EarlyWord

Before you get excited by the Wall Street Journal headline, “From Australia, the Next J.K. Rowling?,” do what the Christian Science Monitor suggests, Google “the next J.K. Rowling.” Time gave Stephenie Meyer that title last year, long after she was already a phenomenon. Philip Pullman was also a candidate, but the other names that surface have so far not panned out.

So, here’s the story. Struggling married mother of four, Australian Rebecca James, decides to bet all she has on her ability to write a book. The resulting  Beautiful Malice, “a gritty psychological thriller for teenagers and upward,” suffered many rejections before suddenly being picked up by an agent who took it to the Frankfurt Book Fair last week, where it engendered an international bidding war.

Bantam was the high bidder for U.S. rights, spending “up to $600.000,”  for Beautiful Malice and a second thriller, Cooper Bartholomew is Dead, says the WSJ.

One of the American underbidders says the book offers young adults something totally different, “a smart and literary psychological thriller.”

By the way,  Scholastic paid $105,000 for the rights to publish Harry Potter back in 1997, which amounts to $140,306 in 2009 currency. At the time, it was the largest amount ever paid for a debut childrens book

Of course, that was before Harry Potter proved what profits were lurking in the childrens book market.

Worried that there aren’t enough YA vampire movies in the pipeline?

Worry no more; The Hollywood Reporter announces that DreamWorks Studios has acquired the rights to the five-book Wicked series.

The producers say, “Wicked has all the elements for a great movie–adventure, mystery, star-crossed lovers, bitter enemies, and the supernatural. [the script writers] came in with an intriguing take on the books and a story that we feel will really speak to all audiences.”

Release is planned for 2012.

The movie will be based on the first two titles in the sereis, Witch and Curse, which are available in one volume.

Wicked: Witch & Curse Nancy Holder, Debbie Viguié Retail Price: $7.99 Paperback: 672 pages Publisher: Simon Pulse – (2008-09-09) ISBN / EAN: 141697119X / 9781416971191

At the end of September, Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, the first in a 3-vol YA paranormal romance series about werewolves, was acquired. No release date was given.

Shiver Maggie Stiefvater Retail Price: $17.99 Hardcover: 400 pages Publisher: Scholastic Press – (2009-08-01) ISBN / EAN: 0545123267 / 9780545123266

And, last year, the House of Night series was optioned. The newest title in that series has just been released.

Tempted (House of Night Novels) P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast Retail Price: $17.99 Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin – (2009-10-27) ISBN / EAN: 0312567480 / 9780312567484

I had the rare opportunity to go to an early screening of the Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, which opens for lesser mortals today. Having read the first book long ago, I had only a vague memory of the plot. No matter.

What do I want in a movie?

Fast paced adventure?    Check!

A sense of humor?          Check!

No shaky hand held cameras?   Check!

No intrusive “author’s message”?   Check!

A real movie critic might quibble about the slight story line and thin premise, but I am here to say lighten up, it was fun. John C. Reilly as the vampire was alternately menacing and sweet (I know — just go with it). The lead teen was understated as the perfect high-schooler whose life gets turned upside down. The supporting characters were fantastic; I am in love with the snake boy.

A heads-up for language and violence; yeah that’s why it is PG-13. The language was more an exclamation point in the witty dialog and the fight scenes were more cartoonish than scary.

So as a good friend of mine would say, the movie is a great advertisement for the books.

[To see a larger version of the trailer, go to the official movie Web site]

Tie-in:

The Vampire’s Assistant and Other Tales from the Cirque Du Freak (The Saga of Darren Shan) Darren Shan Retail Price: $12.99 Paperback: 720 pages Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers – (2009-09-15) ISBN / EAN: 031605240X / 9780316052405

For a second, I was worried. After last night’s interview with Jeff Kinney, Michelle Norris of NPR‘s All Things Considered, introduced the next segment by saying, “Not everybody is enthusiastic about the Wimpy Kid series. Some parents feel uneasy about their children identifying with a main character who is at times selfish, lazy and whose high jinks often land him in trouble.”

I prepared for an attack on the series, but instead, bookseller Tanya Turek, who blogs about children’s books at Book 4 Your Kids.com, explained how parents can use the books as jumping-off points for discussion of issues like lying to adults and being mean to other kids.

Listen to the interview here.

As evidenced by the uproar over the climate change chapter in SuperFreakonomics, the topic can raise passions.

