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BEA 2011: A Bountiful Fall for Children's Books
There's no shortage of big-name children’s authors on the floor this year, and plenty of children’s book news. The book with the biggest “wow” factor may be The Chronicles of Harris Burdick, a collection of short stories based on Chris Van Allburg’s illustrations for his 1984 picture book, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick.
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BEA 2011: Award-Winning Breakfast
Monday may have marked the beginning of Becky Anderson’s term as president of the American Booksellers Association, but Thursday’s BookExpo America breakfast gave her the twin honor of receiving the award as the 19th annual winner of the Publishers Weekly Bookstore of the Year. “We’ve always said that books are better on drugs,” said Anderson, referring to the fact that the six-generation Anderson’s Book Shop in Naperville, Ill., grew out of the family’s pharmacy. “Our store is really about family. . . . As family, I know we all will survive and thrive.” PW Rep of the Year John Eklund, a long-time bookseller turned sales rep for Harvard, MIT, and Yale University Presses, showed his appreciation to booksellers for his award. “On behalf of all the nerdy, different kids, thank you for being there and staying there,” he said.
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BEA 2011: The End
Though some (who would prefer to remain nameless) described themselves as “exhausted,” “scrambled,” and/or “zapped,” the mood on the final day of BEA was overwhelmingly chipper. Though crowds were noticeably thinner, a 9:00 a.m. presentation by Google drew a healthy crowd of about 80, and the Insight Stages were well-attended for sessions on Russian authors, and middle-grade fantasy books. If you were among the audience for celebrity authors Jane Lynch and Jane Fonda, you wouldn’t have guessed the crowd was diminished: both were jam-packed, SRO affairs with spectators lined up two and three deep around the rim of the stage area.
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BEA 2011: Print Not Dead Yet
Despite the way e-books dominate the publishing conversation, it was obvious from the packed BEA show floor that the printed book is still at the center of the publishing industry. Taking a line from Mark Twain, Powell’s Books head buyer Gerry Donaghy led a panel discussion on the notion that the printed book is dead.
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BEA 2011: 'Hardcover Fiction Is Back'
If there's one person you want to ask about books, it's Paul Yamazaki, head buyer at City Lights bookstore in San Francisco. He’s talking about Jeff Eugenides's new novel, The Marriage Plot, but he is also touting what he called “a sleeper” on FSG’s list, The Barbarian Nurseries by L.A. Times columnist Hector Tobar. Yamazaki, always the champion of good books, brimmed with enthusiasm about the revived state of the book business. "There’s just so much good stuff out there!" he says. "Hardcover fiction is back."
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BEA Show Daily 2011: There's an App for That
If you're wondering why the air seems thicker than usual, the windows in Javits's lobby area are all fogged up, and booksellers walking out of the 2700 aisle are out of breath, it might be because of what's been going on at Medallion Press's booth (2738). The press, best known for its romance fiction list, is demonstrating on an iPad set up in the booth its hot, newly launched interactive e-book app. And the editors have chosen a doozy of a read for their first interactive e-book app: Passion's Blood by Cherif Fortin and Lynn Sanders, originally released in 1998 in an illustrated print format by Genesis Press. An updated print version, with sexy new plot elements and new illustrations, was released by Medallion in 2008 as part of its Illustrated Masterpiece series. Even though the title was well-received in print format, Medallion has long considered that Passion's Blood is a tale that can't be simply read, but must be felt and savored.
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BEA Show Daily 2011: The Greening of Inner Traditions
The Vermont-based Inner Traditions, Bear & Company, which has published bestselling books in the mind/body/spirit categories for 35 years, is highlighting its latest green initiatives at BEA. Founder and owner Ehud Sperling invites everyone to come on down to Costa Rica to see how the publisher is helping to reforest by planting trees there—or just drop by booth 4328 to hear about it.
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BEA Show Daily 2011: Anne Enright Man Booker's Impact
Irish author Anne Enright's work had been earning quiet accolades for years, but the clamor grew far louder when her novel The Gathering nabbed the 2007 Man Booker Prize. Now she returns to BEA as a speaker at today's Author Breakfast in advance of this fall's release of her latest novel, The Forgotten Waltz (Norton, Oct.).
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BEA Show Daily 2011: Dan Gutman In a Series Whirlwind
What are your plans for summer vacation? Chances are they can't compare to the breathless (and yes, humorous) adventures of twin brother and sister Coke and Pepsi McDonald, the stars of The Genius Files: Mission Unstoppable. Released in January by HarperCollins, the novel launches a new series by Dan Gutman. On a cross-country trip with their parents, Coke and Pepsi uncover a secret government plot and must elude some nefarious pursuers, all while taking in offbeat roadside attractions.
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BEA Show Daily 2011: Life Over Movies Roger Ebert
Legendary movie critic Roger Ebert hardly needs an introduction: for almost 45 years, he has been writing reviews for the Chicago Sun-Times, picking up a Pulitzer Prize for criticism (the first movie critic to do so), hosting television shows like At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and, just this year, producing a new series called Ebert Presents at the Movies. Movies form the focus of his 13-volume bibliography (with a 1993 stab at serial fiction, Behind the Phantom's Mask, and a travelogue in 1986 called The Perfect London Walk), but this September will see the launch of Ebert's first autobiographical work, Life Itself: A Memoir. The famously prolific critic, who lost the ability to speak from complications of thyroid cancer, spoke to Show Daily over e-mail about Life Itself (Grand Central) and his first visit to BEA. Ebert will be at the Author Breakfast today at 8 a.m.
