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The Sorceress by Michael Scott (Random House);
The Doomsday Key by James Rollins (William Morrow);
Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child (Delacorte Press);
and The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American
Appetite by David A. Kessler (Rodale).
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Bluewater Productions to Publish Ron Paul Comic Book
Bluewater Productions has launched a Ron Paul comic. The comic is an entry in the publisher's "Political Power" series. The comic for the libertarian GOP presidential candidate is written by Marc Shapiro .
Shapiro says, "In a way, Ron Paul is like any other committed musician or actor. He has a vision, he's well read and he's very much his own person. You may not agree with everything he says but you have to admit that at least he's done his homework before he's said it, which is more than you can say for most politicians."
Darren G. Davis, president of Bluewater Comics, says, "Ron Paul is such a unique voice in the modern world of politics. We want to make sure we told his tale and shared his philosophy and Marc has once again turned in a top-notch script."
The Ron Paul comic will arrive in bookstores in February 2012 and sell for $3.99. Bluewater has also published comics for Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry and the Tea Party.
Two poets have withdrawn from consideration for the TS Eliot Prize, which is awarded annually by the Poetry Book Society (UK). Both poets withdrew to protest the prize being sponsored by Aurum Funds, an investment firm. The TS Eliot Prize turned to the corporate sponsorship after losing its regular funding by the Arts Council.
BBC News reports that Alice Oswald withdrew from the competition on December 6th. She won the TS Eliot Prize in 2002. Australian poet John Kinsella withdrew from the competition on December 8. BBC News reports that Kinsella said, "I regret that I must do this at a particularly difficult time for the Poetry Book Society (PBS), but the business of Aurum does not sit with my personal politics and ethics."
A Telegrapharticle notes that TS Eliot worked for Lloyd's bank for the first half of his life.
Books-a-Million Reports 3rd Quarter Loss, Drop in Sales
Books-a-Million announced its 3rd quarter financial results for the quarter ended October 29, 2011. The company reported that net sales were down by 8.1% to $94.4 million from net sales of $102.7 million in the year-earlier period. Comparable store sales also suffered,
declining 7.7% compared with the 13-week period in the prior year.
The company had a net loss for the third quarter of $4.0 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $1.7 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, compared to the prior year. The company attributed some of the loss to one time charges related to the closing of 21 locations that were underperforming, and the opening of 41 new stores beginning this month.
Net sales were down 10.1% compared to last year.
Clyde B. Anderson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Results for the quarter reflect a reduction in the comparable store sales decline that we have experienced year to date. An improved publishing lineup and good performance from our general merchandise expansion were partially offset by the effects of the Border's liquidation sales in 15 of our markets. We are excited to be bringing the BAM! brand to new markets throughout the country and we are focused on preparations for the holiday season."
Indigo Sells Interest in Kobo Ebook Reader to Rakuten, Inc.
Canadian bookstore chain Indigo Books & Music, Inc. announced that it will sell its majority share in the Kobo ebook reader to Internet service company Rakuten, Inc. Rakuten will purchase all outstanding shares of Kobo, Inc. for $315 million (U.S.) Kobo will remain a stand-alone operation located in Toronto.
Indigo said in a statement:
Indigo founded Kobo and spun it off in 2009 as an independent player in the global eReading market. Both Indigo and Kobo believe that Rakuten is the right global partner for Kobo to continue to grow the company to its full potential. With over 50 million customers, and a global mandate, Rakuten's e-commerce strength and broad experience will offer the support and expertise to enable Kobo to further expand its reach and solidify its position as a global leader in eReading.
"We are truly proud of the success that Kobo and Indigo have achieved. From start up, only 24 months ago, to becoming a strong global player with a unique reading experience and one of the largest multi-language eReading catalogues in the world, Kobo is now among the world leaders in the emerging eReading industry," said Heather Reisman, CEO of Indigo and Chair of Kobo. "Rakuten will allow Kobo to meet the demands of competing with the very best players in the world. Notwithstanding the sale, Indigo will maintain a very strong relationship with Kobo, supporting the products and the services both in store and online and directly benefiting from the growth of the Canadian eReading market. The success of KOBO confirms that Indigo is a great brand and a strong platform on which we can continue to innovate and grow."
The sale is expected to close in early 2012, after obtaining approval
under the Investment Canada Act.
