Shine A Light

From The Telegraph — Stephen King will delay releasing his newest title as an e-book:

“Stephen King fans hoping to download his new novel will be disappointed, following a decision by the bestselling horror writer to support the print version of the book.
Joyland, published on June 4 in the US and June 7 in UK, will only be available in print format, a radical decision for an author widely thought of as a digital pioneer. In 2000, he made one of his short stories, Riding The Bullet, only available as an ebook, priced at $2.50. The decision by such a high profile author was considered to be a turning point in e-publishing.
Speaking of Joyland, King told the Wall Street Journal: ‘I have no plans for a digital version. Maybe at some point, but in the meantime, let people stir their sticks and go to an actual bookstore rather than a digital one.’ …”

Besides being Shakespeare’s birthday (and Miguel de Cervantes’s birthday as well), this is also World Book Night! I shall be hitting the streets, giving out copies of Margaret Atwood’s THE HANDMAID’S TALE. Please drive carefully, and don’t hit any book givers.

From the Guardian: Why e-books are a different genre from print

From Publishers Lunch: The American Booksellers Association has announced the candidates for this year’s Indies Choice Awards. The winners will be named April 18. Among the finalists:

Adult Fiction

• The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, by Jan Philipp Sendker (Other Press)
• Beautiful Ruins, by Jess Walter (Harper)
• Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, by Ben Fountain (Ecco)
• The Dog Stars, by Peter Heller (Knopf)
• The Orphan Master’s Son, by Adam Johnson (Random House)
• The Round House, by Louise Erdrich (Harper)

Adult Nonfiction

• Elsewhere, by Richard Russo (Knopf)
• The End of Your Life Book Club, by Will Schwalbe (Knopf)
• Quiet, by Susan Cain (Crown)
• Thomas Jefferson, by Jon Meacham (Random House)
• Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson (Grove Press)
• Wild, by Cheryl Strayed (Knopf)

Adult Debut

• The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker (Random House)
• In the Shadow of the Banyan, by Vaddey Ratner (Simon & Schuster)
• A Land More Kind Than Home, by Wiley Cash (William Morrow)
• The Orchardist, by Amanda Coplin (Harper)
• The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey (Little, Brown)
• The Yellow Birds, by Kevin Powers (Little, Brown)

The winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize was Tan Twang Eng for his novel The Garden of Evening Mists.

From Shelf Awareness:

The winners of the Books for a Better Life Awards, sponsored by the Southern New York Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and honoring “self-improvement authors whose messages are aligned with the chapter’s mission of inspiring people to live their best lives,” are:

• Childcare: The Circumcision Decision by Susan Terkel and Lorna Greenberg (Carrot Seed)
• Cookbook: Crazy Sexy Kitchen by Kris Carr (Hay House)
• First Book: Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan (Free Press)
• Green: The American Way of Eating by Tracie McMillan (Scribner)
• Inspirational Memoir: The End of Your Life Book Club by Will Schwalbe (Knopf)
• Motivational: Daring Greatly by Brene Brown (Gotham Books)
• Psychology: Far From the Tree by Andrew Solomon (Scribner)
• Relationships: Happily Even After by Carole Brody Fleet (Viva)
• Spiritual: Seven Thousand Ways to Listen by Mark Nepo (Free Press)
• Wellness: The Best Care Possible by Ira Byock (Avery)

From Publishers Lunch:
The Los Angeles Times Book Prize announced finalists in 10 categories, with winners to be awarded at a ceremony at USC campus on Friday, April 19. Margaret Atwood will receive the Innovator’s Award while Kevin Starr will receive the Kirsch Award. Some of the finalists:

Fiction
Jami Attenberg, The Middlesteins: A Novel (Grand Central)
Michael Chabon, Telegraph Avenue (Harper)
Ben Fountain, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (Ecco)
Lauren Groff, Arcadia (Voice/Hyperion)
Lydia Millet, Magnificence (Norton)

The Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction
David Abrams, Fobbit (Black Cat, Grove/Atlantic)
Kevin P. Keating, The Natural Order of Things (Aqueous Books)
Lydia Netzer, Shine Shine Shine (St. Martin’s)
Maggie Shipstead, Seating Arrangements (Knopf)
Robin Sloan, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Book Store: A Novel (FSG)

Biography
H.W. Brands, The Man Who Saved the Union: Ulysses Grant in War and Peace (Doubleday)
Robert Caro, The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson (Knopf)
Alice Kessler-Harris, A Difficult Woman: The Challenging Life and Times of Lillian Hellman (Bloomsbury Press)
David Nasaw, The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy (Penguin Press)
R.J. Smith, The One: The Life and Music of James Brown (Gotham Books)

Click on link for complete list.

In November, Knopf will publish a new Bridget Jones book by author Helen Fielding. The first was “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” and the second was “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason.” This one is as yet untitled.

From a press release:

Helen Fielding — the British writer whose wildly popular newspaper column depicting a 30-something single woman living in London in the 1990s became a worldwide book publishing sensation — has written a new novel. The book, also in the voice of Bridget Jones, will be published in the U.S. by Alfred A. Knopf in November, with a first printing of 250,000 copies. The announcement was made today by Sonny Mehta, Knopf Chairman and Editor in Chief.

First published in 1996, Bridget Jones’s Diary was an international bestseller that is credited with launching the chick lit phenomenon. It was followed in 1999 by a sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Together, the two novels sold over 15 million copies and were published in 40 different countries, and they were both adapted into successful films staring Renee Zwellweger, Hugh Grant, and Colin Firth.

“Few writers can rival Helen Fielding when it comes to fully capturing the modern woman,” said Mehta. “Her writing is both funny and heartfelt, and her observations about life are piercing and mordantly rendered. I have been waiting a long time to see what’s next for Bridget Jones, and I am beyond thrilled that she’s back.”

The new novel represents a totally new phase in Bridget’s life. “My life has moved on,” says Fielding, “and Bridget’s will move on, too.” The story will be set in present-day London, with Bridget at a later stage in her life. “I hope people will have as much fun reading it, as I am writing it.”

From Publishers Weekly: What were the best-sellers in 2012? They list the Top 10 in these categories: adult fiction, children’s fiction, romance, audio, mystery, science fiction, biography/autobiography, cooking, business, and history.

From Shelf Awareness:

Today, Random House is introducing a Facebook app called BookScout that “lets users share favorite books with friends and then receive reading recommendations based on their own preferences,” the New York Times wrote. “The sharing takes place on Facebook but is focused just on books, and it is stripped of the social network’s extras, like chat groups.” BookScout includes selections from many publishers, not just Random House.