Publishers Weekly articles from April 1996, page 4

Publishers Weekly archives from April 1996

Yes to a Global Ethic: Voices from Religion and Politics.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Voices from Religion and Politics Edited by Hans Kung. Continuum, paper $16.95 (260p) ISBN 0-8264- 0907-5 (Religion/Social thought) in 1993, the Parliament of the World's Religions produced a Declaration of a Global Ethic that urged...

The Dance of the Dissident Daughter.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Sue Monk Kidd. Harper San Francisco, $20 (288p) ISBN 0-06-064588-1 (Religion, Christianity/Women's Studies) The author's journey to capture her fetal-nine soul and to live authentically from that soul makes a fascinating, well-researched and...

Breaking Through God's Silence: A Guide to Effective Prayer.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... A Guide to Effective Prayer David Yount. Simon & Schuster, $20 (224 pages) ISBN 0-684-82419-1 (Christianity/Prayer) Yount, former chairman of the College of Preachers and a member of the executive committee of the Washington National...

Visions and Longings: Medieval Women Mystics.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Medieval Women Mystics Edited by Monica Furlong. Shambhala, $18 (240p) ISBN 0-57062-125-X (Christianity/Mysticism, Spirituality) For readers who might avoid the complete, sometimes daunting works of the 11 women mystics included here,...

Ritual and Devotion in Buddhism: An Introduction.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... An Introduction Sangharakshita. Windhorse Publications, paper $13.95 (125p) ISBN 0-904766-87-X (Buddhism/Praxis, Ritual) Lasting baptism in any faith requires that the believer wade, metaphorically at least, into the water, out beyond knee...

A Passion for Truth.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... The Intellectual Coherence of Evangelicalism Alister McGrath. Apollos/InterVarsity Press, $19.99 (208p) ISBN 0-8308-1694-1 (Christianity/Theology) Over the past three years, a number of evangelical scholars, including Mark Noll and David...

Learning to Dance Inside: Getting to the Heart of Meditation.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Getting to the Heart of Meditation George Fowler. Addison-Wesley, $18 (192p) ISBN 0-201-41039-7 (Spirituality, Religion/Meditation) Fowler spent 17 years obeying a vow of silence as a Trappist monk, then left the order, married and was...

The Essential Maimonides: Translations of the Rambam.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Translations of the Rambam Edited and trans. by Avraham Yaakov Finkel. Aronson, $25 (249p) ISBN 1-56821-464-2 (Judaism/Sacred writings, Theology) Jewish tradition holds that there were two Torahs given to Moses at Mt. Sinai--one written...

Tales of a Seasick Doctor: Life Aboard a Mercy Ship.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Life Aboard a Mercy Ship Christine Aroney-Sine. Zondervan, $12.99 paper (224p) ISBN 0-310-20375-9 (Evangelical Christian/Biography) Australian doctor Christine Aroney-Sine has lived much of her professional life on board the M/V Anastasis,...

The Bible for Children: From the Age of Gutenberg to the Present.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... From the Age of Gutenberg to the Present Ruth B. Bottigheimer. Yale Univ., $35 (327p) ISBN 0-300-06488-8 (Judeo-Christian studies/History, Literary Criticism) This comprehensive analysis of children's bibles, which traces the evolution of...

The Tree and the Vine.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Dola de Jong, trans. by Ilona Kinzer. Feminist Press (Consortium, dist.), $9.95 (152p) ISBN 1-55861-141-X; cloth $27.50 -140-1 Entirely repressed and lacking in self-awareness, Beatrice, the narrator of this slight 1955 Dutch novel is at...

The Voice of Manush.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Victor Walter. White Pine, $14 (264p) ISBN 0-877727-60-1 An overbearing first-person narrator praises and redefines himself at the expense of the story line, credible characters and vivid description. The flaccid plot loosely follows Marko...