Custom Built Assouline Library Offered as Gift in Neiman Marcus Christmas Book
One of the luxury gifts in the Neiman Marcus 2011 Christmas Book is a custom built library from Assouline. The $125,000 loor to ceiling and wall to wall library will reflect Assouline's style as well as your intellectual viewpoint. When the decor is complete, the shelves will be lined with the Assouline collection, consisting of 250 current and vintage volumes in the genre of your choice. Neiman Marcus will also donate $2,500 to First Book, a nonprofit organization that provides access to new books for children in need throughout the U.S. and Canada. Take a look:
You can find a list of more of the luxury gifts in the 2011 Christmas Book here.
DC Entertainment to Publish Steig Larsson's Millennium Trilogy as Graphic Novels
DC Entertainment and its Vertigo will adapt
Steig Larsson's Millennium Trilogy novels into graphic novels. Publishers Weekly reports that each book in the series will be turned into two graphic novels which will be available in print and digital formats. The novels have sold more than 60 million copies. A feature film of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara will be released on December 21, 2011.
The estate of Steig Larsson and the Hedlund Literary Agency brokered the deal with DC. The graphic novel versions of the first book in the series The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo will be released in 2012. The graphic novel versions of The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest will be released in 2014.
Joakim Larsson, the younger brother of Stieg Larrson, said: "Stieg always liked comics and it will be exciting to see the unforgettable characters he created come to life on the comics page."
Author Cassandra Clare at 2011 National Book Festival
Author Cassandra Clare read from her upcoming book Clockwork Prince, which comes out in December, at the 2011 National Book Festival. The book is the sequel to Clockwork Angel. After her reading, she took questions about her books and writing, including questions about prologue, titles, writing fanfiction, outlines and more. Here is what she had to say about outlines.
Right. We call them planners pantsers. You are a pantser, you write by the seat of your pants. I admire that. I, I, I am not a risk taker like that. I do a general outline plot first, and think about it for a while, and then I generally gather a group of my friends together and we do what we call a micro plot, which means every chapter is planned out ahead of time, every, everything that happens in the chapter, everything that happens in the next chapter, so that the whole story is told and like the general kinks are worked out ahead of time before I start writing and I know, I pretty much know where the story is going to go. And I mean, there is no one perfect way to write a book, so that's the way that works for me, but, you know, I also have friends who just do what you do and just write, no outline and it works for them, so you just have to find the system that works the best for you.
Norton Juster and Jules Feiffer Talk The Phantom Tollbooth's 50th Anniversary
2011 is the 50th anniversary of The Phantom Tollbooth. The book's creators, writer Norton Juster and illustrator Jules Feiffer. talk about the creation of their classic novel fifty years ago. Juster says the character was based on him and the way he felt. Feiffer says Juster would read passages from the book to him and one day he started to write sketches for the book. The two authors - who both rented apartments in the same building - disagree about how exactly they met. Take a look:
British Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy is Waiting for David Beckham's Boots
The BBC reports that British Poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy is waiting for a pair of football boots promised to her by British soccer star, David Beckham. Carol Ann Duffy wrote a poem, called "Achilles," about how an injured foot kept Beckham from playing in England's 2010 World Cup campaign.
David Beckham asked the poet laureate for a copy of the poem so she promised to send him one in exchange for his boots. Carol Ann Duffy sent a handwritten copy of the poem to Beckham, but she told BBC Radio 4's Front Row, "He's got the bloody poem, I haven't got the boots."
She has been waiting for the boots for nearly six months. Beckham needs to deliver his boots ASAP.
Winners of the 2011 Dayton Literary Peace Prize Announced
The Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation has announced the winners of the 2011 Dayton Literary Peace Prize. The Surrendered by Chang-Rae Lee won the fiction prize and In The Place Of Justice: A Story of Punishment and Deliverance by Wilbert Rideau won the nonfiction prize.
Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste and The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson are the runners-up.
The annual awards are inspired by the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords that ended the war in Bosnia, The Dayton Literary Peace Prize is the only international literary peace prize awarded in the United States. Winners receive a $10,000 honorarium while runners-up receive $1,000.
Amazon announced today that Kindle books are coming to more than 11,000 U.S. libraries. The digital book distribution company OverDrive will handle the loans, as it does for most libraries.
To check out a book for Kindle, patrons must be a member of their local library. With the new service, the patron goes to the library's website, picks a book, then clicks the option to Send to Kindle. The book will appear on the user's Kindle the next time he logs in. The new service allows patrons to make notes in the margin, and to purchase the book later if they wish.