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BEA Show Daily 2011: Jim Lehrer Political Balancing Act
Only when PBS NewsHour executive editor and anchor Jim Lehrer thought there was no chance he'd be moderating another presidential or vice presidential debate did he decide to delve into the importance of the debates from the 1960s through the current administration. The result is Tension City: Inside the Presidential Debates from Kennedy-Nixon to Obama-McCain, coming from Random House this September.
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BEA Show Daily 2011: A Chat with Ellen DeGeneres
Emmy award–winner Ellen DeGeneres has two bestselling books to her credit and is putting the final touches on her newest title, Seriously... I'm Kidding, due this October from Grand Central Publishing. A consummate entertainer, she places her unique signature on everything she does, whether it's providing the voice for Dory, everyone's favorite fish in Finding Nemo, and hosting her television show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, to a recent stint as an American Idol judge. She tells Show Daily that Seriously... I'm Kidding will give readers plenty of new material to enjoy.
DeGeneres will be making a special appearance, via video, at today's Book & Author Breakfast. -
BEA Show Daily 2011: Ellen Hopkins Probing the Pursuit of Perfection
Four teens who are pressured to achieve perfection are spotlighted in Perfect, Ellen Hopkins's September YA novel from Simon & Schuster's Margaret K. McElderry imprint. Cara, one of the protagonists, is the twin sister of Conner, who was driven to suicide by parental pressure in Hopkins's 2007 novel, Impulse.
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BEA Show Daily 2011: Christopher Franceschelli Publishing Vet Debuts as Author
A longtime publisher, editor, and creator of children's books, Brooklyn-based Christopher Franceschelli dons a new cap at this year's BEA: that of picture book author. Currently a partner of packager SmartInk Books and founder of Handprint Books, which since 2008 has been an imprint of Chronicle Books, Franceschelli has written Oliver, a novelty board book published in April by Lemniscaat USA. Featuring a spare text and minimal art, this book about an egg has a surprise ending that was inspired by a magic show the author attended at the age of seven.
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BEA Show Daily 2011: Jane Lynch Doing What She's Best At
It's hard to believe her when actress Jane Lynch confesses she's "a little nervous" that audiences will laugh at her, not with her, as they read her memoir, Happy Accidents (Hyperion Voice, Sept.). After all, Lynch's fictional alter ego, Sue Sylvester, the deliciously wicked cheerleading coach on the hit television musical series, Glee, is famous for hurling outrageous insults at anyone who crosses her.
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BEA Show Daily 2011: Brenda Warner From Rags to Riches
Brenda Warner, the wife of retired NFL star quarterback Kurt Warner, wants people to know there's much more to her than being a sports celebrity's wife and living a life of privilege. "I went through so much stuff before Kurt came into my life," she discloses. "My early life laid the foundation of who I am now." She's not kidding: Warner's memoir, One Call Away: Facing the Unexpected with Resilient Faith (Thomas Nelson, Sept.) reads like a modern-day fairy tale.
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BEA Show Daily 2011: Erik Larson When History Has Yet to Happen
History in Erik Larson's hands is both immediate and portentous: we are right there with his characters, wondering what is going to happen next. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin (Crown, May) meticulously depicts what life was like for an American family of four living in Germany in 1933, when storm troopers began their vicious attacks and Jews were disenfranchised from their lives.
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BEA Show Daily 2011: Jane Fonda Extols the Benefits of Aging
Oscar-winning actress and author Jane Fonda is passionate about living life to the fullest at any age. In her new book, Prime Time, due from Random House in early fall, she writes about "Act III of life" (age 60 and up) with a gusto and enthusiasm she hopes will be contagious. "I adored writing it," Fonda tells Show Daily, adding that she wants people, women in particular, to be "much more hopeful" about aging.
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BEA 2011: Discussing the Power of Kids' Books at Breakfast
It was a packed house for Tuesday morning’s Children’s Book & Author Breakfast, with a host of literary celebrity sightings for the huge crowd of appreciative booksellers, beginning with Katherine Paterson, National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature and two-time Newbery Medalist. Paterson set the tone for the more than 1,200 book people attending by talking about the power of books to influence the future course of young lives.
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BEA 2011: Abrams Celebrates Oprah
The Abrams booth at BEA features a number of forthcoming titles with proven track records and built-in audiences—including a new Good Eats book from bestseller Alton Brown, Harper's Bazaar's: Greatest Hits, and a new Wimpy Kid book—but none proven as popular as Oprah Winfrey, who chose Abrams to publish the official look back at her show, which ended its run Wednesday after 25 seasons. Though Winfrey was not on hand, Abrams beamed in the final episode at 4 p.m. on a 40-inch TV bought solely for the purpose, and toasted the daytime star’s swan song with champagne.
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