TODAY'S NEWS

Kindle Drives Amazon to Big Third Quarter
By Jim Milliot
Judging by Amazon’s third quarter results, the e-tailer can carry on its price war with Wal Mart and others for a long time. Total sales for the company rose 28%, to $5.45 billion, in the quarter ended September 30, (and increased 29% excluding exchange rates). Operating income jumped 62% (69% excluding exchange rates), to $251 million. The results appear to have been driven by the Kindle. Although no sales figures were released, Amazon chairman Jeff Bezos said in a statement that the e-reader “has become the #1 bestselling item by both unit sales and dollars – not just in our electronics store but across all product categories on Amazon.com. It’s also the most wished for and the most gifted.” Read on »

Amazon To Release Kindle for PC Application
By Calvin Reid
Beginning in November, Amazon will begin offering free downloads of Kindle for PC, an e-reading application that will allow consumers to download Kindle edition e-books to any PC running Windows 7, Windows XP or Windows Vista and read them on the PC. While the new application will allow Kindle owners to read their previously purchased Kindle titles on their PCs, it will also allow anyone with a PC to buy and download Kindle e-books directly to their PCs. Read on »

It’s the End of the World as We Know It
By Sara Antill
Vampires may live forever, but the recent vampire trend in YA fiction won’t. Author Michael Grant, for one, is “sick to death of vampires,” and he is not alone. But when one hugely popular trend ends, what will take its place? Some readers have their fingers crossed for post-apocalyptic fiction.

Grant, along with fellow authors Scott Westerfeld, Carrie Ryan, and James Dashner, gathered with fans at Barnes and Noble on Manhattan’s Upper East Side last Thursday to discuss their latest books, as well as the future of this “bleak future” genre. Read on »

Wall Street Journal to Run BookScan Bestseller Lists
By Lynn Andriani
The Wall Street Journal is running bestseller lists from Nielsen BookScan, starting today. Nielsen is providing three weekly charts, for hardcover fiction, hardcover nonfiction, and business. The charts will appear in the print newspaper and on WSJ.com every Friday. The paper previously previously developed its own bestseller lists, which are being replaced by the Nielsen lists. Read on »

Winstanley Named Penguin Canada Publisher
By Leigh Anne Williams
Changes in Penguin Group’s global management structure announced in Frankfurt have also led to a reorganization at Penguin Group (Canada). With president and publisher David Davidar named CEO of a new division, Penguin International, Nicole Winstanley will step into the publisher’s role next January with Davidar remaining as Penguin Canada president. Read on »

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MORE STORIES

Wiley Signs Tony Little for Biz Book
John Wiley & Sons has inked a deal with fitness guru Tony Little for a motivational business book called There's Always a Way. Little, who adopted the name "America's personal trainer" and sells fitness videos, exercise equipment and other products on TV--Wiley says he's sold over $3 billion worth of stuff--will discuss his rags-to-riches tale in the December 2009-slated title. Holly Root of the Scott Waxman Agency did the deal, and Shannon Vargo will edit.

Job Moves
Dennis Eulau has been promoted to executive v-p, operations and CFO of Simon & Schuster. In his new role Eulau will add responsibility for all of S&S’s financial operations, including budgeting, forecasting, accounting, royalties, and risk management, corporate strategy and policy, while also continuing to oversee the company’s book production, distribution and supply chain, and information systems and technology. Eulau, who will report to S&S CEO Carolyn Reidy, replaces David England who resigned. In a related announcement, David Byrnes, who had been at S&S parent company CBS, is joining S&S in the newly created position of v-p, finance and strategic planning, reporting to Eulau.

Monday's Reviews Today: Coonts's New Thriller & American Imperialism Before, and After, 9/11
In Stephen Coonts's new "nail-biting near-future thriller" The Disciple, CIA operative Tommy Carmellini is back, this time trying to stop an elaborate plot by the Iranian president to start World War III. Per our review: "Hardly a page passes without nerve-stretching tension or flat-out action." And in the essay collection How They See Us: Meditations on America, editor James Atlas pulls together a variety of narratives "around the impact of U.S. foreign policy before and after September 11." Featuring a wide range of contributors, from academics to media figures, the collection is "full of humor and pathos in equal and abounding measure." Read on »

The PW Morning Report
DoJ and Pricing; Google Critics Seek Further Delay; No Weak Links! ScrollMotion Releases E-Reader App; The Next Big Thing; Amazon Answers Questions Read on »

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Astro Boy; Amelia; Gore Vidal
Movies opening today include Astro Boy, directed by David Bowers, starring the voices of Nicholas Cage, Kristen Bell, Donald Sutherland and Nathan Lane and based on Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy manga series. Tie-ins from IDW Publishing: Astro Boy: Movie Adaptation by Scott Tipton and E.J. Su (978-1600105173, $17.99) and … Movie Prequel by Scott Tipton and Diego Jourdan (978-1600105180, $17.99). Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Toasting the Jewish Deli
On Monday night Houghton Mifflin hosted a party to celebrate the release of David Sax’s Save the Deli. The event, at Ben’s Delicatessen in Manhattan, drew over 400 people. Sax is pictured here, at the event, with Jelvis, the Jewish Elvis. Submit your pictures here »