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Two Penguin Young Readers Group Authors Up For 2008 World Fantasy Awards

In addition to the adult nominations reported in last week’s Spotlight, two authors from the Penguin Young Readers Group are also up for honors for the 2008 World Fantasy Awards. Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling's The Coyote Road (Viking, Summer 2007; Firebird, Spring 2009) is a finalist for Best Anthology, and Kij Johnson's story, "The Evolution of Trickster Stories Among the Dogs of North Park After the Change," is also a finalist in the Short Story category.

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 Classics Partners with Union of Concerned Scientists to Find a New Generation of Environmental Writers

Penguin Classics has partnered with the Union of Concerned Scientists to carry the legacy of classic environmental writers Emerson and Thoreau into the 21st century, it was announced today. Penguin and the science group are inviting aspiring writers and photographers to submit their personal stories and images about global warming for a new online book, Thoreau’s Legacy: American Stories about Global Warming, to be published in 2009 by the Union of Concerned Scientists, the leading science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world.

To participate, contributors must write a 200- to 500-word first-person account of global warming that relates to their life or the world around them: a special place that they want to protect; people, animals or activities they love that are threatened by a warmer climate; or the steps they are taking to stem the tide of global warming. Or, they can send a photo related to these topics. Contributors can submit their essays or photographs at www.ucsusa.org/americanstories. The best submissions will be included in the online book and in a limited-edition hardcover version. The submission period closes November 15, 2008.

Booksellers across the country are displaying easels and free bookmarks publicizing the project. The project will be supported by a major print and online publicity campaign, as well as a 25-city radio satellite tour, and national and trade advertising.

Click here to learn more.

Penguin Group (USA) Authors Featured at 2008 Brooklyn Book Festival, Sunday September 14th

A number of Penguin Group (USA) authors are confirmed for this year’s Brooklyn Book Festival, which will be held Sunday, September 14th at Borough Hall and Plaza in Brooklyn. Dorothy Allison, Terry McMillan, A.M. Homes, Susan Choi, Nathaniel Rich, Dirk Wittenborn, and Jessica Hagedorn will all participate in this year’s event, as part of an exciting lineup of panels and readings all day long.

The Brooklyn Book Festival is a free public event presenting an array of literary stars and emerging authors who represent the exciting world of literature today. One of America’s premier literary and literacy events, this hip, smart, diverse gathering attracts thousands of book lovers of all ages. The festival is organized around themed readings and devoted to timely and lively panel discussions. The inclusion of top national and international authors and new partners has expanded the festival’s reach while continuing to celebrate and enhance Brooklyn’s contemporary and historic literary reputation.

To learn more about the Brooklyn Book Festival, please visit the official website.

Kathryn Court and Amy Einhorn to be Featured on AAP’s Book Editors Online & Unscripted Web Casts

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) will launch the first of its Book Editors Online & Unscripted live web casts on Tuesday, September 16, running through September 25, featuring top editors previewing some of their Winter 2009 titles. Kathryn Court, President and Publisher, Penguin Books, and Amy Einhorn, Vice President and Publisher, Amy Einhorn Books/G. P. Putnam’s Sons, are among the editors presenting. Key titles Court will be discussing on September 23, 3:45 – 4:15 p.m., include Sonata for Miriam by Linda Olsson, while Einhorn’s web cast on Thursday, September 18, 3:00 – 3:30 p.m., will focus on such titles as The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

Industry professionals who register for the web casts will have an opportunity to download catalogue copy, book jackets and chapter excerpts of select titles to be presented in advance of the editors’ presentations, which will be followed by a Q&A moderated by Publishers Weekly editor-in-chief Sara Nelson. Registration is free at http://publishers.webex.com.

Los Angeles Times Book Blog Notes Parallels Between Sarah Palin Story and The Memory Keeper’s Daughter

A recent post on the Los Angeles Times book blog plugs Penguin’s The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, noting some interesting connections between the mega-bestseller and the story of Sarah Palin, John McCain’s newly announced presidential running mate. The blog says: “Now that readers have gobbled up Sarah Palin’s biography in an effort to understand McCain's running mate, those who are still curious may have to turn to fiction to figure her out … A good place to start might be 2005's The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards, which deals with the choice to raise -- or not raise -- a child with Down syndrome.”

To read the full post, click here.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter continues to stay on The New York Times bestseller list, and is currently #16 in its 115th week on the September 14th trade fiction list.

Read the feature on the Penguin website here.

Dutton’s The Little Book: A National Bestseller

A great deal of buzz has been mounting around the publishing world about a 67-year-old first time author named Selden Edwards. His debut novel, The Little Book, published by Dutton, hit The New York Times Expanded Bestseller List for the last two weeks, most recently at #31. It was also #3 on the San Francisco Chronicle bestseller list (8/31) and #6 on Indie Bestseller. The Little Book has been getting great reviews and Selden Edwards is now gearing up for his local book tour.

Listen to Selden Edwards on this week's Penguin Podcast.

Rough Guides Offers a Two-Week Thailand Trip Giveaway for Two to Celebrate Publication of Ultimate Adventures

To help ring in the publication of Ultimate Adventures: A Rough Guide to Adventure Travel, due out this month, Rough Guides is giving away a special two-week getaway for two to Thailand. Prize perks include airfare and accommodations, bamboo rafting and an elephant back safari, jungle walks and visits to local villages, a tour of limestone karsts, and a stop at the gorgeous bays of Krabi. The contest is open to qualified residents of the U.S., U.K. and Canada. News of the giveaway has gotten some great coverage including in Budget Travel Magazine’s website blog, and their most recent e-newsletter, for a combined reach of over 1.5 million travelers.

