A Quiet Fall Variety’s take on the NBA nominations and the fall fiction season: “They’re a crutch for publishers in a shaky marketplace, and this year they could certainly use the boost.” Random House’s Stuart Applebaum calls October “desultory month for book retailers.” He also offers this: “Most major trade book publishers are despairing of the relative obscurity of the finalists,” says Applebaum. “But many of us respect the National Book Foundation and their judges for sticking to their principles. “They want to endorse as finalists those books that they believe in, irrespective of whether it will deny them corporate […]

Kerry Wins! And PublicAffairs has the scoop, in a book set to release in January. Though the provisional title loaded into Amazon and BN.com calls the book ELECTION 2004: How Bush/Kerry Won and What You Can Expect in the Future,” the descriptive copy provides the real news: “An extraordinary behind-the-scenes look at the 2004 Kerry presidential victory reported by Newsweek’s premier political reporters, including bestselling biographer Evan Thomas.… Thomas will write an essay on the new administration, its key players and its prospects, the tone and direction it is expected to set. The book that emerges will be a first […]

Marquez’s Final Twist Gabriel Garcia Marquez found another way to foil pirated editions of his new book. Editor Braulio Peralta said: “Check the pirate version that is coming out in Colombia compared to the legal version being launched today. All I’m saying is that Gabriel Garcia Marquez changed the last chapter.” Reuters Maybe the Dog Didn’t Eat It Longtime readers know that for years now, we’ve enjoyed tracking and cataloging the seasonal excuses for why book sales are not better: the election, the economy, 9/11, SARS, Iraq, snowstorms, hurricanes, locusts, The French, and so on. Through one lens these are […]

Booker to Hollinghurst As is now traditional, the bettor’s favorite lost out in the Booker race as Alan Hollinghurst won the award for THE LINE OF BEAUTY, the first gay novel to take the prize in 36 years. By most accounts, the jury was “strongly divided and took more than two hours to decide on a winner,” as the Telegraph put it. Hollinghurst was not the unanimous choice, with support for both David Mitchell and Colm Toibin. Chairman of the jury Chris Smith said, “This was an incredibly difficult and close decision.” Just this past Sunday, Newsday ran a long […]

Hertz to Take Morgan Road Amy Hertz’s long-planned “new imprint” for Broadway now has a name — Morgan Road Books — and a launch schedule, starting in summer 2005 with the previously reported Fast Track One Day Detox Diet and The Portion Teller. An original title from the Dalai Lama, on the convergence of scientific discovery and meditative insight, is among three titles set for fall 2005. The imprint will build to approximately 15 titles a year, spanning health, fitness, spirituality, psychology, literary non-fiction, and memoir. Hertz says in a release, “The wisest and most compassionate person I know, a […]

Saddle, Back In Lunch resumes regularly scheduled service today after a delightful post-Frankfurt week off. Thanks for waiting. As you’ll note, some items below are brand-new, while others catch up in a small way on notable news from last week. Smithsonian to Revamp Book Division The Smithsonian Institution is in the midst of reorganizing their book division. The organization’s more academic titles will be published under the oversight of undersecretary for science David Evans, sustained in large part through a congressional grant of $1.5 million. The commercial trade-oriented titles, rejuvenated under director Don Fehr since he joined the unit last […]