The finalists for the 2010 PEN/Faulkner Award have been announced and two Random House, Inc. books are among them.

Lorrie Moore’s A Gate at the Stairs and Colson Whitehead’s Sag Harbor join literary heavyweight Barbara Kingsolver (The Lacuna) and two others who are nominated for the award, which was founded by writers in 1980 and partially named after William Faulkner.

Previous Random House, Inc. winners in recent years include: Netherland by Joseph O’Neill (2009), Everyman by Phillip Roth (2007) and The March by E.L. Doctorow (2006).

The Bridge

On sale this April: David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker and one of America’s premier nonfiction authors, takes on the rise of Barack Obama in THE BRIDGE.

From the press release:

NEW YORK, 22-Feb-10 — New Yorker editor and best-selling author David Remnick has written a biography of Barack Obama that will be published by Alfred A. Knopf on April 6th, it was announced today by Sonny Mehta, Chairman of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. THE BRIDGE: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama is a sweeping and deeply reported look at both the life of the 44th President and the complex saga of race in America that led to his historic election.
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Remnick won the Pulitzer Prize for his book LENIN’S TOMB, about the collapse of the Soviet Union, and he is also the author of KING OF THE WORLD, a best-selling work on the evolution of Cassius Clay into Muhammad Ali in the midst of the civil-rights movement.
 

-David

Erik, one of our colleagues at Random House (you remember Erik…one of his cats was the RH Employee Pet of the Month and the other has amazing skill with doors) has launched a blog called Fat Cat Lover that is stirring up quite a bit of controversy.  Featuring tubby tabbies, the blog claims to be a “daily appreciation of the curvy cat.” 

While some people think these hefty hairballers are as cute as can be, others are not so amused.  They claim that this is no laughing matter since overweight pets can suffer from a variety of health problems and have a shorter life span.  Fat Cat Lover (and some of the comments left by enraged readers) was recently featured in The New York Post and on the Today show website.  Click through for more details on the drama.

So please weigh in (sorry, couldn’t resist).  What do YOU think? Adorable or horrible?

I may be young, male, semi-nerdy, and therefore biased, but this movie, The Losers looks really good. I’m not 100% sure I have this right, but it’s based on THE LOSERS by Andy Diggle from DC Comics’s Vertigo imprint, which, I think, is based on a movie of the same name that came out in 1968. (Someone please correct me in the comments if I have this wrong.) 

The movie is written by “Friday Night Lights” scribe Peter Berg and stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan (P.S. I Love You, Watchmen, “Supernatural”) and Avatar’s Zoe Saldana. Here’s the great-looking preview. Be sure to have the graphic novel on the shelves when the movie hits!

-David

Obviously we have an interest in books selected by Library Journal that are featured in their various subject round-ups. So when the Feb. 1 issue hit my desk, I immediately noticed in the “Spring Into Art” feature a number of titles from Rizzoli.

No surprise. But what WAS a surprise was that when I counted up the titles there were 14! So many wonderful art books from Rizzoli and its various imprints have been included that I just wanted specially to bring them to your attention. OK, some are pricey, but your collection can’t have all mass market and trade paperbacks! Splurge on a EDWARD HOPPER, WONDER WOMAN or TIFFANY GLASS and you and those devotees of your art section will be richly rewarded.

And yes, Rizzoli is one of the many fine RHPS Client Publishers that Random House, Inc. distributes. Aren’t we lucky!

-Marcia

Here’s a list of the included books (*highly recommended for most libraries):

Foster, Carter & others. Edward Hopper. Skira: Rizzoli. May 2010. 240p. ISBN 978-88-572-0283-9. $80.

*Barbara Kruger. Rizzoli. Apr. 2010. 288p. ISBN 978-0-8478-3325-2. $65.

Dennis Hopper and New Hollywood: Actor, Director, Artist. Flammarion: Rizzoli. Apr. 2010. 192p. ISBN 978-2-08-030099-7. $50.

Mackenzie, Mairi. …Isms: Understanding Fashion. Universe: Rizzoli. Feb. 2010. 160p. ISBN 978-0-7893-1826-8. $16.95.

Oaks, Jeff. Wonder Woman: Amazon. Hero. Icon. Universe: Rizzoli. Apr. 2010. 208p. ISBN 978-0-7893-2035-3. $35.

Kennedy, Roger G. Greek Revival America. Rizzoli. Apr. 2010. 464p. ISBN 978-0-8478-3184-5. $75.

Marotta, Antonello. Contemporary Museums. Skira: Rizzoli. Apr. 2010. 240p. ISBN 978-88-572-0258-7. $45.

Dannatt, Adrian & others. Mattia Bonetti. Skira: Rizzoli. Feb. 2010. 112p. ISBN 978-0-8478-3417-4. $55.

*Edelkoort, Li & others. Campana Brothers: Complete Works (So Far). Rizzoli. Mar. 2010. 304p. ISBN 978-0-8478-3326-9. $75.

