A New Role for ‘Nanny Diaries’ Authors

In 2002, Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus suddenly found themselves in the spotlight when The Nanny Diaries, their debut novel based on their experiences as Manhattan nannies, hit the bestseller lists. Now, seven years later, they have published their first YA novel, The Real Real (HarperTeen), centering on a 17-year-old whose life takes a similarly dramatic turn when she is cast in a reality show filmed at her Long Island high school.

A Tweet Treat?

Forget watching The View. On Wednesday morning, plugged-in booksellers, writers and fans instead viewed a live, one-hour Twitter exchange between Nancy Mercado, executive editor of Roaring Brook Press, and Nan Marino, author of Neil Armstrong Is My Uncle and Other Lies Muscle Man McGinty Told Me. Are author-editor tweet-fests the marketing wave of the future? Perhaps.

I Spy... a Series with Legs

Aimed at readers who like heroines that are more concerned about pulling off covert operations than pulling off the perfect outfit, the first two books in Ally Carter’s Gallagher Girls series have been steadily gaining fans for the past few years. This week, the third book, Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover, also starring teenage spy-in-training Cammie Morgan, went on sale with a 250,000-copy first printing.

MoCCA Festival's Heated Success

Overcoming some administrative snafus and a lack of air conditioning, this year's MoCCA festival was another successful show for indie comics, with long-awaited major works—David Mazzucchelli's Asterios Polyp, Seth's George Sprott—vying with unexpected treats—Kazimir Strzepek's The Mourning Star #2—and a wealth of foreign cartoonists showing off their chops.

The Wages of Sinfest

After nearly 10 years of writing and drawing Sinfest, a popular satirical webcomic about angels, devils, sex and politics, Tatsuya Ishida is publishing a book collection of the strip due from Dark Horse this month.

Terry Moore Talks Echo; SiP Omnibus and More

Terry Moore prepares to release a three-volume hardcover Strangers in Paradise omnibus at San Diego Comic Con, while he also publishes the sci-fi romance/thriller, Echo.

Comics Briefly

Sales, Temperatures Sizzle at MoCCA 2009

Despite having to overcome the daunting combination of a new venue, an overheated hall and organizational gaffes, this year’s MoCCA Art Festival drew impressive crowds and offered another vibrant display of the state of indie comics and graphic novel publishing.

Photo Mania: MoCCA Art Festival 2009

Pictures from the 2009 MoCCA Art Festival at the Lexington Avenue Armory

Encyclopedia of Country Living Lives On

Talk about a long tail: Seattle independent Sasquatch Books posted a 14% growth last year, and the driving force behind that increase was not a new book, but an old one—a very old one—about living off the land. The Encyclopedia of Country Living is now in its 10th edition, and has sold 650,000 copies to date. It’s a happy success story, and one many publishers, big or small, would envy.

Two New Orleans Cookbooks for Fall

Cookbook publishers have long mined New Orleans’s famous cuisine, releasing books on its classic restaurants and legendary chefs. Although most don’t become national bestsellers, last year's Cooking Up a Storm was nominated for a James Beard Award. This fall brings two more New Orleans-focused cookbooks, DamGoodSweet by David Guas and Raquel Pelzel (Taunton Press) and My New Orleans by John Besh (Andrews McMeel Publishing).

Review: Real Food for Mother and Baby

Nina Planck, an expert on whole, unprocessed, local, traditionally produced food, practices what she preaches in this memoir cum guidebook. Her food guidelines for fertility, pregnancy, nursing and young kids propose a wide variety of whole grains, seasonal vegetables and fruits, and raw milk and organic animal fats necessary for healthy pregnancies and fetal and childhood development--instead of skim milk, “carbage”(junk carbohydrates) and trans-fats.

Short Order: June 8

The popular blog Cake Wrecks celebrate cakes inspired by children's books (recognize that hungry caterpillar?), the Lee Bros. host a kickin' fiesta at BEA, David Bouley cooks a meal inspired by Tom Standage's new book, Slate highlights international cookbooks, and Top Chef's new show features chefs who've written books.

Cooking the Books with Celia Sack

Celia Sack opened Omnivore Books on Food in San Francisco last November. Her 560 square-foot space carries a mix of old and new books (but not many by Food Network authors) and has already hosted signings by Ruth Reichl, Deborah Madison, Molly Wizenberg and other heavyweights. Sack talked to Cooking the Books about her first six months in business.

Fiction Book Reviews: Week of 6/8/2009

Reviewed this week, the new Stieg Larsson, A.S. Byatt, Stephen White, Joyce Maynard and indie sensation Muriel Barbery. Plus, country music star Sara Evan's inspirational romance, playwright Victor Lodato's smashing debut and Colombian author Juan Gabriel
Vásquez's first apperance in the States.

Children's Book Reviews: Week of 6/8/2009

This week's reviews include picture books from Arnold and Adrianne Lobel, Alison McGhee and Kathryn Lasky; new fiction from Kate Thompson, Andrew Clements and Francine Prose; not to mention a roundup of some gift books perfect for graduations, birthdays and other occasions.

PW's Pick of the Week: Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon

Three disparate characters and their oddly interlocking lives propel Await Your Reply, an intricate novel about lost souls and hidden identities from National Book Award—finalist Dan Chaon (You Remind Me of Me).

Minotaur Moves Beyond Genre

Andrew Martin is a man on a mission, a mission to change the industry's perception of the mystery imprint he's been heading for the last three years. Martin, as publisher of Minotaur Books, which releases some 140 titles annually, is pushing a message to the publishing community that his imprint is about more than strong, small-run backlist genre mysteries, it's also about “big, noisy blo...

Rizzoli and Empire Open Hamptons Store/Gallery

Rizzoli and Empire Gallery in Sag Harbor, N.Y., are joining forces to open the Rizzoli Bookstore at Empire Gallery at 197 Madison Street, Sag Harbor, this summer. The hybrid bookstore/art gallery will sell more than 90 new Rizzoli titles and will host author events throughout the summer.

BookExpo America 2009 Remains Strong for Comics Publishers

The book publishing industry may be in a crisis over the future of BookExpo America, but you couldn’t tell that from talking to comics and graphic novel publishers at the show. Comics publishers big and small seemed to have nothing but praise for this year’s BEA, citing a steady stream of foot traffic, meetings, deals and new opportunities during the show.