Booknews: Charity Begins With Books

News
Booknews: Charity Begins With Books Edited by Judy Quinn -- 12/13/99 *A novel and a 'ChickenSoup'-like series spark bookstore* In the last few weeks, things have been moving forward for Simon & Schuster's upcoming mid-January release Pay It Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde. Oscar buzz actors Haley J l Osment (the young boy from The Sixth Sense) and Kevin Spacey have just committed to star in the planned Bel Air/Warner Bros. film adaptation of the novel, about how a cynical teacher's challenge to student Trevor leads to a project that encourages recipients of a good turn to do unto three others, ultimately transforming the world. The film, to be directed by Mimi Leder, is now on a fast-track production schedule, with principal photography to begin in February. And while movie hype d sn't always translate into book sales, S&S already has met its ambitious goal of a 100,000 first printing for the novel, a significant and therefore somewhat risky six-figure acquisition. Propelling Pay It Forward has been the typical factor of good review attention--while the book's concept could be seen as treacly, there's been a lot of positive response from booksellers since an August ARC mailing and a November 1 starred PW review praised its Capra-esque qualities. But an added bonus in this case is that this fiction's concept lends itself to the kinds of real-life outreach bookstores seek to establish relationships within their communities and with their customers--and all just in time to take advantage of those New Year's resolutions. Thus, to shape the direction of Hyde's bookstore tour, S&S asked booksellers how they would implement a Pay It Forward idea in their community, and the proposals are just now hitting the house. The California-based Hyde, a novelist/short-story writer previously published by tiny Russian Hill Press who was inspired to write this change-of-pace book after her own encounter with some Good Samaritans, will make stops for such cause-related bookstore events at San Francisco's Stacey's Books, which is tying in a homeless advocacy project to the event; Corte Madera's Book Passage, which is holding an author discussion with local high school and middle school students to encourage community service; a Barnes & Noble in Atlanta, which is coordinating a charity "friend-raiser" in which attendees bring friends to a volunteer effort; and, in New York City, Barnes & Noble's Rockefeller Center store, which is running an event in conjunction with the charity New York Cares. Books-A-Million has signed on in a big way: Pay It Forward is a companywide "Clyde's Pick," and a number of its stores will be holding events, which has already ballooned a planned seven-city tour to 12 so far. S&S v-p of marketing Michael Selleck and his staff also devised a Pay It Forward authorless event marketing kit for booksellers, which includes an easel-backed poster encouraging all to "Believe in Your Power to Change the World" as well as Pay it Forward buttons and postcards. The kit is on press now and should be sent to stores in the next few weeks. After the holiday selling crunch and in the new year, S&S will launch an advertising campaign for the book, which focuses on a numerical demonstration of Pay It Forward's multiply-by-three concept. Indeed, S&S publicist Aileen Boyle likes to point out that the mushrooming effect of the Pay It Forward philosophy is already reflected in the book's progress. Not only is the bookstore tour continuing to expand with growing good word, but the book, as d s Trevor's initiative, has expanded beyond U.S. borders, with five foreign publishing deals already secured. And for those cynics who think S&S is only milking an idea to sell one of its books, parent company Viacom has for many years had its own community service program. That relationship has led to one of Pay It Forward's more colorful promos: two New York City high schools, with a long history of gang rivalry, are now working on a Pay It Forward mural, which is on the exterior of one of the schools. "If we had come to them without our [volunteer] program in place, it would have been cynical, but we already have the relationships," said Boyle. And the Pay It Forward mural has already prompted more good works: the once-contentious high schools are now conducting a holiday charity drive. What Pay It Forward hasn't secured so far, however, is a major national media, although that could change once this currently grassroots-marketing-focused book gets closer to pub date. Another small press title that has snagged such attention is Conari Press's The Courage to Give: Inspiring Stories of People Who Triumphed over Tragedy to Make a Difference; co-compiler Jackie Waldman and three contributors were featured in a December 8 Oprah segment. Plenty of publishers have ladled out their own servings of the Chicken Soup for the Soul concept, and Conari Press is no exception: its Stone Soup for the World: Life Changing Stories of Kindness and Courageous Acts of Service was a 85,000-copy seller in 1998. The Courage to Give is the November 1999 followup and is the second title in what the Berkeley, Calif.-based press is now dubbing its Call to Action series, which will also include The Courage for Peace, to be released in January and Teens with the Courage to Give, due in April. Conari went back to press for a second printing of 20,000 in anticipation of increased demand because of the Oprah show. That brings the in-print total to 50,000 copies, a healthy figure these days, although still a drop in the bucket compared to Health Communications Inc.'s original Soup series sales. But Conari likes to emphasize that its series has some differences: it provides the resources and information about the organizations discussed in the books so that readers can get involved. The press launched its new book with a series of "Call to Action" events held in the local communities of the contributors, which feature the contributor sharing his or her story and, often, the affiliated organization involved as well. A Lost Chapter of American Theatre History For actor/writer/director Tim Robbins, the most exciting part of Arena, a memoir he discovered that was written by Hallie Flanagan, about heading up the Federal Theatre Project in the 1930s, was how the FTP-sponsored production of Marc Blitzstein's pro-union musical, The Cradle Will Rock, was shut down when the government deemed it too controversial. The show ultimately went on when the actors and others involved--including Orson Welles and John Houseman--performed the entire play from the audience, thus technically not breaking union rules