Lewis, Adam. The Great Lady Decorators: Lessons from the Women Who Invented Interior Design. Rizzoli. Apr. 2010. 256p. ISBN 978-0-8478-3336-8. $65.

Pepall, Rosalind. Tiffany Glass: A Passion for Color. Skira, dist. by Rizzoli. Mar. 2010. 256p. ISBN 978-0-8478-3426-6. $60.

Pryke, Paula. Paula Pryke: Decorating with Flowers. Rizzoli. Apr. 2010. 384p. ISBN 978-0-8478-3429-7. $24.95.

Dangerous Women: The Perils of Muses and Femmes Fatales. Flammarion: Rizzoli. Feb. 2010. 160p. ISBN 978-2-08-030128-4. $39.95.

Highland Living: Landscape, Style, and Traditions of Scotland. Flammarion. Feb. 2010. 208p. ISBN 978-2-08-030133-8. $39.95.

I don’t know how many of you will have noticed this already, but Library Journal has begun a new column on their website and in their e-newsletter, BookSmack!, called “Book Cheer.”

The idea is that the heads of Library Marketing at 12 different publishers in the AAP are sending books to each other to be reviewed. The latest installment is by Macmillan’s Talia Sherer, and although she didn’t choose it overall, she mentions Henning Mankell’s  THE MAN FROM BEIJING in a positive note. Check back to LJ.com and search “book cheer” for the latest picks from corporately unfaithful directors.

-David

We’ll sign off for the long weekend with our latest Help YourShelf cheatsheet, appropriately themed for Valentines Day.

Find more Help YourShelf here, and check back monthly for more!

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There are a couple of very exciting films coming out next month based on Random House books–the first of which I get to see a screening of next week! That’s right, it’s THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO. The trailer isn’t dubbed in English however, so pay attention to the subtitles.

And some of you may remember a little book called IMPERIAL LIFE IN THE EMERALD CITY, a National Book Award finalist in 2006. This will be coming out under a different title, “Green Zone,” and will star Mr. Matt Damon and Mr. Greg Kinnear.

-David

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lackshas been getting an amazing amount of buzz in the media lately, so likely your holds lists are growing.  You probably already have this book on your radar, but just in case you’ve been caught napping, I’ll include the basics below.

ABOUT THE BOOK:In 1951 Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cervical cancer and died months later. Doctors took her cells without asking. Those cells never died. They launched a medical revolution and a multimillion dollar industry, yet Henrietta Lacks remains virtually unknown…Skloot brilliantly weaves together the Lacks’s story–past and present–with the story of the birth of bioethics, the story of HeLa cells, and the dark history of experimentation on African Americans. Important, powerful, and compassionate, this is a remarkable work of science and social journalism.

REVIEWS:

THE NEW YORK TIMES said, “…one of the most graceful and moving nonfiction books I’ve read in a very long time.”  Read the full, glowing article HERE.

“While there are other titles on this controversy…this is the most compelling account for general readers, especially those interested in questions of medical research ethics.  Highly recommended.” –LIBRARY JOURNAL

“Writing with a novelist’s artistry, a biologist’s expertise, and the zeal of an investigative reporter, Skloot tells a truly astonishing story of racism and poverty, science and conscience, spirituality and family driven by a galvanizing inquiry into the sanctity of the body and the very nature of the life force.”—BOOKLIST (starred review)

“Science journalist Skloot makes a remarkable debut with this multilayered story about ‘faith, science, journalism, and grace.’…Recalls Adrian Nicole LeBlanc’s Random Family…A rich, resonant tale of modern science, the wonders it can perform and how easily it can exploit society’s most vulnerable people.”—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (starred review)

MEDIA: It was covered on ABC’s World News Tonight on Sunday and in the New York Times‘ “Health” section, and the author was interviewed on NPR’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross. For more info on this and links to clips visit EARLYWORD.

FREE!: Rebecca Skloot was in the office yesterday and was kind enough to autograph some copies of her book for us.  I have two copies to give away, please leave a comment for a chance to receive one.

The big news from Steerforth Press last week was that they will be distributing an excellent (and useful!) line of graphic novels called Campfire. The first batch of books is mostly graphic adaptations of classic novels like Robinson Crusoe, Moby Dick, Frankenstein, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, etc. with some Biography and Mythology mixed in. Eventually, Campfire’s line will move into 4 distinctive categories: Classics, Mythology, Biography and, coming in 2011, Originals.

In the meeting, I got to flip through the graphic novel version of H.G. Wells’ Invisible Man and was genuinely impressed with the quality of the artwork and the book itself, with a glossy finish and a highly respectable paper quality. They seem to work very well as adaptations, maintaining a fidelity to the original language while smartly condensing it so that it reads at a fast pace like a regular graphic novel. What impressed me further was their price: a budget-friendly $9.99(US). Look for them this summer!

If you have any questions about the series, email library@randomhouse.com and we will try our best.

-David