TODAY'S NEWS

Stinehour Press to Close
The Stinehour Press, one of the country’s best known independent printers of high-end illustrated books, will shut down by the end spring. The announcement was made Monday by CEO Warren Bingham who, with a group of investors, acquired the company in 2002 after the multinational company that bought the press from the Stinehour family in 1998 said it planned to close the printer. Bingham explained that after an initial infusion of funds helped to turnaround the press, continued pricing pressure from foreign manufacturers made it impossible to move forward without new capital that would enable Stinehour to upgrade its equipment. Bingham said he has had discussions with possible buyers over the last several years and while some deals came close, “they never quite came through.” Read on »

PoliPoint Getting 'Real McCain' Message Out Via Bloggers
by Jim Milliot
PoliPoint Press has been using the liberal blogosphere to promote its just-shipped title exposing some of Sen. John McCain's less appealing traits that are chronicled in The Real McCain: Why Conservatives Don't Trust Him and Why Independents Shouldn't. The campaign was devised by industry consultant Beau Friedlander who is betting that by leaking newsy items about the book to sympathetic bloggers he can create enough interest to move sales, and interest the traditional media to take a look at the book, written by Cliff Schecter. Read on »

DC Commuters to Get Free Book Excerpts
By Edward Nawotka
Starting May 5, Washington D.C. commuters will find Bit o’ Lit thrust into their hands as they make the trek down the escalators into the Metro. The new twice-monthly free magazine is expected to offer 32 pages of book excerpts, as well as reviews of films adapted from books, local literary listings and brief author profiles. Bit o’ Lit will be published every other Monday in a minimum first printing of 20,000 copies. The magazine will be supported by advertising and publishers pay to place excerpts on a cost-per-page basis. Read on »

Simon & Schuster Signs A.J. Jacobs for Two More Books
By Lynn Andriani
Bestselling author A.J. Jacobs, famous for his stunt-type books that have chronicled his efforts to know everything (The Know-It-All) and live according to the rules in the Bible (The Year of Living Biblically)—has signed a deal to do two more books for Simon & Schuster. The first is a memoir, The Healthiest Human Being in the World; and the second is a collection of essays, Life Is a Great Experiment. The books will be published in fall 2009 and fall 2010. Sloan Harris at ICM made the deal for world rights with S&S executive editor Marysue Rucci. Read on »

The PW Morning Report
By Dermot McEvoy
2008 Pulitzers; Simon Michael Bessie Dead; Borders Refinances; Blue Talk From the Straight Talk Express?; Sharon Son to Pen Memoir; Acres of Books in Jeopardy?; and 21 the Movie, Fact or Fiction? Read on »

Blogs

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Rosie’s Crafty U; Marilu’s Wear Your Life Well; Patrick Cockburn’s Muqtada
This morning on both Good Morning America and The Martha Stewart Show, Rosie O’Donnell demonstrated Rosie O'Donnell's Crafty U: 100 Easy Projects the Whole Family Can Enjoy All Year Long (S&S, $21.95). Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Sur La Table Readies Its First Branded Cookbook
Cookbook author Marie Simmons signed copies of her new book, Things Cooks Love, which is the first in a series of books from specialty cookware retailer Sur La Table. Andrews McMeel is publishing three Sur La Table books in 2008, and four in 2009. Submit your pictures here »

JOB OF THE DAY

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