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Messenger Opens Up About WSJ's New Book Review
When this weekend's Wall Street Journal hits stands, those in publishing will be quickly flipping to the new stand-alone book review section, called Books, which appears in the paper's revamped weekend edition, now named WSJ Weekend. Robert Messenger, the new editor for Books, talked with PW about what he plans on reviewing, the importance of keeping long-form book coverage intact, and how he's not competing with the Times Book Review.
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Oprah Confirms 'Freedom,' Says Club Will Continue
Today on her show, Oprah Winfrey confirmed what had been rumored for days--her newest selection is Jonathan Franzen's Freedom. She called the book "a masterpiece that spans three decades, an epic family saga,it is everything you want in a book, and I'm betting it will end up being one of the best novels you've ever read." Franzen will appear on a future show to discuss the book, Oprah said. She added that despite reports she was ending the club, she'll "continue to pick books all season long, and the book club will go with me to the Oprah Network."
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A Sneak Peek at the September 20 'PW'
Everyone knows there are many more women than men in publishing, but our lead story shows the gap widening and asks what implications, if any, that holds for the industry. Our monthly international bestsellers list finds the top fiction titles in Germany and Sweden are set to be released in the U.S. next year. With the Frankfurt Book Fair weeks away, O'Reilly's Andrew Savikas talks about what's new at this year's Frankfurt Tools of Change. We also have the top titles that the major American literary agencies will be shopping at the fair. The Retail section examines the state of bargain books and finds a market in flux. The Author Profile is of poet Elizabeth Alexander, and Elizabeth Marshall Thomas explains why she writes about animals in our pet feature.
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E-Book Rights Panel Set for September 28
The first event in PW's fall discussion series is set for September 28 at Random House's headquarters in New York City. Four panelists will discuss the hot topic of e-book rights, who owns them, who should own them and how they can best be exploited. Set to speak are Authors Guild executive director Paul Aiken, agent Scott Waxman, attorney Lloyd Jassin and Neil de Young, executive director of Hachette Digital. Breakfast begins at 8:30 with the panel discussion running from 9 until 10:30. Admission is $49.95 and you can register here.
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A Sneak Peek at the September 13 'PW'
The News section leads off with reaction to the possible combination of the BEA and ALA annual conventions. Ricoh Innovations has developed a new technology that marries the printed page with digital extras, and the company is talking to publishers about its applications. PW president George Slowik returned to Moscow after 20 years and describes how the Russian book climate has improved. In Retailing, the popularity of manga has had a huge impact at the eight-store chain Kinokuniya. Cory Doctorow is back with an update on With a Little Help, and the author profile is of Tony Hiss.
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A Sneak Peek at the September 6 'PW'
With e-books drawing away sales of trade books, the lead story in next Monday's issue examines how the major bookstore chains are looking to add more nonbook items to their shelves. After the first six months of the year, Random and Harper are up, but Lagardere Publishing still had the best margins at the major trade houses, an analysis finds. A major imprint at a major house is changing its name effective September 6 and we have the story. The retail section looks at the strategies independent Gulf Coast booksellers are employing to survive five years after Katrina. Our main feature talks about the major music titles slated for the fall, including bios and memoirs.
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A Peek at the August 30 'PW'
Next week's issue of the magazine features an update on the proxy fight for control of Barnes & Noble, and a look at two Los Angeles travel bookstores that are finding ways to keep the customers coming. There's a piece on controversial historian Michael Bellesiles, who is back this month with a new book--1877: America's Year of Living Violently (New Press), his first since the scandal over his 2000 effort, Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture. In the retailing section, we talk to indie and university presses for their picks of the top 20 hand-sells for this fall. And on the Soapbox page, there's an essay in praise of copyeditors.
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PW Select Site Goes Live
The PW Select Web site is now live and accepting registrations from any self-published author who wants to appear in PW's December self-publishing supplement. Cost for the listing is $149, although subscribers who are also self-published authors will get one listing for free as a subscriber benefit.
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Above the Treeline Rolls Out Serendipity
Above the Treeline is officially launching today its latest business intelligence tool for the book industry. Serendipity, like Edelweiss, is an interactive and Web-based tool for publishers and booksellers. While Edelweiss is a collection of digital catalogs from 30 companies representing 750 publishers and imprints, Serendipity has been developed specifically for small presses.
