Publishers Weekly articles from January 2002

Publishers Weekly archives from January 2002

Welcome to the New Century. (Editorial).(Brief Article)(Editorial)
January 7, 2002... Perhaps it's the psychological fallout from 9/11, but we have a sense that 2001 was a defining year for the book business. Thus, the features in our first issue of 2002 look both ahead and back. Many in the industry were worried about retail...

Industry Stocks had 10% increase in 2001: Publishing stocks easily outperformed the Dow Jones average. (News).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
January 7, 2002... INVESTORS APPEAR TO be more bullish than many industry members about the prospects for book publishing, as the Publishers Weekly Stock Index rose 10.3% in 2001, compared to a 7.1% decline for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Fifteen companies...

Scholastic buys Snyder. (Acquisition).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... TORSTAR CORP. DIVESTED the final piece of its supplementary education unit last month when it sold Tom Snyder Productions to Scholastic. Scholastic paid $9 million for Snyder, a publisher of interactive software, along with its Soup2Nuts...

LB Kids and Bulfinch Bound for New York. (Moving).(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
January 7, 2002... LITTLE, BROWN and Co. has confirmed that its remaining Boston-based editorial and production departments will move to New York City, where the rest of the AOL Time Warner Book Group's editorial, production, sales and marketing departments are...

Drop in Library Sales hurts Millbrook Press. (1st-Quarter Results).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)(Company Profile)
January 7, 2002... HIGHER SALES IN the consumer and special sales markets offset lower sales to libraries, resulting in a 2.2% revenue gain, to $5.4 million, at Millbrook Press for the first quarter ended October 31, 2001. Net income in the quarter fell to...

Viking Studio scaled back. (Market Conditions).(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
January 7, 2002... PUBLISHERS CONTINUE TO react to the slow sales of illustrated titles. Following the downsizings at Harry Abrams and Rizzoli, Penguin Putnam is scaling back its Viking Studio imprint. Editor-in-chief Christopher Sweet is now serving as a...

Distribution changes at Red Wheel/Weiser. (Independent Publishing).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... Red Wheel/Weiser, the independent publisher formed in November 2000 following the purchase of Samuel Weiser Inc. (News, Dec. 11, 2000), has sold its distribution arm, Weiser Wholesale, to Phoenix Publishing/Phoenix Distributors of Blame, Wash....

Home UnitLeads gains at EDC. (3rd-Quarter Results).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)(Company Profile)
January 7, 2002... A 22.5% JUMP in sales in its home business division drove total revenues up 14.5% to $6 million at Educational Development Corp. for the third quarter ended November 30, 2001. Net income for the quarter rose 27%, to $485,000. Revenues in...

RH wins Twain-Grant study. (Hot Deals).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... A literary biography that concentrates on the celebrated relationship between Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) and Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was won at auction, over bids from 10 other publishers, by senior editor Katie Hall at Random House. The...

'Infidelity' author looks at race. (Hot Deals).(Ann Pearlman)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... Ann Pearlman, who made a quarter-million-dollar paperback sale to Broadway last year for Infidelity, originally published by a small press, had a new title snapped up by John Wiley editor-in-chief Carole Hall. According to her agent, Jodie...

Marilyn-Jackie 'Letters' as Novel. (Hot Deals).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... That's the intriguing notion set forth in a book that Tom Dunne, who has his own imprint at St. Martin's Press, just bought from London-based agent Ed Victor. It's the brainchild of British journalist and celebrity biographer Wendy Leigh, who...

Knopf preempts WWII Nurses' tales. (Hot Deals).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... Seven publishers were interested in the project, but Knopf's Jane Garrett forestalled an auction for a huge book about the role of American army nurses in World War II with a "handsome" preemptive bid that took it off the table. It has the...

Now, 'Regrettable' home decor. (Hot Deals).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... The author of Crown's surprise hit Regrettable Food, which somehow survived a September 11 pub date to sell upward of 40,000 copies to date, has now turned his attention to some of the abominations of interior design during the 1970s. He is...

Short Takes. (Hot Deals).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... A book by a young man who escaped a life of slavery in the Sudan was bought by St. Martin's editor-in-chief George Witte. It's Escape from Slavery: The True Story of a Modern-Day Slave's Escape from the Jihad by Francis Bok, who was captured as...

