My absolute favorite thing about working in publishing is meeting the authors.  And yesterday, we got to meet Kris Radish! She was just as fabulous as I had imagined and sent us away with goodies to raffle off to libraries!

Share with us your favorite novel from Radish and we’ll pick one lucky librarian to receive a signed copy of The Shortest Distance Between Two Women, a Radish women’s visor, and more!

And keep an eye on your holds lists and get those preorders ready! Kris’s lastest novel, Hearts on a String, will be out in May!

-Erica

I’d like to thank the many librarians who were able to join us for the first AAP Librarian Book Buzz Presentation last week! It was exciting to have so many publishers in one room, dedicated to the library marketplace.

Just because you’re not local to NYC doesn’t mean that you should be left out!  Below are the titles I presented and buzzed about – staff favorites, book you MUST have and the important mid-list books you don’t want to miss!  With only 12 minutes to present, I could only touch upon some highlights.  There are many more where these came from, so be on the lookout for more from our department.

THE SWIMMING POOL by Holly LeCraw 

UNION ATLANTIC by Adam Haslett

THE HANDBOOK FOR LIGHTNING STRIKE SURVIVORS by Michele Young-Stone  *Marie’s latest staff pick!

LETTER TO MY DAUGHTER by George Bishop

THE THINGS THAT KEEP US HERE by Carla Buckley

WISH HER SAFE AT HOME by Stephen Benatar

ALICE I HAVE BEEN by Melanie Benjamin  *Jen’s latest staff pick!

WOLF AMONG WOLVES by Han Fallada

THE MANY DEATHS OF THE FIREFLY BROTHERS by Thomas Mullen

THE AMERICAN GIRL by Monika Fagerholm  *for fans of Steig Larsson!

THE MAN FROM BEIJING by Henning Mankell  *more for fans of Steig Larsson!

WALKING TO GATLINBURG by Howard Frank Mosher

PARROT & OLIVIER IN AMERICA by Peter Carey

CLAUDE AND CAMILLE: A NOVEL OF CLAUDE MONET by Stephanie Cowell

ANCESTOR by Scott Sigler

Perhaps obscured by the mushroom cloud that was the release of The Lost Symbol was the release of Jon Krakauer’s new book, Where Men Win Glory: The Oddysey of Pat Tillman. Krakauer, of course, is the author of Into the Wild, Under the Banner of Heaven, and Into Thin Air, and is one of the most respected and widely read nonfiction authors living today.

Doubleday.com has a great photo album on their website of Krakauer’s time embedded with American and Afghan forces in May and June 2006. The experience was part of Krakauer’s research for the new book.

Gesine Bullock-Prado’s memoir is out today and she has provided Reading Group Choices with a recipe for whoopie pies! It’s official.  My baked good of choice, straight from my grandmother’s Maine kitchen is now officially nationally known.  Famous even.  Gone are the explanations and descriptions that have plagued me for years.  Roommates and coworkers have all needed to be initiated, which my grandmother has always been happy to assist with.

For your next book group meeting, whip up some whoopie!

-Erica (and the fact that she is related to Sandra Bullock makes me love her even more. Sandra Bullock knows about whoopie pies?! Yes, I am that easy to impress.)

Our friends in the Academic Marketing Dept. have put together an impressive web page highlighting summer reading lists for high school students.  They work hard and always produce useful materials, which we gladly also use for our library marketing purposes.  Many thanks, guys!

-Erica

Attending the Massachusetts Library Association conference?  Then be sure to save time to attend the MLA Publishers’ Book Buzz event.  Our very own Erica McDonald will be presenting hot new titles from authors Jonathan Lethem, Stieg Larsson, Tracy Kidder, and more.  Oh, and almost forgot: FREE galleys for attendees! 

Here’s the info on the event, check the conference program for location information:

Wednesday, May 6th

9am – 10:30am

Publisher Round-Up & Book Buzz

MLA’s exhibiting publishers will take this time to let you know about what’s coming up for the rest of 2009 from their respective houses! Best-selling fiction and non-fiction, gory thrillers, essential how-to manuals for home repair… this group covers all the bases.

