A Heartland Winner

While Pulitzer Prize–winning political cartoonist Doug Marlette has yet to crack the national bestseller charts, his first novel, The Bridge, has been doing well on his home turf's regional list, compiled by the Southeastern Booksellers Association. The book appeared on the SEBA charts several times in December and has sold out its 23,000-copy first printing. HarperCollins is going back to press for an additional 3,000 copies. The publisher is planning to tour him again in February and March and is hitting up the media for more coverage. The book was chosen as a Book Sense Top 10 pick, which certainly helped sales. It didn't hurt that many radio and talk show hosts liked Marlette's spontaneity and conversation. And there's more good news—Paramount bought film rights.

With reporting by Dick Donahue.