Ken Follett (NAL) is #3 in its sixth week; The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (Riverhead) is #4 in its eleventh week; The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) is #13 in its 192nd week; In the Woods by Tana French (Penguin) is #16 in its 25th week; and Home to Holly Springs by Jan Karon (Penguin) is #20 in its third week..

Rough Weather by Robert B. Parker (G. P. Putnam's Sons) is #14 in its third week on the hardcover fiction list.

On the mass market paperback list, Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (Ace) is #3 in its tenth week; The Chase by Clive Cussler (Berkley) is #6 in its third week; Suite 606 by J.D. Robb, Mary Blayney, Ruth Ryan Langan and Mary Kay McComas (Berkley) is #7 in its second week; Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon by David Michaels (Berkley) is #10 in its second week; Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris (Ace) is #11 in its tenth week; Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris (Ace) is #13 in its ninth week; Club Dead by Charlaine Harris (Ace) is #14 in its ninth week; Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris (Ace) is #17 in its ninth week; and Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris (Ace) is #18 in its fourth week.

On the paperback nonfiction list, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin) is #5 in its 94th week; Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin) is #7 in its 95th week; and The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (Penguin) is #14 in its 61st week.

On the advice, how-to, and miscellaneous list, Real Sex for Real Women by Laura Berman (DK) is #10 in its second week on the hardcover side, while on the paperback side, A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (Plume) is #7 in its 42nd week and I Can Has Cheezburger? by Professor Happycat and icanhascheezburger.com (Gotham) follows at #8 in its sixth week.

Shadowkiss: A Vampire Academy Novel (Razorbill, on sale now)

"Vampire Academy" debuted on the New York Times children's series list at #4 for the week of November 30th.

Sales for Razorbill's "Vampire Academy" continue to rise as the "Twilight" movie hits theatres, proving that Stephanie Meyer isn't the only one with popular vampire characters. To capitalize on the current popularity of these creatures of the night, Penguin is running a keyword search and banner ad campaign on IMDB, which will run whenever someone searches for information about the Twilight movie or any of its actors. This guarantees awareness of the series among Twilight fans. The campaign will run November 14th through December 7th, and will have a guaranteed 1,400,000 impressions.

Built for Show by Nate Green (Avery, on sale now)

Avery's Built for Show by Nate Green comes at the perfect time. After you are done stuffing yourself with turkey and yams next week you can begin to get in shape and look good for this winter holiday. Built for Show is the first fitness book to directly address young men. The author, Nate Green, is a 23-year-old personal trainer and bonified hunk who knows his audience and how to whip them into shape. Even at such a young age, he is a veteran fitness professional and a regular contributor to T-Nation. He has been published numerous times in Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, and Stack magazines.

Here is an exercise straight out of the book. It will help you get in shape so you will be sure to be with someone under the mistletoe this season.

Side Plank - "Turning your love handles into man handles"

• Lie on the floor on your left side with your weight resting on your left forearm and the outside edge of your left foot.
• Your elbow should be directly below your shoulder, and your right foot should be against your left foot, with the inside edges touching, and off the floor.
• Your body should form a straight line from your neck to your ankles.
• Put your right hand on your right hip.
• Hold the position for 45 seconds on each side. Don't rest as you switch from one side to the other, take a 45 second rest after you've done both sides.

Knit Two by Kate Jacobs (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 11/25)

On November 25th, Putnam will publish Knit Two, the highly anticipated sequel to Kate Jacobs' #1 New York Times bestseller, The Friday Night Knitting Club. Knit Two reunites readers with some of the diverse characters they met at the cozy yarn shop, Walker and Daughter, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and will introduce some intriguing new additions.

Putnam is launching Knit Two with a national marketing and publicity campaign to include a 15-city radio satellite tour, online promotions, and national print advertising. Kate will also visit bookstores and yarn shops for events in New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Boston, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, San Diego, Atlanta, Raleigh, Lansing, and Florida. Upcoming media includes coverage in The New York Times, USA Today and People, as well as in Good Housekeeping, Hallmark and OK! magazines. In addition, the book has been chosen as BJ's Wholesale Club's Spotlight book for December. Kate and the book will also be featured in an episode of "Novel Adventures," a CBS web original series of shorts created for Saturn that will air December 1st.

Apollo's Fire by Michael Sims (Penguin, 11/25)

So much of our shared daily experience in the world is shaped by the sometimes dramatic, sometimes subtle effects of the Earth's daily spin-tilts on its axis or, the alternation of light and darkness. Anyone who has felt "off kilter" after setting the clocks back twice a year knows how poignantly these daily rhythms affect our own cycles. On sale this week is Apollo's Fire: A Journey Through the Extraordinary Wonders of an Ordinary Day, by Michael Sims, a book the Washington Post described as "the sort of book you'd keep at your side on a lazy summer day, dipping in occasionally as you undertake a leisurely contemplation of the world around you." It's just as good on a cold winter's day to consider how the Earth's movements rule our bodies and calendars, the weather we encounter, and, ultimately, the tempo for our work and play.