Newsletter 2286 Issue 2286200861110161

TODAY'S NEWS

Scholastic Report: Kids Still Read for Fun—Teens, Less So
By John A. Sellers
A new report released today from Scholastic corroborates the findings of the company’s 2006 report on children’s reading habits, finding that pleasure reading in children begins to decline at age eight and continues to do so into the teen years. The study found that a majority of children (68%) think it is “extremely” or “very” important to read for pleasure, and “like” or “love” doing so. However, that number decreases with age: 82% percent of children ages five to eight “like” or “love” reading, compared to 55% for children ages 15 to 17. It also found that although children can readily envision a future in which reading and technology are increasingly intertwined, nearly two thirds prefer to read physical books, rather than on a computer screen or digital device. Additionally, a large majority of children recognize the importance of reading for their future goals, with 90% of respondents agreeing that they “need to be a strong reader to get into a good college.” Read on »

Audio Holdings Buys Durkin Hayes Assets
The Franklin Lakes, N.J. company Audio Holdings, LLC has acquired the assets of Durkin-Hayes Publishing, and will begin re-issuing many of its audiobooks before the end of 2008. Subject areas include children’s books, classics, westerns, romance novels, science-fiction, thrillers, novels, short story collections, and stories and dramas from a variety of world renowned authors. Read on »

Bloodshed at Connecticut Book Party
By Lynn Andriani
The authors of Dinner Party Disasters: True Stories of Culinary Catastrophe, which Abrams published last month, saw their book’s thesis live in action at a recent dinner party, when fists flew over the presidential election just as guests were finishing their entrées. Read on »

Paulo Coelho, MySpace in Movie Collaboration
By Lynn Andriani
Bestselling author Paulo Coelho has teamed with MySpace to create his first feature film, The Experimental Witch. Using the ‘mash-up’ video concept, Coelho will transform his most recent book, The Witch of Portobello, which HarperCollins published last year, into a feature film using original videos and music created and submitted by MySpace users. Coelho will select up to 15 videos and 16 songs to be included in the final film. Coelho will own the film, and distribution of the final product has not yet been set. Read on »

HC To Deliver Election Book from Heilemann and Halperin
By Rachel Deahl
HarperCollins has acquired North American rights to a currently untitled book about the 2008 presidential election to be written by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin. Tim Duggan, v-p and executive editor at Harper, inked the deal with agent Andrew Wylie, and the book, which is slated for a fall 2009 release, will chronicle the Obama-Clinton showdown on the Democratic ticket as well as McCain's surprise victory in the Republican primary. Acknowledging that the subject has been well covered, HC said that this book will go "far deeper than any previous work of reporting" on the campaigns. Duggan said that the authors "have clearly gone where no one else has."

Blogs

MORE STORIES

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Grandmaster Flash; Sidney Poitier; The Ten-Cent Plague
Today, NPR’s Soundcheck talks with Grandmaster Flash about his brand new memoir The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash: My Life, My Beats (Broadway, $22.95). After the jump: Sidney Poitier, David Hadju and others. Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Books, Comic Books and a Band
DC Comics's Vertigo imprint threw a rockin' good book party for novelist Rebecca Donner's first graphic novel Burnout (with art by Inaki Miranda) at the Parkside Lounge on New York's Lower East Side. Donner even joined the band, John Frazier and The 8 Year Olds, on stage. Pictured (l. to r.) are Veronica Olvera (on drums), Frazier, Donner and Pinky Weitzman. Submit your pictures here »

JOB OF THE DAY

PW VIRTUAL EDITION

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