Today, the NYT blog, Green Inc., interviews the author of Why We Disagree About Climate Change. As the NYT points out, a global summit on climate change will take place two months from now.

It appears that only Choice reviewed the book (11/1/09), calling it, “…exceptionally well written and informative…Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals; general readers.”

According to WorldCat, the book is owned in 200 university libraries and just one public library.

Why We Disagree About Climate Change: Understanding Controversy, Inaction and Opportunity Mike Hulme Retail Price: $28.99 Paperback: 432 pages Publisher: Cambridge University Press – (2009-05-25) ISBN / EAN: 0521727324 / 9780521727327

It doesn’t have the production values of a Ken Burns series. In fact, it looks like a 12-week Harvard course, which is, in fact, what it’s based on.

Nevertheless, the PBS series, Justice: What’s the Right Thing To Do has turned the companion book into a bestseller. It hits the NYT hardcover nonfiction bestseller list at #16 (tied with #15) this week, one spot below the tie-in to the Ken Burns series, The National Parks.

Justice: What’s the Right Thing to Do? Michael J. Sandel Retail Price: $25.00 Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux – (2009-09-15) ISBN / EAN: 0374180652 / 9780374180652

Below are the major releases for next week; several have already been received by the libraries we checked.

Young Adult

10/27  Cast, P.C. and Kristin Cast, Tempted (House of Night Series #6); most libraries have received their copies.

On the heels of Untamed being voted #8 on the YALSA Teen Top Ten list, the latest in the series which has been on the NYT Childrens Series list for 59 weeks. With that track record, the books are impervious to reviews, but nonetheless, the current issue of Entertainment Weekly tackles it and gives it a B, noting that the  “philosophizing goes on a bit too long.”

The next book in the series, according to PC Casts’ blog, will be Burned. No release date is given.

Tempted (House of Night Novels) P. C. Cast, Kristin Cast Retail Price: $17.99 Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin – (2009-10-27) ISBN / EAN: 0312567480 / 9780312567484

BBC Audio; 9780792764564; $89.95
Audio downloadable from OverDrive

Fiction

10/27 Auster, Paul,  Invisible — Some libraries have received their copies.

10/27 Irving, John,  Last Night in Twisted River — Reviewed in the current Entertainment Weekly, A-

10/27 Harris, Charlaine, Grave Secret — This is a Harper Connelly mystery. The next original Sookie Stackhouse novel is coming May 2010.

10/27 Maguire, Gregory,  Matchless: A Christmas Story

10/27 Rice, Anne,  Angel Time — People, 11/2, gives it  3.5 of 4 stars — “first in a planned series of metaphysical thrillers…[a] thrilling, richly researched tale..[Rice’s] Christian message is sometimes heavy-handed, but the story zips along…”

Angel Time: The Songs of the Seraphim Anne Rice Retail Price: $25.95 Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: Knopf – (2009-10-27) ISBN / EAN: 1400043530 / 9781400043538

Random House Audio, 9780739316085, $35
Random House Large Print, 9780739377352, Pbk, $26
Audio Downloadable from OverDrive

————–

10/27 Roberts, Nora, Bed of Roses; most libraries have received their copies.

Mystery

10/27 Baldacci, David, True Blue; most libraries have received their copies.

True Blue David Baldacci Retail Price: $27.99 Hardcover: 464 pages Publisher: Grand Central Publishing – (2009-10-27) ISBN / EAN: 0446195510 / 9780446195515

BBC Audio, 9781600249730, $44.98
Grand Central Large Print, 9780446546973, $94.99
Audio and eBook downloadable from OverDrive

Science Fiction

10/27 Jordan, Robert, Gathering Storm; most libraries have received their copies.

Memoirs

10/27 Burroughs, Augusten, You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas

10/27 Epstein, Jason, Eating: A Memoir

I just opened a box of review books from Simon and Schuster. In my hands is a the fat  bind-up of the first two books in the Flowers In The Attic series. For those who were not held in V.C Andrews’ thrall in the early ’80s, let me summarize. The four Dollanganger children are being held in their evil grandmother’s attic.  I ate these up like candy in the day and dread rereading with my adult critical mind. I probably won’t but that won’t stop me from recommending that librarians stock up.
Check out that creepy cover!

