'Tinkers' Continues to Defy Expectations

The Perseus Book Group, which distributes Bellevue Press, publisher of the recent Pulitzer winner Tinkers, is reporting that sales for the book are still strong after a 100,000-copy printing of the book shipped in April. According to Perseus, which provided sales data, the book is selling as well or better than three of the five last Pulitzer winners for fiction in the five-week period after the prize was awarded. (Perseus provided Nielsen BookScan data which shows that, Tinkers, for that 5-week period, has sold 5,997 copies, besting March at 5,614, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao at 5,174 and Gilead at 5,704.)

Autumn Shifts at NBN and D.A.P.

It happens every fall, publishers change distributors. Both D.A.P./Distributed Art Publishers and National Book Network have recently signed new clients. The latter added guidebook alternative NFT Not for Tourists, which is headquartered in New York City.

The PW Morning Report: Friday, May 21, 2010

A daily roundup of book and publishing news from across the Web: How E-Books Are Changing the Way Bricks-and-Mortar Bookstores Operate; Anti-War Protesters Try to Arrest Rove at Borders; Gail Rebuck's Take on E-Book Piracy; What Is Stieg Larsson's Secret?

Reloaded: New Press to Publish New Title from Controversial Author Michael Bellesiles

Nearly a decade after his fall from grace, controversial Arming America author Michael Bellesiles is back with a new book, 1877: America's Year of Living Violently, set to be published by New Press in August. But just how forgiving will book buyers will be toward the historian? Already this week New Press is catching flak for its assertion in press materials that the author was "swiftboated" by pro-gun forces.

BookMasters Offers Self-Publishing Services

On the heels of Barnes & Noble's announcement that it is launching a self-publishing service, distributor BookMasters has gone public with its decision to enter the field. The company today announced that it is starting a digital production and distribution service for self-published authors called AUTURO. It is tying the launch in to BEA DIY, which takes place next Monday in New York City.

The PW Morning Report: Thursday May 20, 2010

A daily roundup of book and publishing news from across the Web: Harlequin & Ballantine do e-originals; 'Fast Company' on B&N's entry into self-publishing; LibreDigital secures funding; Late JG Farrell wins Britain's Lost Man Booker; Stanford to create "bookless" library

Amazon Launches Translation Imprint, AmazonCrossing

Amazon has established a second publishing imprint, launching, AmazonCrossing, which will do English-language translations of foreign-language books. Its first title will be Tierno Monenembo's The King of Kahel, which will be released on Nov. 2. English-language editions of the book will be available in print format through Amazon's online store and will also be released as an e-book.

Hachette Signs With RoyaltyShare to Manage Backend Digital Sales

In a deal that reflects the growing need publishers have to process more complicated digital sales data, Hachette Book Group has hired the digital revenue management company RoyaltyShare to process its digital sales. RoyaltyShare, a five-year-old company based in San Diego with an office in New York, is one of the leading companies providing data on digital sales to music companies; now the software provider is looking to expand into the book publishing space. While Hachette is the first major publisher to sign with RoyaltyShare, the company's Steve Grady said it is currently in talks with other houses and will be attending BEA.

The PW Morning Report: Wednesday, May 19, 2010

A daily roundup of book and publishing news from across the Web: Guns N' Roses Releases a Vook; Amazon to Publish Translations of Foreign-Language Books; NBA Ref-Turned-Felon Tim Donaghy Splits with Publisher; A Review of the Kobo; Pinter Wonders About "the Konrath Effect."

Chelsea Green Partners with Scribd on Oil Spill Book

In response to the BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, Chelsea Green Publishing and biologist and commercial salmon "fisher ma'am" Riki Ott are making her book about the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, Not One Drop, available for free download indefinitely on Scribd.com starting today.

The PW Morning Report: Tuesday, May 18, 2010

A daily roundup of book and publishing news from across the Web: Obama Discloses Book Advance; Is the iPad Driving E-Book Piracy?; Kindle Goes on a Hiring Spree; Hachette wins three U.K. Bookseller Industry Awards; 'Seabiscuit' Author Returns; Printed Guidebooks Still Sell; Yiddish Novelist's Archives May Open.

'Blanket of Stars' Offers Different Look At Homeless Women

Frances Noble's Blanket of Stars: Homeless Women in Santa Monica, due out next month from Angel City Press, combines interviews and photographs that illuminates the humanity of the women living on the streets in her own neighborhood.

The PW Morning Report: Monday, May 17, 2010

A daily roundup of book and publishing news from across the Web: 'PW' News; French Publishers Team Up for Digital; Dissolving Genre; Sports Book Awards; iPad: Friend of Penguin.

Web-Exclusive Reviews: Week of 5/17/10

Fiction Grows at Bloomsbury

Although better known for an impressive nonfiction list, Bloomsbury USA is looking to expand its fiction publishing, adding a broad array of edgy, younger American writers, international works, and literary fiction with commercial interest. The house has added more editors focused on fiction with a broad mandate "to attract review attention and attract new writers to our list," said Bloomsbury director of publicity Peter Miller.

Amy Krouse Rosenthal: Putting All Her Books Under a Yellow Umbrella

What a year Amy Krouse Rosenthal had in 2009. First, with four children's books published that spring, Rosenthal got the coveted invite to be a breakfast speaker at BookExpo America; then, on Mother's Day, the New York Times printed a glowing review of all four of her new titles, Duck! Rabbit! and Little Oink (Chronicle), Spoon (Hyperion), and Yes Day! (HarperCollins); and she hit the New York Times list for Duck! Rabbit! May 24—staying on for weeks and re-emerging later in the summer.

Penguin Books Hits 75

In 1935, Allen Lane, who was working at U.K. publisher The Bodley Head, published the first Penguin paperbacks. There were 10 of them, including A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway and The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie. They cost sixpence each. "I think that when he started, people thought he was pretty bonkers," said Penguin Books president and publisher Kathryn Court of Lane, who died in 1970. Selling affordable, quality paperbacks in venues such as railway stations and newsstands was unheard of in the 1930s.

News Briefs: Week of 5/17/10

HMH Trade & Reference Group Climbs Back

The Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade & Reference group has not had an easy time of it since it was created in 2007 following the acquisition of Harcourt by HM's parent company Educational Media and Publishing Group. In addition to the usual consolidation issues of combining staffs, closing offices, and blending corporate cultures, the division had to deal with the shaky finances of its parent company; being put up for sale; a temporary pause in acquiring new titles; and the worst economic downturn since the Depression.

Author Solutions Creates Imprint with Hay House

Author Solutions has signed its third deal with a traditional publisher to create a self-publishing division, inking an agreement with Hay House to create Balboa Press. According to Hay House CEO Reid Tracy, the publisher receives "thousands of manuscripts annually, but we can publish only 100 products a year." Similar to agreements with Harlequin and Thomas Nelson, Hay House will monitor the self-published titles to look for potential Hay House authors.