(View entire post here)

Riverhead's Junot Díaz Wins Massachusetts Book Award

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz (Riverhead) has won the Massachusetts Book Award for Best Fiction of 2008. The awards, administered since 2001 by the Massachusetts Center for the Book, recognize significant achievements in fiction, general nonfiction, poetry, and children's literature authored by Massachusetts residents, or presenting topics of importance to the state. Past recipients of the award include Denis Lehane, Claire Messud and Nathaniel Philbrick. As an award winner, the book will be promoted at the New England Independent Booksellers Association's fall trade show as well as at the National Book Festival, and placed in permanent collections of the Massachusetts State Library. In addition, the Massachusetts Center for the Book will be advocating for award-winning books throughout the year through discussion guides for reading groups and programming coordinators in Massachusetts libraries.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao has already won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the Anisfield-Wolf Award, the Mercantile Library Center for Fiction's John Sargent First Novel Prize, and the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction.

Two books from Penguin Group (USA) are Nominated for 2008 World Fantasy Awards

Penguin Group (USA) has received two nominations for the 2008 World Fantasy Awards: Guy Gavriel Kay’s Ysabel (Roc Trade) has been nominated in the Best Novel category, and Wizards: Magical Tales from the Masters of Modern Fantasy edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois (Ace Trade and Berkley Hardcover) for Best Anthology.

In addition, author Patricia McKillip will receive the Life Achievement Award. McKillip is a long-time Ace author and previously won the World Fantasy Award in 1975 for The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. Her most recent novel, The Bell at Sealy Head (Ace Hardcover), debuts next month.

The winners will be announced at the 2008 World Fantasy Convention, October 30th to November 2nd at the Hyatt Regency Calgary in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The awards are presented during the Awards Banquet, held on the last day of the convention. To see a complete list of the nominees as well as more information about the convention, visit the World Fantasy Convention website.

Penguin Books South Africa Named Trade Publisher of the Year

Penguin Books South Africa was named “Trade Publisher of the Year” in the Large Publisher category at the annual Publishers’ Association of South Africa’s Awards function held last week.

Alison Lowry, CEO of Penguin Books South Africa, accepted the award on behalf of the company, commenting: "We are delighted to have this recognition from our peers and I share this award with all of my wonderful Penguin colleagues who work really hard to maintain a standard of excellence in everything they do."

Great Media Lined Up for Film Adaptation of The Secret Life of Bees

The Secret Life of Bees movie (opening nationwide 10/17/08), adapted from the New York Times bestseller (#2 as of 9/7/08) by Sue Monk Kidd, is gearing up for a media-filled, star-studded premier. In addition to the world-wide screening at the Toronto Film Festival where the cast and Sue Monk Kidd will be participating in a press junket, the stars of the movie (Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, Sophie Okonedo) and the director, Gina Prince-Bythewood, will tape an interview on Oprah on September 15th (exact air date to come). The US screening will take place in Washington, DC with the Congressional Black Caucus September 25th.

Author Praises Paul Buckley and the Penguin Art Team in Recent Bookslut.com Interview

In a nice plug for the Penguin Art Department, Michael Sims, author of The Penguin Book of Gaslight Crime, praises the “clever” cover design for his new book in a recent interview with Bookslut.com. Sims says: “I recommended a particular Gaslight-era painting of London, which would have been attractive but in no way clever. I’m glad the designer ignored my recommendation...I think it’s just about perfect.”

The cover, which craftily features a mystery hand swiping the Penguin logo, was Paul Buckley’s idea and art direction, Jennifer Wang’s implementation, and Jaya Miceli’s illustration. To read the full interview with Michael Sims, click here.

Rev Run and Family Hit the Road for National Book Tour

The self-proclaimed "Partridge Family" of Hip-Hop, Rev Run has taken most of his family on book tour with him this summer. They all piled into a bus with a huge banner for the book across the back. Some recent stops were...

Last week Rev Run and Justine were greeted by 500 people at a Philadelphia Barnes and Noble book signing. Russy and Diggy, the two younger boys of the Simmons clan attended the event and signed books along with their parents. This week the Simmons greeted over 400 book fans at a Borders right outside Detroit. Rev Run had a lot of fun and his sons were, again, a huge hit. You can catch the excitement with Rev Run and his family when they come to the Barnes and Noble in Hackensack, NJ on October 16th.

Rev Run and Justine Simmons’ book, Take Back Your Family (Gotham, on sale now) has spent the last two weeks on the New York Times Extended Bestseller List.

Listen to Rev Run on this week's Penguin Podcast.

Read the feature on the Penguin website.

Pictured: The back of the bus, which has been on the road with Rev Run and Justine Simmons as they travel the country promoting the book.

Eat, Pray, Love Sparks New Interest in Yoga Meditation

It seems as though there’s no end in sight for the hype surrounding Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love (Penguin), which is currently #3 on The New York Times paperback nonfiction list in its 83rd week. The latest is a story in the Boston Globe that talks about the growing popularity of spirituality and yoga, which impacted Gilbert so profoundly in her book. Though Gilbert never mentions him by name in Eat, Pray, Love, the article features the real-life Indian ashram central to Gilbert’s spiritual journey, Gurumavi Chidvilasananda, who is the leader of a global network of dozens of meditation centers specializing in Siddha Yoga. While the group doesn’t seek publicity, a spokesperson from the Yoga group did comment: “On a personal level, I do think it’s awesome that she has created interest in meditation in yoga.” To read the full piece, click here.

