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Fifteen Books from Penguin Group (USA) Are Amazon's Editors Picks for 2008

Penguin Group (USA) has a prominent role on Amazon's annual list of Editors Picks for 2008, securing fifteen titles of the top 100. In addition to the Editors Picks, Amazon also noted smaller Top 10 lists in subcategories, with Penguin Group (USA) titles hitting in such categories as Romance, Science, Business & Investing, Teens, and Editors' Favorite Covers. New this year, Amazon also ranked the Top 100 Customer Favorites (according to customer orders through October). 14 books from Penguin Group (USA) were included on this list.

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Penguin Speakers Bureau (PSB) speakers have been receiving praise as they share their messages with audiences across the country. Below are just a few glowing reviews from some recent events.

• Junot Díaz at Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, Michigan
  
  “We’ve had ten years of important, incredible writers,” wrote event coordinator Diane Seuss, but Pulitzer Prize–winner Junot Díaz “was by far the best.” Junot discussed his recent book, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, and his life as a writer for a crowd of students, faculty, and community members at Kalamazoo College. Diane told us, “He talked to the students in a way that was both challenging and respectful. He was funny and incredibly moving. He provided them with everything they need to think about as they enter college—what books are for, that the end result of critical thinking is compassion,” and the importance of “an awareness of our own history. He was gracious—and he brought the house down.”





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• Dr. Daniel J. Levitin at the Human Link Conference, Atlanta, Georgia
  
  Dr. Daniel J. Levitin, neuroscientist and author of This is Your Brain on Music and The World in Six Songs, recently spoke at the Human Link Conference. Dr. Levitin’s lecture on creativity, music, and the brain, “entranced” the crowd, wrote Lynda Hawkins, the Barnes & Noble manager who provided copies of Dr. Levitin’s books for the event. “We sold 101 books today—and would have sold more if we had them … Levitin was a great speaker.” Dr. Levitin has been booked by the Human Link Conference for another event this upcoming weekend in Denver, and we expect to hear even more positive feedback.




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• Jan Crawford Greenberg at The Purnell School, Pottersville, New Jersey
  

  ABC News correspondent and author of the bestselling Supreme Conflict, Jan Crawford Greenberg recently addressed students at The Purnell School in New Jersey. Jan adapted her speech on the struggle between conservatives, moderates, and liberals for control of the Supreme Court for her young audience, effectively engaging the Purnell School crowd. According to event coordinator Donna Martin, “Jan’s talk was warm, full of wonderful stories, the importance of the election and women in the court. Everyone in the audience was enchanted by her... The line for her book was almost out the door of Brook House and we sold all of the books, plus have orders for 17 more.”





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  Krista Tippett at St. John’s University, Queens, New York

  Freshmen at St. John’s University were assigned Krista Tippett’s Speaking of Faith last summer as a common reading experience, and her speaking event at the university this month was a great success. St. John’s Assistant VP of Student Affairs, Darren Morton, said, “Krista’s visit was wonderful. She had a great message… with some very appropriate challenges for [the] age group.” A number of faculty members have since requested copies of her speech to share with their first-year classes, and many more bought copies of her book.






• John Perkins at Olivet College, Olivet, Michigan

  Days after John Perkins, author of the bestselling Confessions of an Economic Hit Man and The Secret History of the American Empire, spoke at Olivet College, the PSB was told that students and faculty were still raving about his visit to campus. Event coordinator Shannon Tiernan wrote to tell us that they “packed the house like I’ve never seen before—we even had to open a room for overflow seating. I would say we had 450 students, faculty, staff and community members… The students I talked with really enjoyed his lecture and we sold most of his books!”

