TODAY'S NEWS

Sports Publishing Close to Sale?
By Dermot McEvoy
Sports Publishing LLC of Champaign, Ill. is close to being sold. "We have been working on a transaction for many, many months with a company in Chicago," publisher Peter Bannon told PW via e-mail. "That process has been difficult and has taken much longer than anticipated, but I believe will be consummated within the next few weeks. There are authors and vendors that have gotten caught in the middle of this transaction and that is unfortunate. Hopefully there will be some finality soon." Read on »

Beaufort Said to be U.S. Publisher for ‘Jewel of Medina’
By Jim Milliot
It appears that Beaufort Books will be the U.S. publisher of The Jewel of Medina. Beaufort, a New York independent publisher which typically gives authors no advance but splits royalties, had a big hit last year when it published O.J. Simpson’s controversial book If I Did It after it had been dropped by HarperCollins. Now the house is hoping lightning will strike twice.

Beaufort publisher Eric Kampmann was unavailable this morning to confirm if Beaufort will take on Jewel, but sources said Kampmann and his sales force have been soliciting orders, aiming for a pub date in late October. An independent publicist hired to promote Jewel, Michael Wright, also wouldn’t confirm that Beaufort is the publisher, but said an announcement about who will publish the book will be made Monday. Read on »

Rich Dad Lawsuit Settled
A lawsuit filed by Sharon Lechter against Robert Kiyosaki and his wife Kim has been settled with Lechter receiving an undisclosed sum from the Kiyosakis. Lechter was a co-author with Robert Kiyosaki of several bestselling titles in the Rich Dad Poor Dad series and helped launch the Rich Dad Co. Under the agreement, the Kiyosakis have bought out Lechter’s stake in the company. “I’m glad we’ve come to a settlement," Kim Kiyosaki told PW. She said she and Robert had different ideas for Rich Dad than Lechter, and that while the litigation was unpleasant “it’s given us a clear direction for the company.”

The Rich Dad Co. has seven books set for release in 2009, beginning in January with the publication of Rich Brother, Rich Sister by Robert and his sister Emi who has adopted the Buddhist name of Tenzin Kacho. Other titles set for next year include Rich Couple by Kim Kiyosaki and an as yet untitled book by Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump on how to turn an average opportunity into a big pay day.

Print Run Continues to Rise for ‘Hockey Mom’
by Jim Milliot
Interest in Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, and the book about her, continues to grow. Epicenter Press, the Washington state publisher with the only book on the Alaska governor, has gone back to press with Lightning Source for another 11,000 copies of Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska’s Political Establishment Upside Down, bringing the total number of copies done with the print-on-demand publisher up to 51,000. Epicenter publisher Kent Sturgis said a 25,000-copy offset print run is due to ship Monday, bringing the total number of copies in print to 76,000. The publisher may need to go back to press again soon, however, as orders are closing in on 100,000. Sturgis said Epicenter is waiting to get a sense of sell-through before heading back to press. First books should be arriving in stores now. Read on »

Ford Leaving Hachette
Beth Ford has tendered her resignation as COO of the Hachette Book Group USA and opted to leave the book business altogether. Ford, who will depart the company at the end of the month, has taken a job as a senior executive at the consumer goods packager International Flavors and Fragrances. Ford joined Hachette (from Scholastic) in August 2007. HBGUSA CEO David Young said his search for a new COO will begin immediately and that, in the interim, he will oversee the departments Young was handling--IT, customer service, distribution, fulfillment and strategic planning.

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B&N Gulf Stores Still Opening
Barnes & Nobles provided an update yesterday on the status of its stores in the Gulf Coast region following Hurricane Gustav. According to a spokesperson, all of its employees are safe and returning to their homes. Seven of B&N’s stores were affected by Gustav and not all have been re-opened. The company’s stores in Gulfport, Miss., and Lafayette, La. have opened and the company expects to open the majority of its remaining stores over the weekend.

AAP Offers Downloads for Editor Web Casts
The AAP's new program of web casts featuring editors previewing their winter 2009 titles, Book Editors Online & Unscripted, will now offer downloadable chapter excerpts to those who register online for the program. Media, industry professionals and others interested in the web casts can register for them here. The web casts begin September 16 and, in addition to the previously announced lineup of editors, Kathryn Court, president and publisher of Penguin Books, will also be participating in the program.

Monday's Reviews Today: Baker's Strong Debut & French on Naipul
Tiffany Baker's "exuberant" debut, The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, follows an oversized teen named Truly growing up in a bleak upsate New York town. Blending, as our critic notes, elements of John Irving, Anne Tyler and Margaret Atwood's writing this family drama has "all the earmarks of a hit" and deserves to "race up the bestseller lists." In Patrick French's V.S. Naipul biography, The World Is What It Is, the focus is on the women who occupied, and haunted, the author's life. It's their stories that will keep readers "glued to the pages of this disturbing biography." Read on »

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Sarah Manguso; True Blood; Bob Woodward’s Bush Bombshell
On today’s Leonard Lopate Show, Sarah Manguso went through The Two Kinds of Decay: A Memoir (FS&G, $22). From PW’s starred review: “What makes this lightning-quick book extraordinary is not just Manguso's deadpan delivery of often unthinkable details... but the compassion she acquires as she comes to understand her pain in relation to the pain of others: suffering...” Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Williams Has the Force in Malibu
Author Sean Williams recently stopped by DIESEL, A Bookstore, in Malibu, Calif., to read from his new book, Star Wars: The Force Unlimited (the official tie-in novel to the LucasArts video game of the same name). Williams is pictured here with a few members of the dark side. Submit your pictures here »

JOB OF THE DAY

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