The big news in our world this week – the latest book by Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus: Son of Neptune, went on sale. We’ve been selling books and tickets for Riordan’s signing here next Monday, October 10th, 3pm like crazy. We have plenty of books and tickets left, give us a call or come on down.
Tennessee sealed a sales tax deal with Amazon – the online retailer won’t have to pay sales tax for at least two years, and has vowed to create 2,000 jobs and invest a total of $350 millions dollars in the state in the mean time.
In California, Amazon reversed a decision to sever ties with affiliates (the severance was a voluntary decision on Amazon’s part made during their sales tax battle with the state) and invited them to re-enroll.
Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer won the 2011 Nobel Prize for Literature. Moments before the announcement, a Serbian newspaper announced that Serbian writer Dobrica Cosic had won the prize, using a fake website designed to look like the Nobel Prize’s website. The purpose of their hoax? “….to bring to the attention of the Serbian public dangerous influence of the writer Dobrica Cosic, who has been, again this year, proclaimed by some as a serious contender for the Nobel Prize in Literature.”
The National Book Award Foundation named its 5 Under 35 – five young writers to watch.
Children’s books were front and center at this years Mountains and Plains Booksellers Association meeting in Denver last week, where, as President of the Association, our own Children’s Book Buyer Meghan G. put on her sparkly heart antennae and got to work.
Maurice Sendak gave another spirited interview this week, in which he discussed how his upbringing by difficult and troubled parents influenced his dark style of storytelling for children, and said of ebooks, “I hate them. It’s like making believe there’s another kind of sex. There isn’t another kind of sex. There isn’t another kind of book! A book is a book is a book.”
Harry Potter ebooks have been put on hold until 2012, according to the Pottermore blog.
The Oxford English Dictionary removed the term “cassette tape” from the dictionary. Really?
Random House bought Rod Stewart’s memoir this week.
Jeffery Eugenides takes New York’s Time Square with this new billboard for The Marriage Plot.
Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections will be turned into a TV series by HBO.
Fox has bought the rights to turn Lev Grossman’s The Magicians into a TV series.
And if you haven’t already heard, both Franzen and Grossman will be in town next Friday, October 14th in conversation at Bass Concert Hall. Tickets are still available, check the Bass website. We’ll be there selling books, stop by and say hi.
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