Cape Cod Stories: Tales from Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Tales from Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard Edited by John Miller and Tim Smith, introduction by Alice Hoffman. Chronicle, $12.95 ISBN 0-8118-1080-1 th its images of water, sand, boats, architecture, narrow roads, weather and...

Goodness.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Martha Roth. Spinsters Ink, $10.95 (320p) 1-883523-11-7 Minnesota winters, peace demonstrations at the crack of dawn, dope, feminism, sex, Vietnam, parenthood and food co-ops shape the vivid backdrop of Roth's excellent debut novel. Moving...

Einstein, History, and Other Passions: The Rebellion Against Science at the End of the Twentieth Century.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... The Rebellion Against Science at the End of the Twentieth Century Gerald Holton. Addison-Wesley, $14 (256p) ISBN 0-201-40716-7 Science has taken quite a beating in the last few years. Held responsible for everything from environmental...

If You've Seen One, You've Seen the Mall: Europeans and American Mass Culture(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Europeans and American Mass Culture Rob Kroes. Univ. of Illinois, $14.95 (189p) ISBN 0-252-06532-8; cloth $27.50 -02200-9 "Americans often seem to need a foreigner's perspective for a balanced view of what goes on in their own country,"...

The Gates of Damascus.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Lieve Joris, trans. by Sam Garrett. Lonely Planet, $14.95 (300p) ISBN 0-86442-368-3 Lonely Planet has chosen to launch a new line of travel literature books with this well-written reminiscence of a stay in Syria. Belgium-born Joris visited...

The Heart Can Be Filled Anywhere on Earth.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Bill Holm. Milkweed, $13.95 (256p) ISBN 1-57]31-209-9 Holm (Coming Home Crazy) is living once again in the small town of Minneota, Minn., where he grew up, and he is feeling sentimental about it. He is a smart writer and has some interesting...

Iron Lace.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Emilie Richards. Mira, $5.99 (480p) ISBN 1-55166-152-7 Named for the trademark elaborate castiron grillwork of many New Orleans homes, Iron Lace is more aptly suited to describe the protagonists' lives in Richards's (Bayou Midnight) first...

Vice.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Jane Feather. Bantam, $5.99 (432p) ISBN 0-553-57249-0 The last in Feather's string of"V" romances (Vanity, Violet, Vixen), Vice is constructed around a series of predictable rescues from the underbelly of Georgian London. The hero--Tarquin,...

I Promise.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Joan Johnston. Avon, $5.99 (368p) ISBN 0-380-78240-5 Johnston exhibits her versatility with a venture into mainstream, contemporary romance genre. The quick-paced love story/ murder mystery evolves when New York City, judge, Delia Carson, is...

Truly.(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Mary Balogh. Berkley, $5.99 (352p) ISBN 0-425-15329-0 After a couple-dozen pages of sluggish narrative, Balogh (Heartless) hits a brisk stride with this romance set in mid-19th century Wales. Once branded the bastard child of the Earl of...

Cats and Kittens.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... CATS AND KITTENS; DK/Snapshot, $3.95 each ISBN 0-7894-0620- 9; -0621- 7; -0618- 7; -0619- 5 Fierce or friendly, wild or domesticated-- the animals that populate this board book bestiary look either awe-inspiring or just plain adorable....

Little Cloud.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Eric Carle. Philomel, S15.95 (32p) ISBN 0-399-23034-3 A minor addition to Carle's lengthy list of child-captivating titles, this lean tale introduces a cloud that changes itself into a handful of shapes. Calling upon memories of objects it...

My Elephant Can Do Almost Anything.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Anke de Vries, illus. by Ilia Walraven. Front Street/Lemniscaat, $14.95 (40p) ISBN 1-886910-06-5 A child regales readers with examples of his elephant's remarkable talents in this good-natured Dutch import. A star of "Stupid Pet Tricks" if...

