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PIETSCH'S IN CREAM
Little, Brown and its editor-in-chief, Michael Pietsch, are having a great spring, and Oprah has a lot to do with it. The house is jumping because Oprah's 24th book club pick, White Oleander by Janet Fitch, a debut novel, comes right on the heels of Anita Shreve's The Pilot Wife, published by LB's Back Bay division. As publisher Sara Crichton said, "It's like having Ed McMahon ring your bell twice in a row with your Publishers Clearing House winnings." And all is peachy for Pietsch, editor of both picks.

So, how did Fitch's book get onto Oprah's radar screen? The secret ingredient here was serendipity -- and the right circle of friends. Everyone at the house loved White Oleander and to jumpstart that early buzz, LB sent out advance reading copies. A new LB senior editor, Judy Clain, formerly a Hollywood scout, enthusiastically sent some to various friends, one of whom happened to be taking a beach vacation with her friend -- the inimitable Oprah. Apparently Oprah's reading material was not up to par. She saw how much her friend was enjoying the Fitch book, and borrowed the copy. After she read the book, Oprah took the unusual step of calling Pietsch to find out if she could be the reader for the audio version of the book. (No surprise that the Time Warner Audio features the #1 talk show host as reader.)

The good news reached LB a few days before White Oleander's pub date, but -- in the usual style of these picks -- mum was the word until Oprah made the announcement on May 6 (actually that date was about 10 days later than originally planned, due to Oprah's coverage of the Littleton, Colo., tragedy). Fitch's book was published April 14 with a first printing of about 20,000 copies. After a reading in New York City, the author began her six-city West Coast tour, including her home town, Los Angeles. Fueling that were stellar reviews, including a starred one in PW that called the book, about a young girl and her life in different foster homes, a "poignant, virtuosic, utterly captivating narrative."

In time for the Oprah announcement, LB went back to press for an impressive 650,000-copy second printing and will be sending Fitch on a nationwide reading tour. And where did Pietsch discover Fitch? The two met at the Squaw Valley Writing conference about five years ago. Fitch's previous writing credits include an excerpt from the book printed in Black Warrior Review that was shortlisted in Best American Short Stories 1994 and a Clarion YA novel, Kicks, published in 1995. It, too, got a PW starred review, noting that "true to its title, this accomplished work packs quite a kick. No question, a kicky time is being had by all.

FOR WHOM THE BELLES TOLL
Things are doubly "beautiful" these days at Broadway Books: Frances Mayes's Bella Tuscany is in its fourth week on our nonfiction list, where it was joined last week by the publisher's LaBelle Cuisine: Recipes to Sing About by diva Patti LaBelle with Laura B. Randolph. "From the time I was a little girl," writes the irrepressible songstress in her book's introduction, "I knew there were two things in this world I wanted to do -- sing and cook." Having handily fulfilled one of those ambitions, LaBelle appears to be addressing the second with great success. Five weeks after the book's publication (April 6), Broadway's 100,000-copy first printing has been augmented with three trips back to press, for a total of 132,500. Media appearances for LaBelle (who's no stranger to the publishing world -- her autobiographical Don't Block the Blessings spent six weeks on PW's list in late '96) have included a full hour with Oprah, a cooking-cum-singing gig on Good Morning America, a visit to the Roseanne show and a host of satellite tours throughout her just-concluded 10-city tour. Last Friday LaBelle demonstrated her potato salad on the QVC network. Still to come are articles in Family Circle and Bon Appetit.


With reporting by Dick Donahue.