Sales reps at the major houses burst out of this year's summer sales conferences with their fair share of passionate picks. But PW's conversations with sales brass and field reps from the seven major houses were as notable for what wasn't said as for what was. While scads of strong commercial fiction contenders will be vying to hit bestseller lists higher and stay on them longer this summer, the season is notably light on major literary fiction, perhaps leaving more breathing room for sleepers. In nonfiction, reps talked up some memoirs and adventure stories, but far fewer than in the past, signaling that those categories may be trending down. The most pronounced new genre emerges with the first full-length narratives signed up after September 11, many of which are propelled by the buzz surrounding their acquisition.
Publishers remain cautiously optimistic that book sales will remain steady through the summer, despite talk of recession and scattered reports of layoffs. "We're not cutting back on print runs or expectations for our top selling authors. They are the stores' bread and butter," said Putnam v-p of sales Dick Heffernan, pointing to robust Christmas sales for brand-name fiction, as well as economists' recent forecasts of rosier times ahead. Putnam CEO Susan Peterson agreed, though she added, "Before last summer, we could count on the robust economy to cover a momentary lapse. We can't do that anymore." Across town at Warner, executive v-p of sales, Chris Barba observed that the house has seen increased sales this fall for core authors such as James Patterson and David Baldacci. "But it will be tougher for midlist titles and for ones at the end of the summer, which may get less attention on the national shows as we approach the anniversary of September 11," she said.
Some publishers acknowledged having moved books away from the anniversary to maximize national media opportunities. But none admitted to paring plans to send authors on the road despite the hassles of post—September 11 travel. "We still believe the author is the best messenger for books; our publicity and touring plans are the same as before," said HarperCollins senior v-p of sales Josh Marwell, echoing others.
Though a few publishers noted heightened tensions between publishers and sales departments about first printings and how many copies could be advanced this season, no one reported more than the usual attention to price points. In fact, many indicated prices would most likely be inching up. "If you have a wonderful book with a great cover that will be well promoted, you have to go forth with optimism," observed Ruth Leibmann, Random's director of independent bookselling. "No matter where people are vacationing this year, whether it's in their backyards or on cruise ships to Alaska, they're still going to be reading."
List Watching
Vying for the top of summer lists with first printings of more than a million copies are James Patterson (Beach House, Little, Brown, June 10), who had a run at #1 before John Grisham's Skipping Christmas went on sale this fall, and Tom Clancy's reliable biannual effort (Red Rabbit, Putnam, Aug.). Women's fiction will arrive from favorites Nora Roberts (Three Fates, Putnam, Apr. 1) and Danielle Steel (Sunset in San Tropez, Delacorte, June 25), Christian crossover queen Jan Karon (In this Mountain, Viking, July 1) and Janet Evanovich (Hard Eight, St. Martin's, June 18), who edged up in a surprise #1 breakout last summer.
The summer will also be marked by the return of Jean Auel. Twelve years after her last megabestseller, she delivers Shelters of Stone--book five in the six-book Earth Children series that began in 1980 with Clan of the Cave Bear. The 1.4 million-copy laydown on April 30 should satisfy her zealous fans, who for years have flooded the Crown Web site with queries on the book's publication date.
In a dicier gambit, former megabestselling author Richard Bach will launch a five-book series of short adult fables featuring an unlikely hero, the ferret. The first two books, Ferrets Aloft and Rescue Ferrets at Sea (Scribner, June), will be accompanied by a repromotion of the hardcover of Bach's best-known novel, Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Scribner marketing v-p Sue Fleming reported big in-house buzz on these, fueled in part by senior sales executives who worked with Bach at William Morrow. But will readers who don't already know Bach get on board? And given Knopf's flop with the sequel to Douglas Adams's Watership Down a few years ago, some may well wonder about readers who do know him.
Though not on the epic scale of Auel's or Bach's books, the season's most anticipated literary comeback may be Ian Pears's Dream of Scipio (Riverhead, June). Though Pears will not be touring due to a new baby, his fans should flock to this sequel to his 1998 national bestseller, The Instance of the Fingerpost, which the Boston Globe declared "may well be the best historical mystery every written." Other literary highlights include Carol Shields's Unless, the first book from HarperCollins's new Fourth Estate imprint (May), and Katherine Harrison's The Seal Wife (Random, May), set in 1915 Alaska. A Simple Habana Melody by Oscar Hijuelos (May) has become a rep favorite, according to HarperCollins's Josh Marwell, who says it hits similar notes to The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love.
