You Go, Girls!
by Daisy Maryles -- Publishers Weekly, 1/27/2003
Back in early September, Algonquin was boasting about selling out its 50,000 first printing for Lee Smith's The Last Girls (a Shannon Ravenel Book), and went back for an additional 40,000. A key ingredient in its success was its pick as the #1 Book Sense title for September/ October. Excellent reviews (including a starred one in PW) also helped fuel sales, as did a 25-city tour (interrupted for more than a week for the birth of Smith's first grandchild). A two-day paperback auction with five bidders occurred at the end of October; Ballantine got the rights for $445,000. More luck followed when Good Morning America chose it as the January book club pick. The discussion segment about the book, which was read by the Charlottesville Men's Book Club, will air today (January 27), with Smith appearing —the first time GMA has had one of its book club authors on the air. The Last Girls (it's book #14 for Smith) is hovering right below the top 15 on PW's chart. Algonquin went back for a third printing of 75,000 for the GMA announcement, making 165,000 copies in print.