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Viking Author David Benioff Wins Fiction Award from the SCIBA

At the Southern California Independent Bookseller Association's annual Author's Feast and Awards last weekend, Viking author David Benioff was presented with the SCIBA award in the fiction category for City of Thieves. The SCIBA Awards celebrate the eloquent literary voices who define what it means to be a Southern Californian. City of Thieves received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, great praise from The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and many others. The New York Times Book Review called his book "... a refreshingly traditional tale, driven by an often ingenious plot.... In contrast to the piety of so many of today's historical novels-their facts feel unimpeachable and their souls somewhere in the library-Benioff's book lets its characters inhabit the human condition in all of its sometimes comprised versatility."

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Two Penguin Group (USA) Authors and Their Books Named 2008 National Book Award Finalists

Two Penguin Group (USA) authors and their books have been selected as 2008 National Book Award finalists: Riverhead’s Aleksandar Hemon for The Lazarus Project in the Fiction category; and The Penguin Press’ Jim Sheeler for Final Salute: A Story of Unfinished Lives in the Nonfiction category. The announcement was made on October 15 at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago.

Aleksandar Hemon’s The Lazarus Project, which follows the stories of two young Eastern European immigrants in Chicago separated by a century, whose lives have both been marked by political violence and dislocation, was published by Riverhead books this past May to critical acclaim. Born in Sarajevo, Hemon came to the United States in 1992. He is the previous recipient of both the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant, and the Guggenheim Fellowship. In addition, his book Nowhere Man was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award.

In Final Salute, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jim Sheeler takes an unprecedented look at the way our country honors its dead. Both a stunning tribute to the brave troops who have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan and to the families who continue to mourn them, Final Salute poignantly weaves together the stories of the fallen and the broken homes they have left behind. It is also the story of Major Steve Beck and his unflagging efforts to help heal the wounds of those left grieving. Sheeler delivers a moving tribute to our troops, putting faces to the mostly anonymous names of our courageous heroes, and to the brave families who have made the ultimate sacrifice for this country. Final Salute is the achingly beautiful, devastatingly honest story of the true toll of war.

This year’s National Book Award winners will be announced at the 59th National Book Awards Benefit Dinner and Ceremony in New York City on Wednesday, November 19th. Each winner receives $10,000 plus a bronze statue; each Finalist receives a bronze medal and a $1,000 cash award.

For more information on the National Book Awards and the 2008 finalists, visit www.nationalbook.org.

Watch the book trailer for Aleksandar Hemon’s The Lazarus Project.

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Jumpstart’s 2008 “Read for the Record” Is a Roaring Success

Last Thursday, over 425,000 people joined Jumpstart's "Read for the Record," shattering a world record and bringing early education to a national stage. As mentioned, this year’s “Read for the Record” campaign book was a custom edition of the beloved children’s classic, Corduroy by Don Freeman, published by Penguin Young Readers Group. The day kicked-off this morning with an early reading event in Rockefeller Plaza on NBC’s “Today Show” with First Lady Laura Bush joined by Pearson Foundation President Mark Nieker as well as appearances by such celebrities as LL Cool J (pictured here with a group of children on People.com), Jesse McCartney, Mary Louise Parker, Greg Kinnear and Maria from Sesame Street. Pearson and Jumpstart representatives were also briefly interviewed on the program.

Thousands of events were held across the nation, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. And, employees from Penguin Group (USA) in both New York and New Jersey volunteered their time at various events across the tri-state area.

In addition, Hannah Montana, Jesse McCarthy and various other celebrities signed limited editions of Corduroy for an online auction.

For more details, go to Jumpstart’s Read for the Record website and the Pearson Foundation site.

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Jumpstart’s “Read for the Record” Rolls Out With a Bang Thursday Morning on “The Today Show”

Yesterday, readers of all ages sought to break the world record for the number of children reading the same book, on the same day with an adult. This year’s “Read for the Record” campaign book is a custom edition of the beloved children’s classic, Corduroy by Don Freeman, published by Penguin Young Readers Group. The day kicked-off yesterday morning with an early reading event in Rockefeller Plaza on NBC’s “Today Show” with First Lady Laura Bush joined by Pearson Foundation President Mark Nieker as well as appearances by such celebrities as LL Cool J, Jesse McCartney, Mary Louise Parker, Greg Kinnear and Maria from Sesame Street. Pearson and Jumpstart representatives were also briefly interviewed on the program.

