The Romance Writers of America have announced the finalists for awards in 12 categories. Just a few of their covers are pictured above; over 90 books were nominated (a good opportunity for a display):

• Best First Book
• Contemporary Series Romance
• Contemporary Series Romance: Suspense/Adventure
• Contemporary Single Title Romance
• Historical Romance
• Inspirational Romance
• Novel with Strong Romantic Elements
• Paranormal Romance
• Regency Historical Romance
• Romance Novella
• Romantic Suspense
• Young Adult Romance

In addition, Jennifer Lohmann of Durham County (NC) Library has been named the RWA Librarian of the Year.

The awards will be presented on July 30, 2010 at the association’s annual conference in Nashville.

If you are in New York City on Thursday March 18th, please join us.

The Children’s Book Committee at Bank Street is being dragged kicking and screaming into the age of technology. For the first time in its 101 years of reviewing, selecting and annotating children’s books, the Best Books of the Year list will be available electronically.

The Children’s Book Committee
Bank Street College of Education

Cordially invites you to attend a breakfast celebrating the presentation of

The 2010 Children’s Book Awards to the authors and illustrators

Thursday, March 18, 2010
9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Bank Street College of Education
The Evelyn Rome Tabas and Daniel Tabas Auditorium
610 West 112th Street
New York, NY 10025-1898

RSVP to bookcom@bankstreet.edu

The Josette Frank Award for fiction:

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate Jacqueline Kelly Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 352 pages Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) – (2009-05-12) ISBN / EAN: 0805088415 / 9780805088410

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Where the Mountain Meets the Moon Grace Lin Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers – (2009-07-01) ISBN / EAN: 0316114278 / 9780316114271

The Flora Stieglitz Straus Award for nonfiction:

Almost Astronauts: 13 Women Who Dared to Dream Tanya Lee Stone Retail Price: $24.99 Hardcover: 144 pages Publisher: Candlewick – (2009-02-24) ISBN / EAN: 0763636118 / 9780763636111

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Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11 (Richard Jackson Books (Atheneum Hardcover)) Brian Floca Retail Price: $17.99 Hardcover: 48 pages Publisher: Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books – (2009-04-07) ISBN / EAN: 141695046X / 9781416950462

The Claudia Lewis Award for poetry:

Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors Joyce Sidman Retail Price: $16.00 Hardcover: 32 pages Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children – (2009-04-06) ISBN / EAN: 0547014945 / 9780547014944

For more information: 212.875.4540

The Children’s Book Committee is an affiliate of the Bank Street Center for Children’s Literature.

The IACP (International Assoc. of Culinary Professionals) has just announced the finalists for their 2010 Awards.

Publishers Wiley and Oxmoor House were neck and neck, with five nominations each (Oxmoor received nominations for 3 of its books in the Williams-Sonoma series). They were closely followed Artisan, with 4 nominations.

Most of the titles will make your mouth water;

Category — Baking: Sweet or Savory

Rose’s Heavenly Cakes Rose Levy Beranbaum Retail Price: $39.95 Hardcover: 512 pages Publisher: Wiley – (2009-09-22) ISBN / EAN: 0471781738 / 9780471781738

Category — Baking: Sweet or Savory

My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method Jim Lahey Retail Price: $29.95 Hardcover: 224 pages Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company – (2009-10-05) ISBN / EAN: 0393066304 / 9780393066302

Category — International

Seven Fires: Grilling the Argentine Way Francis Mallmann, Peter Kaminsky Retail Price: $35.00 Hardcover: 278 pages Publisher: Artisan – (2009-05-12) ISBN / EAN: 1579653545 / 9781579653545

But one reminds us there is a serious side to food;

Category – Literary Food Writing

Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal Tristram Stuart Retail Price: $27.95 Hardcover: 480 pages Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. – (2009-10-12) ISBN / EAN: 0393068366 / 9780393068368

This year’s Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalists include a list of five graphic novels, a first in the award’s thirty year history.  The inclusion of graphic novels is highlighted enthusiastically in their announcement, and rightfully so.  The five finalists represent a strong selection of titles, from journalistic nonfiction Joe Sacco’s Footnotes in Gaza to the fan-favorite Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe.