Breakaway Fiction Favorites
High on the season's list of rep favorites with bestseller potential is Stephen L. Carter's much-talked-about fiction debut, Emperor of Ocean Park (Knopf, June 4). But can the buzz generated by Carter's $4-million advance (a record for a first novel) really entice readers to pick up this 800-page literary thriller when half a million copies hit the stores? Enthusiastic readers at Knopf said that the book speaks for itself. "It's just amazing. I found it as suspenseful and meaty as Scott Turow or Tom Wolfe, with a terrific, gripping ending," said Random House sales v-p John Groton. "It's about an intellectual African-American family, but you never know when Carter will put some humor in the midst of the intrigue." Ruth Leibmann points out that Knopf has worked hard to bring booksellers into the process. When Random Inc. invited a panel of booksellers from across the country to meet each publishing group last year, Knopf president Sonny Mehta discussed Carter's book with them for an hour. "Booksellers were the architects for this book's campaign," she said.
Another Random House rep favorite, Laura Zigman, makes the leap from Dial--where her first novel, Animal Husbandry, became a bestseller--to her old stomping grounds at Knopf, where she was formerly the associate director of promotion. Leibmann affectionately describes Zigman's third novel, Her (May), as the story of a woman who discovers that her fiancé's former lover is the ultimate nightmare--smart, charming, gorgeous and sexy--and of the comic obsession that follows. Over at Viking, Ann B. Ross's squeaky clean Miss Julia series is ready to break out of Jan Karon's shadow in a big way, according to New England sales rep Karl Krueger. He reported lots of enthusiasm in the field for Miss Julia Throws a Wedding (Viking, May). While the author has been building steam in the South and Southwest, readers in New England noticed her last book, he said, adding, "people recognize it's a series, and they want the books they haven't read."
Billed by Warner rep Linda Jamison as "a sort of smart-ass Nelson DeMille," Brian Haig is back with his second military/legal thriller, Mortal Allies (Warner, May). The son of former secretary of state Alexander Haig, also writes for Vanity Fair, and optioned his lead character to Nicolas Cage. "We're trying to break him out. Within a few years, he should be at 500,000- or 600,000-copy level," said Jamison, who noted that, in a show of commitment, Warner plans to advance 750,000 paperback copies of Haig's first book, Secret Sanction.
Sleepers on the Beach
This summer, for the fourth straight year, Bridget Jones clones will make a significant showing among beach fare for younger women. Reps are buzzing about two U.K. bestsellers whose stars have been steadily rising on these shores. Morrow's Marian Keyes became a Book Sense favorite with her novels Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married and Rachel's Holiday, and wowed audiences when she toured last summer. She will tour again for Angels (June), her first novel to be set in the U.S. Broadway's Jane Green is also getting a big push for Bookends (June 11), which comes on the heels of last summer's strong sales of Mr. Maybe and her breakout debut in 2000, Jemima J.
For the guys, there are reprints of Nick Hornby's first New York Times bestseller, How to Be Good (Riverhead, May), and Chuck Palahniuk'sChoke (Anchor, June), and a new breakup-revenge fantasy, Sparrow Nights by Canadian bestseller David Gilmour (Counterpoint, May).
For women of a certain age, Viking reps have tapped Must Love Dogs (July) by Claire Cook, a tale of a divorced woman from a big, south-of-Boston Irish family who answers a personal ad; it's received a rave quote from Elizabeth Berg. "I've been pulling pages out of the manuscript and highlighting favorite passages for booksellers," said Karl Krueger. At Crown, Jean Ray's Step Ball Change (May 14) is an in-house favorite. "Ray has such a knack for revealing how functional families work," said Leibmann. "She writes wonderful romantic comedy." Added John Groton, "We're saying it's candy for the soul, especially after last fall." Meanwhile, the paperback of Richard Russo's Empire Falls (Vintage, May) is destined to turn up in many men's canoes and backpacks.
Reps were also overflowing with enthusiasm for two first novels by writers who may already be familiar to booksellers. Chris Barba and Linda Jamison both reported that their colleagues were wild about The Lovely Bones (Little, Brown, July) by Alice Sebold, author of the gripping rape memoir Lucky (Scribner, 1999) and wife of Carter Beats the Devil author Glen David Gould. The main character is a 14-year-old looking back at her family from heaven, watching them unravel following her murder. "It moves from utter despair to hope, love and starting over. You have chills at the end. This is going to be a word of mouth book," attested Barba. "I have the same feeling about this one as I did about White Oleander," added Jamison.
Haven Kimmel, author of last year's sparky memoir A Girl Called Zippy is back with a novel, The Solace of Leaving Early (Doubleday, June). "Even having read Zippy, I don't think anyone was quite prepared for this novel," said Leibmann, who compared it to Myla Goldberg's Bee Season and said she hadn't loved a book as much "in a million years." Casting large questions on the canvas of small Indiana town, it's the story of a graduate student who leaves her literary studies and comes home to hide away and write the great American novel. The only hitch is that her best friend has died and left two small children, and so she can't help but be pulled into the life of the community.