Thousands of events were held and official Jumpstart’s Read for the Record Campaign events took place in major cities across the U.S., including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Penguin author Jon Scieskza, first National Ambassador of Young People's Literature by the Library of Congress, joined LL Cool J, Pearson's Bill Barke, and others at a mid-day reading in Manhattan. And, a specially designed Read for Record/Corduroy children’s bookmobile has been visiting libraries and schools throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Employees from Penguin Group (USA)’s Hudson Street offices in New York City read to children at an official Jumpstart kick-off event at the Harlem Children's Zone. The Pearson Foundation donated dinner, books and materials, and in addition to reading Corduroy, children had the opportunity to take part in the My ABC Book activity.

PGI employee volunteers from the Pittson Township, Pennsylvania office read at the CEO (Commission on Economic Opportunity) Kidz Café, a non-profit after school program for children grades K- 6. The Pearson Foundation donated 200 books for this event.

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Charlaine Harris, the bestselling Ace author of eight Southern Vampire novels that are the basis for HBO’s new television series “True Blood,” dominates the October 5th New York Times mass market fiction list with an incredible seven titles appearing simultaneously:

Dead Until Dark (Ace Books, 2008) is #3; Living Dead in Dallas (Ace Books, 2002) is #11; Club Dead (Ace Books, 2003) is #14; Dead as a Doornail (Ace Books, 2006) is #16; Dead to the World (Ace Books, 2005) is #17; All Together Dead (Ace Books, 2008) is #18; and Definitely Dead (Ace Books, 2007) is #19.

This unprecedented showing comes on the heels of the September 7th premiere of “True Blood” on HBO. Created by Alan Ball, who also wrote the movie American Beauty and created another HBO series “Six Feet Under,” “True Blood,” with series episodes premiering on HBO Sunday nights at 9pm, is based on a series of books by Harris that follows telepathic cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse. The show has already been renewed by HBO for a second season.

Ginjer Buchanan, Editor-in-Chief of Ace Books said, “As Charlaine’s editor, it’s exciting — and gratifying — to see that the readers who bought Dead Until Dark after watching the first episodes of Alan Ball’s most excellent “True Blood” were so captivated by her writing that they went back to their bookstores and picked up the rest of the Sookie Stackhouse novels!”

Watch a QuickTime trailer for the HBO original series “True Blood”, based on Charlaine Harris’ Dead Until Dark.

2008 National Book Festival Features Penguin Group (USA) Authors

The 2008 National Book Festival, an annual event organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress and hosted by First Lady Laura Bush, will be held this Saturday, September 27th on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Free and open to the public, the festival features more than 70 award-winning authors, illustrators and poets appearing in "Fiction & Fantasy," "Mysteries & Thrillers," "History & Biography," "Children," "Teens & Children," "Poetry," and "Home & Family" pavilions. In addition, fun activities that promote reading will be set up for children in the popular "Let's Read America" pavilion.

Eight authors from Penguin Group (USA) will be participating in the Festival this year: Geraldine Brooks (Viking/Penguin); James McBride (Riverhead); Bob Schieffer (Putnam); Daniel Schorr (Penguin); and Gordon Wood (The Penguin Press), as well as Penguin Young Readers Group authors Jan Brett, who illustrated all of the artwork for this year’s official National Book Festival literature and promotional pieces including the poster shown here; Jon Scieszka; and Joseph Bruchac. Each author will give a 30-minute presentation in one of the pavilions, and also sit for an hour-long booksigning. In addition, the authors also have the opportunity to attend the black-tie National Book Festival Gala, held on Friday night, September 26th, and a kick-off breakfast at the White House, held on Saturday morning. Both of these events will be hosted by First Lady Laura Bush.

