EarlyWord: The Publisher | Librarian Connection

Forget What GCB Stands For — Show Is Cancelled

Nora Rawlinson — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:25:06 +0000

ABC announced last week that they are canceling the series, GCB. We will miss it. Back in February, we posted a story titled, What Does GCB Stand For? It seems those were just the right words for a Google search. We received close to 89,000 hits on it. We’re rooting for the online campaign to bring the show back. The [...]

New Title Radar: May 21 – 27

Charlotte Abbott — Fri, 18 May 2012 10:42:05 +0000

Richard Ford and Paul Theroux return next week – with Ford exploring a boy’s coming of age and Theroux probing a mid-life crisis - while Elizabeth Lowell delivers her latest romantic thriller. There are also three novels that librarians have been buzzing about on our Galley Chat: Suzanne Joinson‘s tale of two women connected across time, Melanie Gideon‘s comic novel about a bored [...]

BEA Session Not to Miss

Nora Rawlinson — Thu, 17 May 2012 20:17:18 +0000

We just got a heads-up that there are a few spaces remaining in a special BEA session aimed at book group leaders (click on the image below to REGISTER). Run by the energetic Carol Fitzgerald of the Book Reporter Network (which includes ReadingGroupGuides.com), it’s sure to be a great program and a chance to pick [...]

FATHER’S DAY Endorsement

Nora Rawlinson — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:38:55 +0000

The author of Friday Night Lights, Buzz Bissinger, was interviewed on the Today Show Tuesday, for his new book about a road trip he took in an effort to bond with his brain-damaged son, Father’s Day (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; S&S Audio). It received this ringing endorsement from interviewer Jamie Gangel, ” I LOVED this book. It [...]

A Scientific Look at Breasts

Nora Rawlinson — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:25:12 +0000

A fascinating look at the fascinating topic of breasts was aired on Fresh Air yesterday, propelling Breasts by Florence Williams to #85 (from # 1,144). Science reporter Williams, after reading that toxins has been discovered in breast milk, had her own tested and discovered that it contained flame retardants (from the foam in her couch) [...]

Steve Jobs BioPics

Nora Rawlinson — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:02:14 +0000

Two movies about Steve Jobs are in the works. Ashton Kutcher is currently filming Jobs: Get Inspired, in which he plays Apple’s co-founder. It is expected to hit theaters later this year. Rumors that Aaron Sorkin will create a film script from Walter Isaacson’s bio, Steve Jobs (S&S) have been confirmed by Sony Pictures. Sorkin explored [...]

Jean Craighead George Dies at 92

Lisa Von Drasek — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:30:47 +0000

I know we are still reeling from the loss of Maurice Sendak, but now we have to report the sad news that another children’s book icon, Jean Craighead George has died (as reported on Twitter last night by her agent, via Publishers Lunch). JeanGeorge was THE author for reluctant readers. She invented the adventure/survival genre for middle grade [...]

DARK PLACES, The Movie

Nora Rawlinson — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:50:04 +0000

The Cannes film festival opens today. With all those Hollywood types hanging out on the Croisette, there’s bound to be a lot of deal making. The Hollywood Reporter has the story on one of the first. Amy Adams is in talks to star in an adaptation of Edgar-finalist Gillian Flynn’s 2009 novel, Dark Places. If negotiations go well, [...]

New CW Teen Series

Nora Rawlinson — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:47:50 +0000

The CW network, well-known for its teen series, several of which are adapted from books (Gossip Girl, Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle) is adding a record five new teen series to their upcoming schedule, according to Deadline. Among them is a series based on The Carrie Diaries and Summer in the City (both HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray), Candace [...]

FIFTY SHADES At The Beach

Nora Rawlinson — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:42:29 +0000

Following the bidding wars for Fifty Shades of Grey (which began its life as Master of the Universe on a Twilight fan fiction site) and the sci-fi Wool, Hollywood continues its fascination with self-pubbed titles. Film rights to Tracey Garvis-Graves’ On the Island, a NYT E-Book Fiction Best Seller (currently at #9 after 4 weeks; down from a [...]

YA GalleyChat Tomorrow!

Nora Rawlinson — Mon, 14 May 2012 23:02:29 +0000

Please join us for the fourth installment of YA GalleyChat tomorrow, May 15, beginning at 4 p.m. ET (come a half hour early, at 3:30, for a get-to-know-each-other social). Information on how to join here. Mark your calendars — YA GalleyChat is the third Tuesday of every month. During our April chat, over 40 titles were [...]

The Sci-Fi FIFTY SHADES

Nora Rawlinson — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:41:15 +0000

Deadline reports that there has been “something of a stampede of bidders” for the film rights to a self-pubbed science fiction title, Wool, which, because it’s “an internet sensation” that attracted the interest of Hollywood, is being called “the sci-fi version of Fifty Shades of Grey.” Publishers Weekly reported on the book early last month, [...]