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A Peek at the August 23 'PW'
In next Monday's issue, the main feature looks at war and military titles and finds that World War II titles sell strongly, but books on Iraq and Afghanistan take a different tack, and Michael Korda shares a "Why I Write" essay on the topic. The News section leads with an update on Google and net neutrality, and also has stories on what's selling internationally (highlighting Italy, Sweden, and Germany) and Hachette's science fiction and fantasy imprint, Orbit, on its three-year anniversary.
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Little, Brown Goes Back to Basics To Put Michael Koryta on the Map
A "great old-fashioned publishing job" is how Michael Pietsch described the campaign Little, Brown has launched for the author it's trying to turn into its latest franchise bestseller: Michael Koryta.
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A Sneak Peek at the August 16 'PW'
Bowker has completed its second report on book-buying habits of consumers, and highlights of the study lead the News section. A second piece looks at how Little, Brown is trying to build the audience for Michael Koryta, who it sees as a potential franchise author. Marketing and licensing deals surrounding the film Eat, Pray, Love are extensive, and sales various editions of the book have benefited. With September getting closer, we look at the upcoming fall regional trade shows. A feature looks at the health of the health book market.
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A Peek at the August 9 'PW'
The lead piece looks at the odds of Len Riggio taking Barnes & Noble private now that the board is looking at a possible sale of the company. Harper CEO Brian Murray talks about the publisher's rebound in fiscal 2010, while Copia execs explain how their forthcoming e-reader, social network platform will work. Craig Teicher reviews four recently released enhanced e-books. In retail, our feature looks at the rise of used books. And our main feature examines trends in cookbook publishing.
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AuthorsDen.com Starts Online Marketplace
AuthorsDen.com, an online community for writers established in 2000, has launched what is essentially a Craigslist for publishing services. Unlike Craigslist, though, there is a minimal fee to post an ad on the site.
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A Peek at the August 2 'PW'
The issue starts off with an interview with Mark Allin, who has just taken over as head of John Wiley's professional/trade group. The recently concluded Comic-con draws lots of Hollywood heavy-hitters, but that is a good thinkg for indie publishers who can work the circuit, according to our piece. Andrew Wylie coverage includes the highlights from the week, plus reaction to the deal by retailers cut out of the sales loop. Features focus on sex and money--a look at what's new in erotica and our annual salary survey finds just how low pay and morale sank during the recession.
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Pocket Debuts Online Community
Pocket Books presented today a new, free online community for romance and urban fantasy readers called Pocket After Dark. Simon & Schuster Digital developed the site, which will feature exclusive content and a forum for members to share interests and chat.
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A Peek at the July 26 'PW'
Two stories based on the news that Amazon is now selling more e-books than hardcovers lead off the July 26 issue with one piece examining how quickly readers are leaving print for digital and a second on how the digital transformation could impact doing big longterm book deals. The international bestsellers lists finds vampires and Swedes selling well. How booksellers are making money from self-published authors is the focus in retailing. Large feature well has articles on Scribd, hobbies and crafts, and religion listings.
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Novelist Plays to Church Crowds on New Tour
Laura Pedersen's latest novel isn't about faith but, rather, a teenage card shark and horse handicapper named Hallie Palmer. That fact makes it all the more unlikely that the author is preaching to crowds at Unitarian Universalist churches about the new YA book, Best Bet.
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Garden Authors Create a Speakers Bureau
Five garden authors--including Amy Stewart, Wicked Plants (Algonquin); Debra Prinzing, Stylish Sheds and Elegant Hideaways (Clarkson Potter); and Scott Calhoun, Designer Plant Combinations (Storey)--joined forces and talents to create a Web site to be a one-stop-shop resource for the kinds of venues that book garden/nature speakers.
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'Los Angeles Review of Books' to Launch This Fall
The Los Angeles Review of Books, an online periodical that will include multiplatform book reviews, author profiles, Skype interviews, and readings as well as critical essays on classic authors will launch in the fall under the direction of Tom Lutz, professor and chair of the creative writing department at the University of California at Riverside.
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