Broadway Lights

Thirteen books and 30 million copies in print are part of the Judith McNaught bestseller legacy. That number includes her latest national bestseller, Someone to Watch over Me; it is her fastest out-of-the-gate seller and is setting a few records. Atria Books claims the first printing of 350,000 copies is her largest yet, and the book's one-day laydown (February 18) was very effective. It lands in the #3 slot with just over a week in the stores—the highest first-week rank McNaught has achieved. In keeping with the show-biz theme (the plot involves a famous Broadway actress), the publisher's advertising included heavy rotation during on-sale week on the Viacom Billboard, which featured the book and author (see photo). Atria also sent the author on a 14-city tour that's running through the end of March. To reinforce the Broadway motif, the publisher and Romantic Times teamed up on a special promotion giveaway: two readers chosen through a drawing were flown to New York to have dinner with McNaught at Le Cirque and see The Lion King.