The New York Times Bestseller Highlights for the Week of September 7th

Three new debuts for Penguin Group (USA) on The New York Times bestseller list for the week of September 7th: Rough Justice by Jack Higgins (G. P. Putnam’s Sons) hits at #15 on the hardcover fiction list; Ahead of the Curve by Philip Delves Broughton (The Penguin Press) appears at #16 on the hardcover nonfiction list; and For the Love of Autumn written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco (Philomel) is at #5 on the children’s picture books list.

Here are more bestseller highlights:

On the hardcover fiction list, Moscow Rules by Daniel Silva (G. P. Putnam’s Sons) is #7 in its fifth week; and Foreign Body by Robin Cook (G. P. Putnam’s Sons) is #14 in its third week.

On the trade paperback fiction list, The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin) rises to #2 in its 112th week; The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) is #5 in its 181st week; The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (Berkley) is #12 in its 34th week; Second Chance by Jane Green (Plume) is #14 in its thirteenth week; The Last Summer (Of You and Me) by Ann Brashares (Riverhead) is #16 in its sixteenth week; The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards (Penguin) is #17 in its 114th week; and In the Woods by Tana French (Penguin) is #18 in its thirteenth week.

On the mass market paperback list, Strangers in Death by J.D. Robb is #7 in its third week; Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs (Ace) is #9 in its fourth week; The Sanctuary by Raymond Khoury (Signet) is #11 in its fourth week; Into the Flame by Christina Dodd (Signet) is #12 in its third week; Shadowfires by Dean Koontz (Berkley) is #13 in its second week; and The Turbulent Sea by Christine Feehan (Jove) is #14 in its fourth week.

On the paperback nonfiction list, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin) holds at #1 in its 82nd week; Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin) is #3 in its 83rd week; Generation Kill by Evan Wright (Berkley Caliber) is #14 in its sixth week; and The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (Penguin) is #15 in its 52nd week.

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (Plume) is #1 on the paperback advice, how-to and miscellaneous list in its 30th week; and Will Work from Home by Troy Johnson and Robyn Freedman Spizman (Berkley) is #10 in its second week.

In the young readers sector, Ladybug Girl by Jacky Davis and David Soman (Dial) is #9 on the children’s picture books list in its 22nd week; while on the children’s chapter books list Kiss My Math by Danica McKellar (Hudson Street) is #4 in its third week and DK’s Clone Wars: The Visual Guide is #5 in its fourth week. Three books from Grosset & Dunlap’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars series remain on the children’s paperback list for a fourth week: The Clone Wars by Tracey West at #3; The New Padawan by Eric Stevens at #4; and Battle at Teth by Kirsten Mayer at #7. And, Math Doesn’t Suck by Danica McKellar (Plume) is #10 in its third week on the children’s paperback list.

New Next Week

Anticancer by Dr. David Servan-Schreiber (Viking, 9/4)

Dr. David Servan-Schreiber was only 31 years old, a young doctor on the fast track, when he discovered—while testing out his own brain scanning machine—a brain tumor the size of a walnut. Sixteen years later and doing well, he brings us Anticancer: A New Way of Life—out from Viking on September 4th—a unique blend of memoir, advice and science that reveals a revolutionary approach to treating and preventing cancer. In easy-to-understand language, he explains what makes cancer cells thrive and what we can do to harness our body’s natural defenses against them. Dr. Servan-Schreiber will be appearing on the telethon special Stand up to Cancer, airing simultaneously on ABC, NBC and CBS on September 5th, a first serial will run in the September issue of Prevention Magazine and he will be interviewed on over 40 radio and television programs throughout the country.

The World Is Curved by David M. Smick (Portfolio, 9/4)

David Smick keeps a low profile, but experts consider him one of the most insightful financial market strategists in the world. For more than two decades, he has conferred with central bankers (such as Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke) and advised top Wall Street executives and investors, from George Soros to Michael Steinhart to Stan Druckenmiller. Political leaders (from Bill Bradley to Jack Kemp) have regularly sought his policy advice.

The World Is Curved: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy picks up where Thomas Friedman’s The World Is Flat left off, taking readers on an insider’s tour through the private offices of central bankers, finance ministers, even prime ministers. Smick reveals how today’s risky environment came to be—and why the mortgage mess is a symptom of potentially far more devastating trouble. He wrestles with the two questions on everyone’s mind: How bad can things really get in today’s volatile economy? And what can we do about it?

Madeline and the Cats of Rome by John Bemelmans Marciano (Viking Children’s Books, 9/4)

Madeline and the Cats of Rome is the first all-new Madeline book in almost fifty years, written by the grandson of Madeline’s creator, Ludwig Bemelmans. John will embark on a national tour from September 13th through September 29th to promote the book.

The Mayflower and the Pilgrims’ New World by Nathaniel Philbrick (Putnam Juvenile, 9/4)

The Mayflower and the Pilgrims’ New World is an especially adapted young readers version of Philbrick’s New York Times bestseller, The Mayflower. It is the perfect introduction for middle-grade readers to this epic story, at once tragic and heroic.

Penguin books, publishing, bestsellers, literary awards