Penguin Group (USA) Weekly Update - 8/18

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John Makinson and Viking/Penguin Author Craig Johnson Way Out West

Penguin Group Chairman John Makinson (wearing the cowboy hat) was recently on vacation in Montana's Bighorn Mountains, where he ran into Viking/Penguin author Craig Johnson. Currently on his "motorcycle tour" promoting his latest books, Another Man's Moccasins (Viking) and Kindness Goes Unpunished (Penguin), Johnson said, "He and the family came out to a dude ranch in the Bighorn Mountains. [My wife] Judy met him at our store two years ago, so I finally got to meet him last week. The photo was John's idea. He had to go get his cowboy shirt and jeans on. What a great guy!"

 

 

Trudy Kallman, Penguin Sales Rep, Wins NAIBA's Hellmuth Award

Trudy Kallman, Paperback Sales Representative for Penguin Group (USA), has won the William Helmuth Award, sponsored by the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association to honor "an exceptional salesperson who serves booksellers in the highest manner of professionalism" and who "best embodies the dedication, book knowledge and heart shown by the late William Helmuth of BookTravelers fame."

Mark LaFramboise of Politics & Prose, Washington, D.C., praised Kallman for going out of her way to help stores. "Whether she's working within her own company, Penguin, to help her accounts, or making sure we are knowledgeable of strong titles and good deals, her efforts are always appreciated. Her book knowledge and knowledge of the industry have proven indispensable time and again."

And Susan Weis of Breathe Books in Baltimore called Kallman "the independent bookstore's best friend. Her mission is for you to succeed and she will do anything to make it happen. Author requests, business-to-business contacts, advanced readers, quick responses and unbridled support — exactly the kind of friend you want to have on the other side. If Penguin wanted to add a new book to its Idiot's line, they could have Trudy write the Idiot's Guide to Being a Publisher's Rep."

Kallman will receive the Helmuth Award at the opening reception of the NAIBA Fall Conference, September 21st, in Cherry Hill, N.J. Congratulations, Trudy!

Penguin Young Readers' Wonder Bear Wins Founders Award at Society of Illustrators' Original Art Show

Wonder Bear by Tao Nyeu, which will be published by Dial Books for Young Readers this September, is the winner of this year's Founders Award at the Society of Illustrators' Original Art Show. This relatively new award is given to the best debut illustrator of the year. Nyeu will be honored for her achievement in October at the opening night of the show. Wonder Bear was Nyeu's thesis project as a second year graduate student at the School of Visual Arts in New York.

 

 

 

Dutton's Highly Anticipated The Little Book by Selden Edwards, On Sale Today, Draws Rave Reviews

Selden Edwards, author of the debut novel, The Little Book, is a retired headmaster of three prestigious private schools. Over the past 30 years, on nights and weekends he worked on what has ultimately become The Little Book. He did not show it to any friends or family in its working stages, it was just his private project. Thirty years is a long time to hold on to a dream, but Selden's has paid off. The happy Dutton author is pictured here receiving a finished copy of his long awaited debut novel.

Dutton publishes The Little Book today and the first reviews are stellar.

Entertainment Weekly writes, "...Back to the Future for the intellectual set."

His hometown newspaper, The Santa Barbara Independent, did a cover story on Selden Edwards and raves, "The Little Book is unlike any novel I have read... rooted in the work of more than 30 years, has as good a chance as any in recent memory of withstanding the test of time and becoming a classic"

New Orleans Times-Picayune declares, "This is a wide-ranging novel of grand ideas... a graceful waltz of a book, spinning at times at dizzying speed, but leaving behind a haunting, unforgettable melody."

The Deseret News states, "...shows the rich imagination and the intellectual fire of the first-time author... It would not be surprising to see this book become a classic."

Stay tuned for many more reviews and lots more news.

Leonard Stern, Co-Creator of Mad Libs, Featured in Friday's New York Times with Op-Ed About Mad Libs' 50th Anniversary

Be sure to check out the op-ed piece in tomorrow's New York Times by Leonard Stern, co-creator of Mad Libs. Stern gives a lighthearted look back at events of the last 50 years, in Mad Libs format, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Mad Libs, which continue to be published by Price Stern Sloan.