Clothes.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... CLOTHES; Raymond Elson, illus. by Sonia Canals. Kingfisher, $6.95 each (l0p) ISBN 1-85697-660-2; -653-X; -659-9 The entries in the Box Pops series do not at first seem to be books at 'all. Packaged in colorful, chunky little boxes, they look...

Pets.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... PETS; Raymond Elson, illus. by Sonia Canals. Kingfisher, $6.95 each (l0p) ISBN 1-85697-660-2; -653-X; -659-9 The entries in the Box Pops series do not at first seem to be books at 'all. Packaged in colorful, chunky little boxes, they look...

Toys.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... TOYS Raymond Elson, illus. by Sonia Canals. Kingfisher, $6.95 each (l0p) ISBN 1-85697-660-2; -653-X; -659-9 The entries in the Box Pops series do not at first seem to be books at 'all. Packaged in colorful, chunky little boxes, they look more...

When I Grow Up I Want To Be....(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Blaise Douglas, illus. by Tania HurtNewton. Candlewick, $9.99 (32p) ISBN 1-56402-866-6 If the secret of success lies in visualization, then this could be the career-planner of choice: a die-cut hole pierces through the cover all the way to...

Dogs and Puppies.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... DOGS AND PUPPIES; DK/Snapshot, $3.95 each ISBN 0-7894-0620- 9; -0621- 7; -0618- 7; -0619- 5 Fierce or friendly, wild or domesticated-- the animals that populate this board book bestiary look either awe-inspiring or just plain adorable....

Farm Animals.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... FARM ANIMALS; DK/Snapshot, $3.95 each ISBN 0-7894-0620- 9; -0621- 7; -0618- 7; -0619- 5 Fierce or friendly, wild or domesticated-- the animals that populate this board book bestiary look either awe-inspiring or just plain adorable....

Wild Animals.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... O WILD ANIMALS DK/Snapshot, $3.95 each ISBN 0-7894-0620- 9; -0621- 7; -0618- 7; -0619- 5 Fierce or friendly, wild or domesticated-- the animals that populate this board book bestiary look either awe-inspiring or just plain adorable....

Louise's Gift.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Irene Smalls, illus. by Colin Bootman. Little, Brown, $15.95 (32p) ISBN 0-316-79877-0 When matriarch Nana arrives to formally welcome Louise's newborn cousin into their extended African American family, she brings each child a symbolic...

Albert's Ballgame.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Leslie Tryon. S&S/Atheneum, $16 ISBN 0-689-80187-4 Easily eclipsing her brief narrative, Tryon's (Albert's Alphabet; Albert's Thanksgiving) rollicking gouache art scores the biggest hit here, displaying the nattily clad animal residents of...

The Seasons Sewn: A Year in Patchwork.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... A Year in Patchwork Ann Whitford Paul, illus. by Michael McCurdy. Harcourt/Browndeer, $16 (40p) ISBN 0-15-276918-8 Traditional quilt blocks, with their litany of evocative names ("The Trail of the Covered Wagon," "Mariner's Compass" and...

The Cranky Sun.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Jerry Kramsky, illus. by Lorenzo Mattotti. Little, Brown, $16.95 ISBN 0-316-50361-4 The oversized format of this book provides Mattotti (Eugenio) with a flattering venue for his over-the-top artwork, here depicting a village where buildings...

Looking for Angels.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Valiska Gregory, illus. by Leslie Baker. Simon & Schuster, $16 ISBN 0-689-80500-4 When her grandfather plans a day of looking for angels, Sarah is dubious. She knows what to look for: chubby cherubs and "wings white as moths"; but she is...

Grandmother's Pigeon.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Louise Erdrich, illus. by Jim LaMarche. Hyperion, $15.95 (32p) ISBN 0-7868-0165-4 As in her fiction for adults (Love Medicine); Erdrich makes every word count in her bewitching debut children's story. Similarly, there is not a wasted stroke...