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Penguin Group (USA) Publishes Two of the Six Books on the Dylan Thomas Prize Shortlist

Two books from Penguin Group (USA) have been selected for this year’s Dylan Thomas Prize shortlist: Dinaw Mengestu’s The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears (Riverhead) and Ceridwen Dovey’s Blood Kin (Viking). They are two of just three of the debut authors shortlisted for the honor.

The Dylan Thomas Prize, which is sponsored by the University of Wales, is designed to encourage creative talent in writers under the age of 30, and was established to honor the internationally esteemed work of Dylan Thomas, whose first book of poetry was published when he was 21. It is a global award, open to any work, from any genre, which has been published in the English language. With a £60,000 prize, it is one of the highest paying and prestigious literary awards.

The six writers, who are all under 30, were selected from a 16-strong long list unveiled in July, which was described by the Prize founder, Professor Peter Stead, as "one of the strongest (longlists) ever seen amongst any international literary prize." The 16 books covered a broad range of issues, including relationships, religion, racial prejudice and bereavement. Here’s what the judges had to say about Blood Kin and The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears:

Kurt Heinzelman, American poet and academic, said:

"Blood Kin by Ceridwen Dovey is ominously titled but the narrative is deft, even understated, in its depiction of power struggles that are political, sexual, and familial. The narrative itself is multi-voiced, intricately layered, and unflinching."

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Penguin Group Publishes Half of the Titles on Man Booker Prize 2008 Shortlist

Penguin Group publishes or distributes five of the six titles on the Man Booker Prize 2008 shortlist, which was announced this week in London. A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz is published by Penguin Group imprint Hamish Hamilton in the UK, Australia, India and South Africa. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry is published by Penguin Group (USA)'s Viking imprint in the U.S. and also distributed by Penguin Canada and Penguin India. Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh is published by Penguin India and Penguin Canada. The Clothes on Their Backs by Linda Grant (Virago) is distributed by Penguin Canada and Penguin South Africa. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (Atlantic) is distributed by Penguin Australia and Penguin South Africa.

John Makinson, Chairman and Chief Executive of Penguin Group, commented, "This is a great day for Penguin's literary publishing around the world. Our publishers are responsible for half the titles on the Man Booker Prize 2008 shortlist and we are also delighted to sell, market and distribute a further two of the six finalists as part of our global distribution network."

The Man Booker Prize judging panel is chaired by Michael Portillo, former MP and Cabinet Minister. He is joined by Alex Clark, editor of Granta; novelist Louise Doughty; James Heneage, founder of Ottakar's bookshops; and Hardeep Singh Kohli, TV and radio broadcaster. The judging panel read more than 112 entries before whittling down the list to the Man Booker Dozen (13 titles) and then again to just six titles. They will meet to decide on the winning novel on Tuesday, October 14th, 2008, and the winning author will be awarded the £50,000 prize money at an awards ceremony later on that evening at Guildhall, London.

 Penguin Young Readers Group's Corduroy to Benefit Jumpstart's Read for the Record

Mark Nieker, President of the Pearson Foundation, and Jumpstart's James Cleveland, added enthusiastic words about their organizations' good works, including Jumpstart's Read for the Record (more on this event in next week's Spotlight), which takes place on October 2nd, when a new world record for the largest shared reading experience is expected to be set, raising funds for early education in low-income communities. This year's official campaign book is a custom edition of Corduroy published by Penguin Young Readers Group. The Pearson Foundation, the campaign's sponsor and founding partner, is underwriting the publication of the custom edition of the book, ensuring that 100% of the proceeds directly benefit Jumpstart's work with at-risk children. Plus, each book that is purchased online will be matched with a donation from the Pearson Foundation to support Jumpstart youth. For more details, please visit Jumpstart's Read for the Record website, as well as the Pearson Foundation website.