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Berkley/NAL Achieves Three #1 New York Times Bestsellers in Two Weeks and Penguin Group (USA) Has Four Simultaneous #1 Bestsellers for the Week of April 26th
In the past two weeks, three books published by Berkley/NAL have hit the #1 slot on The New York Times bestseller lists. For the week of April 26th, Turn Coat by Jim Butcher (Roc) debuts at #1 on the hardcover fiction list, and Tribute by Nora Roberts (Jove) hits #1 on the mass market paperback list. Last week, From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris (Ace) debuted at #1, also on the mass market paperback list.
Turn Coat, the 11th installment of Jim Butcher's urban noir fantasy series, the Dresden Files, marks the first #1 New York Times bestseller for both Butcher and Roc. The book will also be #1 on the Publishers Weekly hardcover fiction list next week. With crowds of 350 fans at his book store appearances, Jim embarked on his extremely successful seven-city tour last week, which ended Thursday night in his hometown, Kansas City.
With three new debuts, Berkley/NAL also dominates The New York Times mass market bestseller list, occupying six of twenty slots. In addition to Tribute and From Dead to Worse, who hold the #1 and #3 slots respectively, Curse of the Dawn by Karen Chance (Onyx) debuts at #7, Winter Study by Nevada Barr (Berkley) hits at #11; Hold Tight by Harlan Coben (Signet) is at #13 in its sixth week on the list, and The Secret Wedding by Jo Beverley (Signet) appears at #14.
It was a stellar week on The New York Times bestseller list overall for Penguin Group (USA), holding four #1 slots: Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin) is #1 in its 115th week on the nonfiction paperback list, while Listen to the Wind by Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth (Dial) holds at #1 on the children's picture books list.
View our feature on Turn Coat to find out what the Chicago public really thinks about wizard Harry Dresden.
View our Nora Roberts feature to read the first chapter of Tribute.Three Penguin Group (USA) Authors Win Literature Awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters
Three authors from Penguin Group (USA) have been chosen by the American Academy of Arts and Letters to receive 2009 Literature Awards. Viking/Penguin author Ron Currie, Jr. has been named winner of the Addison M. Metcalf Award, worth $10,000, which is awarded to a "young writer of great promise." In addition, Viking/Penguin's Rilla Askew and Riverhead's George Saunders are among seven authors who have been given Academy Awards in Literature, accompanied with a $7,500 prize, which honor exceptional accomplishment in any genre. The literature prizes honor both established and emerging writers of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, and are nominated by the Academy's 250 members, with a rotating committee of writers selecting the winners. The awards will be presented at a ceremony in New York in May.
Listen to an audio excerpt from Ron Currie's God is Dead, followed by an interview with the author here.
Steve Lopez's The Soloist Continues Its Growing Success and Climbs the New York Times Bestseller List with Movie to Open Next Friday
The Soloist by Steve Lopez (Berkley) continues to climb the New York Times bestseller list, and is currently holding its highest position at #8 on the paperback nonfiction list for the week of April 26th. Strong national media has supported and continues to celebrate the incredible story based on Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez's columns about his relationship with a homeless, paranoid schizophrenic Juilliard trained musician, Nathaniel Ayers. 60 Minutes aired an incredible piece on Steve and Nathaniel in March, and Steve has done interviews with "The Diane Rehm Show" and Dr. Robin Smith on "Oprah & Friends" Sirius XM, with another interview on NPR's "Morning Edition" set to air on April 20th.
The DreamWorks motion picture based on The Soloist, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr., opens in theaters across the U.S. next Friday, and will spark further attention for the book. You can watch the trailer for The Soloist here.
Community reads across the country are embracing this story with programs in cities including Philadelphia; Sacramento; Thousand Oaks, California; Bozeman, Montana; Cincinnati; and Kansas City.
The Soloist was also chosen as one of six titles to receive the prestigious 2008 Christopher Award for Literature, which Lopez received last night.