It is particularly pleasing to see Taiyo Matsumoto’s GoGo Monster on the list, as often manga is left off of U.S. awards lists unless recognized in a separate category.  The mix of publishers, from the more independent comics publishers like Fantagraphics (Luba) and Oni Press (Scott Pilgrim) to the mainstream book publishers like Random House’s Pantheon (Asterios Polyp), also represents the diversity of current graphic novel publishing.  Noticeably absent are any mainstream comics titles from any of the major publishers including Marvel or DC Comics.

A graphic novel also appears in the Young Adult category; Shaun Tan’s Tales from Outer Suburbia.

Luba (Love and Rockets) Gilbert Hernandez Retail Price: $39.99 Hardcover: 608 pages Publisher: Fantagraphics Books – (2009-06-23) ISBN / EAN: 1560979607 / 9781560979609

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GoGo Monster Taiyo Matsumoto Retail Price: $27.99 Hardcover: 464 pages Publisher: VIZ Media LLC – (2009-12-08) ISBN / EAN: 1421532093 / 9781421532097

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Asterios Polyp David Mazzucchelli Retail Price: $29.95 Hardcover: 344 pages Publisher: Pantheon – (2009-07-07) ISBN / EAN: 0307377326 / 9780307377326

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Scott Pilgrim Volume 5: Scott Pilgrim vs The Universe Bryan Lee O’Malley Retail Price: $11.95 Paperback: 184 pages Publisher: Oni Press – (2009-02-18) ISBN / EAN: 1934964107 / 9781934964101

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Footnotes in Gaza: A Graphic Novel Joe Sacco Retail Price: $29.95 Hardcover: 432 pages Publisher: Metropolitan Books – (2009-12-22) ISBN / EAN: 0805073477 / 9780805073478

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Tales From Outer Suburbia Shaun Tan Retail Price: $19.99 Hardcover: 96 pages Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books – (2009-02-01) ISBN / EAN: 0545055873 / 9780545055871

The Edgar Nominees have been announced. Winners will be announced on April 29th in NYC.

The nominees for Best Novel are below. The full list of all categories, including First Novel, YA and Juvenile, available on the Edgar site.

The Missing Tim Gautreaux Retail Price: $25.95 Hardcover: 384 pages Publisher: Knopf – (2009-03-03) ISBN / EAN: 0307270157 / 9780307270153

Coming in trade pbk; 3/9/10; 9780307454683; $15

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The Odds Kathleen George Retail Price: $24.95 Hardcover: 352 pages Publisher: Minotaur Books – (2009-06-09) ISBN / EAN: 0312549997 / 9780312549992

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The Last Child John Hart Retail Price: $24.95 Hardcover: 384 pages Publisher: Minotaur Books – (2009-05-12) ISBN / EAN: 0312359322 / 9780312359324

Coming in trade pbk.; 3/10/10; 9780312642365; $14.99
UNABR. audio; Macmillan Audio; 9781427206664; $39.95
Audio available from OverDrive

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The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death Charlie Huston Retail Price: $25.00 Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Ballantine Books – (2009-01-13) ISBN / EAN: 034550111X / 9780345501110

Now available in trade pbk; 9780345501127; $15
Audio and eBook available from OverDrive

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Nemesis (Harry Hole) Jo Nesbo Retail Price: $25.99 Hardcover: 480 pages Publisher: Harper – (2009-01-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061655503 / 9780061655500

Now in trade paperback; 9780061655517; $14.99
Audio and eBook available from OverDrive

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A Beautiful Place to Die: (Detective Emmanuel Cooper) Malla Nunn Retail Price: $25.00 Hardcover: 384 pages Publisher: Atria – (2009-01-06) ISBN / EAN: 1416586202 / 9781416586203

Also available in trade pbk; 9781416586210; $15

The RUSA Reading List Awards are unusual for ALA; rather than literary fiction, they focus on genres, most of which are overlooked when best books awards are being handed out.

