Penguin Group (USA) Weekly Update - 4/7

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Two Penguin Group (USA) Authors Are Among the Five Finalists for the New York Public Library's 2008 Young Lions Fiction Award

Ron Currie, Jr., author of God Is Dead (Viking) and Dinaw Mengestu, author of The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears (Riverhead), are among the five young literary talents chosen as finalists for the New York Public Library's 2008 Young Lions Fiction Award, honoring the works of authors age 35 and under who are making an indelible impression on the world of literature.

Each year, five young fiction writers are selected as finalists by a reading committee of Young Lions members, writers, editors, and librarians. A panel of award judges, including novelists Han Ong, Helen Shulman, and last year's winner Olga Grushin (who won for The Dream Life of Sukhanov) a Putnam/Marian Wood title, will select the winner of the $10,000 prize.

The winning writer will be announced on April 28th at a ceremony hosted by Young Lions co-founder and actor Ethan Hawke, to be held in the Celeste Bartos Forum of the Humanities and Social Sciences in New York.

Penguin Press Titles Reap Awards Recognition

Four books from The Penguin Press have been honored for literary awards this season as either finalists or winners. The books include:

• Alice Waters and Chez Panisse by Thomas McNamee, chosen as a Northern California Book Award Finalist in the General Nonfiction Category.
• Among Other Things, I've Taken Up Smoking by Aobheann Sweeney, selected as a finalist for the 20th Annual Lamda Literary Award in the Lesbian Debut Fiction Category.
• The Means of Reproduction by Michelle Goldberg wins the Lukas Work in Progress Award.
• Supreme Conflict by Jan Crawford Greenberg, named a finalist for the 2008 ABA Silver Gavel Award.

Congratulations to all.

Pennie Picks NAL's Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors

Pennie Clark Ianniciello, Costco's book buyer, has picked Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors (NAL), originally published in 2004, as her pick for April. In Costco Connection, which goes to many of the club's members, Pennie wrote:

"If only all of history could read like this work of historical fiction. When I first read . . . Beneath a Marble Sky, I was immediately pulled in by the gorgeous and descriptive writing. And I had to turn to the cover time and time again to remind myself that a male author was so adept at capturing the female heroine's thoughts and emotions. Shors tells the story through Jahanara, the emperor's daughter. As her father commissions the Taj Mahal to pay tribute to his dead wife, Jaharana deals with her own passion for the structure's architect."

Three Cups of Tea Reaches #1 on The New York Times Bestseller List and Continues to Inspire

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin) has reached the #1 position on The New York Times paperback nonfiction bestseller list for the week of April 13th. The book has been on that list for 61 weeks, as Mortenson's message continues to inspire people around the country, and around the world.

Most recently, a movement starting locally in New Hampshire is working to officially integrate the book into high school curriculum. Two foundations, the Oristano Foundation and The Cricenti Trust, have already donated approximately 1,700 books to over 30 schools, including Laconia, NH's "One City, One Book" project, where 200 copies will be distributed among the community, to support the cause. Another 1,000 books are soon being donated to help an additional 23 schools in the area, and a blog has been set up for teachers throughout the state to share their lesson plans and project ideas for integrating the book.

Plume Author Simon LeVay Appears on "The Daily Show"

Simon LeVay, author of When Science Goes Wrong (Plume, on-sale now), appeared on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" on Tuesday, April 1st. LeVay presented a collection of twelve of the most shocking stories of scientific failure in recent history, in fields that ranged from forensic science and microbiology to nuclear physics and meteorology, which Publishers Weekly calls "entertaining and thought provoking."

 

 

New on the Penguin Website

Don't miss the special feature on Armageddon in Retrospect, a collection of Kurt Vonnegut's previously unreleased writings on war and peace. Listen to the introduction and read an interview with his son, Mark Vonnegut.

This week on the Penguin Podcast, Diane McEachern, author of Big Green Purse, discusses ways to create a cleaner, greener world.

 

The New York Times Bestseller Highlights for the Week of April 13th

Two new paperback mass-market debuts for Penguin Group (USA) on The New York Times bestseller list for the week of April 13th: The River Knows by Amanda Quick (Jove) appears at #9; and The Echelon Vendetta by David Stone (Jove) debuts at #20. In addition, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin) makes it into the #1 position on the paperback nonfiction list in its 61st week!

Here are more New York Times bestseller highlights for the week of April 13th:

On the hardcover fiction list, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) is at #9 in its 45th week; Black Widow by Randy Wayne White (G. P. Putnam's Sons) is #11 in its second week; and World Without End by Ken Follett (Dutton) is #12 in its 25th week.

On the hardcover nonfiction list, In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (The Penguin Press) holds at #4 in its thirteenth week; The Reason For God by Timothy Keller (Dutton) is #7 in its sixth week; and Common Wealth by Jeffrey D. Sachs (The Penguin Press) moves up to #9 in its second week.

On the trade paperback fiction list, The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (Berkley) holds at #4 in its thirteenth week; The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) is #5 in its 160th week; The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards (Penguin) moves up to #6 in its 93rd week; and The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (NAL) is #7 in its 20th week.

On the mass market paperback fiction list, Sacred Stone by Clive Cussler and Craig Dirgo (Berkley) is #13 in its eleventh week; and High Profile by Robert B. Parker (Berkley) is #15 in its fourth week.

On the paperback nonfiction list, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin) reaches #1 in its 61st week; Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin) is at #2 position in its 62nd week; The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (Penguin) is at #14 in its 31st week; Grace (Eventually) is #17 in its fifth week; and The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge (Penguin) is at #19 in its fourth week.

On the advice, how-to, and miscellaneous paperback list, A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (Plume) holds at #1 in its ninth week; and Getting Things Done by David Allen (Penguin) is at #6 in its 20th week.

In the young readers sector, Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (Speak) holds at #2 on the children's paperback list; Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (Razorbill) returns to the children's chapter books list at #5 in its second week; and The Big Field by Mike Lupica (Philomel) is #8 in its fourth week on that same list. And, on the children's series list, Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan (Philomel, hardcover and paperback) is at #4 in its 15th week.

 

 

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