of appearing on stage The story so captured Robbins's imagination that he has built an entire movie around it--his third written/directed feature, Cradle Will Rock, which hit theaters last week. "I hadn't really been exposed to the legacy of the Federal Theatre Project, and its record of bringing live, thought-provoking theatre to hungry American audiences," Robbins told PW. "I think that art and culture should be challenging, provocative; it should provide audiences with an opportunity to expand their perceptions." Not only d s Robbins hope his film will help to expand perceptions but he's also collaborated with Newmarket Press to create a comprehensive tie-in book, Cradle Will Rock: The Movie and the Moment. Robbins worked with researchers Eric Darton, Nancy Stearns Bercaw and Robert Tracy to carefully weave in sidebars about the history behind the movie, printed alongside his script. The book, which has an introduction by actor Paul Newman, also cleverly juxtaposes historical photos with movie production stills of the actors portraying the historical figures, and Robbins provides a source list in his book for readers who may want to learn more about this forgotten American arts "arena." One source is, of course, Arena, and, thanks to the media attention spurred by Robbins's film, Limelight Editions is now considering bringing back to press its edition of Flanagan's memoir, first published in the 1930s and reprinted by Limelight in 1985, which kept its edition in print until 1992. If Limelight g s ahead with plans, it will have a new edition out by mid-January, which will include the previous edition's introduction by John Houseman as well as a new one by the book's biggest fan. "I believe Arena is so important, it should be required reading in colleges," Robbins told PW. --Michael Tierno No Ennui for Japanese Anime Although it's hard to believe, there's more to the world than just Pokemon. The emerging popularity in this country of Hayao Miyazaki, the director of that more adult-appreciated Japanese animation hit, Princess Mononoke, for example, is proving a boon for the small presses that have been hip to Japanese animation (known as anime), as well as this director, for some time. Berkeley, Calif.-based Stone Bridge Press is now poised to go back to press for Helen McCarthy's Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation, a September 1999 title that has dovetailed nicely with the October U.S film release of Princess Mononoke by Miramax. "It's the fastest we've sold 10,000 copies," said marketing director Don Best, who noted that the house caught a break when Miramax ended up delaying the release of the film, allowing Stone Bridge more time to complete its 240-page, oversized trade paperback. Stone Bridge had commissioned its book around the time Disney/Miramax first bought rights to Hayao Miyazaki's works. The purchase was not solely based on the movie buzz, since the book also was a logical follow-up to the press's 1998 sleeper hit, The Anime Companion: What's Japanese in Japanese Animation, which has sold 20,000 copies to date. Stone Bridge's new title is selling very competitively against Miramax's own official companion book, The Princess Mononoke: The Art and Making of Japan's Most Popular Film of All Time, published by Talk Miramax Books at the time of the film release.Talk Miramax Books has sold out of its 15,000 copy first printing and is set to go back to press. San Francisco-based Viz Communications has long held rights to Nausicaa, Hayao Miyazaki's only work in the Japanese comics (manga) style. Viz is now releasing a four-title graphic novel boxed set of the series to bookstores for the first time. Best said Stone Bridge will still create books for cult fans, but now seeks to reach the newcomer audience to this category. In February, the press will release The Anime Trivia Quiz Book and plans to do a more general, accessible appreciation book on anime by Anime Companion author Gilles Poitras. And while Hayao Miyazaki's animation isn't nearly as omnipresent or omnipotent as the kids' craze Pokemon, Best believes the interest in this artist will continue to grow, especially since Disney has plans to release more of his works either theatrically or straight to video. Rumored next up for this spring is Castle in the Sky (aka Laputa), also covered in McCarthy's Miyazaki appreciation book. (For more on the Japanese manga/anime phenomenon and tie-in book licensing deals, see "Gotta Catch 'Em All," Children's Books, Dec. 6.) A Millennial Mrs. Beeton Many book authors salivate for a piece of Martha Stewart's publishing pie. In the case of Cheryl Mendelson, author of the 884-page housekeeping basics guide Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House (Scribner, Nov.), Stewart herself generously helped launch what could, after all, be considered a rival book by the ruling domestic queen. Stewart had Mendelson on her TV show twice in September; the book then leapt onto Amazon.com's Hot 100 list, still prior to publication. Scribner went back to press twice before the book's official release in early November; since then the house has gone back again, for a current total of 105,000 copies in print. Attracting not only Stewart but a host of breakout media outlets is Mendelson's intriguing background: a lawyer and professor of philosophy by training, she started collecting housekeeping how-to bibles, including 1861's Beeton's Book of Household Management, both for fun and to explore an awakening desire to create and maintain a soothing, well-run home environment. In a first-person essay in the October issue of Talk--an idea pitched to the magazine on the suggestion of Scribner editor Nan Graham--the New York City-based Mendelson expresses what apparently is a boomer zeitgeist: "I was once as familiar with Chinese food in cartons and pizza in the conference room as thousands of others who put in 70- or 80-hour work weeks and return home bedraggled, at midnight, to an unmade bed, sour milk in the refrigerator and last week's unread Sunday paper," Mendelson wrote. "Dissatisfied and restless, I eventually reached back to the world I grew up in, where ideas of good living were inseparable from the skills and values of housekeeping and I rediscovered how to make a home." Newsweek and Wall Street Journal have run prominent reviews of the book and People has run a profile. Mendelson also appeared on CBS's Early Show in the first week of its high-profile revamp. A USA Today profile is in the works as well, and the New York Times plans full review soon. Next up: Scribner is discussing sending Mendelson on a bookstore tour, probably just in time to help with spring cleaning.