Final Salute and The Soloist Win 2009 Christopher Awards
Two books from Penguin Group (USA) have won awards in the Books for Adults category at the 60th annual Christopher Awards: Final Salute by Jim Sheeler (Penguin Press/ Penguin) and The Soloist by Steve Lopez (Riverhead/ Berkley). More than 300 titles were submitted during the 2008 calendar year. The books were rigorously reviewed by a panel of distinguished publishers, writers, editors, subject specialists and Christopher Awards staff members. Since 1949, the Christopher Awards have annually saluted media (TV programming, feature films, books for adults and children) that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit...and encourage men, women and children to pursue excellence in creative arenas that have the potential to influence a mass audience positively." The awards were presented at the Christopher Awards gala last night at the McGraw-Hill building in New York.
Penguin Young Readers Group Authors Win the Hearts of Texas Librarians
Penguin Young Readers Group exhibited at the Texas Library Conference on April 1st-3rd in Houston, Texas. Over 8,000 Texas librarians attended. The show was a big success for Penguin with much excitement and fanfare around the booth. Penguin's author panels featured Nancy Werlin (Impossible), Peg Kehret (Stolen Children), Mike Wimmer (One Giant Leap), John Green (Paper Towns), Joan Bauer (Peeled), and Neal Schusterman (Antsy Does Time), and each author spoke to crowds of over 200+ librarians at their individual presentations. All of the authors had long lines at their signings and many books were sold. Jon Scieszka (Knucklehead) was the keynote luncheon speaker and gave an informative and hilarious presentation to over 600 librarians. After his speech there was a mad rush to the booth to buy copies of his books and Jon had to extend his signing for another hour in order to sign everyone's copies. For the first time ever, TLA invited 350 teens to the conference, which added a completely different dynamic to the conference floor. The teens stormed the Penguin booth and eagerly listened to news about upcoming books. The word quickly spread as more and more teens came to get copies of the most buzzed about ARCs: Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen, Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow, and If I Stay by Gayle Forman.
Six Books from Penguin Group (USA) are Named Finalists for 2009 Colorado Book Awards
Six books from Penguin Group (USA) have been selected as finalists for the 2009 Colorado Book Awards: - Wayfare by Pattiann Rogers (Penguin) in the Poetry category
- Wild Inferno by Sandi Ault (Berkley) in the Genre Fiction category
- A Death in Gascony by Sarah D. Almeida (Berkley) in the Genre Fiction category
- Breath and Bone by Carol Berg (Roc) in the Genre Fiction category
- M is for Mischief by Linda Ashman, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter (Dutton Children's Books) in the Children's Literature category
- There Was a Man Who Loved a Rat and Other Vile Little Poems by Gerda Rovetch, illustrated by Lissa Rovetch (Philomel) in the Children's Literature category
The Colorado Book Awards is a program that seeks to celebrate the accomplishments of Colorado's literary community. The Award is meant to both recognize outstanding authors and to promote those authors to Colorado readers. The winners will be announced at the award event in Aspen, CO the week of June 21st, as part of the Aspen Summer Words Literary Festival, which is recognized as one of the top 10 literary events in the country.
Gotham's William Shinker, Lisa Johnson and Lauren Marino featured on Bravo's Hit Series "The Real Housewives of New York City"
This past Tuesday, Gotham author Countess LuAnn de Lesseps' hit Bravo television show, "The Real Housewives of New York City," had some very special guests. Gotham's publisher Bill Shinker, publicity and marketing director Lisa Johnson and editorial director Lauren Marino all appeared on the show in a meeting with the author about the upcoming publication. And just like they do in all the Gotham meetings (not seriously, of course), the meeting ended with a champagne toast and the excitement of what's to come.
