Kathryn Walker’s forthcoming debut novel A STOPOVER IN VENICE, “about a young woman who leaves her husband, a famous musician, and their unhappy marriage for an adventure in Venice” features characters with similarities to her ex-husband James Taylor–along with Carly Simon, Jason Robards (an old friend of the author) and co-founder of the National Lampoon Douglas Kenney (the author’s boyfriend at one point). But none of this connections are even hinted at in the author’s bio or the presentation of the book, as the NYT notes. “So why isn’t Knopf doing some name-dropping to give the book a promotional boost? […]
Forthcoming
"Love Letters" Tie-In: What Took So Long?
You’ll recall the the Sex & the City movie ignited interest in the nonexistent book featured in the movie, “Love Letters of Great Men.” Now former Picador deputy publisher Ursula Doyle has compiled and annotated a book under that proven title, including “all of the letters referenced in the film,” for quick release on August 15 from Pan Macmillan in the UK. (The DVD of the film is due a month later.) The house says in a short announcement “there will be a huge viral marketing campaign online, including Facebook activity, and we are aiming for simultaneous e-book publication.” They […]
Author Newmark's Viral Start for UNHOLY MISCHIEF
Forbes profiles how Elle Newmark tried a new approach after four less-than-successful book efforts and at least raised her profile (and advance) considerably for THE BOOK OF UNHOLY MISCHIEF. She self-published this time through iUniverse and “decided to throw a virtual book launch party and sent out 500,000 e-mail invites to agents, editors and reviewers. It worked: Her book became a best-seller on Amazon the day of the virtual book party. Newmark’s Internet marketing savvy wound up getting her a William Morris agent and a contract with Simon & Schuster within two weeks of the virtual book party.”Forbes
Pre-Pub Buzz for "Guernsey"
Last Friday’s WSJ highlighted hopes for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, “a debut novel with several strikes against it [that] may become one of the summer’s surprise hits.” Notably, “one of its co-authors died earlier this year when it was being edited.” But Dial says it will ship 100,000 copies, noting that booksellers “began to send unsolicited emails expressing their affection” after a broad distribution of advanced readers’ copies. “Barnes & Noble and Costco have placed large orders” and it’s the No. 1 IndieBound pick for August as well.WSJ
Stephenie Meyer's Vampire Empire
Entertainment Weekly features the author as its cover story, as anticipation builds for her latest release. Borders’ director of children’s merchandising Diane Mangan says, ”I kept saying that there will never be another book in my career like Harry Potter 7. Who would have thought a year later we’d be talking like this again?” EW notes: “Despite wincing over the occasional Amazon.com one-star review, Meyer can’t help but pore over the message boards. She loves her fans and wants to know how they’re responding to her work. ”Sometimes the feedback is helpful,” she says. ‘I want to be a better […]
Mayer's New Book Says CIA Engaged In Torture
Jane Mayer’s book THE DARK SIDE: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned Into a War on American Ideals–publishing next week from Doubleday but obtained by the NYT–says that “Red Cross investigators concluded last year in a secret report that the Central Intelligence Agency’s interrogation methods for high-level Qaeda prisoners constituted torture and could make the Bush administration officials who approved them guilty of war crimes.” Mayer “acknowledges that Red Cross investigators based their account largely on interviews with the prisoners. But she writes that several C.I.A. officers she spoke with confirmed parts of the Red Cross […]