News

Booknews: Charity Begins With Books
Edited by Judy Quinn -- 12/13/99
A novel and a 'ChickenSoup'-like series spark bookstore

In the last few weeks, things have been moving forward for Simon & Schuster's upcoming mid-January release Pay It Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde.

Oscar buzz actors Haley J l Osment (the young boy from The Sixth Sense) and Kevin Spacey have just committed to star in the planned Bel Air/Warner Bros. film adaptation of the novel, about how a cynical teacher's challenge to student Trevor leads to a project that encourages recipients of a good turn to do unto three others, ultimately transforming the world. The film, to be directed by Mimi Leder, is now on a fast-track production schedule, with principal photography to begin in February.

And while movie hype d sn't always translate into book sales, S&S already has met its ambitious goal of a 100,000 first printing for the novel, a significant and therefore somewhat risky six-figure acquisition.

Propelling Pay It Forward has been the typical factor of good review attention--while the book's concept could be seen as treacly, there's been a lot of positive response from booksellers since an August ARC mailing and a November 1 starred PW review praised its Capra-esque qualities. But an added bonus in this case is that this fiction's concept lends itself to the kinds of real-life outreach bookstores seek to establish relationships within their communities and with their customers--and all just in time to take advantage of those New Year's resolutions.

Thus, to shape the direction of Hyde's bookstore tour, S&S asked booksellers how they would implement a Pay It Forward idea in their community, and the proposals are just now hitting the house. The California-based Hyde, a novelist/short-story writer previously published by tiny Russian Hill Press who was inspired to write this change-of-pace book after her own encounter with some Good Samaritans, will make stops for such cause-related bookstore events at San Francisco's Stacey's Books, which is tying in a homeless advocacy project to the event; Corte Madera's Book Passage, which is holding an author discussion with local high school and middle school students to encourage community service; a Barnes & Noble in Atlanta, which is coordinating a charity "friend-raiser" in which attendees bring friends to a volunteer effort; and, in New York City, Barnes & Noble's Rockefeller Center store, which is running an event in conjunction with the charity New York Cares. Books-A-Million has signed on in a big way: Pay It Forward is a companywide "Clyde's Pick," and a number of its stores will be holding events, which has already ballooned a planned seven-city tour to 12 so far.

