Last week, Knopf was celebrating the fact that The Dive from Clausen's Pier was chosen by Good Morning America to launch its new monthly book club. That announcement was enough to propel the debut novel onto the national charts immediately (it lands in the #9 spot this week on PW's list). Knopf's initial printing of 30,000 copies was upped to 125,000 pre GMA's broadcast. Sales right after the segment aired were "immediate and extraordinary" according to Paul Bogaards, senior v-p, executive director of publicity, promotion and media relations at Knopf. More back-to-press activity brings the in-print figure to nearly 250,000.
On June 20, NBC launched a reading group of its own, Today's Book Club. Its first selection was another Knopf title, Stephen Carter's debut novel, The Emperor of Ocean Park. The acclaimed nonfiction author's book moved up a notch, to #5, on this week's PW list. The selection was announced by John Grisham. When Knopf was notified, it ordered an additional 250,000 copies, bringing the total to 490,000. The book was #2 on Amazon.com Thursday afternoon; The Dive was #3.
Knopf is also benefiting from another media book club. The USA Today Book Club kicked off with the Pulitzer Prize—winning novel Empire Falls by Richard Russo; it begins its third month on our trade paperback list.
