Library Journal

Library Journal, Mary Jane Clark, To Have and to Kill

To Have and to Kill

9780061995545_0_Cover Here at Library Marketing HQ, we are big fans of mystery maven Mary Jane Clark.  We are also big fans of cake, so it's with great pleasure that we introduce you to her new Wedding Cake series, beginning with the launch of To Have and to Kill.  Check out these quotes!   

“The first book in best-selling suspense author Clark’s (Dying for Mercy; Lights Out Tonight) new series is an old-fashioned whodunit set in a modern world that’s high on suspense and low on gore. The number of characters with motive for murder keeps you guessing, and the action-packed short chapters keep the story moving. You’ll also learn a little about cake decorating, and there’s a sweet surprise at the end.”—Library Journal 10/15/2010

“A promising new cozy series from bestseller Clark” – Publishers Weekly 09/27/2010

To Have and to Kill hits shelves next month–cozy fans, consider yourselves briefed!

Ebooks, Librarians, Libraries, Library Journal

Library Journal’s Ebook Summit: What I Learned

LJI am the resident 20something, and coincidentally, the youngest member of the Library Marketing team here at Harper.  I worked in a library in high school, and from youth, I’ve been a devotee of stacks, musty books, microfiche, book carts…the classic trappings of the library world.  But there’s so much more to it nowadays.  I’ve been back to my old hometown library, Patchogue Medford Library, and after a mere 7 years, it’s barely recognizable.   

With the increasing digitization of our world, the way we read is changing on a fundamental level.  And it’s left many of us—myself included—with mixed feelings. Kevin Kelly, of Wired Magazine, spoke glowingly of a shift from ownership to access, of sharing increasing the value of the books we love.  Eli Neiburger put a different spin on it, succinctly stating, “Libraries are screwed.”
 
It’s overwhelming sometimes, trying to gain perspective on concrete things, as well as the more ephemeral implications of ebooks, like the way a “read” changes when the format is electronic.   In a wonderful panel on Readers Advisory, Neal Wyatt, Duncan Smith, and Katie Dunneback discussed the changing “appeal” of a book in digital form.  The perks to reading on an ereader  are, when reversed, also its detractions.  For instance, if you interrupt your reading to click on a live link in the text, aren’t you disrupting a pace that was previously determined by the author? Does the experience become less “private,” less “personal,” as it becomes more interactive?  I have a lot of questions, and I know you do too. 

My biggest question: what can we, as publishers, do better when it comes to ebooks and libraries? Where do you stand in the digital divide?

At the end of the day, information matters—in any form, whether it’s an ebook or print.  Suffice it to say, Library Journal’s Ebook Summit was helpful on many levels.  We’d love to hear what you think in the comments.

-Kayleigh

Abraham Lincoln, Bloody Crimes, Books, Collection Development, HarperCollins Publishers, History, James L. Swanson, Jefferson Davis, Libraries, Library Journal

Praise for Bloody Crimes

BloodyCrimes hc c Congratulations are in order for James L. Swanson!  He just received a starred review from Library Journal for his new book, Bloody Crimes! 

*Swanson, James. Bloody Crimes: The Chase for Jefferson Davis and the Death Pageant for Lincoln's Corpse. Morrow. Oct. 2010. 448p. ISBN 9780061988479. $26.99.

Swanson, Edgar Award–winner for his best-selling Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, now brilliantly reveals how, when Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis each relinquished executive power in April 1865, one as a result of assassination and the other through military defeat, they set in motion two enduring myths—the legend of the Union's emancipating, secular saint and the South's cult of the Lost Cause. Lincoln's assassination, national mourning, and funeral pageant, and Davis's manhunt, imprisonment, exoneration, release, and long postwar life, insists Swanson, continue to unsettle Civil War and Reconstruction historiography, not to mention American society, to this very day. Despite an artful job of portraying the rebel president of the Confederate States of America in a benign light, Swanson concludes that the 20th and 21st centuries belong to Lincoln, not Davis, whose legacy of favoring sectionalism and slavery has been lost through time, much as his beloved Beauvoir plantation was swept away during the Katrina disaster of 2005.

Verdict: Swanson successfully fuses the strengths of historical integrity, balance, and masterful prose into one compelling work. Bloody Crimes should be required reading for every American.

—John Carver Edwards


Job well done James!  Keep that star shining bright!