BookSurge looks for Publishers, Sales. (E-publishing).(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
January 7, 2002... LOOKING TO ATTRACT more titles from traditional book publishers and more retail sales from consumers, BookSurge, an online retailer for print-on-demand titles and c-books, has hired a new sales manager and plans to launch a marketing campaign...

Lebhar-Friedman condenses book program. (Cooked?).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... LEBHAR-FRIEDMAN, a trade magazine publisher that launched a wide-ranging book line in 1999 (News, Nov. 30, 1998), is trimming its program. The company cited its own strengths and the book market's weaknesses in making the decision. Instead...

Mideast studies house hits its stride. (Changing Times).(publisher I.B. Tauris)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... To SAY THESE ARE busy times for Iradj Bagherzade is a little like President Bush telling the Taliban its time is up: obvious but perhaps still necessary. Call him one of serious publishing's best-kept secrets. Bagherzade, the founder of...

Karper moves up at Schocken. (People).(Altie Karper is promoted to editorial director of Schocken Books Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... ALTIE KARPER HAS been promoted to editorial director of Schocken Books, the Judaica book imprint of the Knopf Publishing Group. Karper, who had been editor at Schocken since 1999, will also continue to serve as managing editor for Schocken and...

B&T to sell Lightning Titles. (Come together over POD).(Baker and Taylor Inc. to distribute titles from Lightning Source Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... HOPING TO BOOST sales in a tough market, Baker & Taylor and Lightning Source have signed an agreement to make the latter's titles available to B&T customers. In discussing the deal, both parties stressed the advantages: the move will make B&T...

Hughes departs HC. (People).(HarperCollins Publishers Inc. executive Larry Hughes)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... PUBLISHING VETERAN Larry Hughes's role as a publishing consultant to HarperCollins came to an end December 31, 2001. Hughes joined HC in 1999, following the company's acquisition of William Morrow and Avon. Hughes had been the longtime...

Obituary.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
January 7, 2002... Pierre B. Balliett PIERRE B. BALLIETT, former corporate vice-president of Houghton Mifflin's international division from 1973 to 1991, died in San Diego, Calif., on December 31. He was 67. Balliett began his career working for Holt,...

Correction.(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... In our Dec. News story about Scholastic's sales of Harry Potter books, the figures should have been given in dollars, not units. Potter sales through the first half of Scholastic's fiscal year were $50 million, and the company is projecting...

Kudos for Koontz. (Behind the bestsellers).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... Dean Koontz lands the first big hardcover seller of the new year with One Door Away from Heaven. Koontz's repertoire is impressive; he has written more than 38 books and has sold about 250 million copies worldwide. His latest had a one-day...

Grisham Paints the Town. (Behind the bestsellers).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... And the first big mass market bestseller for 2002 is John Grisham's A Painted House. That, too, was published on December 26 and the Dell paperback has more than three million copies in print. The popular author also enjoys the top spot on the...

Jordan keeps rolling along. (Behind the bestsellers).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... Robert Jordan's ninth book in The Wheel of lime series, Winter's Heart, lands on the mass market list (as did all the previous books) with 650,000 copies after two printings. The Tor/Tom Doherty series has more than 10 million copies in print...

A real gold "Mind". (Behind the bestsellers).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... A Beautiful Mind, Sylvia Nasar's biography of mathematical genius and Nobel laureate John Nash, was doing very nicely, thank you, on its own merit. Published in 1998, it received a slew of rave notices and went on to win the National Book...

A Heartland Winner. (Behind the bestsellers).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... While Pulitzer Prize--winning political cartoonist Doug Marlette has yet to crack the national bestseller charts, his first novel, The Bridge, has been doing well on his home turf's regional list, compiled by the Southeastern Booksellers...

From Patriotism to Whimsy: A helpful list for book-sellers of new products for a new world. (Sideline).(Brief Article)(Product Announcement)
January 7, 2002... At the end of this turbulent year, some manufacturers have created new products specifically to address perceived popular needs, while others offer new products that find fresh resonance in these times. Our friends at Magnetic Poetry Inc....