Rocky Bobocky, The Pizza Man.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Emily Ellison, illus. by Vickey Bolling. Longstreet, $14.95 (32p) ISBN 1-56352-274-8 Rocky is an exuberant pizzeria proprietor whose generosity keeps his business teetering on the brink of financial disaster. Betty is a newly unemployed...

Batboy: An Inside Look at Spring Training.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... An Inside Look at Spring Training Joan Anderson, photos by Matthew Cavanaugh. Lodestar, $15.99 (48p) ISBN 0-525-67511-6 Middle-graders who are more apt to gravitate toward playing fields than libraries are the prime audience for this...

Chattanooga Sludge.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Molly Bang. Harcourt/Gulliver Green, $16 (48p) ISBN 0-15-216345-X In this dense picture book/nonfiction hybrid, Bang (Yellow Ball) tackles the onerous task of explaining to young readers the environmental impact of toxic waste and its...

Gateway.(Children's Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Lee Robinson. Houghton, $14.95 (176p) ISBN 0-395-72772-3 First-time novelist Robinson puts her experience as a Charleston Family Court attorney to good use in this wryly humorous yet emotion-packed story about a 13-year-old girl at the center...

Penelope.
April 22, 1996... Penelope Farmer. S&S/McElderry, $16 ISBN 0-689-80121-1 Supernatural themes electrify a tale that addresses a quintessential adolescent concern, the search for identity. Flora is without parents--her mother died long ago and her father...

The Princess and the God.(Young Adult Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Doris Orgel. Orchard/Jackson, $15.95 (128p) ISBN 0-531-09516-9 Revisiting the legend of Cupid and Psyche, Orgel (Ariadne, Awake.t) weaves a dramatic novel, a work sure to ensnare girls who have outgrown picture books but still prize the sort...

Black Horses and the King.
April 22, 1996... Anne McCaffrey. Harcourt, $16 (240p) ISBN 0-15-227322-0 McCaffrey steps out of her niche as a Hugo and Nebula award-winning fantasy writer to tackle her first historical novel for young adults, retelling the Arthurian legend--minus the Round...

Bruises.(Young Adult Review)(Brief Article)
April 22, 1996... Anke de Vries, trans. by Stacey Knecht. Front Street, $15.95 (174 p) ISBN 1-886910-03-0 They're unlikely friends--cheerful Michael, who lives with his aunt and uncle in Holland, and withdrawn Judith, who has a horrifying secret life of abuse...

Paperback bestsellers. (top 15 in the mass market and in the trade market)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
April 22, 1996... Last Weeks MASS MARKET Week on List 1 The Green Mile (#1, Two Dead Girls) 1 3 Stephen King, Signet $2.99 ISBN 0-451-19049-1 2 Let Me Call You Sweetheart. ...

Hardcover bestsellers. (15 top sellers in the fiction market and in the nonfiction market)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
April 22, 1996... Last Weeks FICTION Weeks on list 1 Moonlight Becomes You. 1 2 Mary Higgins Clark. Simon & Schuster, $24 ISBN 0-684-81038-7 2 Primary Colors....

Phil Pfeffer is named president of Random House.(new CEO will replace Bill Wright, report to Alberto Vitale)
April 15, 1996... Former Ingram Distribution chief will seek ways to help publisher grow AFTER SEARCHING FOR a replacement for almost one year to succeed Bill Wright as chief operating officer, Random House chairman Alberto Vitale hit upon one of the biggest...

Publishing CEOs focus on digital future at AAP meeting.(Association of American Publishers, Palm Beach, FL, Mar. 31-Apr. 2, 1996)
April 15, 1996... SEVERAL INSIGHTFUL panels at the AAP's annual meeting in Palm Beach, Fla., March 31-April 2 stimulated thought on where publishing will be in the digital future; but, unfortunately, the relatively small turnout meant that only a few in the...

Free speech or piracy? Copyright ruling favors Scientologists.(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... RELIGIOUS TECHNOLOGY Center, the copyright holder for the Church of Scientology (COS), has been granted a preliminary injunction by the U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., against software developer Grady Ward in RTC's continuing effort to...