The awards were announced at MidWinter. Adriana Trigiani won in the Women’s Fiction category  and did what any bestselling author would do in her situation; she called her mom (who is a librarian).

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Winners are below, the full lists, with runners-up and readalikes (this is RUSA, after all!)  is available here.

Adrenaline

(Action, Thrillers and Adventure)

Gone Tomorrow (Jack Reacher, No. 13) Lee Child Retail Price: $27.00 Hardcover: 432 pages Publisher: Delacorte Press – (2009-05-19) ISBN / EAN: 0385340575 / 9780385340571

Fantasy

Lamentation (The Psalms of Isaak) Ken Scholes Retail Price: $7.99 Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages Publisher: Tor Fantasy – (2009-09-01) ISBN / EAN: 0765360918 / 9780765360915

Historical Fiction

Agincourt: A Novel Bernard Cornwell Retail Price: $14.99 Paperback: 512 pages Publisher: Harper Paperbacks – (2010-01-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061578908 / 9780061578908

Horror

Last Days Brian Evenson Retail Price: $12.95 Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: Underland Press – (2009-02-01) ISBN / EAN: 0980226007 / 9780980226003

Mystery

A Beautiful Place to Die: A Novel Malla Nunn Retail Price: $15.00 Paperback: 400 pages Publisher: Washington Square Press – (2009-10-20) ISBN / EAN: 1416586210 / 9781416586210

Romance

What Happens in London Julia Quinn Retail Price: $7.99 Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages Publisher: Avon – (2009-07-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061491888 / 9780061491887

Science Fiction

The Windup Girl Paolo Bacigalupi Retail Price: $24.95 Hardcover: 300 pages Publisher: Night Shade Books – (2009-09-15) ISBN / EAN: 1597801577 / 9781597801577

Women’s Fiction

Very Valentine: A Novel Adriana Trigiani Retail Price: $25.99 Hardcover: 384 pages Publisher: Harper – (2009-02-01) ISBN / EAN: 0061257052 / 9780061257056

Since the Newbery and Caldecott winners were announced yesterday, the books have reached their highest positions to date on Amazon’s sales rankings:

#21  (from #631), When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead, (Wendy Lamb) — 2,904% increase

#48  (from #1,187), The Lion & The Mouse, Jerry Pinkney, (Little, Brown) — 2,372% increase

In addition, one of the Newbery Honor Books received a significant bump:

#230 (from #3,255) — 1,315% increase

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate Jacqueline Kelly Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 352 pages Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) – (2009-05-12) ISBN / EAN: 0805088415 / 9780805088410

Libraries and booksellers will not have to scramble to find copies of the Newbery and Caldecott winners this year; both are on bestseller lists and in stock at wholesalers.

For all the winners, including Honor books and other awards, see the official press release.

Caldecott

The Lion & the Mouse Jerry Pinkney Retail Price: $16.99 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers – (2009-09-01) ISBN / EAN: 0316013560 / 9780316013567

EarlyWord Kid’s contributor, Lisa Von Drasek was an early proponent; see her review on The Barnes and Noble Review.

Newbery

When You Reach Me Rebecca Stead Retail Price: $15.99 Hardcover: 208 pages Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books – (2009-07-14) ISBN / EAN: 0385737424 / 9780385737425

Printz

Going Bovine Libba Bray Retail Price: $17.99 Hardcover: 496 pages Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers – (2009-09-22) ISBN / EAN: 0385733976 / 9780385733977

Coretta Scott King

John Steptoe Award for New Talent

The Rock and the River Kekla Magoon Retail Price: $15.99 Hardcover: 304 pages Publisher: Aladdin – (2009-01-06) ISBN / EAN: 1416975829 / 9781416975823

Illustrator

Charles R. Smith for:

My People Langston Hughes Retail Price: $17.99 Hardcover: 40 pages Publisher: Ginee Seo Books – (2009-01-06) ISBN / EAN: 1416935401 / 9781416935407

See Lisa Von Drasek’s essay about Langston Hughes’ books for children. It includes both the winner and the Honor book, The Negro Speaks of Rivers.

