BEA 2012: One Archive of the Life of Solzhenitsyn

“Some of the unpublished manuscripts here had been labeled by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn as ‘unfit to publish—ever,’ ” said Natalia Solzhenitsyn, widow of the great Russian writer known for The Gulag Archipel­ago, The First Circle, and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.

BEA 2012: On Disease, the Israeli Army, and Supernatural Wolves at the Buzz Panel

In a packed room at the Javits Center Monday afternoon during Book Expo America, booksellers, editors, publicists, and journalists got together for what BEA show director Steve Rosato rightly called one of the fair’s “marquee events.” It’s the annual Editor’s Buzz Panel, which invites a handful of editors to sing the praises of promising books.  

BEA 2012: First Day Mood: Strong Traffic, Vexing Questions

An overwhelmingly positive mood, with repeated refrains of strong traffic, was mixed with questions about the forthcoming Consumer Day, during the Tuesday kickoff of BookExpo America.

BEA 2012: Polish Presence At BEA

Publishers from all over the world come to BEA, and this year the Polish Cultural Institute New York and the Polish Book Institute are here to market books in English by Polish authors, promote the trans-lation of Polish works, and facilitate trade in international rights between Polish and U.S. publishers.

BEA 2012: Hachette Nashville Launches Jericho

Publisher Wendy Grisham says her new imprint, Jericho Books (booth 3628), which officially launches today, will be reaching out to the “disassociated, disestablished, and disgruntled” within the Christian community. She explains: “The disassociated are the ones that walked away from their religion. They may have lost their faith, might be taking a break, or just fed up with the establishment. The disestablished are secular. They have an opinion but don’t have a dog in the fight on religious issues. They might call themselves spiritual but not religious. The disgruntled are those who have stayed in the church but want to push the boundaries. This group also includes many who were disassociated but have returned.”

BEA 2012: Rich Dad Hits the Airwaves

Robert Kiyosaki might not be the easiest name to remember, but the author does not seem to mind, because ever since his first book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, hit the bestseller lists, he simply goes by Rich Dad. And in May, Kiyosaki joined SiriusXM satellite radio channel 168 for a weekly Saturday afternoon talk show, where he shares his often contrarian views on money management.

BEA 2012: No Sweets for the Sweet

An unusual family trait led Kelly Cooper, author of Cookies for Grown-Ups (Red Rock Press, Nov.), to develop recipes for savory cookies in the 1990s, when her sons disliked sweets as they were growing up.

BEA 2012: A Dumped, Determined Duo

When it comes to getting over a breakup and becoming authors, Maryjane Fahey and Caryn Beth Rosenthal don’t take half measures. Their story of how Dumped: A Grown-Up Guide to Gettin’ Off Your Ass and Over Your Ex in Record Time (Sellers Publishing, Sept.) came to be published is almost as lively as the book itself.

BEA 2012: Tasty Pops

Angie Dudley, aka Bakerella, whose book Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for More Than 40 Irresistible Mini Treats (Chronicle Books) spent multiple weeks on the New York Times bestseller list in 2010 and sold nearly one million copies, will be promoting her follow-up book, Cake Pops Holidays (Nov.) today with an appearance at the Chronicle booth (4022), 10 a.m.–noon; she will also be signing copies of her first book.

BEA 2012: Quirk Takes On New Challenges

Quirk Books founder Dave Borgenicht, who is also the creator and coauthor of The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook and father of that volume’s many lively offspring, says his company’s mission hasn’t changed in the 10 years it’s been publishing. If anything, the mission has become more finely articulated over time. “We want to do cool entertainment to amuse and inform the world as much as we can,” Borgenicht says. “We want to succeed not just as a publisher but as a publishing and entertainment company.”