The 2001 Cuffies: For our 12th annual "Off-the-Cuff" Awards, booksellers choose their favorite (and not-so-favorite) children's books of the year. (Children's books).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... Favorite Picture Book of the Year (tie) Milo's Hat Trick by Jon Agee Olivia Saves the Circus by Ian Falconer Favorite Novel of the Year (tie) True Believer by Virginia Euwer Wolff The Land by Mildred Taylor Fair...

Transworld/Random Merger. (Letter from London).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... Gill Evans, head of publishing at Random House Children's Books, has lost her job in the merger of Random House Children's Books with Transworld. Appointed from Egmont two years ago, Evans has been responsible for restructuring the Random House...

Milnes-Smith, Dow get new posts. (Letter from London).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... Six months since leaving her job as managing director of Puffin Books, Philippa Mimes-Smith has announced her move to the literary agency LAW. She joins as a director specializing in all aspects of children's publishing and media. ...

A Great London Adventure. (Letter for London).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... Neil Shaw-Larkman, whose first book, The Great London Adventure, has sold 25,000 copies in the U.K. since publication in May, embarked on a U.K. media tour last month, culminating with a book signing at Harrods in London on December 22. For...

Heffers closes Bookshop. (Letter from London).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... Blackwell's has announced the closure of Heffers Children's Bookshop on Trinity Street in Cambridge, England, one of the leading children's bookshops in the country. Claiming that the overhead has become too expensive in this high-profile...

In the Winners' Circle. (Letter from London).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... The winners of the 2001 Nestles Smarties Book Prizes were announced last month. Gold Awards went to Eva lbbotson for Journey to the River Sea (Macmillan); Emily Smith for The Shrimp (Corgi); and Catherine and Laurence Anholt for Chimp and Zee...

Orchid Blues. (Fiction).
January 7, 2002... STUART WOODS, READ BY JAN MAXWELL. Putnam Audio, abridged, four cassettes, 5.5 hrs., $24.95 ISBN 0-399-14820-5 Police Chief Holly Barker, Woods's popular heroine from Orchid Beach, is hack, and this time it's personal. The morning of...

Sharkman Six: A Novel. (Fiction).
January 7, 2002... OWEN WEST, READ BY LEE SELLARS, S&S Audio, abridged, four cassettes, 6 hrs., $26 ISBN 0-743-50959-5 Pairing Sellars with this knockout work was truly inspired. Sellars's performance is one of those rare occasions where narrative and...

The Hobbit. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... J.R.R. TOLKIEN, AS BROADCAST ON NPR. High Bridge, unabridged, six cassettes, 6 hrs., $24.95 ISBN 1-56511-551-1 Between the film release of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, this is the season of the magical movie, and this audiobook...

Coldheart Canyon: A Hollywood Ghost Story. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... CLIVE BARKER, READ BY FRANK MULLER. Harper Audio, unabridged, 17 cassettes, 22 hrs., $49.95 ISBN 0-694-52401-8 Those with the determination to commit to nearly an entire day of listening will be glad they put forth the effort, because...

A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. (Nonfiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... EDITED BY CLAYBORNE CARSON AND KRIS SHEPARD, READ BY VARIOUS READERS. Time Warner Audio, unabridged, seven CDs, 8 hrs., $42.98 ISBN 1-58621-046-7 In his introduction, the one-time ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young refers to MLK...

Love Stories of World War II. (Nonfiction).
January 7, 2002... COMPILED BY LARRY KING, READ BY KING AND JILL EIKENBERRY. Random, abridged, three cassettes, 5 hrs., $25 ISBN 0-3 75-42021-5 The authors narrate these true tales of wartime romance in just the right tone: gentle, tender, but never...

Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War. (Nonfiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... JUDITH MILLER, STEPHEN ENGELBERG AND WILLIAM BROAD, READ BY MURPHY CUYER. S&S Audio, abridged, four CDs, 5.5 hrs., $30 ISBN 0-743-52467-5 Methodically researched and cogently argued by three New York Times reporters (one of whom received...