The New York Times Bestseller Highlights for the Week of September 14th

Three new debuts for Penguin Group (USA) on The New York Times bestseller list for the week of September 14th: Silks by Dick Francis and Felix Francis (G. P. Putnam’s Sons) hits at # 4 on the hardcover fiction list; Dark Light by Jayne Castle (Jove) appears at # 9 on the mass market paperback list; and Goodnight Goon written and illustrated by Michael Rex (Philomel) is at # 8 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 # 10 in its sixth week; and Rough Justice by Jack Higgins (G. P. Putnam’s Sons) is #14 in its second week.

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (The Penguin Press) returns to the hardcover nonfiction list at #12 in its 21st week.

On the trade paperback fiction list, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Riverhead) is #7 in its 182nd week; The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (Penguin) comes in at # 10 in its 113th week; The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs (Berkley) is #11 in its 35th week; Second Chance by Jane Green (Plume) rises to #12 in its fourteenth week; In the Woods by Tana French (Penguin) also rises to #15 in its fourteenth week; The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards (Penguin) is #16 in its 115th week; and The Last Summer (Of You and Me) by Ann Brashares (Riverhead) is #17 in its seventeenth week.

On the mass market paperback list, Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs (Ace) is #18 in its fifth week.

On the paperback nonfiction list, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin (Penguin) holds at #1 in its 83rd week; Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (Penguin) is #2 in its 84th week; Generation Kill by Evan Wright (Berkley Caliber) is #14 in its seventh week; and The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (Penguin) is #17 in its 53rd week.

A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle (Plume) holds at #1 on the paperback advice, how-to and miscellaneous list in its 31st week.

In the young readers sector, For the Love of Autumn written and illustrated by Patricia Polacco (Philomel) is at #10 on the children’s picture books list in its second week; while on the children’s chapter books list Kiss My Math by Danica McKellar (Hudson Street) is #5 in its fourth week and DK’s Clone Wars: The Visual Guide is #7 in its fifth week. Three books from Grosset & Dunlap’s Star Wars: The Clone Wars series remain on the children’s paperback list for a fifth 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 #5. Math Doesn’t Suck by Danica McKellar (Plume) is #6 in its fourth week on the children’s paperback list; and Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (Speak) returns to the children’s paperback list at #10 in its fourteenth week.

New This Week

Watch You Bleed by Stephen Davis (Gotham, on-sale now)

New York Times bestselling rock journalist/author, Stephen Davis writes a tell-all on one of the greatest (and most controversial) rock bands in history, revealing everything you wanted to know (and more) about rock’s powerhouse: Guns N’ Roses. In Watch You Bleed, Davis documents the unbelievable story of Axl Rose and the rest of the colorful members of the band. From Axl’s abusive childhood to multiple arrests to the public and private life as lead singer of Guns N’ Roses…Watch You Bleed offers a wealth of information, fresh reporting and revelations.

You may have caught the Watch You Bleed feature in last Sunday’s New York Post and check out this month’s Playboy for the first serial on Watch You Bleed. Stephen Davis is also on a major radio tour including over 25 stations. The book is currently #19 on The New York Times hardcover nonfiction extended list.

New Next Week

Billion-Dollar Lessons by Paul B. Carroll and Chunka Mui (Portfolio, 9/11)

In the 1960s, IBM CEO Tom Watson called an executive into his office after his venture lost $10 million. Watson asked the man if he knew why he’d been called in. The man said he assumed he was being fired. Watson told him, “Fired? Hell, I spent $10 million educating you. I just want to be sure you learned the right lessons.”

In Billion-Dollar Lessons, What You Can Learn from the Most Inexcusable Business Failures of the Last 25 Years, Paul Carroll and Chunka Mui draw on research into more than 750 business failures to reveal the misguided tactics that mire companies again and again. There are thousands of books about successful companies but virtually none about the lessons to be learned from those that crash and burn. For more information visit www.billiondollarlessons.com.

Gingerbread Friends by Jan Brett (Putnam Juvenile, 9/11)

The sequel to The New York Times bestseller, Gingerbread Baby, that popular little character is back looking for friends, in an adventure he’ll never forget. Confident and cocky, the Gingerbread Baby happens upon a bakery, where he dances and prances in front of a sugar cookie girl, trying to make friends. But she just stares and doesn’t say a word, like all the other sweet treats he tries to meet. Discouraged, the Gingerbread Baby runs home, chased by a long line of hungry creatures, where Mattie has a fantastic surprise for him—gingerbread friends that fill a giant fold-out page. Irresistible images inside the confectionery and outside in the snowy Swiss countryside will delight Jan Brett fans. Jan Brett will embark on a national tour from October 31st through November 16th to promote the book.

Wonder Bear by Tao Nyeu (Dial Books for Young Readers, 9/18)

A wonderful debut, Wonder Bear was Tao Nyeu’s thesis project at the School of Visual Arts in New York. It also has won the 2008 Society of Illustrators’ Founder Award. In Wonder Bear, two kids plant mysterious seeds, and up grows a remarkable flowering vine, out of which emerges an even more remarkable big white bear. On his head is the top hat—a hat that allows him to work all kinds of magic that day. He pulls monkey after monkey from the hat, blows bubbles in amazing shapes, and transforms flowers into spectacular floating sea creatures.

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