LOOK OUT FOR #1
In life there are two certainties: death and taxes. Here's one more: Hannibal by Thomas Harris, one of the more eagerly awaited books in a while, will grab the #1 slot on next week's fiction list and will hold on to that spot for a good chunk of the summer. Delacorte already upped the 1.3-million-copy first printing within 24 hours of the June 8 laydown date, making the new total 1.5 million copies, and expects to go even higher within a week. The house tells us that early reports from booksellers across the country confirm that Hannibal is selling in record numbers. The book got a lot of attention prior to publication and lots more on pub date. Attempts to embargo reviews before June 8 were not entirely successful; a glowing one from Stephen King ran in the June 13 New York Times Book Review, which subscribers saw a week earlier. PW abided by the embargo. A starred, boxed review appears in this week's Forecasts; that review also ran in our e-mail PW Daily for Booksellers on laydown date. June 8 also saw lots of broadcast attention, even a mention in Jay Leno's monologue. On that date, Harris did a reading on broadcast.com -- an Internet site that averages 1.1 million users per day. Delacorte also offered a free excerpt from Hannibal (downloadable from the What's New section on www.thomasharris.com). Harris introduced Hannibal Lecter in his 1981 bestselling novel, Red Dragon, and made him a central character seven years later in The Silence of the Lambs; the Dell paperback of the latter has sold 10 million copies worldwide.

'ENDURANCE' KEEPS SAILING
Caroline Alexander's The Endurance, which sold more than 98,000 copies in 1998, continues to sell at impressive speed. Knopf is going back to press for a seventh printing, bringing the total to 220,000, and there are no signs of slowing down. To continue the wave, Knopf and Orient Lines, one of the few cruise lines to offer tours to Antarctica, are sponsoring a consumer contest; the prize is an eight-day trip to Antarctica. The lucky winner and a guest will sail on the Marco Polo, embarking Jan. 5, 2000, to the white continent. With Alexander along as speaker, plus an expert expedition team, the winners can retrace Shackleton's footsteps. In September, entry forms will be available at bookstores nationwide. Alexander's book tour also continues and she will draw the names of the lucky contest winners at the Miami Book Fair in November.

ENCORE, ENCORE, ENCORE!
Bestselling author Peter Mayle has done it again, with his latest, Encore Provence, just published by Knopf. For a summer/Father's Day promotion, the bookseller who creates the most magnifique window display celebrating Provence (and, of course, its best import, Peter Mayle) will be transported, with a guest, to Provence for five days of gastronomic pleasure, even dining with Monsieur Mayle himself. Airline tickets are courtesy of Air France and accommodations are provided by Hostellerie Berard. Knopf will select the winner shortly after Father's Day. The book has just gone back to press for a third printing of 12,000 copies, bringing the total to 153,500. Now that the author is again living in the south of France, he's not going on an extended tour to promote the book in this country, but he has taped a segment for The Today Show that is expected to air very soon.

THE FACE OF SUCCESS
Iris Johansen certainly enjoys a devoted readership. She is the author of three consecutive million-copy-plus suspense bestsellers -- The Ugly Duckling, Long After Midnight and And Then You Die. Now, her fourth novel of suspense, The Face of Deception, can be added to the bestseller record. Just published as a Bantam mass market paperback June 1, Deception, which introduced readers to forensic sculptor Eve Duncan, already has 1.2 million copies in print after three printings. Fans anxious for more suspense from Johansen won't have to wait long. The Killing Game, which again features Eve Duncan, will be published as a Bantam hardcover this September.