I thought My Father was God: And other true tales from NPR's National Story Project. (Nonfiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... EDITED BY PAUL AUSTER, READ BY THE EDITOR. HarperAudio, unabridged, six cassettes, 9 hrs., $34.95 ISBN 0-694-52613-4 * This is a moving collection of stories that realizes the audio format's best possibilities. Culled from a collaboration...

The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America. (Nonfiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... LOUIS MENAND, READ BY HENRY LEYVA. Highbridge, abridged, four cassettes, 7 hrs, $29.95 iSBN 1-5651 1-541-4 The Metaphysical Club was an informal intellectual gathering of philosophers and academics that met in Cambridge, Mass., for only...

Publishers Weekly: Audio Bestsellers.
January 7, 2002... PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: Audio Bestsellers Available online the Friday before issue date at: www.publishersweekly.com Fiction Nonfiction 1 Lord of the Rings Audio CD 1 Jack: Straight from the ...

Publishing 2002: Where the Buck Stops; Eight top executives talk about where the business is now and where it is going.(Interview)
January 7, 2002... The year just past was a significant one for publishing. At the beginning of the year, many of the large houses made ambitious leaps into electronic publishing. By year's end, most of them had cut those programs significantly. Large author...

Reality Check: Despite setbacks in 2001, the groundwork for the success of e-publishing has been laid.
January 7, 2002... SIMPLY PUT, 2001 WAS A REALITY CHECK for the electronic publishing industry. In all aspects of the e-publishing field, companies went out of business. Companies that performed support functions for the delivery of e-materials-such as data...

Ho Ho Hum: In a difficult year, flat sales cause cheer, while small gains call for the bubbly.(booksellers' Christmas sales)
January 7, 2002... DESPITE DISMAL HOLIDAY sales reports from many general retailers, there have been some major exceptions, including the biggest discounter, Wal-Mart, as well as Target and certain online retailers. A survey of independent booksellers...

Bullish on E-Books. (My Say).(electronic book sales)(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... The popular media has been feasting on a recent spate of bad news coming out the e-book field. The shutdown of AOL/Time-Warner's iPublish is the latest blow, but other events such as the closings of Contentville and Reciprocal, the pullback of...

The Master of Rain. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... TOM BRADBY. Doubleday, $26 (448p) ISBN 0-385-50397-0 British TV newsman Bradby used his time in I-long Kong to do some research on 1920s-era Shanghai, the result of which is this hefty first novel of corruption, debauchery and decaying...

The Haunting of L. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... HOWARD NORMAN. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $24 (336p) ISBN 0-374-16825-3 * The stark, unforgiving climate and landscape of Manitoba and Halifax, the symbiotic relationship of art and violence and the unlimited vagaries of human behavior are...

The Buffalo Soldier. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... CHRIS BOHJLIAN. Crown/Shaye Areheart, $25 (416p) ISBN 0-609-60833-9 The capricious ways of nature frame this eighth novel by the popular Bobjalian (Midwives; Trans-Sister Radio). Several years after the devastating loss of their...

The Apprentice Lover. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... JAY PARINI. HarperGollins, $24.95 (320p) ISBN 0-06-621071-2 Literary figures large and small populate this smoothly written coming-of-age novel by Parini (The Last Station) set on the island of Capri. Alex Massolino, raised by his mother to...

My Mother's Island. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... MARNIE MUELLER. Curbstone (www.curbstone.org), $24.95 (237p) ISBN 1-880684-82-9 A woman returns to Puerto Rico to help her terminally ill mother through her final days in Mueller's third novel, a gritty yet graceful book that unflinchingly...

Abou and the Angel Cohen. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... CLAUDE CAMPBELL. Bridge Works, $23.95 (272p) ISBN 1-882593-51-0 A retired goat herder acquires an unexpected adviser in Campbell's debut, in which the author grapples with the gnarly web of conflict in the Middle East with mixed results....

Eureka. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... WILLIAM DIEHL. Ballantine, $25 (448p) ISBN 0-345-41146-3 * Following a four-year hiatus after the somewhat lackluster Reign in Hell, the third volume of the Martin Vail thriller series, legions of this bestselling author's readers will...

The Cyclist. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... VIKEN BERBERIAN. Simon & Schuster, $21 (192p) ISBN 0-7432-2283-0 A terrorist prepares to attack a Beirut hotel in Berberian's first novel, a thinly plotted but stylistically alluring character study that begins with the anonymous narrator...

