Around the Leagues

The fall season in sports books might begin with baseball, but the other major sports get their share, as does the somehow unkillable sport of boxing. Highlights follow of books that fans will want to have.

The Medium Is the Ball Game

Last week, author Jane Leavy was at the New York Times visiting Richard Sandomir, the newspaper's sports media critic. Sandomir offered to show her the kinescope of the famous 1960 World Series Game 7 between the Yankees and the Pirates, which ended on a home run by Pirates second baseman Bill Mazeroski.

Seeking and Finding

"While the moniker 'New Age' is becoming a bit passé, it's not becoming old age," says Llewellyn publisher Bill Krause. "We have many new and fresh voices populating our frontlist and complementing the stalwarts of our backlist." The category has broadened along with American consumers' definition of spirituality, and mainstream media gurus like Oprah and Martha Stewart readily espouse the importance of connecting mind, body, and spirit—the four-word label that's become the alternative title for this category.

Pussies Galore

Judging from publishers' submissions for this article (and those of previous years), cat books are not published in the same numbers as dog books are—despite cats outnumbering dogs as pets—but the right cat memoir can be just as successful as any canine tale.

Novel Canine--and Kitties

Forge associate editor Kristin Sevick agrees with her colleagues when she says, "Readers are turning to dog books in droves, not just because they love dogs but because of the sense of peace the stories give them."

Barking Up the Write Tree

A no-brainer: Americans love their pets. Moreover, they put their money where their hearts are.According to a March 2009 article on PetConnection.com, U.S. consumers spent more than $43 billion on food, supplies, medicine, and health care for their pets in 2008, making that business the eighth largest in the country, ahead of the candy and toy industries. Consumers now spend more than $18 billion annually on pet food alone.

The Sound of Music... in Words

For those of us who write about music, the songs or the singers or the musicians themselves are our inspiration. But as we try to put the sound we hear on the page—to use a different medium in which to communicate our experiences—it is often other writers who help us "transpose" the music to the written word.

Battle Cry

Whether in real life with the Iraq War hitting the seven-year mark and the Afghanistan War seeing record casualties in June, or in movie theaters—where Restrepo and last year's The Messenger have won raves and The Hurt Locker raked in six Oscars—war and the military are central to American culture.

2010 Regional Trade Show Roundup

There is a lot going on at this year's regional trade shows—amid the planning and between the lines there is a real sense of relevance, balance, and excitement that has been conspicuously absent from recent gatherings.

Healing Words

Not so long ago, getting expert health information usually required waiting in line—or at least having an appointment. These days, a click of the remote or pressing the power button on your computer can call up a host of medical professionals willing and ready to dispense advice.

How to Make It in America

If you want real perspective on America's vibrant cultural milieu, skip the politics section at your local bookstore and head straight to the cookbook aisle. There, in the pages of our cookbooks, one finds the true flavors of America.

Erotica--Fanning the Flames

While the breakneck pace by which erotica publishers turned out titles as recently as two years ago may have slowed, the category's influence on culture—and on publishing—continues apace. The demand for explicit sexual writing is as strong as ever, and readers want characters with a range of desires and experiences, and stories that push the limits of their fantasies.

Tightly Knit

The name Alice Starmore may be unfamiliar to many, yet editions of some of her most sought-after, out-of-print books—filled with complex, distinctive knitting patterns accomplished using specific yarns—routinely fetch $200 to $400 online. Her designs inspire awe, and her reputation for strongly enforcing her design copyrights can also inspire outrage. Regardless, she is a legend among knitters.

Fall 2010 Religion Listings

A big season, with lots of titles, lots of big names: Max Lucado (Thomas Nelson), Philip Yancey (FaithWords), Deepak Chopra (HarperOne). Football names are on the field (Deanna Favre, Tim Tebow) as pop culture remains in play. The 400th anniversary of the King James Bible cometh, and two potential saints—John Henry Newman and Pope John Paul II—are examined. Peruse the possibilities.

Why I Write: Siobhan Fallon

An army base is a strange place. An army base in a time of war , especially after 4,000 men pack up their duffel bags, put on their uniforms, and leave their wives and children for an entire year. In You Know When the Men Are Gone, I attempt to show that world and the moments that lead up to the separation, the long and difficult absence, the return.

Startups for Fall: First Fiction

As usual, we begin our seasonal listings by highlighting 10 promising debut novels. Among the intriguing protagonists: a drug dealer's sibling home from a prison stretch, a Catholic priest questioning his professional path, a young woman--er, zombie--seven years into her afterlife. Siobhan Fallon, whose army major husband served two tours in Iraq, starts us off by describing what happens when the husbands are away.

Fall 2010 Hardcover Listings

Let's think about the fall when, hopefully, the oil leak in the Gulf is capped, the sound of vuvuzelas is a distant memory, and booksellers and –buyers are enthralled by Paul Roberts's book-length profile of Exxon or Jane Leavy's vivid evocation of when Mickey Mantle was an American hero.

Trade Paperback Listings 2010

Back to Business

Finally turning the page on 2009, publishers of business management books are feeling optimistic, focusing their energy on topics that suggest the worst just may be behind us, and on books that speak of rebuilding, reinvesting, reconsidering, and reinvigorating.

Why I Write: Eileen Dreyer

When I was on maternity leave with my second child, I got the bright idea to read all the classic literature I'd missed in school. Don't get me wrong. I had an excellent education. But I went through high school during the '60s, which meant that instead of Silas Marner, I read Animal Farm. Instead of Dickens, Ralph Ellison. I managed to avoid most English Victorian authors, as well as all the French and Russians.