Library Love Fest

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind

Librarians, we want to hear from you!  As you can see here, here, and here, we're wild about this book and we hope you will be, too.  Send an email to librarylovefest at harpercollins.com.  We'll send a copy of The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind to you with our compliments.  The only thing ask for in return is a review of the book which we would then post on our blog. We know how busy everyone is these days so don't get hung up on the length of the review.  We just want to get the word out to readers about a book that has everyone buzzing in house.  Now we want the buzz to be outside the house! Thanks so much.

Now send us an email! (Please note, this particular offer is for librarians only.) Thanks!

Virginia Stanley
Director
Library Marketing
HarperCollinsPublishers
(212) 207-7592
virginia.stanley at harpercollins.com
www.librarylovefest.com

Free Library of Philadelphia closings

We wrote about this the other day. It bears repeating.  Click here to read what author Ken Davis has to say about the closing of libraries, and check out our original post.

-Virginia 

Free Library of Philadelphia

In less than a month the Free Library of Philadelphia will be forced to close its neighborhood branch libraries, regional libraries and the Parkway Central Library.  Click here for more information.

-Virginia

Kaylie Jones Gets a Rave from The New York Times

We are so thrilled with the response to Kaylie Jones' memoir, Lies My Mother Never Told Me.  In this weekend's New York Times Janet Maslin calls the book "A bright, fast-paced memoir with an inviting spirit." Here's a longer excerpt from the review:

"When an editor suggested deleting 350 profanities from the manuscript of “From Here to Eternity,” Jones responded: “You know there is nothing salacious in this book as well as I do. Therefore, whatever changes you want made along that line will be made for propriety, and propriety is a very inconstant thing.” His daughter has learned that lesson: she doesn’t let propriety blunt her memories." 

Check out Bobby's first post on Lies My Mother Never Told Me, which includes a fabulous video of Kaylie discussing her reasons for writing it. 

-Kayleigh

Twitter Wit Makes its Debut!

If you're a fan of our blog, you might have noticed a few posts on Twitter Wit (9780061897276): the first book about Twitter to be officially approved by the site's creators.  Twitter Wit includes some amazing celebrity tweets, from the likes of Ashton Kutcher, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert, Margaret Cho, Stephen Fry, Rainn Wilson, Diablo Cody, Neil Gaiman, Michael Ian Black, Paula Poundstone, Russell Brand, Lisa Lampanelli, and more.  To help celebrate the launch, we're holding a Twitter Wit video contest with a grand prize of an iPod touch. Learn more about the contest here, browse inside the book, or follow us, @harperlibrary!    

A New Anne Frank Movie

In case you missed it, yesterday Early Word reported that Disney has acquired the rights to a new film version of The Diary of Anne Frank, with David Mamet helming the project.  Our very own Francine Prose was mentioned in the article, as was her forthcoming book Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife (9780061578267).  Early Word reports: "One of Prose’s objections to the earlier versions is that they don’t show Anne’s growth as either a person or an artist; 'On the pages, she is brilliant, on the stage, she is a nitwit.' She also points out that they attempted to 'universalize' the story to broaden it’s appeal; few mentions are made of the family’s Jewishness and Anne was made to seem more hopeful. Says Prose about the movie, 'She sounds like an American girl. And why not? It’s an American movie.'" David Mamet is sure to challenge our assumptions about this beloved piece of literature, just as Francine Prose has done with her book.  Be sure to check out Booklist's starred review, in full, after the jump. 

Don't Know Much About...The 4th of July

Here in the Library Marketing department, we're gearing up for ALA 2009.  But there's another important event that takes place first: Independence Day.  Check out some fun facts about the 4th from Ken Davis' blog-- I guarantee you'll learn something new!

-Kayleigh

Ken Davis on 'This Day in History'

"In light of events in Iran and elsewhere, it seems fitting to remember that on June 18, 1948, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights �chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt� adopted its International Declaration of Human Rights setting up a 'common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.'" 

For Ken's full post, and more about This Day in History, check out his blog.

Nancy Pearl’s Summer Picks

We’re thrilled to have one of our titles included in Nancy Pearl’s ‘Summer’s Best Books’ list.

In The Color of Lightning, Paulette Jiles, author of the critically acclaimed, New York Times bestsellers Enemy Women and Stormy Weather delivers an amazing novel about the aftermath of the Civil War. 

It is based on the true story of Brit Johnson, a freed black man who travels with his family from Kentucky to settle in Texas at the end of the Civil War. There, his wife and children are captured during an Indian raid, and Brit finds himself embroiled in the battle between the U.S. government and the native Americans whose land, freedom, and culture are threatened.

The New York Times Book Review called it “a gripping, deeply relevant book” and the Washington Post called it “glorious work”

Free copies to the 25 lucky people who send us a comment! 

Happy reading.

-Virginia

Ray Bradbury Loves Libraries

Celebrated author (and fervent library supporter) Ray Bradbury helps raise funds for the Ventura County Public Library System.  Check it out now!

-Virginia