Hyperion Hypes New Irish Novel With Pre-pub Bookstore Tour
by Daisy Maryles, PW Daily for Booksellers -- Publishers Weekly, 9/15/2003
What did you do during the last 12 months? If you're Cecelia Ahern, you finished your first novel (that took about three months), found an agent and had your manuscript sold to 15 countries (for serious bucks), and had it optioned by a big film studio. Sounds like a fantasy that no first-time author would even dare dream.So who is Cecelia Ahern? That is not a question that booksellers and media will be asking in a few months. Certainly not after Ahern's U.S. publisher, Hyperion, is done with its launch of her debut fiction, P.S., I Love You, due out early next February. Hyperion president Robert Miller sent reps and selected book industry members early bound manuscripts with a covering letter.
Here's the opening sentence: "You may have heard that we preempted this first novel for seven figures [the number was $1 million for two books; the author has already begun to write the second], that movie rights have already been sold to Forrest Gump producer Wendy Finerman [a major six-figure option], that it's been snapped up by 15 countries, and that the author is a gorgeous 21-year-old who also happens to be the daughter of the Prime Minister of Ireland." (Gorgeous is a word that Hyperion uses often in talking about its new author. A fact sheet notes the following: "She's blond, gorgeous and charming.")
The book was bought by Hyperion executive editor Peternelle van Arsdale after she read about its sales in the U.K. and Germany in PW Rights Alert. She contacted Ahern's agent, Marianne Gunn O'Connor in Ireland, and was sent the first 10 chapters (the book has 51). That was enough to convince her and the folks at Hyperion. Van Arsdale told PW that while there was no outline for the rest of the story, when the finished book came in, everyone was more than pleased.
So what's the book about? Here's more from the Miller letter: "You may have heard that this is a book about a young woman whose beloved husband has just died, leaving ten letters for her to open over ten months--ten letters that will keep them connected beyond death, and that will ultimately help her move on. You may have heard that while the premise is a sentimental one in the Nicholas Sparks vein, the spirit and humor of the book remind many readers more of Maeve Binchy."
The book is being published "out-of-catalogue," according to Miller, "to get a jump on all of this pre-publication excitement." And to build that buzz, the publisher brought Ahern to the States from Dublin for a pre-sell tour to meet with booksellers in Chicago (including Barbara's Bookstore and the Book Stall), Milwaukee (Harry W. Schwartz), Mississippi (Oxford Books), Memphis (Davis-Kidd), New York (Barnes & Noble) and Boston (including Booksmith and Willow Books). There was also a media lunch with people from PW, Time, the New Yorker, USA Today and more.
Post-publication, Ahern will return to the States for a multi-city tour and then will continue her tour in the U.K. and Europe for nearly three months. Hyperion is planning to send out about 4,000 advance copies to booksellers, reviewers and a big-mouth list. They are still working on a jacket and finalizing details of a teaser ad campaign.
At the media luncheon, Ahern made it a point to talk to all at the table and was charming and poised. Yes, she is beautiful, but even more remarkable is what she accomplished in just her 21st year. She will turn 22 at the end of October, and, considering her good fortune, perhaps that year will be even more miraculous.
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