This spring and summer, the 50th anniversary has received great national media attention, which included an appearance on the "Today Show." The anniversary was also featured in such national print publications as Family Circle, Redbook, Scholastic Parent & Child, ParentGuide, Astrogirl, as well as in Publishers Weekly, in addition to a host of other regional publications and local radio.

Christine Cody Featured in Wall Street Journal Article, Plugging Eat, Pray, Love

Christine Cody, National Account Manager for Paperback Sales, was profiled in the August 12th edition of The Wall Street Journal, in the "What's Your Workout?" column. The piece, entitled "Staying Sane and in Shape, Thanks to a Strict Yoga Regime," chronicles how Cody took up yoga after moving to New York City to relieve stress and stay in shape. As part of the piece, Cody also plugs the #1 New York Times bestselling book, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin). After meeting Gilbert, Cody was inspired to try yoga. Cody comments: "She [Gilbert] was so down to earth and was really changed by yoga. Even though we had different struggles I thought if it worked for Liz it could work for me." Read the full article, and watch the video of Cody in action, here.

And Eat, Pray, Love continues to reach readers far and wide. MSNBC plugged the book in a recent travel piece that listed top surfing destinations. The article cites: "A day trip to Ubud [Bali] includes visits to a sacred bathing temple and a monkey forest, and the chance to meet the spiritual healer befriended by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love. " To read the full piece, click here.

Danica McKellar's Kiss My Math and Math Doesn't Suck Debut on The New York Times Bestseller List

Back to school is right around the corner and Hudson Street Press/Plume author Danica McKellar has two books simultaneously hitting The New York Times bestseller list for the week of August 24th: Kiss My Math (Hudson Street) debuts at #4 on the children's chapter books list; and Math Doesn't Suck (Plume) hits at #9 on the children's paperback list. Last year, The New York Times classified the hardcover edition of Math Doesn't Suck a "textbook" and refused to track it despite numerous requests to reclassify it as a consumer trade title and strong sales. This year they reconsidered and McKellar's books both hit The New York Times bestseller list after a stellar launch week of national media, including McKellar appearing on "Good Morning America," "Fox & Friends," "The Candace Bushnell Show," NPR's "Science Friday" as well as ABC-TV's "Jimmy Kimmel Show" (on which they mentioned the book four times). McKellar is in the midst of a seven-city book tour to Philadelphia, Miami, Minneapolis, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. McKellar shows middle school girls that math can be easy, relevant, and even glamorous, and provides them with the tools to ace their next test.

Confessions of a Contractor Author Featured in USA Today, People Review Coming and CBS TV Series in Development

Richard Murphy, author of Confessions of a Contractor, which Putnam publishes in hardcover today, is profiled in the Life section of today's USA Today, which calls the book "a mix of True Confessions, Architectural Digest and Psychology Today." In the article, Murphy says the book is "autobiographical in the sense I spent all this time in other people's houses and found myself in the center of a lot of issues I explore in the book. But it's not a memoir." Murphy further commented in the article that he always knew there was a "real story there," but it took him 15 years to get a return call from a literary agent. He added, "From there it just took off." To read the full article, click here.

The book will get another huge hit on August 18th when a review in People magazine hits newsstands.

And this just in: CBS has hammered out a deal to develop a pilot for a television series called "Confessions of a Contractor," based on the book. With Shawn Ryan ("The Shield") as the Executive Producer, Richard Murphy will produce and write the script for the hour-long drama.

USA Weekend To Run Piece This Fall Featuring Puffin's PeaceJam book and Archbishop Desmond Tutu

USA Weekend will run an interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Sunday, October 19th, as part of a cross promotion for PeaceJam's Global Call to Action Campaign and USA Weekend's "Make A Difference Day," which will take place on October 24th. The feature will focus on PeaceJam: A Billion Simple Acts Of Peace by Ivan Suvanjieff and Dawn Gifford Engle (Puffin), which goes on sale August 21st, and the Archbishop's involvement with the organization.

