Schwartz and Savage, who are accustomed to writing about attractive, rich, spoiled teenagers from Orange County, Calif., should feel right at home penning lines for the attractive, rich, spoiled teenagers from Manhattan's Upper East Side that populate Von Ziegesar's books. The Gossip Girl of the title writes a dishy blog about her sex-driven, hard-partying friends and their exploits. The first 10 Gossip Girl books have sold more than two million copies. The 11th installment, Don't You Forget About Me, is due out in May.

Participation literally spanned the globe, with kids taking part in China, Israel, Haiti, Australia and Malaysia. Verification materials from participants could be postmarked as late as January 5, so the final count could change a bit. Once all the paperwork is filed with The Guinness Book of World Records, it takes approximately eight weeks for a record to be certified. Watch this space for official word. —Shannon Maughan

1. Eragon. Christopher Paolini. Knopf, various editions
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2. Eldest. Christopher Paolini. Knopf, various editions
3. New Moon. Stephenie Meyer. Little, Brown/Tingley, $17.99 ISBN 978-0-316-16019-3
4. Twilight. Stephenie Meyer. Little, Brown/Tingley, $17.99 ISBN 978-0-316-16017-9
5. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Kate DiCamillo. Candlewick, $18.99 ISBN 978-0-7636-2589-4

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The book that I've been having so much fun editing is Daemon Hall (June '07). Industry folk would probably never figure me for publishing a psychological thriller, but then again, they may not know that I loved Stephen King as a teen and read widely in the thriller genre. In my 15 years at Holt, I've longed to find a ghost story that combined great writing with chilling suspense, and kept me turning the pages. I found it in Daemon Hall. It's about five teens who become finalists in a short-story writing contest held by a bestselling thriller writer. Their prize is to spend the night in a haunted mansion with the writer himself and share their stories; the winning story will see publication. Everything, of course, goes wrong and the teens start disappearing.

The challenge in editing this book has been to make sure the individual stories work as both contained and connected stories within the larger frame of the story—and that the mystery holds together through it all. A puzzle wrapped in an enigma, and so on. It's been a fascinating project to be a part of and I'm really excited for the author, Andrew Nance, as this is his first book.

The manuscript was sent to me a few weeks before my third child was born. I remember trying to read it late at night and getting so creeped out by it. But I couldn't get an offer together before I went on leave. I crossed my fingers and hoped that the author was willing to wait for an answer when I returned. All worked out.