That's right, the new #1 fiction book is Star Wars®: Episode II: Attack of the Clones™ by R.A. Salvatore. It will hold that spot for just one week, relinquishing the lead to the new Auel title. But considering that Star Wars fans have been waiting three years for the movie (opening May 16), the sales should be unworldly. Del Rey/Lucas Books launched the book with an 800,000-copy printing and has left nothing to chance in its publicity campaign. Here are just a few nuggets. A total of 39 TV spots, during the day and in prime time, will air between May 6 and May 12 on MTV and the Sci-Fi Channel. A total of 2,276 reservation easels, 2,500 teaser shelf talkers and more than 2,900 floor displays have been shipped. Salvatore will be doing 28 bookstore events and making media appearances in 29 cities. And the book will be featured on Del Rey's Web site (www.delreybooks.com/starwars), which receives about 200,000 hits monthly.
With reporting by Dick Donahue.
