Former Microsoft CTO Nathan Myhrvold’s lavish self-published six-volume cookbook MODERNIST CUISINE, listing for $625, has been eagerly anticipated by some foodies. In a blog posting earlier this week, Myhrvold explained to customers and fans that publication has been delayed and they will miss this Christmas, now looking for a publication date of March 14. It turns out book publishing is more complicated than it looks. The fundamental work of “proofreading and correction 2,400 pages…has been taking longer than we expected to complete.” They have also had to work out the kinks in shipping 40 pounds worth of book without damage: […]
New Releases/Forthcoming
New DFW Set for Tax Day Release
Little, Brown announced that David Foster Wallace’s posthumous unfinished novel THE PALE KING will be published April 15, 2011. The book is set at an IRS tax-return-processing center in Illinois, and agent Bonnie Nadell observes it “may be the first novel to make accountants and IRS agents into heroes.” The just-released jacket was created by his widow Karen Green, a painter and visual artist. The publisher plans to convene events on the release day and will help bookstores “link up with local writers to lead readings and discussions of The Pale King and to celebrate David Wallace.”
Obama Children’s Book Set for November 16
President Obama has written a children’s book, OF THEE I SING: A Letter to My Daughters, which Knopf Children’s will publish on November 16 with an announced 500,000-copy first printing. Illustrated by Loren Long, the book profiles 13 “groundbreaking Americans and the ideals that have shaped our nation–from the artistry of Georgia O’Keeffe, to the courage of Jackie Robinson, to the patriotism of George Washington.” The book was both sold (as part of his deal with Crown and Knopf Children’s in 2004) and written before Obama took office in 2009. Proceeds from the sale will be donated to a scholarship […]
Fall Previews: Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirier and Daily Beast Picks
The LAT pairs many of the expected titles with mentions for Janice Shapiro’s debut collection Bummer and Other Stories and the Library of America’s two-volume set of Lynd Ward’s work, Six Novels in Woodcuts.LAT The Philadelphia Inquirer focuses on 20 titles, split between fiction and nonfiction, plus a selection of local authors.Inquirer The Daily Beast goes month-by-month for their list of 20 books “you can’t miss this fall.”Beast
Moving Up Rattner and Chopra
Following attention for pre-publication excerpts from Steven Rattner’s OVERHAUL, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is moving up publication to September 20 from the original release date of October 14. Harper One has released Deepak Chopra’s new book MUHAMMAD: A Story of the Last Prophet as en ebook in advance of the print edition, and is “working to accelerate the on-sale date for the physical book.” They say it’s the first time the company has released an ebook in advance of a physical book.
Blair’s Book JOURNEY Begins
Tony Blair garners considerable coverage on both sides of the Atlantic following the release today of A JOURNEY: My Political Life. The book is expected to rank as the bestselling UK political memoir ever. Released at the steep fake list price 25 pounds, the press is yet again surprised that the book is already deeply discounted. (Blooomberg has an amusing typo, listing the 720-page book as weighing 25 pounds.) As promised, the book offers the closest thing to candor you can expect from a former leader, as he admits to deep emotions over the UK’s participation in the Iraq war […]