S&S v-p of marketing Michael Selleck and his staff also devised a Pay It Forward authorless event marketing kit for booksellers, which includes an easel-backed poster encouraging all to "Believe in Your Power to Change the World" as well as Pay it Forward buttons and postcards. The kit is on press now and should be sent to stores in the next few weeks. After the holiday selling crunch and in the new year, S&S will launch an advertising campaign for the book, which focuses on a numerical demonstration of Pay It Forward's multiply-by-three concept.

Indeed, S&S publicist Aileen Boyle likes to point out that the mushrooming effect of the Pay It Forward philosophy is already reflected in the book's progress. Not only is the bookstore tour continuing to expand with growing good word, but the book, as d s Trevor's initiative, has expanded beyond U.S. borders, with five foreign publishing deals already secured.

And for those cynics who think S&S is only milking an idea to sell one of its books, parent company Viacom has for many years had its own community service program. That relationship has led to one of Pay It Forward's more colorful promos: two New York City high schools, with a long history of gang rivalry, are now working on a Pay It Forward mural, which is on the exterior of one of the schools. "If we had come to them without our [volunteer] program in place, it would have been cynical, but we already have the relationships," said Boyle. And the Pay It Forward mural has already prompted more good works: the once-contentious high schools are now conducting a holiday charity drive.

What Pay It Forward hasn't secured so far, however, is a major national media, although that could change once this currently grassroots-marketing-focused book gets closer to pub date.

Another small press title that has snagged such attention is Conari Press's The Courage to Give: Inspiring Stories of People Who Triumphed over Tragedy to Make a Difference; co-compiler Jackie Waldman and three contributors were featured in a December 8 Oprah segment.

Plenty of publishers have ladled out their own servings of the Chicken Soup for the Soul concept, and Conari Press is no exception: its Stone Soup for the World: Life Changing Stories of Kindness and Courageous Acts of Service was a 85,000-copy seller in 1998.

The Courage to Give is the November 1999 followup and is the second title in what the Berkeley, Calif.-based press is now dubbing its Call to Action series, which will also include The Courage for Peace, to be released in January and Teens with the Courage to Give, due in April.

Conari went back to press for a second printing of 20,000 in anticipation of increased demand because of the Oprah show. That brings the in-print total to 50,000 copies, a healthy figure these days, although still a drop in the bucket compared to Health Communications Inc.'s original Soup series sales. But Conari likes to emphasize that its series has some differences: it provides the resources and information about the organizations discussed in the books so that readers can get involved. The press launched its new book with a series of "Call to Action" events held in the local communities of the contributors, which feature the contributor sharing his or her story and, often, the affiliated organization involved as well.

A Lost Chapter of American Theatre History

For actor/writer/director Tim Robbins, the most exciting part of Arena, a memoir he discovered that was written by Hallie Flanagan, about heading up the Federal Theatre Project in the 1930s, was how the FTP-sponsored production of Marc Blitzstein's pro-union musical, The Cradle Will Rock, was shut down when the government deemed it too controversial. The show ultimately went on when the actors and others involved--including Orson Welles and John Houseman--performed the entire play from the audience, thus technically not breaking union rules of appearing on stage

The story so captured Robbins's imagination that he has built an entire movie around it--his third written/directed feature, Cradle Will Rock, which hit theaters last week.

"I hadn't really been exposed to the legacy of the Federal Theatre Project, and its record of bringing live, thought-provoking theatre to hungry American audiences," Robbins told PW. "I think that art and culture should be challenging, provocative; it should provide audiences with an opportunity to expand their perceptions."

Not only d s Robbins hope his film will help to expand perceptions but he's also collaborated with Newmarket Press to create a comprehensive tie-in book, Cradle Will Rock: The Movie and the Moment. Robbins worked with researchers Eric Darton, Nancy Stearns Bercaw and Robert Tracy to carefully weave in sidebars about the history behind the movie, printed alongside his script. The book, which has an introduction by actor Paul Newman, also cleverly juxtaposes historical photos with movie production stills of the actors portraying the historical figures, and Robbins provides a source list in his book for readers who may want to learn more about this forgotten American arts "arena."