Irving agent blasts SMP, leaves author.(David Irving agent Ed Novak; cancellation by St. Martin's Press of Irving's controversial 'Goebbels: Mastermind of the Third Reich')(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... THE DECISION BY St. Martin's to cancel publication of David Irving's Goebbels: Mastermind of the Third Reich (News, Apr. 8) has not only angered the author, but prompted a blistering critique from his agent, Ed Novak--and led to a separation...

RH to appeal Collins decision.(Random House; Joan Collins jury verdict victory in $1.2 million advance over two manuscripts company says are 'unpublishable')(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... RANDOM HOUSE has decided to keep fighting the Joan Collins case. Attorneys for the publishing company have filed a notice with the New York Court of Appeals asking it to overturn a lower-court decision that the author/actress was entitled to...

IDs sold $604m. in books in '95. (independent distributor book sales statistics)(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... DESPITE THE DISRUPTIONS that were occuring in the marketplace in the second half of 1995, the CPDA estimates that IDs sold $604 million worth of books last year, an increase of 6% over 1994. The past year marked a rebound in book sales through...

Court overturns MDS ruling; will rehear case. (Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider ruling in copyright violations by the Michigan Document Service)(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... THE U.S. COURT OF Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has overturned its earlier finding that Michigan Document Services did not violate fair-use provisions In the copyright laws in its copying of materials to create college course packs. The case,...

Leipzig book fair survives - even grows a little. (Leipzig, Germany, Spring Fair)
April 15, 1996... THAT LEIPZIG'S SPRING FAIR survives and even grows a bit each year suggests that it has a place in reunified Germany, and never mind that it receives more than a little help from local and regional governments. Rare foreign visitors get to see...

Wylie splits from U.K. partners. (literary agent Andrew Wylie disassociates himself from Aitken, Stone & Wylie over serialization of diary discussing meetings with the father of one of his clients)(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... NEW YORK AGENT Andrew Wylie-- nicknamed in Britain "The Jackal" for his skill in extracting Impressive advances for his authors--has decided to end his association with the London agency Aitken, Stone & Wylie. According to rumors, the reason...

New media helps spur sales at McGraw-Hill Cos.(electronic publishing boosts sales, new multimedia products for elementary school children and professional publishing products)(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... THE MCGRAW-HILL COS.'S faith in the interactive home education market (see sidebar) is driven in part by the success the company has had with new media in its other businesses. The 1995 annual report is replete with references to how the McGraw...

Nisen named president of MH Interactive.(Bill Nisen named president of McGraw-Hill Home Interactive Div.)(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... THE MCGRAW-HILL Cos.'s newest division finally has a permanent leader. Bill Nisen, who has 18 years of experience in the software and interactive media field, has been named president of McGraw-Hill Home Interactive. The division, based in...

Preiss launches online comics line. (Byron Preiss Multimedia to publish Virtual Comics, an online comic line available for a monthly fee of $1.99)(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... BYRON PREISS MULTIMEDIA has launched its own line of subscription-based digital comics on the World Wide Web. Preiss, an early publisher of book-length graphic novels, returns to comics publishing with the Virtual Comics...

The fiction leader is anonymous no longer. (suspense writer Mary Higgins Clark's new novel 'Moonlight Becomes You' has a first printing of one million copies)(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... Gotcha! While the identity of the author of Primary Colors is still a secret, our headline refers to the new fiction leader, Moonlight Becomes You, by the very well known Queen of Suspense, Mary Higgins Clark. The May book had a one-day...

Brooks books and games. (author Terry Brooks has a combination book and CD-ROM game signing while on a tour to market his new book 'First King of Shannara')(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... Terry Brooks is no stranger to the bestseller charts--his 19 books (almost 13 million copies in print) have all been on the national charts. His latest, First King of Shannara, boasts 175,000 copies in print. It's set about 500 years before the...