FIFTY SHADES of THE VIEW

Nora Rawlinson — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:07:42 +0000

When asked what she thought of some libraries removing Fifty Shades of Grey from their shelves on The View on Friday, the book’s author, E.L. James responded, “I think people should read what they like, providing it is age appropriate,” bringing applause from the audience. The studio audience went away with a copy of the book (as well as [...]

THE ART OF INTELLIGENCE

Nora Rawlinson — Mon, 14 May 2012 12:54:06 +0000

The man who led the CIA’s anti-terrorism efforts, Henry Crumpton, said in an interview on CBS Sixty Minutes last night that there are “more foreign spies in the US than ever before.” Crumpton writes about his experiences in The Art of Intelligence. The embargoed book is being released today. An excerpt is on The Daily Beast. The [...]

Remembering Maurice Sendak

Nora Rawlinson — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:41:53 +0000

Perhaps the best of all the tributes flowing in for beloved author Maurice Sendak, who died at 83 on Tuesday, is the fact that his books instantly soared up Amazon’s best seller list, with Where the Wild Things Are moving up to #14. Sendak’s irreverent wit was on full display in an appearance on the Stephen [...]

New Title Radar: May 14 – 20

Charlotte Abbott — Fri, 11 May 2012 10:18:26 +0000

Our list of eleven titles you need to know next week, includes Jai Pausch’s memoir about coming to terms with the loss of her husband, Randy, whose book, The Last Lecture, has been an enduring favorite. The author of Friday Night Lights writes a new book about traveling with his brain-damaged son. On our Watch [...]

Clip of THE PAPERBOY

Nora Rawlinson — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:41:46 +0000

Clips are beginning to arrive online for films that will premiere at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. The one below is from The Paperboy (via Rope of Silcon), based on National Book Award winning author Pete Dexter’s novel (Random House, 1995). It stars Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, Matthew McConaughey and John Cusack and is directed by Lee Daniels (Precious). [...]

Chelsea Cain to TV

Nora Rawlinson — Thu, 10 May 2012 13:23:29 +0000

Beautiful demonic serial killer Gretchen Lowell may materialize in a TV series. According to Deadline, FX has put Chelsea Cain’s books, Heartsick, Sweetheart and Evil At Heart, into development. No cast has been named. On her blog, Cain says she is “over the moon” that the network responsible for Justified, American Horror Story and Sons of Anarchy has given the green [...]

More Libraries Withdraw FIFTY SHADES

Nora Rawlinson — Thu, 10 May 2012 12:11:36 +0000

An Associated Press story released late yesterday uncovers more libraries withdrawing a #1 NYT Best seller weeks after it first arrived in that spot, Fifty Shades of Grey. Earlier in the week, the Palm Beach Post published a story about Brevard County withdrawing their copies. The AP reports that three other libraries have removed their [...]

ON THE ROAD to Hit Theaters This Fall

Nora Rawlinson — Wed, 09 May 2012 11:34:16 +0000

Walter Salles’s film of Jack Kerouac’s Beat Generation classic On The Road is set to premiere at the upcoming Cannes film festival. Distribution rights have just been picked up, with plans to release it in the fall, which means it will be eligible for 2013 Oscar nominations. The film includes so many marquee names that it will [...]

Brevard County Pulls FIFTY SHADES OF GREY

Nora Rawlinson — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:08:20 +0000

The Palm Beach Post reported Friday that the Brevard County, Florida, public library system has pulled all but “a handful” of copies of Fifty Shades of Grey from their shelves (via E! Online). That handful must have been withdrawn since; the library catalog currently shows none of the titles in the trilogy. Library Director Cathy Schweinsberg [...]

Buzz Building for New Bio of Obama

Nora Rawlinson — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:39:39 +0000

The cover of the June issue of Vanity Fair features a photo from a new book about Marilyn Monroe (Lawrence Schiller’s Marilyn & Me: A Photographer’s Memories, RH/Doubleday/Nan A. Talese), but buzz is building about the magazine’s excerpt of another bio, David Maraniss’s Barack Obama: The Story. It features “the untold story” of Obama’s post-grad romance with former girlfriend [...]

Maurice Sendak Dies

Nora Rawlinson — Tue, 08 May 2012 14:01:52 +0000

Beloved children’s author, Maurice Sendak, died today at 83. In tribute, NPR’s web site is rerunning an interview from Fresh Air (audio to be available at 5 p.m. ET today). His iconoclastic humor was on full display in a recent appearance on the Stephen Colbert Report: Part One: Part Two (in which Sendak calls Colbert an [...]

DR. SLEEP Coming in January (UPDATE: Biblio Info Added)

Nora Rawlinson — Tue, 08 May 2012 13:37:08 +0000

Stephen King's next book, Dr. Sleep, is the sequel to The Shining. It was just announced that it will be published in January.

2012 James Beard Awards

Nora Rawlinson — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:18:22 +0000

The big winner in this year’s James Beard Cookbook Awards is a big book; Modernist Cuisine was named the Cookbook of the Year, as well as winner in the Cooking from a Professional Point of View category. Just before the announcement, several publications, including the Wall Street Journal‘s SpeakEasy blog, covered the news that, despite [...]