The Countess' new book, Class with the Countess, is on sale this week and the media can't get enough. Major media highlights for Class with the Countess include: People (on stands now), "Extra!" (next week), OK! Weekly (on stands now), The New York Times Style Section feature, AP TV and print, "Entertainment Tonight," the "Morning Show with Mike and Juliet" (4/24), Sirius XM Radio, Life & Style Weekly (on stands now), and a New York Post feature covering the book.
The Countess will be appear at a number of book signings in the area next week, including Barnes & Noble in Lake Grove, NY (4/18 at 2PM), Borders on Park Ave and 57th St (4/21 at 7PM) and R.J. Julia in Madison, CT (4/24).
Read a first-chapter excerpt from the book here.
Four Penguin Authors Recipients of the Guggenheim Fellowship
The Guggenheim Fellowship recipients were announced last week and Penguin had four winning authors. Terrance Hayes and Barbara Ras were both recipients in the poetry category, Chris Abani won in the Fiction category, and John A. Glusman won in the nonfiction category.
Edward Hirsch, the president of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, announced the 180 recipients including nine poets, 11 fiction writers, two biographers and a dozen nonfiction authors.
To view a complete list of recipients, click here here.
Llama, Llama, Red Pajama Dollywood Play Debuts in Nashville
The Penguin Players, the official theater group for Dollywood's Imagination Playhouse, debuted their theatrical adaptation of Llama, Llama, Red Pajama (Viking Children's Books) at the Nashville Public Library on Thursday, April 16th. Tennessee Governor Bredesen and more than 1,500 children attended the free performance, spurring the library to add three additional show times. Every spring, the Penguin Players tour a play based on a Penguin children's book and then perform daily shows for two months at Dolly's Imagination Playhouse at the Dollywood theme park in the Smoky Mountains. Llama, Llama, Red Pajama will be on tour April 6th-May 30th, visiting Nashville, Anderson County, Asheville, Chattanooga, Knoxville, the Knoxville Reading Festival and Sevier County. The troupe will take up residency at Dollywood from June 12th- August 2nd, performing three shows a day, seven days a week.
You can learn more about The Dollywood Imagination Playhouse and other featured performances here.
Richard Jenkins Set to Star Opposite Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love in Columbia Pictures Film
The film adaption of Viking/Penguin's #1 New York Times bestseller, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, is making headlines with its newest addition to the cast. Richard Jenkins, nominated for a supporting actor Oscar this year for The Visitor, has signed on to play Richard, the Texan whom Elizabeth Gilbert befriends at an Indian ashram. Lensing is set to begin in July and will take place in New York, Rome, India and Bali.
Rave Reviews for Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
Critics across the country are raving about Wintergirls, the newest Viking Children's Books novel from award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson. The Detroit Free Press gave Wintergirls four out of four stars, asking: "What makes Wintergirls different? Three words: Laurie Halse Anderson." The Miami Herald gave Wintergirls another glowing review: "If you're a teenage girl, Wintergirls might just save your life." And Newsday writes, "[Laurie Halse Anderson's] talent is to capture the peculiar lost quality of American teenagers who, to an outside observer, would appear to have little to complain about. She makes their pain palpable and has been rewarded with a large fan base."
Laurie Halse Anderson just finished up a successful tour for Wintergirls. She visited Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Austin, Houston, Oxford (MS), Atlanta, Miami and Raleigh. Some stand-out events included an event at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh where the crowd literally screamed upon her arrival, and at Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida, where Laurie's opening act were the winners of a nation-wide poetry contest. These great events, in addition to many standing room-only events around the country, helped land Wintergirls at #5 on The New York Times bestseller list. It is now in its fourth week on the list.
Watch the trailer for Wintergirls here.
Penguin Classics' London Labour and the London Poor Mentioned on the Popular Blog, BoingBoing
The Penguin Classics title London Labour and the London Poor by Henry Mayhew was the focus of Cory Doctorow's blog post on BoingBoing this week. Doctorow gained interest in the title after attending a panel over the weekend where panelist, Tim Powers, points out how Mayhew influenced him to write his science-fictional book. Doctorow later mentions how London Labour and the London Poor was the first steampunk novel ever written and that he "can't wait to read it."