Working the beauty salon network. (African-American author F. Lynn Harris, whose first novel became a hit after it was self-published, has just released his third novel on Doubleday 'And This Too Shall Pass')(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... When F. Lynn Harris self-published (after 12 rejections) his first novel, Invisible Life, in 1992, his main sales outlets were beauty salons and black-owned bookstores. After managing to move 5000 copies, he was discovered by Anchor (perhaps...

Happy birthday, Ophelia! (Mary Pipher's 'Reviving Ophelia' has been on the trade paperback best seller list for one year)(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... Dr. Mary Pipher struck national nerves with Reviving Ophelia, her plea to salvage the self-esteem of adolescent girls. Today, the clinical psychologist from Lincoln, Neb., reaches a special benchmarkher book celebrates its one-year anniversary...

Computers & kids: expert's surprise choice. (MIT professor Seymour Papert chooses Longstreet Press to publish his book on how parents can guide their children's computer learning)(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... ONLY IN PUBLISHING can words like "diversification" and "redneck" coexist peacefully. A case m point: Longstreet Press, the Marietta, Ga.-based house responsible for Jeff Foxworthy's hugely successful You Might Be a Redneck, If... series....

A few words with William Abrahams. (short-story editor of the annual O. Henry Awards and Anthology has chosen to retire from his position after 30 years)(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... FOR 30 YEARS, William Abrahams has maintained a venerable tradition, selecting stories for the annual, now 76-year-old O. Henry Awards and Anthology. With this month's Prize Stories 1996, published by Doubleday, Abrahams bids a cheery farewell...

It had to happen: here comes the Unabomber. (arrest of Unabomber suspect has triggered a rash of new paperback books by various publishers wanting to profit from the heavy media attention)(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... THE NOTORIOUS Unabomber, whose literary style tended toward ponderous manifestos assaulting technology, will soon find himself the subject of a snappy piece of high-tech literary innovation: the instant book. On April 25, Pocket...

Paulo Coelho: Brazilian star seeks U.S. breakout.(novelist's newest Harpers San Francisco volume, 'By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept' to get major publicity push)(Book News)(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... BRAZILIAN NOVELIST Paulo Coelho is hardly an unknown in the U.S. Last year his The Alchemist sold 280,000 copies in trade paperback, landing on PW's bestseller list. But that kind of success here is dwarfed by his worldwide appeal. His four...

Grisham's latest out soon - under new management.(John Grisham's newest Doubleday volume, 'The Runaway Jury,' first with new editor/agent David Gernert)(Book News)(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... JOHN GRISHAM'S EAGERLY awaited new novel, The Runaway Jury, is something of a debut for his agent--the first book in a unique publishing arrangement. Following the death last year of his previous agent, Jay Acton, Grisham surprised the...

Mario Puzo on comeback trail.(newest Random House volume, 'The Last Don,')(Book News)(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... AFTER A LONG ABSENCE from the bookstores, Mario Puzo once again visits the world of organized crime this September, with the release of his highly anticipated seventh novel, The Last Don. With movie rights already sold to CBS (which outbid,...

Russian royals (cont'd). (publication of letters and diaries of Russia's last czar and czarina, Nicholas and Alexandra due in Feb 1997)(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... One might have thought that everything of interest about the last czar and czarina had already appeared in print. One could have been wrong. A Lifelong Passion: The Letters of Nicholas and Alexandra brings to light letters, also diary...

Erotica electronica. (new translation of 'The Story of O' will be available as an electronic book from Spectrum Press)(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... Taking a jump into the future, Chicago's Spectrum Press is launching a new English translation of The Story of O by Pauline Reage as an electronic book. This is believed to be the first time an internationally acclaimed modern novel has been...

