Behind the Bestsellers

Bestsellers
Behind the Bestsellers Daisy Maryles -- 11/20/00 Sci-Fi Rides High \| New 'House' for Oprah The Little Pig That Could Sci-Fi Rides HighLast week, three science fiction/fantasy titles landed on PW's hardcover fiction list; this week another--Robert Jordan's Winter's Heat, Book Nine of the Wheel of Time--takes the lead spot after just one week on sale. The three fantasy debuts on the November 13 list were A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin (Bantam), Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Balance Point by Kathy Tyers (Ballantine) and Servant of the Shard by R.A. Salvatore (TSR/Wizards of the Coast). The latter two did not make it to the top 15 this week, but both are right below, in the #16 (Star Wars) and #19 (Servant) slots. Martin's book is the third book in the Song of Ice and Fire series that debuted in 1996 with A Game of Thrones; the second book, A Clash of Kings, was pubbed last year. All three books got rave reviews (including some PW stars) and have enjoyed strong sales. The newest book has about 160,000 copies in print after three trips to press, and Martin is in the midst of a 12-city tour. Fans will be happy to note that he is already working on book 4, A Dance with Dragons. Balance Point was released with a 200,000-copy first printing and Ballantine is supporting the title with ads in USA Today, Sci-Fi magazine and other media. The Star Wars trilogy video, on sale November 21, will have a "Value Booklet" featuring the book's back cover and a $3 coupon toward the book's purchase. Servant of the Shard is the sequel to last year's bestselling The Spine of the World. TSR's initial print run for the new book is 150,000. Jordan's ninth in the very popular Wheel of Time series is the second in the series to land in first place; Book 8, The Path of Daggers did the same in 1998 and stayed on PW's weekly charts for nine weeks. First printing for Heat is 600,000 copies, and Tor calculates that there are more than 10 million copies in print for the nine books combined, and that they are available in at least 16 languages. Back in '98, we noted in this column that Jordan is one of the most discussed authors online and is also one of the only two genre authors (the other is Tolkien) who is the subject of an official Usenet newsgroup. New 'House' for OprahIn a departure from her past several on-air book club selections, Oprah Winfrey announced last Thursday that her newest pick was by a male author. House of Sand and Fog, by Andre Dubus III, was originally published by Norton in February 1999; it was a National Book Award finalist and one of PW's Best Books of 1999. And according to Ms. Winfrey, "It's unlike anything I've ever read. I had to repeatedly tell myself, 'Take a breath--it's only a book!' " The Vintage paperback edition, published in January of this year, had gone back to press eight times (total copies in print: 160,000) before Oprah's announcement. Now, said publicity director Russell Perreault, the publisher will be reprinting an additional 850,000. The Little Pig That CouldThe boundless energy of Olivia, Ian Falconer's porcine creation currently starring in her own picture book, seems to be paying off. Even before its October 1 pub date, the original first printing of 30,000 copies was bumped up an additional 20,000, and as of November 1, the book is in its sixth printing with 180,000 copies in print. Two more printings have been ordered, which will bring that total to 250,000 by January. These numbers are impressive, to say the least, for any book--but the fact that this is a picture book from a first-time author/illustrator casts an even brighter light on this pig. The title, published by Atheneum/Anne Schwartz Books, is selling well all over: indies, chains and mass-market retailers, including Safeway and Target. The media has picked up on Olivia's appeal as well; in addition to reviews in a variety of national papers and magazines, it has landed on Best Books lists in Time, People, Child, SLJ and PW. All of this success has put the book on the New York Times children's bestseller list for the past six weeks, the Book Sense bestseller list for the past four weeks, and on PW's children's bestseller list for the past two months. With reporting by Dick Donahue and Jason Britton

Bestsellers

Behind the Bestsellers
Daisy Maryles -- 11/20/00

Sci-Fi Rides High | New 'House' for Oprah
The Little Pig That Could

Sci-Fi Rides HighLast week, three science fiction/fantasy titles landed on PW's hardcover fiction list; this week another--Robert Jordan's Winter's Heat, Book Nine of the Wheel of Time--takes the lead spot after just one week on sale. The three fantasy debuts on the November 13 list were A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin (Bantam), Star Wars: The New Jedi Order, Balance Point by Kathy Tyers (Ballantine) and Servant of the Shard by R.A. Salvatore (TSR/Wizards of the Coast). The latter two did not make it to the top 15 this week, but both are right below, in the #16 (Star Wars) and #19 (Servant) slots. Martin's book is the third book in the Song of Ice and Fire series that debuted in 1996 with A Game of Thrones; the second book, A Clash of Kings, was pubbed last year. All three books got rave reviews (including some PW stars) and have enjoyed strong sales. The newest book has about 160,000 copies in print after three trips to press, and Martin is in the midst of a 12-city tour. Fans will be happy to note that he is already working on book 4, A Dance with Dragons. Balance Point was released with a 200,000-copy first printing and Ballantine is supporting the title with ads in USA Today, Sci-Fi magazine and other media. The Star Wars trilogy video, on sale November 21, will have a "Value Booklet" featuring the book's back cover and a $3 coupon toward the book's purchase. Servant of the Shard is the sequel to last year's bestselling The Spine of the World. TSR's initial print run for the new book is 150,000.

Jordan's ninth in the very popular Wheel of Time series is the second in the series to land in first place; Book
8, The Path of Daggers did the same in 1998 and stayed on PW's weekly charts for nine weeks. First printing for Heat is 600,000 copies, and Tor calculates that there are more than 10 million copies in print for the nine books combined, and that they are available in at least 16 languages. Back in '98, we noted in this column that Jordan is one of the most discussed authors online and is also one of the only two genre authors (the other is Tolkien) who is the subject of an official Usenet newsgroup.

New 'House' for OprahIn a departure from her past several on-air book club selections, Oprah Winfrey announced last Thursday that her newest pick was by a male author. House of Sand and Fog, by Andre Dubus III, was originally published by Norton in February 1999; it was a National Book Award finalist and one of PW's Best Books of 1999. And according to Ms. Winfrey, "It's unlike anything I've ever read. I had to repeatedly tell myself, 'Take a breath--it's only a book!' " The Vintage paperback edition, published in January of this year, had gone back to press eight times (total copies in print: 160,000) before Oprah's announcement. Now, said publicity director Russell Perreault, the publisher will be reprinting an additional 850,000.

The Little Pig That CouldThe boundless energy of Olivia, Ian Falconer's porcine creation currently starring in her own picture book, seems to be paying off. Even before its October 1 pub date, the original first printing of 30,000 copies was bumped up an additional 20,000, and as of November 1, the book is in its sixth printing with 180,000 copies in print. Two more printings have been ordered, which will bring that total to 250,000 by January.

These numbers are impressive, to say the least, for any book--but the fact that this is a picture book from a first-time author/illustrator casts an even brighter light on this pig. The title, published by Atheneum/Anne Schwartz Books, is selling well all over: indies, chains and mass-market retailers, including Safeway and Target. The media has picked up on Olivia's appeal as well; in addition to reviews in a variety of national papers and magazines, it has landed on Best Books lists in Time, People, Child, SLJ and PW. All of this success has put the book on the New York Times children's bestseller list for the past six weeks, the Book Sense bestseller list for the past four weeks, and on PW's children's bestseller list for the past two months.

With reporting by Dick Donahue and Jason Britton