The Book of Eleanor. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... PAMELA KAUFMAN. Crown, $24.95 (512p) ISBN 0-609-60906-8 Medieval chronicler Kaufman (Shield of Three Lions; Banners of Gold) turns her attention to the eponymous Eleanor of Aquitaine in this earnest first-person account of life, power and...

Laugh Track. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... DAVID GALEF. Univ. of Mississippi, $25 (238p) ISBN 1-57806-422-8 Fifteen far-ranging and idiosyncratic glimpses of life--most often from a dark, quixotic psychosocial perspective--make up this collection, selected from more than 60...

Meant to be. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... RITA COBURN WHACK. Villard/Strivers Row, $11.95 paper (272p) ISBN 0-375-75809-7 Ostensibly a memoir of Patience Jan Campbell's progress from 1960s girlhood to womanhood, this heartfelt novel also recounts a spiritual journey. Since Jan's...

Bitch Goddess. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... ROBERT RODI. Plume, $13 paper(320p) ISBN 0-452-28310-8 Rodi uses the checkered career of a Bmovie bimbo as a vehicle to skewer the cult of celebrity in his latest novel, a typically raunchy romp that begins with actress Viola Chute...

Slave to Fashion. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... REBECCA CAMPBELL. Villard, $11.95 paper (272p) ISBN 0-375-76062-8 Smarter and darker than your average Bridget Jones knockoff, Campbell's first novel is also more mean-spirited, though it adheres closely to the conventions of the Bright...

Andrew and Joey. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... JAMIE JAMES. Kensington, $23 (304p) ISBN 0-7582-0106-0 A year's worth of melodramatic correspondence between friends, family and lovers comprises travel writer James's pedestrian first novel. It consists of e-mails to, from and about Andrew...

Enemy Women. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... PAULETTE JILES. Morrow, $24.95 (352p) ISBN 0-06-621444-0 * For Adair Randolph Colley, at 18 the eldest daughter of a widowed Missouri Ozarks schoolmaster and justice of the peace, the Civil War becomes personal when her father, who has...

Girls' Poker Night. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... JILL DAVIS. Random, $23.95 (240p) ISBN 0-375-50514-8 When journalist Ruby Capote decides to flee boring Boston for the bright lights and hopefully more exciting world of New York City, she discovers love is still the same challenge it was...

Pen Pals. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... OLIVIA GOLDSMITH. Dutton, $24.95 (368p) ISBN 0-525-94644-6 An old hand at the hell-hath-no-fury revenge novel, Goldsmith sets her latest humorous caper in an unlikely location--behind bars. When "Wall Street showboater" Jennifer Spencer...

The trouble with Catherine. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... ANDES HRUBY. Dutton, $23.95 (224p) ISBN 0-525-94640-3 The tough, independent owner of a New York City fish dealership is tripped up by romantic troubles in this feisty first novel. Catherine Lacey was a "dock brat": she can hold her liquor;...

The only boy for me. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... GIL MCNEIL. Bloomsbury, $23.95 (288p) ISBN 1-58234-223-7 Single mother Annie Baker knows she hasn't got it all figured out, but she thinks she's doing okay: a house in a nice town outside of Kent, a production job demanding only that she...

A fine place. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... NICHOLAS MONTEMARANO. Context, $21.95 (226p) ISBN 1-893956-21-0 The sensational 1989 murder of a black teen-ager in Brooklyn provides the background for Montemarano's first novel, a kaleidoscopic picture of a family and a community still...

Lying crying dying. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... DOMINIC MARTELL. Carroll & Craf, $24 (288p) ISBN 0-7867-0955-3 Las Ramblas, Barcelona's famous promenade, is a swirling cesspool of international terrorism in this novel of spies and betrayal. Haunted by his violent past as a courier for a...

Coincidence. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... DAVID AMBROSE. Warner, $23.95 (320p) ISBN 0-446-52797-1 Ambrose (Superstition; The Man Who Turned into Himself) weaves a tale of duplicitous doppelgangers in this supernatural thriller. George is a quiet academic writing pseudoscience books...