-Bobby

Books, Librarians, Libraries, Library Journal

LJ’s Fall Book Buzz 2010

On24_fallbookbuzz

I'd venture a guess and say that our department loves Library Journal as much as librarians do.  So I'm thrilled to report that we'll be participating in

LJ's Fall Book Buzz next Tuesday, August 17th (3 pm EST).  Mark your calendars and register now for 60 minutes of read-alikes, fall frontlist, and inside information on your–and your patrons'–favorite authors.  Here's the full invitation:

Fall Book Buzz 2010
 
SPONSORED BY: Greenleaf Book Group, HarperCollins, Random House, Workman/Algonquin, and Library Journal
EVENT DATE: Tuesday, August 17, 2010– 3:00 PM EDT – 60 minutes  
 

Everyone loves the September 1 Fall Announcements issue from LJ, but what if those pages could talk to you? Register for the Fall Book Buzz 2010 and you’ll find out about read-alikes and new series titles, get tidbits about new authors and old favorites, and maybe even get the chance to win a galley giveaway or two!

Join our panelists from Greenleaf Book Group, HarperCollins, Random House and Workman/Algonquin and Library Journal Book Review editor Anna Katterjohn for sixty entertaining and informative minutes covering the best in front list and forthcoming titles.

Presenters:

Katelynn Knutson, Marketing Associate, Greenleaf Book Group
Virginia Stanley, Director of Library Marketing, HarperCollins Publishers
Erica Melnichok, Associate Marketing Manager, Random House
Michael Rockliff, Director, Library Sales and Marketing, Workman/Algonquin

Moderator:

Anna Katterjohn, Managing Editor Book Review, Library Journal

If you are not able to make the live webcast, register now and you will get an email reminder from Library Journal post-live event when the webcast is archived and available for on-demand viewing at your convenience!

   

Library Journal, Michael J. Sullivan

Necessary Heartbreak

NecessaryHeartbreak Before we head out for the weekend, we just wanted to let you know about the starred review in Library Journal for Michael J. Sullivan's Necessary Heartbreak: A Novel of Faith and Forgiveness.

No, Michael J. Sullivan is not one of our authors.  But he is the husband of one of our colleagues, a friend and publishing maven.  Michael first published his book himself, which shows you the strength of his conviction.  Not only is he talented, but his determination is an inspiration.   

Necessary Heartbreak tells the story of Michael Stewart, a single father raising his teenaged daughter and doing the best he can at work and at home. But he's turned his back on his faith—that is, until he and his daughter Elizabeth slip through a mysterious door. . . . and find themselves in first-century Jerusalem during the tumultous last week of Jesus Christ's life. Michael realizes that before they can escape from the past—he must experience history's most necessary heartbreak in order to live, love, and reclaim the blessings he has in the present.

Here's the starred review from Library Journal: "Single father Michael Stewart is a survivor of a difficult childhood, but he has lost his faith. He and his daughter are volunteering at a food pantry when they slip through a magic door that transports them to first-century Jerusalem, where they come into contact with Judas Iscariot and Jesus Christ himself. VERDICT This wonderful time-slip novel. . .will appeal to fans of Anne Rice's recent religious fiction (e.g., Christ the Lord)."

Adriana Trigiani, Agincourt, American Library Association, Awards, Bernard Cornwell, Books, Boston, Clara Kramer, Clara's War, High Voltage Tattoo, Julia Quinn, Juliette Fay, Kat Von D, Libraries, Library Journal, Marvelyn Brown, Shelter Me, Show Me How, Street Art Book, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, The Naked Truth, Very Valentine, What Happens in London, William Kamkwamba

Awards Recap: ALA Midwinter 2010

Roughly 8,000 librarians attended the American Library Association’s Midwinter conference in Boston.

HarperCollins had a great show:   11 authors including one unforgettable performance by Adriana Trigiani who won the ALA’s Reading List Awards in the Women’s Fiction category for Very Valentine (now out in paperback!).  Watch this:

This video went out everywhere.  By the next day it was on every major library site including Library Journal’s and the American Library Association’s.

For you non-librarians, the Midwinter conference is where committees meet to determine winners of various book awards.  Harper snagged quite a few this time around.

The Reading List awards outstanding genre fiction in 8 categories. We had winners in 3 of those categories as well as a few runner ups:

Historical Fiction  – Winner
Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell

Romance – Winner
What Happens in London by Julia Quinn

Women’s Fiction – Winner
Very Valentine by Adriana Trigiani (see crazy video above)

Women’s Fiction Short List
The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club by Gil McNeil
Shelter Me by Juliette Fay

The Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers selection list suggests books that teens, ages 12-18, will pick up on their own and read for pleasure; it is geared to the teenager who, for whatever reason, does not like to read.  We picked up four of these:

Street Art Book: 60 Artists in Their Own Words by Ric Blackshaw and Liz Farrelly
The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful and (HIV) Positive by Marvelyn Brown
Show Me How: 500 Things You Should Know Instructions for Life from the Everyday to the Exotic by Derek Fagerstrom and Lauren Smith
High Voltage Tattoo by Kat Von D.

The Alex Awards are given to ten books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.  Two of the ten winning books are ours:
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba
Tunneling to the Center of the Earth by Kevin Wilson

2010 Sophie Brody Award recognizes outstanding Jewish literature
Clara’s War by Clara Kramer received an Honor Award

All winners are listed on ALA’s site: www.ala.org
Congrats to all!