Author

Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U. S. Marshal (Exceptional Social Studies Titles for Intermediate Grades) Vaunda Micheaux Nelson Retail Price: $17.95 Library Binding: 40 pages Publisher: Carolrhoda Books – (2009-11-01) ISBN / EAN: 0822567644 / 9780822567646

2009 was the year of “the sudden and splendid blossoming of the short story,” declared the Guardian, observing that women have picked up three major UK prizes this year. Two of the three have been published in the U.S.

Why would women’s work stand out in this short form, when women are less often awarded major prizes for their novels? Guardian critic Sarah Crown speculates that

Short stories…are famously uncommercial; that, coupled with the perceived exactingness of the form and its heavyweight literary lineage, means that short stories by women are taken seriously – and awarded accordingly.

Most recently, Zimbabwean author Petina Gappah claimed the Guardian‘s First Book award for fiction, for her collection, An Elegy for Easterly. “Gappah’s deep well of empathy and saber-sharp command of satire give her collection a surplus of heart and verve,” said the PW review. According to World Cat, 336 libraries have it, with those we checked showing modest numbers of copies.

An Elegy for Easterly: Stories Petina Gappah Retail Price: $23.00 Hardcover: 240 pages Publisher: Faber & Faber – (2009-05-26) ISBN / EAN: 0865479062 / 9780865479067

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Last May, Alice Munro won the £60,000 Man Booker International prize, for a body of work the judges described as “practically perfect.”  The Canadian author’s most recent collection is Too Much Happiness, which up to seven holds per copy on hand, or more, in several libraries we checked.

Too Much Happiness: Stories Alice Munro Retail Price: $25.95 Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Knopf – (2009-11-17) ISBN / EAN: 0307269760 / 9780307269768

Available in Large Print from Center Point Platinum Fiction on January 1, 2010

• $34.95; ISBN 9781602856462

Also available from Random House Audio

• CD: $40; 9780307576736

This week, because of the controversy over eBook pricing, the general public was introduced to the concept of “windowing,” or deciding when to release books in cheaper versions.

Conventional wisdom says that publishers should try to get as much out of hardcover sales as possible, which is why the paperback release of The Help was moved from January to June, 2010.

Sometimes a publisher breaks rank with this thinking and decides to move the paperback release date earlier, to take advantage of publicity and give a price incentive to readers to take a chance on a book.

The unconventional approach seems to have worked for Colum McCann’s National Book Award winner, Let the Great World Spin. It was published in hardcover in June and as USA Today notes in their “Book Buzz” column, Random House decided to release the trade paperback several months earlier — on Dec. 2nd, rather than late Spring 2010. This week, the book jumps from #351 on the USA Today bestseller list to #126.

USA Today also notes that the movie option has been sold and McCann is at work on the screenplay.

Many libraries are continuing to show heavy holds on the book; here’s an opportunity to get through that list less cost.

Let the Great World Spin Colum McCann Retail Price: $15.00 Paperback: 400 pages Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks – (2009-12-02) ISBN / EAN: 0812973992 / 9780812973990

In case you haven’t heard already, the National Book Award Winners were announced last night.

In the L.A. Times “Jacket Copy” blog, Carolyn Kellogg reports on the event; the dinner was “dwonsized” from last year’s lamb to chicken. The New York Times‘ book beat reporter Motoko Rich not only tweeted as the NBA was in progress, she posted interviews and stories in the “Arts Beat” blog (her full story in the newspaper is here).