One source is, of course, Arena, and, thanks to the media attention spurred by Robbins's film, Limelight Editions is now considering bringing back to press its edition of Flanagan's memoir, first published in the 1930s and reprinted by Limelight in 1985, which kept its edition in print until 1992. If Limelight g s ahead with plans, it will have a new edition out by mid-January, which will include the previous edition's introduction by John Houseman as well as a new one by the book's biggest fan. "I believe Arena is so important, it should be required reading in colleges," Robbins told PW. --Michael Tierno

No Ennui for Japanese Anime

Although it's hard to believe, there's more to the world than just Pokemon. The emerging popularity in this country of Hayao Miyazaki, the director of that more adult-appreciated Japanese animation hit, Princess Mononoke, for example, is proving a boon for the small presses that have been hip to Japanese animation (known as anime), as well as this director, for some time.

Berkeley, Calif.-based Stone Bridge Press is now poised to go back to press for Helen McCarthy's Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation, a September 1999 title that has dovetailed nicely with the October U.S film release of Princess Mononoke by Miramax.

"It's the fastest we've sold 10,000 copies," said marketing director Don Best, who noted that the house caught a break when Miramax ended up delaying the release of the film, allowing Stone Bridge more time to complete its 240-page, oversized trade paperback. Stone Bridge had commissioned its book around the time Disney/Miramax first bought rights to Hayao Miyazaki's works. The purchase was not solely based on the movie buzz, since the book also was a logical follow-up to the press's 1998 sleeper hit, The Anime Companion: What's Japanese in Japanese Animation, which has sold 20,000 copies to date.

Stone Bridge's new title is selling very competitively against Miramax's own official companion book, The Princess Mononoke: The Art and Making of Japan's Most Popular Film of All Time, published by Talk Miramax Books at the time of the film release.Talk Miramax Books has sold out of its 15,000 copy first printing and is set to go back to press.

San Francisco-based Viz Communications has long held rights to Nausicaa, Hayao Miyazaki's only work in the Japanese comics (manga) style. Viz is now releasing a four-title graphic novel boxed set of the series to bookstores for the first time.

Best said Stone Bridge will still create books for cult fans, but now seeks to reach the newcomer audience to this category. In February, the press will release The Anime Trivia Quiz Book and plans to do a more general, accessible appreciation book on anime by Anime Companion author Gilles Poitras.

And while Hayao Miyazaki's animation isn't nearly as omnipresent or omnipotent as the kids' craze Pokemon, Best believes the interest in this artist will continue to grow, especially since Disney has plans to release more of his works either theatrically or straight to video. Rumored next up for this spring is Castle in the Sky (aka Laputa), also covered in McCarthy's Miyazaki appreciation book.

(For more on the Japanese manga/anime phenomenon and tie-in book licensing deals, see "Gotta Catch 'Em All," Children's Books, Dec. 6.)

A Millennial Mrs. Beeton

Many book authors salivate for a piece of Martha Stewart's publishing pie.

In the case of Cheryl Mendelson, author of the 884-page housekeeping basics guide Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House (Scribner, Nov.), Stewart herself generously helped launch what could, after all, be considered a rival book by the ruling domestic queen.

Stewart had Mendelson on her TV show twice in September; the book then leapt onto Amazon.com's Hot 100 list, still prior to publication. Scribner went back to press twice before the book's official release in early November; since then the house has gone back again, for a current total of 105,000 copies in print.

Attracting not only Stewart but a host of breakout media outlets is Mendelson's intriguing background: a lawyer and professor of philosophy by training, she started collecting housekeeping how-to bibles, including 1861's Beeton's Book of Household Management, both for fun and to explore an awakening desire to create and maintain a soothing, well-run home environment. In a first-person essay in the October issue of Talk--an idea pitched to the magazine on the suggestion of Scribner editor Nan Graham--the New York City-based Mendelson expresses what apparently is a boomer zeitgeist: "I was once as familiar with Chinese food in cartons and pizza in the conference room as thousands of others who put in 70- or 80-hour work weeks and return home bedraggled, at midnight, to an unmade bed, sour milk in the refrigerator and last week's unread Sunday paper," Mendelson wrote. "Dissatisfied and restless, I eventually reached back to the world I grew up in, where ideas of good living were inseparable from the skills and values of housekeeping and I rediscovered how to make a home."

Newsweek and Wall Street Journal have run prominent reviews of the book and People has run a profile. Mendelson also appeared on CBS's Early Show in the first week of its high-profile revamp. A USA Today profile is in the works as well, and the New York Times plans full review soon.

Next up: Scribner is discussing sending Mendelson on a bookstore tour, probably just in time to help with spring cleaning.