-Virginia

American Library Association, Books, Jane Stanton Hitchcock, Mortal Friends, Libraries, Library Journal, Mystery/Suspense, New York Times

Mortal Friends

MortalFriends hc c Would you know evil if it sat next to you?  That’s a good question – and one that New York Times bestselling author Jane Stanton Hitchcock answers in her latest page turner, Mortal Friends (in her words ‘a novel that has murder in it!’) Enter the dishy, political world of money and high society set squarely in Washington, DC. Her books have been described as “Ruth Rendell meets Dominick Dunne, for the sophisticated reader who wants the perfect beach read.” (Library Journal)

Libraries are near and dear to the heart of this wonderful writer.   Last week Jane flew to Chicago to attend the American Library Association conference where she spoke to over 300 librarians at the ALTAFF Book and Author Tea and signed countless copies of her witty, smart whodunit, Mortal Friends. 

She also took the time to write this message to librarians everywhere:

"Libraries are like houses of worship:  Whether or not you use them yourself, it's important to know that they are there.  In many ways they define a society and the values of that society.  Librarians to me are the keepers of the flame of knowledge.  When I was growing up, the librarian in my local library looked like a meek little old lady, but after you spent some time with her, you realized she was Athena with a sword, a wise and wonderful repository of wisdom."

Check out this great video taken of Jane while she signed books in the Harper booth at ALA:

More raves for Mortal Friends!
“Mortal Friends is at once witty, sophisticated and chilling — imagine Edgar Allan Poe and Edith Wharton collaborating on a mystery. This novel had me guessing and turning the pages until the very end, and even then, I was surprised. Nobody else out there writes, or entertains, like Jane Stanton Hitchcock.”
   — Susan Cheever

“Mortal Friends is a brilliant mix — an expertly paced novel of suspense and a cutthroat comedy of manners. In Jane Stanton Hitchcock’s skilled hands, these Capitol killings show D.C. society for what it is — Deliciously Criminal.”
   — Linda Fairstein

We’re so in love with Mortal Friends and you will be, too – once you’ve read it!  So…to the lucky first 25 who reply to this post, we will send a complimentary copy of Mortal Friends.  We’d love to hear what you think of this juicy page turner so send in your reviews and we’ll gladly post them.  Happy Reading!

-Virginia

Barbara Genco, BEA, Books, HarperCollins Publishers, Libraries, Library Journal

BEA

Shout700 

Book Expo America was held this past weekend in New York.  For those of you unfamiliar with BEA, it’s basically a book blitz – an unveiling of titles due out this Fall from publishers.  It’s a wonderful opportunity to meet authors and ‘catch the buzz’ about forthcoming titles.  Librarians make it their business to get to BEA and we’re all the better for it.  They speak on panels, share their wealth of knowledge and offer great opportunities for authors to speak at library events. They also have an uncanny knack for finding books that might otherwise fly a little under the radar.  They get behind those books with an inspiring force of energy and enthusiasm and spread the word to colleagues and patrons.  I’ve said it before:  A librarian is a book’s best friend.

One of the many programs dedicated to librarians at BEA was the “Shout and Share” hosted by the AAP.  This was a panel moderated by Barbara Genco, Coordinator, Special Projects and Strategic Planning at Brooklyn Public Library. It featured seven prominent librarians who gave their ‘picks’ for hot books coming out this Fall.  The entire list has been posted on www.earlyword.com – a fabulous website for collection development librarians.)  Just go to Early Word and scroll down–on the right-hand tab is a list that says "BEA '09–Picks of the Lists."

And here’s an article Library Journal ran about the event.  Happy reading!

-Virginia

Books, Kenneth C. Davis, Libraries, Library Journal

LJ Loves Ken Davis

DKMALiterature pb c Library Journal has written a glowing review of Don't Know Much About Literature, the latest book in the Don't Know Much About series.  As you might remember from this post, the affection is mutual–Ken is a vocal advocate for libraries.  Check out an excerpt from the review below:

In this latest addition to Kenneth Davis’s popular “Don’t Know Much About” series, he and daughter Jenny quiz readers about writers, books, Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, famous first and last lines, and other literary trivia. The book’s scope is broad, with selections ranging from “Children’s Classics” to “Beowulf” and “Fictional First Ladies.” The Davises provide questions, answers, and a summary paragraph for each category but don’t order the material in any predictable way, sandwiching Agatha Christie between Kafka and Melville, a technique that forces each entry to stand in isolation. Some of the questions are true or false; others ask readers to identify a character, book, play, poem, or movie. Meant to make learning about literature entertaining, this guide should refresh memories and may entice readers into exploring some of the books they always meant to check out…—Nancy R. Ives, SUNY at Geneseo

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