LOOK WHO'S TALKING
Neale Donald Walsch jumps on the bestseller charts with a third collection of his communications with God. Conversations with God, Book 3: An Uncommon Dialogue was published by Hampton Roads on October 27 with a 350,000 first printing based on advance sales of 220,000. It has already gone back to press for 100,000 copies, a wise move since he has taped an interview with Oprah; air date to be announced. Book 1, published by Putnam has sold more than 1.5 million copies and Book 2, published by Hampton, has sold more than 475,000 copies.
THE FITTEST YET
Jonathan Kellerman is climbing the mass market charts with the paperback edition of his 11th Alex Delaware novel, Survival of the Fittest. Bantam has 1,360,000 copies in print after three printings, adding substantially to the more than 15 million copies of Kellerman's books in print in the U.S. Fans can look forward to another Kellerman book, Billy Straight, which has a January 4, 1999, pub date and a December 28 laydown date. It's the first of the five-book deal the bestselling author signed with Random/Ballantine about two years ago. Back then it meant a new home and new corporate connections, but now it's just a new publisher. Random House is planning a 310,000 first printing and at least a seven-city tour.
PAXNET IS SERVING SOUP
With Chicken Soup titles overflowing on bestseller charts nationwide, Health Communications is enjoying the most successful series in publishing history (let us know if this is not true). Now the concept is moving to a broadcast format with a one-hour Chicken Soup for the Soul special airing December 14 on Paxnet, TV's newest network. The show, hosted by Leeza Gibbons, will feature re-creations of stories from the series starring celebrities such as Martin Sheen, Meredith Baxter-Birney, Paula Abdul and Baywatch's David Charvet. Authors Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield will also appear. Copies sold for all the books in the series total more than 30 million worldwide. Not bad, considering that motivational speakers Canfield and Hansen shopped the book to 33 publishers before it was finally accepted by Health Communications.
GUINNESS ESTABLISHES ITS OWN RECORD
While many folks will try to do almost anything to get a mention in The Guinness Book of Records, one of the bestselling copyrighted books in the world (nearly 100 million copies in print is the qualifier for that claim), the 1999 edition is trying for some records of its own. The Guinness 1999 Book of Records, published November 1 and already climbing the charts at retail outlets, particularly at the national chains and price clubs, has a hefty 700,000-copy first printing and, for the first time, has full color throughout; it includes 7000 records in 210 categories. Published by Guinness Publishing, the latest edition is also benefiting from eponymous Fox Network show. Maryann Palumbo Marketing Concepts has been handling all the PR; the book has already been featured on Oprah (who devoted an entire show to Guinness record holders); other Guinness segments are planned for CBS News Saturday Morning, Regis &Kathie Lee and Montel (for a full hour). The book enjoyed a cameo shot on America's top-rated show, ER, on November 5. Guinness CEO Mark Young is doing the media tour for the book; he is also the one who decides what and who constitutes the various records. So which titles and authors passed Young's muster in the book category? Top-selling authors are Agatha Christie -- her 78 crime novels have sold an estimated two billion copies in 44 languages -- and British novelist Dame Barbara Cartland, whose 635 novels have had global sales of more than 650 million. Sidney Sheldon is cited as the world's most translated author, with book available in 51 languages in more than 180 countries. And the three bestselling works of fiction, each credited with sales of about 30 million, are Valley of the Dolls, To Kill a Mockingbird and Gone with the Wind.