Claudette Colvin, the subject of the winning Young Adult Literature title was at the dinner and joined author Phillip Hoose on stage.

Book TV will be running video of the event on Sat 8pm & Sun 10am ET

Winners:

Fiction

Let the Great World Spin Colum McCann Retail Price: $25.00 Hardcover: 368 pages Publisher: Random House – (2009-06-23) ISBN / EAN: 1400063736 / 9781400063734

eBook downloadable from OverDrive

Nonfiction

The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt T.J. Stiles Retail Price: $37.50 Hardcover: 736 pages Publisher: Knopf – (2009-04-21) ISBN / EAN: 0375415424 / 9780375415425

Books on Tape; UnAbr; 9781415965917; $100
Audiobook and eBook downloadable from OverDrive

Poetry

Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy (New California Poetry) Keith Waldrop Retail Price: $19.95 Paperback: 216 pages Publisher: University of California Press – (2009-03-02) ISBN / EAN: 0520258789 / 9780520258785

Young People’s Literature

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice Phillip M Hoose Retail Price: $19.95 Hardcover: 144 pages Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) – (2009-01-20) ISBN / EAN: 0374313229 / 9780374313227

Brilliance Audio

• CD Unabr Lib Ed; 9781441802378; $59.97
• MP3-CD Unabr Lib Ed; 9781441802392; $39.97

Audiobook downloadable from OverDrive

We’re delighted that John Green’s Paper Towns was voted the #1 title on the 2009 YALSA Teens Top Ten. We were dying to see how John reacted to the WWE Divas’ announcement, but the link on the YALSA Web site just didn’t work, no matter how many times we clicked it (we did see some rather alarming SmackDown videos and Snoop Dogg kicking it; hard to take first thing in the morning).

So, we tried that trusty standby, YouTube and, voilà, there it is.

It appears the Divas have John locked, alone, in a hotel room. Hope he gets out soon.

Below is the full list of winners:

1. Paper Towns by John Green (Penguin/Dutton)
2. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
4. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry)
5. Identical by Ellen Hopkins (Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry)
6. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (HarperCollins)
7. Wake by Lisa McMann (Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse)
8. Untamed by P.C. and Kristin Cast (St. Martin’s Griffin)
9. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart (Disney-Hyperion)
10. Graceling by Kristin Cashore (Harcourt/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Many predicted that Americans would balk at a 560-page novel that requires some knowledge of British history and a 98-person character list just to keep all the players straight. But, since its release here shortly after winning the Booker, Wolf Hall has been in the top ten on Amazon. Holds have doubled in many libraries, with commensurate increases in orders.

In contrast, the National Book Award fiction finalists are not doing nearly as well. Below are current Amazon sales rankings and total holds and copies in four large libraries for the Booker winner and the NBA titles:

#9 Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel
929 holds on 132 copies

#259 Let The Great World Spin, Colum McCann
382 holds on 82 copies

#1,481 American Salvage, Bonnie Jo Campbell
22 holds on 23 copies

#1,807 In Other Rooms, Other Wonders, Daniyal Mueenuddin
13 holds on 61 copies

#2,019 Far North, Marcel Theroux,
27 holds on 46 copies

#5,179 Lark and Termite, Jayne Anne Phillips
7 holds on 65 copies

Wolf Hall has also enjoyed a wide range of reviews, from People (four out of a possible four stars and selected as a “People Pick”) to The New York Review of Books,. Most of them have been generous with praisel Only Entertainment Weekly held back, rating it a “B”.

• Entertainment Weekly
• LA Times
• The New Yorker
• New York Review of Books
• People
• USA Today
• Wall Street Journal
• Washington Post

Wolf Hall: A Novel Hilary Mantel Retail Price: $27.00 Hardcover: 560 pages Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. – (2009-10-13) ISBN / EAN: 0805080686 / 9780805080681

Downloadable eBook from OverDrive.