Archbishop Tutu and the Dalai Lama are two of the many Nobel Peace Laureates who have joined the PeaceJam Foundation in their Global Call to Action. PeaceJam profiles all of the laureates and their work with teens around the world as they combine forces to help stop some of the world's most difficult social problems.

A follow up USA Today article will run in December to profile a special PeaceJam project that has been carried out and will also mention the book. Stay tuned for more information on media and an exact run date for the December article.

Profile of Author Kim Edwards Appears in Lexington Herald-Leader

Be sure to check out a feature on Kim Edwards, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling The Memory Keeper's Daughter (Penguin), which has been on the bestseller list for over two years. The article describes Edwards' rise to success, and the remarkable way that she still remains down to earth despite it all. The article quotes some simple advice from Edwards: "Write for the joy of writing," she says, because it's something you have to do. "You just cannot predict — ever — what's going to happen to a story once it's gone out in the world."

To read the full piece, click here.

The New York Times Bestseller Highlights for the Week of August 24th

Eight new debuts for Penguin Group (USA) on The New York Times bestseller list for the week of August 24th: Foreign Body by Robin Cook (G. P. Putnam's Sons) appears at #9 on the hardcover fiction list; Nauti Dreams by Lora Leigh (Berkley) is at #8 on the trade paperback fiction list; Into the Flame by Christina Dodd (Signet) is #4 on the mass market fiction list; Strangers in Death by J.D. Robb (Jove) is at #8 on the mass market fiction list; Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide by Leonard Maltin (Plume/Signet) is #9 on the advice, how-to and miscellaneous list; Kiss My Math by Danica McKellar (Hudson Street Press) is #4 on the children's chapter books list; and Math Doesn't Suck also by Danica McKellar (Plume) hits at #9 on the children's paperback list.

Here are more bestseller highlights:

On the hardcover fiction list, Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva (G. P. Putnam's Sons) is #4 in its third week; and Tribute by Nora Roberts (G. P. Putnam's Sons) is #8 in its fifth week.

On the trade paperback fiction list, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) is #5 in its 179th week; The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (Berkley) is #11 in its 32nd week; The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin) is #12 in its 110th week; Second Chance by Jane Green (Plume) returns to the list at #13 in its eleventh week; In the Woods by Tana French (Penguin) is #14 in its eleventh week; The Last Summer (Of You and Me) by Ann Brashares (Riverhead) is #15 in its fourteenth week; and The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards (Penguin) is #16 in its 112th week.

On the mass market paperback list, The Turbulent Sea by Christine Feehan (Jove) is #3 in its second week; Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs (Ace) is #10 in its second week; and The Sanctuary by Raymond Khoury (Signet) is #11, also in its second week.

On the paperback nonfiction list, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin) holds at #1 in its 80th week; Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin) is #2 in its 81st week; The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (Penguin) is #14 in its 50th week; and Generation Kill by Evan Wright (Berkley Caliber) is #17 in its fourth week.

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (Plume) holds at #1 on the paperback advice, how-to and miscellaneous list in its 28th week.

In the young readers sector, Ladybug Girl by Jacky Davis and David Soman (Dial) is #8 on the children's picture books list in its 20th week; DK's Clone Wars: The Visual Guide is #5 on the children's chapter books list in its second week; and three books from Grosset & Dunlap's Star Wars: The Clone Wars series remain on the children's paperback list for a second week: The Clone Wars by Tracey West at #2; The New Padawan by Eric Stevens at #6; and Battle at Teth by Kirsten Mayer at #8.

 

 

 

 New This Week

Hack the SAT by Eliot Schrefer (Gotham, on sale now)

We all remember that anxiety-filled time in our lives during high school...we're not talking about asking a girl to prom or figuring out where to sit during lunch...we're talking about the three simple letters the struck panic through many of our veins: S...A...T.

Luckily, we all survived that, but some may be thinking of their children's futures. To the rescue comes Gotham's Hack The SAT: A Private SAT Tutor Spills the Secret Strategies and Sneaky Shortcuts That Can Raise Your Score Hundreds of Points by Harvard grad and private SAT tutor, Eliot Schrefer. In the book, Schrefer reveals the exclusive tips, tricks, and sure-fire strategies for the SAT that have long been kept under lock and key. On Monday, 8/11 USA Today had a Q&A with Schrefer: read it here.