Step in cyberspace. ('Babe: The Life and Legend of Babe Didrikson Zaharias' will be available on a Web site called Golfweb)(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... Another indicator of where books are headed is a Web debut by the University of Illinois Press with Babe: The Life and Legend of Babe Didrikson Zaharias by Susan Cayleff. Through the Press's sub rights manager, Susan Verner, Golfweb has secured...

Olden buildup.(Simon & Schister, Pocket Books to publish two thrillers by Marc Olden)(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... Simon & Schuster and Pocket Books are going into the Marc Olden business. Under a two-book, hard/soft, six-figure contract negotiated by Olden's agent Richard Pine, the thriller writer is to deliver a novel titled The Ghost and one not yet...

Film option for Lee.(Gus Lee's 'Tiger's Tail')(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... FOX 2000 sees movie possibilities in Tiger's Tail by Gus Lee, taking a high five-figure option on the new Knopf novel against a midsix figure purchase price. Lee's agent Jane Dystel and Ron Bernstein of the Gersh Agency on the Coast represented...

For Andrews fans.(Jaffe/Braunstein Films options 'Ruby' series, five novels by Andrew Neiderman based on storylines and notes of the late V.C. Andrews)(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... The five novels comprising the Ruby series from Pocket Books have been optioned by Jaffe/Braunstein Films for adaptation as a four-hour miniseries. Along with recent installments in a series launched in 1979 with Flowers in the Attic, the Ruby...

Short subjects.(various foreign rights sales)(Brief Article)
April 15, 1996... The Permanent Press, through Milan agent Irina Reylander, has placed Marco Vassi's The Gentle Degenerates with Longanesi. A contact made at the last Frankfurt fair has led to the press's first Romanian sale: Alone in the Valley by Ken Baker, to...

The competitive world of bookstore publicists: selling a store to customers and publishers.
April 15, 1996... Selling a store to customers and publishers WHEN CAROL SHIELDS won the Pulitzer Prize for The Stone Diaries (Penguin), she didn't just make an appearance at the Harry W. Schwartz Bookshops in Milwaukee. Thanks to marketing director Nancy...

Seeing with My Ears.
April 15, 1996... Mara. Storysong Productions (408-927-0964). One cassette, 43 mins., $10 This winning combination of stories and songs shows Mara to be a remarkably talented artist. Her folky soprano and appropriately emotive tellings comprise a...

Roll on Little Dogies: Songs and Activities for Young Cowpokes.
April 15, 1996... Songs and Activities for Young Cowpokes Meghan Merker, music by The Bunkhouse Orchestra. Gibbs Smith. Hardcover book and cassette, $12.95 ISBN 0-87905-726-2 This well-meaning amalgam of music, stories, lore and projects takes listeners on a...

Irish Folk Tales for Children.
April 15, 1996... Sharon Kennedy. Rounder, dist. by Rounder Kids (800-223-6357). 60 mins., CD $14.98, cassette $9.98, ISBN 1-886767-14-9; -15-7 Kennedy offers fresh versions of stories she collected from 24 storytellers during a stay in Ireland in summer 1987....

Cajun Fairy Tales.
April 15, 1996... J.J. Reneaux. August House (800-284-8784). One cassette, 60 mins., $12 ISBN 0-87483-439-2 Reneaux, who previously gave Cajun Ghost Stories a spooky regional flavor, continues in the American Storytelling series with this latest collection...

Seven Strange and Ghostly Tales.
April 15, 1996... Brian Jacques, read by the author. Listening Library (800-243-4504). Three cassettes, 4 hrs., $23.98 ISBN 0-8072-7612-X Jacques's original, imaginative tales lend themselves perfectly to audio. A fine storyteller with a lilting Liverpool...

A Planet with One Mind.
April 15, 1996... Mike Pinder. One Step Records (800-770-9292). CD $15.98, cassette $9.98, ISBN 1-888057-04-1;-00-9 Producer and narrator Pinder has drawn together an eclectic, highly personal selection of children's tales for his thoughtful recording. A...