When twilight comes. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... GWYNNE FORSTER. Kensington/Dafina, $24 (272p) ISBN 1-57566-919-6 Making the switch from contemporary romance (Secret Desire) to mainstream AfricanAmerican fiction, Forster reverses King Lear by giving the good youngest daughter the keys to...

Colored sugar water. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... VENISE BERRY. Dutton, $23.95 (272p) ISBN 0-525-94471-0 The mystery of voodoo mingles with the search for spirituality and faith in the lives of two young women, each facing the challenge of understanding just what a meaningful relationship...

Duke of Egypt. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... MARGRIET DE MOOR, TRANS. FROM THE DUTCH BY PAUL VINCENT. Arcade, $24.95 (256p) ISBN 1-55970-546-9 De Moor has crafted this complex novel as if she were the composer of a piece of haunting chamber music, orchestrating the heartaches, loves,...

Letters for Emily. (Fiction).
January 7, 2002... CAMRON WRIGHT. Pocket, $18 (208p) ISBN 0-7434-4446-9 In this tearjerker of a debut novel, author Wright delves into a family's struggle with a dying parent's mental illness, a marriage breakup and a mysterious legacy left for a...

Wide blue yonder. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... JEAN THOMPSON. Simon & Schuster, $24 (376p) ISBN 0-7432-0512-X Domestic tensions deflate into screwball hijinks in this pleasant, if somewhat toothless, debut novel by the author of Who Do You Love: Stories, a 1999 National Book Award...

The Caprices. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... SABINA MURRAY. Mariner, $13 paper (160p) ISBN 0-61 8-09525-X * A caprice in wartime may be a sinister thing or a necessary distraction, and in this shrewd, striking debut collection of nine short stories by novelist (Slow Bum) and...

Red Water. (Fiction).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... JUDITH FREEMAN. Pantheon, $24 (336p) ISBN 0-375-42092-4 In 1857, in a field in southern Utah, a party of Mormons and Native Americans slaughtered more than a hundred men, women and children who were traveling to California. Only one man was...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
January 7, 2002... The publisher of Robert Hellenga's Blues Lessons (Forcasts, Dec. 17) is Scribner.

Looking for Chet Baker: An Evan Horne Mystery. (Mystery).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... BILL MOODY. Walker, $23.95 (264p) ISBN 0-8027-3368-9 "I'm a pushover for minor keys, minor chords, minor blues. Always have been," says jazz pianist and amateur detective Evan Horne, "I was drawn to those players and composers for whom...

Angel Fire. (Mystery).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... LISA MISCIONE. St. Martin's Minotaur, $23.95 (278p) ISBN 0-312-29304-0 Miscione hits the ground running, quite literally, in her debut novel featuring crime writer Lydia Strong, who tries to exorcise through running ("her religion," she...

Hit Time. (Mystery).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... YOLANDA JOE, WRITING AS ARDELLA GARLAND. Simon & Schuster, $21 (224p) ISBN 0-684-87376-1 In Garland's second mystery to feature sharp and sassy African-American Chicago newswoman Georgia Barnett (after 2000's Details at Ten), Georgia...

Maid for Murder: A Squeaky Clean Charlotte La Rue Mystery. (Mystery).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... BARBARA COLLEY. Kensington, $22(272p) ISBN 1-57566-873-4 Amateur sleuth Charlotte La Rue will dust her way into readers' hearts in this auspicious debut of a new cozy series. Fifty-nine-year-old Charlotte runs a successful maid-for-a-day...

Deadly to the sight. (Mystery).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... EDWARD SKLEPOWICH. St. Martin's Minotaur/Dunne, $23.95 (320p) ISBN 0-312-26955-2 Venice, the city of courtesans, spies and diplomats, and Burano, the nearby island of lace makers, serve as the backdrops for this atmospheric mystery....

Tropical Heat. (Mystery).(Brief Article)
January 7, 2002... JOHN A. MILLER. Forge, $23.95 (320p) ISBN 0-765-30165-2 In his third novel, following Cutdown and Causes of Action, Miller creates a memorable and original portrait of a rural southern sheriff. A native of Hopewell, Va., Sheriff A.G....