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Why I Write: Michael Psilakis
I grew up in a Greek bubble on Long Island, nurtured by immigrant parents who raised their kids as though they had never left the homeland. Through a tumultuous adolescence and into young adulthood, writing was one of the few outlets I had to express my emotions. It was a valuable part of my life. As I got older, though, and eventually found that my true passion was cooking, the written word fa...
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Handicapping the Michael Jackson Books
When Michael Jackson died on June 25, publishers scrambled to get everything they had on the King of Pop into stores and online. The results have been varied, from new deals for out-of-print titles to foreign-rights sales for self-published authors. PW breaks down some of the current and forthcoming MJ books.
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Children’s Book Reviews: 8/10/2009
This week: picture books by Jon Scieszka and David Shannon, Deborah Hopkinson and Carson Ellis, and Yin Chang Compestine and James Yamasaki; novels from Patricia Reilly Giff, Ann M. Martin, Kaleb Nation and Adriana Trigiani; and an extensive round-up of fall picture-book biographies.
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Web Exclusive Reviews: 8/10/2009
This week, stars for Michael Gecan's study of America's Midlife Crisis, Amir D. Aczel's archeological adventure, Idan Ben-Barak's tour of microbes, Sam Chapman's gossip-busting management techniques, James M. Bergquist's history of the mid 19th Century, and Julia M. Usher's plans for eight awesome cookie parties.
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Prime Cuts: Cookbooks Remain Hot
Julie & Julia opened last week, bringing Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking—specifically her boeuf bourguignon—back into vogue. The film, based on Julie Powell's memoir Julie & Julia and on Child's autobiography, My Life in France, is also giving cookbooks a major boost.
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Panel Mania: Cat Burglar Black
In Richard Sala's Cat Burglar Black, K., a teenage girl who was raised in an orphanage where she was trained as a thief, is sent to a boarding school for cat burglars on a mysterious aunt's recommondation. In this preview K. shows off her skills to her new classmates. Cat Burglar Black will be released by First Second on September 1st.
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What Are You Reading?
Throughout August we’ve been featuring kids across the country, talking about the books they’re reading this summer.
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Q & A with Gennifer Choldenko
Q: When you finished writing Al Capone Does My Shirts, did you think Moose’s story wasn’t finished? How did this second book come about?
A: Actually, while I was working on the first book, there was so much material and I tried to shove it all in the first book. But honestly, it was so challenging to write the first book. So when I finished the first one, I did not want to do a second one. I knew there was a lot more to Moose’s story, but I needed time away from it. -
Mobil Travel Guides to Become Forbes Travel Guides
A tried and true travel guide is getting a major overhaul: starting in October, Mobil Travel Guides will be known as Forbes Travel Guides. The exclusive licensing agreement also means that the Mobil Four and Five Star Award designation for hotels, restaurants and spas will go by the new name of Forbes Four and Five Star Award, beginning with the 2010 ratings announcements.
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Stitches: Peering into a Dark Past
A newcomer to the world of graphic novels, David Small has already captured the attention of the industry and readers. The Caldecott-winning artist is a veteran illustrator of children’s books. His first graphic novel, Stitches: A Memoir, was one of the hits of BEA, and has been making the rounds of the blogs leading up to its publication on September 8.
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Miyazaki Receives Triumphant Welcome in US
Hayao Miyazaki, who is known for his feature length animation movies such as Princess Mononoke, Porco Rosso, Howl’s Moving Castle, and his 2003 Academy Award winner, Spirited Away, visited California as part of the effort to welcome and promote his new movie, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.It was also a chance for Americans to honor the revered director.
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To Japan and Back: Cirque du Freak Travels the World
Darren Shan's Cirque du Freak is a story with legs: originally an Irish young adult novel, it was licensed in Japan and proved so popular there that it was adapted into a manga with art by Takahiro Arai. It's the story of a boy who takes a flyer for a mysterious circus only to find it has a cast of ghoulish performers. Now U.S. graphic novel publisher Yen Press is translating the manga into English, with an initial print run of 65,000 copies for volume 1.
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Comics Briefly
70 Years of Marvel Comics; Quesada, Kidd, Mazzuccheli in Bryant Park; New Book from Howard Cruse; Radical, Random House in Distribution Pact; C2E2 Tickets On Sale; iPhone App Tops on iTunes; Twilight's Meyer in Female Force; Martinbrough Unveils Website; Fresh Ink Comic-con 09 Video; Murs Raps; Vanguard Animation, Vanguard Press Ink Deal; Viz Manga Free Online; This Week @ The Beat and This Week @ Good Comics for Kids
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Publishing Sales Flat at Marvel
Publishing revenue at Marvel Entertainment was flat in the second quarter, slipping from $31.8 million to $31.7 million. Operating income fell more noticeably, dropping 6.8%, to $10.9 million.
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Life in Comics: The Shape of the Industry
In March, the New York Times inaugurated its Graphic Books best seller list, just in time to acknowledge the runaway sales of Watchmen, as the trade paperback reaped the benefits of movie hype. ("Comics have finally joined the mainstream,” wrote George Gene Gustines in the NYT's Arts Beat Blog.)
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The Legendary Stan Lee Talks Manga and Ultimo
The legendary Stan Lee was on hand at Comic-con this year to promote Ultimo, a new manga series he is working on for Viz Media in collaboration with the noted manga-ka Hiroyuki Takei, creator of the bestselling manga series Shaman King. Originally conceived for the Japanese market, Ultimo the story of two mysterious and powerful mechanized figures—one good; the other evil—created by a mysterious scientist/shaman figure that looks suspiciously like Stan Lee himself.
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Cooking the Books with Frank Bruni
Now that Frank Bruni has officially resigned from his post as New York Times restaurant critic, his photo is out there for all the city’s restaurant staffers to ogle. Bruni also airs his life story in Born Round, and talks to PW about his lifelong struggles with food and weight.
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Local Hit Morning Glory Farms Poised to Go National
It’s impressive enough that a book about a farm on Martha’s Vineyard published by a small, local press already has more than 12,000 copies in print. But with the Obamas heading to the Vineyard later this month, the farm behind the book is poised for national visibility.
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Review: Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy: A Feast of 175 Regional Recipes
"No kitchen should be without" this "superb volume" from Lidia Bastianich. The acclaimed restaurateur, PBS star and author, and her daughter, Tanya Bastianich Manuali, offer a stellar array of regional Italian recipes in this tantalizing and lavishly photographed collection.
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Short Order: August 3
The latest round-up of cookbook news includes items on the Frankfurt Book Fair’s new cookbook section, Michael Jackson’s chef’s cookbook, a British wine critic suing Random U.K., chefs up in arms over Phaidon’s book about hot new chefs. Also: tell us about Julie & Julia.
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