BEA 2012: Official BEA On-Site Addendum

BEA 2012: To the Rescue

Shortly after writer Kim Kavin rescued an adorable puppy named Blue, his quirky behavior and the puzzling scabs on his body inspired her to check out his background. The New Jersey resident learned he had been days, perhaps hours away from being put down in a county animal shelter in North Carolina where 90% of the dogs are killed in a gas chamber. Kavin was flabbergasted. “There was something going on behind the beautiful pictures of these wonderful dogs on the Petfinder.com Web site. What I learned eventually became my book proposal.”

BEA 2012: Murder and Mayhem At Prometheus

The creation of Seventh Street Books, the new mystery/thriller imprint from Prometheus Books (booth 2934), was announced last fall, but things are just now getting rolling, with the lead titles chosen and the first catalogue scheduled to appear soon after BEA. The imprint’s logo, a raven, is a reference to Edgar Allan Poe’s chilling poem.

BEA 2012: Make Way for Karen Kingsbury

With Karen Kingsbury’s new book, The Bridge (Oct. 23), Howard Books hopes the Christian superstar will make advances in the ABA market.

BEA 2012: America Reads Spanish

Earlier this year, America Reads Spanish, a program spearheaded by the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade and the Spanish Association of Publishers Guilds, launched its first panel for translation rights in the U.S., showcasing the latest titles coming from Spain with rights available for translation. For this first edition of the program, 195 titles of all genres were submitted by approximately 95 publishers. The list has since been narrowed to 12 titles picked by the translation panel’s group of experts. The selections were made based on each panel member’s knowledge of the market as well as by specially commissioned reader’s reports.

BEA 2012: Nine Steps to Reduce Stress

Long before Whole Foods brought healthy food to America’s dinner tables, Paul Huljich cofounded an organic food company that was ahead of its time in his native New Zealand. He was chairman and co-CEO of Best Corporation when he had a complete mental breakdown—brought on by stress.

BEA 2012: Abingdon’s Quilting Novels

Every quilt is a unique work of art, and a new series from Abingdon Fiction hopes to tap into the stories of each one. The new Quilts of Love series launches at BEA (booth 3832), and Abingdon will release one book per month through March 2014. Readers can get a look by picking up an advance copy of A Wild Goose Chase Christmas by Jennifer AlLee (Nov.), the second book in the series. The booth, decorated with quilts, also will display ARCs of the series’ first book, Beyond the Storm by Carolyn Zane (Oct.), and the third title, Path of Freedom by Jennifer Hudson Taylor (Jan. 2013).

BEA 2012: A Successful Orbit Around BEA

Orbit, the Hachette Book Group science fiction publisher, is celebrating its fifth anniversary this fall, as is Hachette’s manga imprint, Yen Press. And what a wild ride it’s been for Orbit, especially this past year. Honors and awards have been raining down: the press’s Samuil Petrovitch trilogy by Simon Morden snagged a 2012 Philip K. Dick Award for distinguished science fiction published in the U.S. in paperback original format. The Company Man by Robert Jackson Bennett received a special citation from the Philip K. Dick Trust. The Company Man also was nominated for a 2012 Edgar Award for best paperback original. The Kingdom of Gods by N.K. Jemisin was shortlisted for a Nebula Award for best novel. And Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey and Deadline by Mira Grant are duking it out for a Hugo Award for best novel.

BEA 2012: De Agostini USA Sets Up Shop

Italian publishing powerhouse De Agostini Publishing is at BookExpo America for the first time as part of its efforts to begin publishing in the U.S. “BEA 2012 is the perfect event to launch the U.S. business, to showcase our product, and to preview the titles that we intend to bring to the market in the second half of 2012 and going into 2013,” says Robin Pearson, editorial director, who will be at BEA in booth 2840, for De Agostini Publishing USA.

BEA 2012: BEA Welcomes Radio’s Bad Boy

Today, check out popular radio host Michael Baisden—affectionately self-billed “The Bad Boy of Radio” on The Michael Baisden Show, syndicated and currently heard in 82 cities nationwide—as he returns to his author roots: he’s signing his new hardcover, Maintenance Man II, 1–5 p.m. at Amber’s African American Pavilion booth (3486).