Breaking news on authors, publishers, and book-related topics

Dan Brown Tops Record-Breaking 31 Weeks In Bestseller Books

Jan 19 2005: Dan Brown topped the US fiction bestseller lists for 31 weeks in 2004.  Only 13 other titles reached #1, and none lasted more than two or three weeks.  With three books on the Publisher Weekly Top 15 bestseller lists, Brown commanded 10% of all hardcover ...

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Newbery, Caldecott Winners Announced

Jan 19 2005: The Newbery, Caldecott Winners are:

• The 2005 John Newbery Medal: Cynthia Kadohata for Kira-Kira (Atheneum).
• The 2005 Randolph Caldecott Medal: Kevin Henkes for Kitten's First Full Moon (Greenwillow)

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Paradies Shops bookstores To Create New York Times Branded Airport Bookstores

Jan 19 2005: You may remember a few weeks ago I told you that the airport chain, Paradies, (with more than 390 stores) was testing a 'Read & Return' program where passengers could buy a book and return it to one of their bookstores at a later date for a 50...

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Susan Brockmann's Latest Book To Feature Gay Romance

Jan 19 2005: According to her publisher, Ballantine, Susan Brockmann's latest bestseller, Hot Target, is 'the first high-profile mainstream contemporary romance novel to feature an in-depth romance between gay characters.  Brockmann, whose son is gay, says ...

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Whitbread Book Awards Winners Announced

Jan 19 2005: The 2004 Whitbread Book Awards are: 

• First Novel: Eve Green by Susan Fletcher (Norton)
• Novel: Small Island by Andrea Levy (Picador)
• Biography: My Heart Is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots by John Guy (Fourth Estate) ...

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Half Blood Prince Release Date Announced

Jan 05 2005: The date for the release of the next Harry Potter Book (HP and the Half-Blood Prince) has been announced.  It will be simultaneously released in the USA, UK, Canada and Australia on July 16th.  Already it's topping the sales charts ...

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Susan Sontag Dies, Age 71

Jan 05 2005: Susan Sontag died last week at the age of 71 after a long battle with cancer.  In addition to being an acclaimed writer, intellectual and celebrity she was also a 'controversialist', for example her criticism of American foreign policy ...

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