Speakers: Erica McDonald, Random House Inc Library Marketing; Heidi Kanter, Director of national account and library sales Quayside Publishing; Talia Ross Sherer, Library Marketing Director, Macmillan; Virginia Stanley, Library Marketing Director, HarperCollins Publishers

Random House Info Group has several drop-ins for the Fall 2009 season! 

Whether your patrons are new to the U.S., learning English as a second language or just building their English skills, Living Language offers a wide variety of in-demand ESL books and materials for the over 50 million non-native English language speakers in the U.S.

-Erica

These days it seems like the world has gone vampire crazy (or maybe it is just me).  After reading the entire Twilight series in a just over a month, I can’t seem to break free from the world of the undead.  Luckily there is no shortage of paranormal books available these days…here are a few Random House, Inc offerings to sink your teeth into, quench your thirst, get your blood flowing…I can do this all day, but I won’t.  Admittedly, these selections are more on the “Adult” side…Edward and Bella are a little chaste for some…

The fourth book in David Wellington’s action packed, grab-you-by-the-throat vampire series, takes place inside the jail where Laura Caxton is serving time for kidnapping and torturing a federal fugitive, a jail where Justinia Malvern, a vampire desperate for blood and revenge, is also holding court. Somehow, more vampires make their way into the prison, and the only “donor” they really want is Laura.

Available May 26th, is the newest sexy paranormal from Lara Adrian, Ashes of Midnight.  As night falls, Claire Roth flees, driven from her home by a fiery threat that seems to come from hell itself. Then, from out of the flames and ash, a vampire warrior emerges. He is Andreas Reichen, her onetime lover, now a stranger consumed by vengeance. Caught in the cross fire, Claire cannot escape his savage fury—or the hunger that plunges her into his world of eternal darkness and unending pleasure.

New from Keri Arthur, Deadly Desire.  In her seventh outing, Riley finds herself opening a truly strange can of paranomral worms. What looks to be a simple robbery/murder–with one of Jack’s friends as the victim–soon takes an odd turn as the robbers themselves start turning up dead, victims of a heart-eating zombie. With her life once more on the line, the only thing going right in Riley’s life is her relationship with Quinn. That is, until she finally meets her soulmate…

The seventh vampire novel from Raven Heart (that’s her real name, right?)  Jack McShane: lover, killer, seducer, family man, and vampire. In the shadows of Savannah, with its hip nightspots and moss-draped oak trees, Jack is trying to save humankind from a threat it doesn’t know it faces: an explosion of the otherworldly, the weird, the wanton, and the wicked.

Charlie Huston’s series of warring vampire clans continues in Every Last Drop. After a year hiding out in the Bronx, Joe is given an assignment he can’t refuse: one Clan needs him to inform on another. But he’s playing them both while keeping his eye on the prize: his girl Evie is on the Island somewhere and he’ll do anything to get her back. And in this case, “anything” means coming face to face with the horrendous secret that lies
beneath the Vampyre world.  Not only did Huston write a guest blog for us, he’ll be appearing at this year’s ALA conference in Chicago! 

Hope these suggestions will provide you with days (and nights) of reading fun, or the perfect book to suggest to one of your vampire-loving patrons.  And remember, when all else fails, you can always go back to the beginning.

What we’ve all be eagerly awaiting!  Alexander McCall Smith’s beloved series finally brought to life on HBO, beginning Sunday, March 29th, 8pm.

Anthony Minghella (The English Patient, Cold Mountain), who died last year, directed the two-hour pilot.  Grammy-award winner, Jill Scott, plays Precious Ramotswe.  Tony award winner Anika Noni Rose (Dreamgirls) plays her secretary, Mma Makutsi.  The series was shot is Botswana.

-Erica

 We are just two weeks away from the publication of Therese Fowler’s second novel, Reunion.   She’s perfect for fans of Barbara Delinsky, Luanne Rice, and Jodi Picoult!

And in anticipation of her latest release, her first novel, Souvenir, is now available in paperback!  Book Groups should stock up -  Library Journal gave it a  STARRED review ! 

I was so lucky to meet the wonderful Ms. Fowler at the 2008 Midwinter conference in Philadelphia.  She was delightful to meet and chat with about her book and experiences as a first time author.  Get to know the charming Therese Fowler on her blog, Making It Up.

-Erica