New Next Week

Playing the Enemy by John Carlin (The Penguin Press; 8/18)

During his twenty-seven years in prison, the dream that sustained Nelson Mandela was that one day people in South Africa would no longer be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Against all odds, Mandela would manage to win over some of the fiercest proponents of apartheid, earn his freedom, and win the presidency in South Africa's first free election in 1994. However, after 50 years of apartheid, South Africa was dangerously divided and he needed a galvanizing cause to unite his country. With Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation, John Carlin, a former South Africa bureau chief for the London Independent, gives an inspiring account of Nelson Mandela's decade-long campaign to unify South Africa, beginning in his jail cell and ending with the 1995 Rugby World Cup hosted by South Africa's Springboks. Though the team's chances of victory seemed remote, the team defied the odds makers, capping Mandela's miraculous ten-year long effort to bring forty-two million South Africans together.

Drawing on extensive interviews with Mandela, Desmond Tutu, members of the Springboks, and dozens of other South Africans caught up in Mandela's momentous campaign, Playing the Enemy offers a rousing history of the end of apartheid, a singular portrait of the greatest statesman of our time in action, and a championship that transcended the mere thrill of victory to erase ancient hatreds and make a nation whole.

National media includes a rave review in this weekend's New York Times Book Review as well as planned reviews in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and the Washington Post, an interview with John Carlin on NPR's "To the Point," and an essay about the book penned by Carlin for next week's Sports Illustrated.

The World in Six Songs by Daniel Levitin (Dutton, 8/19)

From the New York Times bestselling author of This is Your Brain on Music comes The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature. Daniel Levitin blends cutting-edge scientific findings with his own sometimes hilarious experiences as a musician and music-industry professional, to take readers on a journey across human civilization through six different types of songs.

The music world loves The World in Six Songs. Sting described it as, "Eloquent and poetic...thrilling." Bobby McFerrin says, "Irresistibly entertaining. Anyone who loves music should read it."

Major media ranges from national and regional NPR to reviews in the Associated Press and People magazine. Levitin will also embark on a ten-city national book tour; you can catch him when he does a reading and signing with Rodney Crowell playing at Barnes & Noble at Lincoln Square on Tuesday, 8/19 at 7:30 PM.

How Does it Feel to be a Problem? by Moustafa Bayoumi (The Penguin Press, 8/18)

How does it feel to be a problem? How does it feel to be forced to resign as a class officer at your high school because you are Muslim and your faith prevents you from attending mandatory dances? How does it feel to be an Arab American Christian soldier fighting in Iraq? How does it feel to be released from prison three months after you and your family are rounded up in the middle of the night and incarcerated, when your only "crime" is being an Arab American in post-September 11th America? How does it feel, to be a problem? W.E.B. Du Bois first posed this question in his seminal treatise The Souls of Black Folk, and now, over a century later, Moustafa Bayoumi explores the same question through the first-hand accounts of young Arab Americans living in Brooklyn.

How Does It Feel to be a Problem? Being Young and Arab in America introduces us to Rasha, Sami, Lina, Akram, Yasmin, Omar, and Rami, whose stories reveal complex individuals behind the stereotypes that plague Arabs and Muslims in the United States. Each of Bayoumi's portraits is a quintessential American story of race, religion, and civil rights, full of struggle and also hope. This is a community that lives next door, and yet a world away, and the combined testimony of Bayoumi's subjects begins to bridge this distance. In How Does It Feel to be a Problem, Bayoumi's subjects answer Du Bois's century-old question, just as they start to grasp how it feels to be a part of the solution.

We've seen excellent early reviews in O Magazine, Vanity Fair, and an excerpt in New York Magazine, with much more to come in the Wall Street Journal and on Salon.com, as well as interviews on NPR's "The Diane Rehm Show," "Tell Me More," and CNN's "Newsroom."

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