Penguin Group (USA) Weekly Update - 5/26

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Penguin Group (USA) Authors Headline Events and Command the Spotlight at This Year's BEA in Los Angeles

BookExpo America 2008, which takes place next weekend (May 29 - June 1) in Los Angeles, once again features a number of Penguin Group (USA) authors and executives in major events and headline performances.

Lewis Black, author of Me of Little Faith (Riverhead), will headline the BEA Saturday Night benefit event in front of an audience of 2,000 book expo attendees at the Orpheum Theatre. John Hodgman, author of More Information Than You Require (Dutton) will serve as the Master of Ceremonies of the Sunday morning Book & Author Breakfast. Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, author of Taking on the System: Rules for Radical Change in a Digital Era (Celebra) will speak at the Saturday Book & Author Luncheon, which focuses on political and social issues. And Riverhead's Khaled Hosseini will be honored at the Book Sense Celebration of Bookselling Reception, as he accepts the award for A Thousand Splendid Suns winning Book Sense Book of the Year. In addition, Hosseini will participate at the Book Sense Author Luncheon, which will also be attended by young readers authors Anna Dewdney, winner of the "Book Sense Honor" selection for Llama Llama Mad at Mama, Steve Kluger and Michael Reisman. Nami Mun will participate in the popular "Emerging Voices" panel, where she will read from her upcoming Riverhead title Miles from Nowhere. And Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen will host a private event for booksellers, in celebration of their upcoming Razorbill book, Influence.

In addition, several people from Penguin Group (USA) will participate in various panel discussions over the course of the weekend. Megan Lynch, Senior Editor at Riverhead, will participate in the popular BEA Editors Buzz Forum, offering insights into Nami Mun's debut novel, Miles from Nowhere (Riverhead). Geoff Kloske, Vice President and Publisher, Riverhead Books, will be a featured speaker at BEA's Librarian Book Buzz "Meet the Publisher" Reception. Jeff Gomez, Senior Director, Online Consumer Sales and Marketing will moderate "Scaling the New Economies: In Search of Book Publishing's 2.0 Business Model," and Jo Lusby, General Manager of Penguin China will be included in a panel discussion on "Chinese Reading."

Other highlights at this year's BEA include a presentation by Penguin Press' Clay Shirky, author of Here Comes Everybody; a keynote address for the African American Book Industry Professionals by Viking/Penguin's Terry McMillan, introductory remarks at the CBC Breakfast by Young Readers author Jon Scieszka, Putnam/Berkley's Kate Jacobs, featured at the AAP Librarian's Dinner, and James St. James, who will be honored at the 20th Annual LAMBDA Awards Ceremony when his book Freak Show is recognized as a finalist for the Young Adult and Debut Fiction award. Various other authors from Penguin Group (USA) will do book signings and appearances both in autographing areas and in the Penguin Group (USA) booth all weekend long.

Marian Wood/Putnam author John Lanchester accepted the E.M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, on Wednesday, May 21st. John Lanchester, author of Family Romance, Fragrant Harbor, and Mr. Phillips, is one of Britain's most inventive and intelligent writers, a master of both comedy and tragedy.

The American Academy of Arts and Letters was established in 1898 to "foster, assist, and sustain an interest in literature, music, and the fine arts." The literature prizes, over $200,000, honor both established and emerging writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. The Academy's 250 members nominate candidates, and a rotating committee of writers selects winners. The E.M Forster Award, juried by Alison Lurie, J. D. McClatchy, Ian McEwan, provides $20,000 to a young writer from the United Kingdom or Ireland for a stay in the United States.

Julie Strauss-Gabel, Associate Editorial Director of Dutton Children's Books, has acquired If I Stay and a second novel by Gayle Forman in a hotly contested auction conducted by Sarah Burnes at The Gernert Company. A heart-achingly beautiful book that follows 17-year-old Mia in the twenty-four hours after a catastrophic accident, If I Stay will be Dutton and Penguin Young Readers Group's lead novel for Spring 2009. The Gernert Company reports that foreign rights have already been sold in five countries and deals are pending in three others.

Gayle Forman is an award-winning author and journalist whose articles have appeared in many publications. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.

Six Tarcher/Penguin books have been selected as finalists for the eleventh annual Coalition of Visionary Resources (COVR) Awards, with representation in six of nine total categories. COVR is a not-for-profit trade organization that recognizes Visionary Resources - products and services that help the world become a better place, and in some way nourish or celebrate the human spirit. Each year, COVR selects winners from the best products in the industry. Tarcher's finalists are:

On June 28th, the winners will be announced at the Annual Banquet at The International New Age Trade Show in Denver.

Read the introduction to The Talk: What Your Kids Need to Hear From YOU About Sex, in our Parenting feature.

This week, Gloria Copeland discusses her book, God's Master Plan for Your Life.

The New York Times Bestseller Highlights for the Week of June 1st

For the week of June 1st, Comanche Moon by Catherine Anderson debuts at #16 on the mass-market fiction list. In addition, Penguin Group (USA) has three titles in #1 positions: The Hollow by Nora Roberts (Jove) holds at #1 in its second week on the mass-market list; Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin) returns to #1 on the paperback nonfiction list in its 68th week; and A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (Plume) maintains its #1 position on the paperback advice, how-to and miscellaneous list for sixteen consecutive weeks.

Here are more New York Times bestseller highlights for the week of June 1st:

On the hardcover fiction list, Phantom Prey by John Sandford (G. P. Putnam's Sons) is #4 in its second week, while From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris (Ace) is #13 in its second week; and Hold Tight by Harlan Coben (Dutton) is at #16 in its fifth week.

On the hardcover nonfiction list, The Chris Farley Show by Tom Farley Jr. and Tanner Colby (Viking) moves up to #14 in its second week.

On the trade paperback fiction list, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) is #2 in its 167th week; The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (Berkley) is #3 in its twentieth week; The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards (Penguin) is #7 in its 100th week; The Last Summer (Of You and Me) by Ann Brashares (Riverhead) rises to #10 in its second week; The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (NAL) is #14 in its 27th week; and Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos (Plume) is #19 in its twelfth week.

On the mass market paperback fiction list, Invisible Prey by John Sandford (Berkley) is #3 in its fourth week; Shoot Him if He Runs by Stuart Woods (Signet) is #5 in its second week; The Woods by Harlan Coben (Signet) is #11 in its seventh week; Playing with Fire by Katie MacAlister (Signet) is #13 in its second week; The Double Agents by W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV (Jove) is #19 in its third week; and The Harlequin by Laurell K. Hamilton (Jove) is #20, also in its third week.

On the paperback nonfiction list, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin) is #2 in its 69th week; The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (Penguin) is #10 in its 38th week; Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster (NAL) moves up to #14 in its second week; and I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley (Riverhead) returns to the list at #20 in its sixth week.

On the paperback advice, how-to and miscellaneous list, Getting Things Done by David Allen (Penguin) is #7 in its 26th week.

In the young readers sector, Ladybug Girl is #6 on the children's picture book list in its ninth week and on the children's paperback list, Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (Speak) is #8 in its twelfth week. On the children's chapter books list, Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen (Viking) holds at #3 in its fourth week, while Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan (Philomel, hardcover and paperback) is #7 in its 21st week on the children's series list.

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