In Imagining India, preeminent business leader Nandan Nilekani takes a visionary look at the evolution and future of India. Click here to view our feature and read an excerpt.
In this week's Penguin Podcast, Mehmet Murat Somer discusses The Kiss Murder, the first novel in his "Turkish Delight" mystery series, and why he chose to make the main detective a transvestite.
Next week, P.W. Singer will discuss Wired for War, his book on robotic technology and how it is being used to fight wars overseas.
This week on the Penguin Blog…
- The Penguin Book of Gaslight Crime editor Michael Sims challenges how we think of great thieves.
- Because I Am Furniture author Thalia Chaltas describes her process in producing a novel in poems.
- And Keeper of Light and Dust author Natasha Mostert answers common questions from readers. You can also watch an interview with the author here.
The New York Times Bestseller Highlights for the Week of April 26th
Five new debuts on The New York Times bestseller list for the week of April 26th: on the hardcover fiction list, Turn Coat by Jim Butcher (Roc) hits at #1, and Borderline by Nevada Barr (G. P. Putnam's Sons) appears at #7, while on the mass market fiction list, Curse of the Dawn by Karen Chance (Onyx) is #7, Winter Study by Nevada Barr (Berkley) is #11, and The Secret Wedding by Jo Beverley (Signet) is #14.
Here are more New York Times bestseller highlights:
On the hardcover fiction list, Long Lost by Harlan Coben (Dutton) is #3 in its second week, and Corsair by Clive Cussler (Putnam) is #12 in its fifth week.
Might As Well Laugh About It Now by Marie Osmond, with Marcia Wilkie (NAL) is #15 on the hardcover nonfiction list in its second week.
On the trade paperback fiction list, City of Thieves by David Benioff (Plume) is #3 in its second week; People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (Penguin) is #15 in its fifteenth week; and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) is #19 in its 20th week.
On the mass market fiction list, Tribute by Nora Roberts takes control of the #1 slot in its second week; From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris (Ace) is #3 in its second week; and Hold Tight by Harlan Coben (Signet) is #13 in its sixth week.
On the paperback nonfiction list, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin) holds the #1 slot in its 115th week; Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin) is #6 in its 116th week; The Soloist by Steve Lopez (Berkley) is #8 in its fifth week; and The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (Penguin) is #18 in its 82nd week.
On the advice, how-to, and miscellaneous list, WWE Encyclopedia by Brian Shields and Kevin Sullivan (DK) is #9 in its fourth week on the hardcover side, while A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (Plume) returns to the paperback list in its 53rd week.
In the young readers sector, on the children's picture books list, Listen to the Wind by Greg Mortenson and Susan L. Roth (Dial) is #1 in its twelfth week; and The Very Hungry Caterpillar written and illustrated by Eric Carle (Philomel) is #4 in its fourth week. On the children's chapter books list, Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (Razorbill) is #5 in its 25th week and Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (Viking) is #6 in its fourth week. On the children's paperback books list, Three Cups of Tea: Young Readers Edition by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Puffin) is #5 in its twelfth week; and Slam by Nick Hornby (Riverhead) returns to the list at #10 in its 23rd week.Rapt by Winifred Gallagher (The Penguin Press, on sale now)
Based on her extensive and original research into the science of attention, Gallagher's new book Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life, makes the radical argument that the quality of your life largely depends on what you choose to pay attention to and how you choose to do it. In Rapt, Gallagher asks: What is attention, exactly? Can we train our focus? What happens in your brain when you focus on something? How does your unique, characteristic way of focusing affect who you are? Why do certain things "grab" your attention? Interviewing all the top behavioral researchers and cutting-edge neuroscientists studying attention today, Gallagher answers these questions and goes far beyond the science of attention to examine its role in other areas of our lives, from work and relationships to creativity and spirituality.