Other first novels with considerable rep enthusiasm behind them are set upon a broader canvas. Arthur Phillips's Prague (Random, June 18) is about a group of young Americans in Budapest after the fall of the Berlin wall, for whom the "Paris in the '20s" atmosphere of Prague is the fantasy, and bullet-pocked Budapest is the reality. Meanwhile, several oceans away, Terrence Cheng'sSons of Heaven (Morrow, May) fictionalizes China's Tiananmen Square uprising with a Cain and Abel story in which one man stands in front of a tank, poised to hurl a rock, while his soldier brother faces him down. Cheng, who is the director of corporate Web site marketing for Random House, has created a terrific site on the Net, according to Josh Marwell.
Rising from the Ashes
In nonfiction, the season starts with a bang on April 2, when Michael J. Fox's embargoed memoir of living with Parkinson's disease, Lucky Man (Hyperion), lands with a 500,000-copy first printing. Citing the author's confirmed appearances on Oprah, Good Morning America and Larry King and a first serial deal with People, rep Linda Jamison predicts the book will be huge. "We sold it once before and people went nuts," she said, "though Fox later had to slow down on writing it because of his health." Next up is Rosie O'Donnell's memoir Find Me (Warner), another embargoed book, which will hit the stores April 23, allowing the beloved talk show host to promote the book on her show before it goes off the air for the summer. Said Jamison, "Folks will be very surprised by this book," which is about a telephone call from a young girl that changed O'Donnell's life forever. A month later comes New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani's much-anticipated (and tightly embargoed) Leadership (Talk Miramax, June 4). Positioned as a business book, its print run was doubled, to 500,000 copies, at sales conference.
Summer also brings the first full-length narratives signed up after September 11. Most were dropped into summer catalogues but will appear in late spring. The one with the biggest buzz is Report from Ground Zero (Viking, Mar.) by Dennis Smith, the New York City firefighter who wrote Report from Engine Co. 82 in 1971. He will be interviewed on the Today Show and Dateline, among others. Two books by Afghan woman about life under the Taliban should also garner a lot of attention. Indeed, news and morning shows have been competing to interview Latifa, author of My Forbidden Faith (Talk Miramax, Mar.), which has an introduction by Karenna Gore. Zoya's Story (Morrow, Mar.), about an Afghan woman's struggle for freedom, is by 23-year-old Zoya with Rita Cristofari and John Follain. "She's definitely someone who has lived more lifetimes than we," said Harper regional sales director Kristin Bowers, who described the book as "searing."
The swelling of patriotic hearts should give a lift to a few more books in the Greatest Generation vein, including newscaster Mike Wallace's Medal of Honor: Profiles of America's Military Heroes from the Civil War to the Present(Hyperion, Apr.) and Bob Greene's Once Upon a Town (Morrow, June), about a North Dakota canteen that every WWII soldier had to pass through. Greene's last book, Duty, sold more than 200,000 copies. Mark Bowden's Killing Pablo (Penguin, May) should also be big in paperback, coming on the heels of the movie version of his first book, Black Hawk Down. Max Boot, op-ed editor at the Wall Street Journal, may also garner a wider audience for The Savage Wars of Peace (Basic, May), an account of America's forgotten wars in places such as Nicaragua, Panama and Grenada, in which he argues that such battles are part of U.S. empire building and yield pivotal lessons about the military's future role.
Must-Grabs for Grads and Dads
Towering high over the graduation gift tables should be Caroline Kennedy's updated version of John F. Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, this time called Profiles in Courage for Our Time (Hyperion, May) and featuring Bob Woodward on Gerald Ford and Anna Quindlen on James Florio. A parody of sappy graduation books by Al Franken (Dutton, May), the bestselling author of Rush Limbaugh Is a Big Fat Idiot, should also prove a hit.
For students looking for a little post-exam relaxation, there's Letters to a Young Golfer (Basic, May) by Bob Duvall, a professional player on the senior circuit and the father of British Open winner David Duvall, and Carl Vigeland. For bad boy wannabes in their 40s, there's John McEnroe's autobiography, You Cannot Be Serious (Putnam, June), co-written by New Yorker writer James Kaplan, with a 60 minutes feature locked in. Meanwhile, those who worship shining knights will certainly take note of American Son (Holt, May), a portrait of John F. Kennedy Jr. by Richard Blow, who worked with him at George magazine and has sold first serial rights to Vanity Fair.
