TODAY'S NEWS

Frankfurt Quiet, But Not Dead
By Rachel Deahl
Necessities, and not luxuries, is how Frankfurt Book Fair director Jurgen Boos characterized books at the opening press conference on Tuesday. Whether books are, in fact, "resistant to economic cycles of boom and bust," as Boos put it, is certainly the question percolating in Germany. Is this a slow Frankfurt? (According to stats from the Fair exhibitor attendance is down slightly from last year, from 7,448 total exhibitors in 2007 to 7,373 this year while agency attendance is up, from 471 last year to 510 this year.) Is the so-called economic crisis already having a ripple effect on sales and acquisitions? A number of agents said the Fair, while quiet, is still yielding plenty of business. Read on »

'Ruby's Spoon' to S&G
by Matthew Thornton
Ruby's Spoon, a debut novel by Anna Lawrence Pietroni that has generated much buzz in Frankfurt, will be published in the U.S. by Spiegel & Grau with Juile Grau besting two other bidders for U.S. rights. Chatto & Windus took U.K. and translation rights in a heated auction on the eve of the fair. Tina Bennett at Janklow & Nesbit handled both sales. Read on »

Paulo Coelho's Frankfurt Moment
By Rachel Deahl
The Wednesday of the Frankfurt Book Fair, in many ways, belonged to Paulo Coelho. The Brazilian author was the man of the hour at both the opening of the day's event and its close, being feted in a party hosted by his American publisher, HarperCollins. Coelho, whose work has been translated in more than 66 languages and who boasts over 4 million copies sold of his most popular title alone (The Alchemist), kicked off the Fair's opening press conference by dissecting his bullish attitude on digitzation and the power of free material on the Web. It was, as Coelho noted in his speech, a pirated version of The Alchemist that appeared in Russia in 1999 that gave the author a huge boost in the country. After its appearance, Coelho said his sales jumped from 1,000 copies sold to 10,000 in year. Today, Coelho's sales in Russia top out over 10 million. Read on »

Bloomsbury to Open in Doha
by Liz Thomson
Bloomsbury, working in concert with the Qatar Foundation, has launched a publishing operation in Doha. Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing (BQFP ) will publish in both English and Arabic, focusing on books of "excellence and originality" in both the trade, educational/academic spheres. Titles will be published around the world by Bloomsbury and translation rights sold where appropriate. Read on »

Pushing A Self-Published Book in Frankfurt
By Rachel Deahl
Although it's not generating the kind of buzz that comes with reports of six and seven figure offers, a new self-published biblical novel, being shopped by Robert Gottlieb at Trident, is one of the interesting books coming out of the rights tent. The Lost Epistle of Jesus, which Gottlieb signed just before the Fair, was written by Evan Drake Howard, a Rhode Island-based Baptist minister with his own church. Gottleib, who said the book is just on submission in the U.S. with roughly nine houses reading the manuscript, has already sold rights in Brazil and has "serious interest" from publishers in France, Germany and Spain. Read on »

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AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Jon and Kate Gosselin; Black Men Built the Capitol; Billie Jean King on Oprah
Today on Good Morning America: Jon & Kate Plus 8’s Jon and Kate Gosselin, authors of Multiple Blessings: Surviving to Thriving with Twins and Sextuplets (Zondervan, $19.99), just out this week. After the jump: George Hamilton, Billie Jean King, Robert Reich and Iyanla Vanzant. Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Book TV
Scott Peterson, Book TV on C-SPAN, interviews Helen Hemphill, author of The Adventurous Deeds of Deadwood Jones (Front Street, Nov. 1, 2008), about her new book and what she's reading now. Peterson conducted author interviews at the Southern Festival of Books outdoor site. The Bookin' It C-SPAN tour bus was parked for tours at the Festival during the week-end. Submit your pictures here »

JOB OF THE DAY

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