Jay Marine, Director, Amazon Kindle said in a statement: "We're even doing a little extra here – normally, making margin notes in library books is a big no-no. But we’re fixing this by extending our Whispersync technology to library books, so your notes, highlights and bookmarks are always backed up and available the next time you check out the book or if you decide to buy the book."
Not all publishers make their ebooks available to libraries. HarperCollins only allows a new titles licensed from library ebook vendors to circulate only
26 times before the license expires. Macmillan and Simon & Schuster
do not allow ebooks to be borrowed from libraries, according to The New York Times.
British Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy Says Texting is Modern Poetry
British Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy says texting is a modern form of poetry. Duffy told The Guardian in an interview, that "The poem is a form of texting... it's the original text."
She also said, "It's a perfecting of a feeling for language, it's a way of saying more with less, just as texting is."
She also talked about how she started writing poetry. She says, "I'd write them out by hand, and it was that very physical act that led me to become a writer. It was quite an intimate experience of poetry, and that's what I'd like us to go back to now with children."
Duffy has also launched a competition for British secondary school students to write anthologies. The competition will be open to entries until March 1, 2012.
Google Library Project Lawsuit Gets Closer to Trial
The Google Library Project scanning lawsuit had a status conference today with federal judge Denny Chin. The judge set important dates for upcoming hearings. Publisher's Weekly reports that settlement talks continue between Google and the many plaintiffs, which include the Authors Guild, Association of American Publishers and five other book publishers.
The judge said he wanted the case ready for trial by July, 2012.
Attorneys for the AAP and for Google told the court that settlement talks are ongoing and that both sides are hopeful their differences can be worked out.
The AAP released a statement saying,
"Today, we informed the court that the Association of American Publishers, the five publisher plaintiffs and Google have made good progress toward a settlement that would resolve the pending litigation regarding the Google Library Project.
We are working to resolve the differences that remain between the parties and reach terms that are mutually agreeable."
The Authors Guild attorney Michael Boni sounded less optimistic about a settlement that would make the authors happy. That could lead to a strange case in which the publishers settle with Google, but the Authors Guild presses on with the case.
Judge Chen ordered the plaintiffs to file their brief for class certification by December 12th. The response is due January 20th. Discovery must be finished by the end of March, 2012. Motions for summary judgment (which everyone is going to file no doubt) will be due by the middle of July.
PW says that the plaintiffs were very unhappy when Judge Chin said the case is about snippets of the books being used in the search engine. They corrected the judge, explaining that the case is about the unauthorized copying, scanning and storing of books. It's not a good sign for the Guild that the judge is so off base as to what the case is about.
McGraw-Hill announced a major change at the company. McGraw-Hill will be split into two separate companies as part of the Board of Directors' three-part "Growth and Value Plan."
McGraw-Hill Education will handle education services and digital learning. McGraw-Hill Markets will focus on its capital and commodities markets. Here is the company's description of the two new entities:
McGraw-Hill Markets, the working name for this Company, will include the following iconic brands in the capital and commodities markets: Standard & Poor's, the world's foremost provider of credit ratings; S&P Indices, the world's leading index business; the newly launched S&P Capital IQ, a leading global provider of multi-asset class data, research, benchmarks and analytics; and Platts, the leading global provider of information and indices in energy, petrochemicals and metals. Combined, the capital and commodities businesses account for approximately 90% of McGraw-Hill Market's annual revenues.
McGraw-Hill Education expects revenues of approximately $2.4 billion in 2011. As an independent education company, it will be able to optimize its solid cash generation capabilities and strong balance sheet to pursue accelerated growth strategies and augment its organic growth with digital services and/or via acquisitions or strategic partnerships. For example, it will have greater flexibility to develop and deploy new products and services to address secular trends toward digital education platforms and to pursue higher-margin opportunities in educational services such as online instructional and school digital services. Internationally, the company will be better positioned to capitalize on education spending and adult skills training in China, India, Brazil and other emerging markets, which are projected to continue to grow at double-digit rates.
In this video Terry McGraw, the Chairman, President and CEO explains the three part strategy:
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Bluewater Productions has launched a Ron Paul comic. The comic is an entry in the publisher's "Political Power" series. The comic for the libertarian GOP presidential candidate is written by Marc Shapiro .
The Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation has announced the winners of the 2011 Dayton Literary Peace Prize. The Surrendered by Chang-Rae Lee won the fiction prize and In The Place Of Justice: A Story of Punishment and Deliverance by Wilbert Rideau won the nonfiction prize.