Flowers in the Attic/Petals on the Wind V.C. Andrews Retail Price: $10.99 Paperback: 848 pages Publisher: Simon Pulse – (2009-11-10) ISBN / EAN: 1442403012 / 9781442403017

We never tire of books about rescued shelter animals. This week’s People gives 4.5 out of a possible 5 stars to Come Back, Como by Steve Winn, calling it “a sweetly written, poignant tale of puppy love.” (For a look at all the books reviewed in People this week and in the past month, go to our Weekly Magazines listing).

But, poor Como was not reviewed prepub, so few libraries own it. If you need more than the People review to convince you, the introduction and first chapter are available on Harper’s Web site.

Come Back, Como: Winning the Heart of a Reluctant Dog Steven Winn Retail Price: $23.99 Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: Harper – (2009-10-01) ISBN / EAN: 006180259X / 9780061802591

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)

After all the rumors, the actual announcement of B&N’s eReader seems a bit anticlimactic.

But there is some drama — PC World is already calling the Nook the “Kindle Killer,” naming five ways it’s better than its competitor.

Reason Five — B&N has actual stores, where people can look at and try out the Nook.

Bricks and mortar finally has its day!

We saw a hint of controversy about the global warming chapter in SuperFreakonomics emerging last week. The book launches today and accusations are flying on the Web, including dueling NYT blogs.

Paul Krugman attacks the book in his NYT blog — SuperFreakonomics on Climate, Part 1

…the first five pages, by themselves, are enough to discredit the whole thing. Why? Because they grossly misrepresent other peoples’ research, in both climate science and economics.

Steven Levitt responds on his NYT blog — The Rumors of Our Global-Warming Denial Are Greatly Exaggerated

The critics are implying that we dismiss any threats from global warming; but the entire point of our chapter is to discuss global-warming solutions, so obviously that’s not the case.

Krugman expands on his points — Weitzman in context

Levitt now says that the chapter wasn’t meant to lend credibility to global warming denial — but when you open your chapter by giving major play to the false claim that scientists used to predict global cooling, you have in effect taken the denier side.

Co-author Stephen Dubner steps in — Global Warming in SuperFreakonomics: The Anatomy of a Smear

If everything they said was actually true, it would indeed be a damning indictment. But it’s not.

The global warming section is just one of five chapters. Some media outlets have focused on others:

• Orlando Sentinel, Seat belts just as safe as car seats, authors say
• ABC News, Prostitution as a Career Choice

A writer for Harvard Business Publishing feels there’s a problem with the premise of the entire book, saying the authors,

…are to economics what Friends is to culture: pop. And ultimately, though Levitt’s academic work is stellar, the Freakonomics genre represents the trivialization of a great system of thought. Instead of improving that system of thought, it applies already questionable assumptions to what are socially the lowest-value uses.

The book is currently at #8 on Amazon.

SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner Retail Price: $29.99 Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: William Morrow – (2009-10-20) ISBN / EAN: 0060889578 / 9780060889579

HarperAudio: 9780060889357; $34.99
HarperLuxe: 9780061927577; $29.99
Audio and eBook downloadable from OverDrive

News sometimes comes from strange sources. The Wall Street Journal reports today that B&N is running an ad in the 10/25 NYT BR for their new eBook called the Nook (photos leaked last week showed the name “Athena” on the device).

As the WSJ points out, one of the Nook’s benefits touted in the ad is the ability to “Lend eBooks to friends.”

The price shown is $20 less than the newly-lowered price for Amazon’s Kindle.

B&N did not comment to WSJ, but they have a press event scheduled for  later today.

There’s a book giveaway hidden in our top banner ad this week; if you click on it, you can enter to win five titles that fit in to YALSA Teen Read Week’s “Beyond Reality” theme. It’s part of Random House’s library marketing department’s “Shelf Help;” collection development “cheat sheets” aimed at helping librarians make sure they own essential titles in popular subject categories.

Many of you are already savvy to publisher’s library marketing departments. If not, you can think of them as your entry-way to publishing houses. They are happy to answer questions from when Nevada Barr’s next book is coming to how to get an author to speak at your One Community program (by the way, Random House has just created a new One Book guide with tips from the mother of all one-book programs, Nancy Pearl).

On EarlyWord, we maintain an up-to-date directory of library contacts for adult books at the various publishing house,s as well as links to their librarian newsletters, blogs, and even, in HarperCollins case, an online radio show for librarians.

Through the AAP, library marketing staff also organize various events for librarians at the BEA, ALA and PLA. This week, they are presenting their first “Librarians’ Spring 2010 Sneak Preview” here in New York.

Get to know these people; they are a key component in the publisher/librarian connection.