Water Ghosts by Shawna Yang Ryan (The Penguin Press, on sale now)
Shawna Yang Ryan's stunning debut novel, Water Ghosts, weaves fact and fiction, history and Chinese mythology, to tell a ghost story set in a small Chinese farming town in California's Sacramento Delta. Originally published as Locke 1928 in a limited print run from El León Literary Arts, Water Ghosts is set in the wake of the Immigration Act of 1924, legislation that barred many Chinese women from joining husbands who had immigrated to America in search of work. The absence of women defines life in Locke, a community of bachelors where men outnumber women twenty to one and most of the women are white prostitutes. For this reason, when a boat bearing three mysterious and bedraggled Chinese women arrives one day out of the fog of the Sacramento Delta, suspicion and rumor spread rapidly among the townspeople of Locke. When a flood threatens to wash away the entire town, the frightening power of the strange women will be revealed. In Water Ghosts, Shawna Yang Ryan tells a story of a marriage broken by separation and betrayal, a town brought to its knees by loneliness and longing, and what happens when a Chinese ghost story begins to come true.
The Garden of Invention by Jane S. Smith (The Penguin Press, on sale now)
These days, supermarket bins teem with a rich variety of produce; fruits and vegetables which were once seasonal are now almost perennially available; eating local is something to strive for rather than one's only real option. It's hard to imagine a time when food choices were limited and an agricultural figure could become a hero. In The Garden of Invention: Luther Burbank and the Business of Breeding Plants, award-winning author and noted cultural historian Jane S. Smith delivers a delightful narrative history of the celebrated plant breeder as well as a fascinating look at the era when agriculture was becoming a science and science was becoming a business. The road from the nineteenth-century farm to twenty-first-century agribusiness is full of twists and turns, of course, but a good part of it passed through Luther Burbank's garden. Beautifully written and beguiling, The Garden of Invention is not only a colorful portrait of an American original, it's also an engrossing examination of the birth of the business of farm and garden.
New Next Week
Getting A Grip, a memoir by tennis legend Monica Seles, is a remarkable journey through fame, tragedy, self-discovery, and triumph Monica chronicles her life both on and off the court.
The book will be featured in major sports and tennis media: ESPN.com is doing a feature and an online chat, SI.com has a Q&A with fans, Inside Tennis, Tennis Channel, and much more.
The Perfect Poison by Amanda Quick (G. P. Putnam's Sons, 4/21)
From New York Times-bestselling author, Amanda Quick (aka Jayne Ann Krentz), comes The Perfect Poison: An Arcane Society Novel, a thrilling paranormal mystery set in Victorian London.
Victorian London holds many secrets, but none as closely guarded as those of the shadowy Arcane Society. Amanda Quick delves into an underworld of passion, greed, and powers that lie beyond the normal human realm.
In the April 15th issue of Library Journal, the reviewer raved, "Seductiveness and clever plotting combine with Quick's classic zingy wit to produce a funny, fast-paced romp that will please readers. Another winner in the popular Arcane Society series for Seattle area-based Quick."
Closing Time by Joe Queenan (Viking, 4/20)
In his new book, Closing Time, Joe Queenan has finally taken on the subject many of his ardent fans have been hoping for: his own life. Closing Time tells of Queenan as a young man who happens to be growing up on just the other side of getting by, thanks to an Irish father who subjects his hapless family to a series of indignities that Queenan in a bravura performance manages to make both heartbreaking and hilarious. Joseph Queenan Sr. is a classic portrait of the ne'er-do-well Irish paterfamilias, a hard-drinking, self-pitying, physically abusive, sentimental, God-fearing, blarney-filled blowhard, an emotional terrorist whose many whims were law. His wife and four children each find his or her own way of coping with the monster in the room, and for young Joe it is the possibility, one day, of being able to escape, by virtue of his native wit, curiosity, and intelligence, the grim, gray relentlessly unexamined life that has been handed to him.
