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Q & A with Patricia Reilly Giff
Q: How did you come to set this story in the world of horse racing?
A: So many things inspired this novel. For years, my family and I lived in Elmont on Long Island, the town where Belmont Racetrack is located. I don’t mention the track by name in Wild Girl, because I wanted to leave myself a little wiggle room in terms of the details. When kids read books and find things that aren’t perfectly accurate, they point a finger and let me know! -
Vladimir Tod: Tall, Dark, and Fangsome
As loyal fans (affectionately called Minions) of Heather Brewer’s series The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod (Dutton) well know, school sucks—literally for Vlad. That’s because he’s a vampire (well, technically a half-vampire). What Brewer’s Minions also know is that Vlad’s humorous, every-guy-centric take on blood-sucking legend is something fresh in the currently crowded vampire lit genre. Tenth Grade Bleeds, the third volume in the series, hit stores June 25.
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Religion in Review: You Saw It Here First: Original Religion BookLine Reviews;
and a Sneak Peek at Religion Book ReviewKaren Armstrong’s The Case for God; Scott Cairns’s The End of Suffering: Finding Purpose in Pain; Pamela Eisenbaum’s Paul was Not a Christian: The Original Message of a Misunderstood Apostle; Anne Graham Lotz’s The Magnificant Obsession: Embracing the God-Filled Life; Elie Wiesel’s Rashi; Tarif Khalidi’s Images of Muhammad: Narratives of the Prophet in Islam Across the Centuries; and more.
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Amazon, Archaia To Release Kindle Graphic Novel
Although Amazon.com has published prose works exclusively on the Kindle before, in a first the online retailer has teamed with graphic novel publisher Archaia to publish Tumor, an original graphic novel by writer Joshua Fialkov and artist Noel Tuazon, initially in a digital edition formatted specifically for the Kindle; Tumor will be released serially on the Kindle before a hardcover print edition is published.
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Red 5 Hits with iPhone App
With digital downloads of comics for various desktop and handheld devices getting more and more attention, several comics publishers are getting additional sales through iPhone downloads. One of the surprise success stories has been Red 5.
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Brian Fies Looks Back at the Future
There was a time when the future was something to look forward to. That’s the spirit Brian Fies captures in his graphic novel, Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? , published this month by Abrams. “It really stems from a joke—‘It’s the 21st century. Where is my flying car and jet pack?’—and looking back and turning over the question in my mind—what did happen to the fun stuff?” Fies said.
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Otakon ‘09: Good Attendance and Sales; Some Complaints
The unofficial registration for this year's Otakon, an annual anime and manga convention held July 17-19 at the Baltimore Convention Center, was 26, 350, up slightly from last years attendance of 26, 262. Although fans showed up in force (and in costume) and vendors generally seemed pleased with sales, there were complaints about the organization of Artists Alley and the programming—including one anime panel that was abruptly halted for inappropriate content.
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Comics Briefly
Yen Press Plans Twilight Manga; Rand’s Anthem to be Graphic Novel; Penguin Grabs Sex Is Fun; Spider-Man party at Hanley's; Mouse Guard RPG Nominated; Stan Lee's Time Jumper Premier; Taymor on Spider-Man Musical; SDCC 09: Papercutz, CBLDF, G4; and This Week @ Good Comics for Kids
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Relationships and Preconceptions: Fumi Yoshinaga’s Ooku
The Ooku is the area of Edo Castle, the legendary ancient Japanese military capital, where the Shogun’s wife, concubines and female relatives lived during Japan’s Edo period (1603-1868). In Fumi Yoshinaga’s new alternate history manga Ooku: The Inner Chambers, the Ooku is instead the residence of the Shogun’s husband and concubines, for in this Japan, the women rule.
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'Mastering the Art of French Cooking' Reaches Young Readers Again
In 1960, editor Judith Jones couldn't have known how much Mastering the Art of French Cooking would impact young cooks. Yet Nora Ephron, who moved to New York in 1962, says at the time, the cookbook was “standard equipment for an apartment: a couch and a copy of Julia’s cookbook.” Now, Julie & Julia has the chance to make MtA a must-have once more.
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Review: Save the Deli
Just a few chapters in to this collection of deli portraits, you’ll find yourself hungry for hot pastrami sandwiches, matzo ball soup, maybe even ready to try some gribenes (chicken skin fried in chicken fat). Freelance writer Sax has found some truly outstanding delis, and interviews deli owners, meat cutters, and customers, digging deep into local histories wherever he visits.
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Short Order: July 20
Summer in the city means casual lunches at Landmarc (for Suzan Colon's Cherries in Winter, a November memoir from Doubleday) and cocktail parties in hidden Tribeca courtyards (for Barbara Lynch's Stir: Mixing It Up in the Italian Tradition, a Houghton November release). There's also news from Kyle Books, as well as the presentation of the Gourmand Awards in Paris.
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Cooking the Books with Andrea Israel and Nancy Garfinkel
Andrea Israel and Nancy Garfinkel pictured their novel-slash-cookbook, The Recipe Club: A Tale of Food and Friendship, as a beautifully designed hardcover, color throughout, incorporating recipes and other illustrations with narrative text. Traditional publishers bucked at their vision, so the two Brooklynites decided to publish it themselves, and founded Polhemus Press.
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Children's Book Reviews: 7/20/2009
This week's children's book reviews include Lucy Cousins's dazzling take on some classic fairy tales and the first and only picture book from the late Eden Ross Lipson, as well as new novels from Gary Paulsen, Kristin Cashore, Berkeley Breathed, Jane Smiley and Ellen Hopkins.
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Perseus to Distribute Photographer Anne Geddes
Beginning January 1, 2010, Perseus Distribution will handle sales and distribution for books by Anne Geddes, the photographer known for her work with children. Geddes’s books were previously published and distributed in North America by Andrews McMeel. Under the new arrangement, the books will be published under the Anne Geddes imprimatur.
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Smaller Christian Retail Show is All Business
Most attendees gave the 2009 International Christian Retail Show good marks with lots of business being done despite a drop in attendance.
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The Stand Graphic Novel Finally Comes to Bookstores
Marvel Comics and Random House’s Doubleday Broadway Publishing Group have reached an agreement to allow The Stand: Captain Trips, the hardcover graphic novel adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand, to be distributed in the general bookstore market beginning in January 2010.
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Asterios Polyp: A Tour De Force of Imagination and Drawing
One of the most talented comics artists of this generation, David Mazzucchelli first came to prominence as a superhero artist before moving on to make his reputation as a cartoonist of rare literary nuance and significance. This month Pantheon is publishing Asterios Polyp, Mazzucchelli’s first original graphic novel and a book about which not much has been revealed over the ten years or so that he’s been working on it.
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The First Asian American Comicon Is a Cool Success
The first Asian American Comicon opened its doors at the newly built Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) in downtown New York City to a long line of attendees. The space, designed by Maya Lin, architect of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C., quickly filled up well beyond its capacity. More than 500 people visited the museum for the show. Many came specifically to meet guest of honor Larry Hama, who has penned Marvel's G.I. Joe series for the past 20 years.
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Funnies Business: Quantifying Library Penetration for Graphic Novels
Did you ever wonder how many copies a graphic novel could sell in the library system? Figuring out what a graphic novel could do is a bit of a puzzle. Libraries are an up and coming market for graphic novels (or “graphic fiction” or reprint collections; go ahead and pick your terms of choice).
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