Publishers Weekly articles from June 2004

Publishers Weekly archives from June 2004

Abebooks raises new book quotient: 'the new and used books are moving closer together,' says executive.(Company Profile)
June 7, 2004... THE LINE BETWEEN SELLING used and new books continues to blur with the announcement at BookExpo America that Abebooks will officially begin selling new books off its four international sites--abebooks.com, abebooks.co.uk, abebooks.de and...

How many are coming?
June 7, 2004... The attendance figures for BEA 2004 won't be known for some time, but a look at the last five years' numbers would indicate that a total in the low 20,000s is about what to expect. The less-frequent shows on either coast tend to draw better,...

Harcourt to buy Saxon Publishers.(News)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
June 7, 2004... HARCOURT ACHIEVE, a supplemental publishing division of Harcourt Inc., has reached an agreement to acquire Saxon Publishers for an undisclosed price. Based in Norman, Okla., Saxon is a publisher of skills-based instructional materials for...

Wiley gets Pillsbury rights.(Deals)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... LOOKING TO CONSOLIDATE all its book publishing projects under one publisher, General Mills has signed a multiyear deal with John Wiley & Sons that gives Wiley the rights to publish cookbooks using General Mills' Pillsbury brand name. Wiley...

Industry Stocks: May performances.(Market Watch)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... Market Watch Industry Stocks: May Performances Winners COMPANY APRIL 30 MAY 28 % CHANGE Hastings Entertainment 6.60 7.78 17.9% Franklin Electronic...

New initiatives from B&T.(Expanding)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... BAKER & TAYLOR has introduced two new programs in a bid to up its business with independent booksellers. And in an agreement that will go into effect later this year, the company has teamed with the U.K. wholesaler Gardners Books to offer U.K....

Marvel launches prose imprint.(Nongraphic Novels)(Marvel Press)(Company Profile)
June 7, 2004... FOLLOWING CLOSELY on the announcement of Dark Horse Comics' new prose imprint M Press (News, May 31), Marvel Comics has announced a prose division of its own, Marvel Press. The new imprint will be overseen by Ruwan Jayatilleke, formerly of...

Sales mixed in April.(AAP Sales Report)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... AAP Sales Report Sales Mixed in April % CHANGE % CHANGE CATEGORY APRIL YTD Adult Hardcover 8.3 16.6 Adult Paperback 16.8 4.5 Adult Mass Market...

Diamond launches U.K. book unit.(Distribution)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... DIAMOND BOOK DISTRIBUTORS, a U.S.distributor of graphic novels, comics periodicals and pop culture merchandise to the bookstore and comics shop markets (and a subsidiary of Diamond Comic Distribution), is expanding into the U.K. and...

Hersh signs for Abu Ghraib book.(hot deals)(Seymour Hersh)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... Pulitzer Prize--winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, whose New Yorker articles about the prison abuses in Iraq did the most to bring the story and its implications to light, has signed with HarperCollins to do a book, Chain of...

An aliens novel from Strieber.(hot deals)(Whitley Strieber)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... Author Whitley Strieber had a huge hit 20 years ago with Communion, his nonfiction account of being abducted by aliens, and is currently back in the spotlight as the author of The Coming Global Superstorm, one of the sources for the current big...

Ballantine stocking up.(hot deals)(signed new contract with same authors)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... A slew of recent deals at Ballantine have been devoted to keeping aboard authors who have been doing well for the house. Stephen Frey, who writes financial thrillers, has signed for another four books, all starring a series character still to...

Big money for slaughter.(hot deals)(Karin Slaughter signed contract with Random House U.K. Ltd.)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... The appropriately named thriller author Karin Slaughter had a big overseas payday on the eve of the Chicago BEA. Her agent, Victoria Sanders, made her a multimillion-dollar deal with Random House U.K./Arrow publishing director Kate Elton for a...

A Newbery Honor writer, Audrey Couloumbis, has signed a two-book deal with Shana Corey at Random/Golden Books Young Readers Group.(Short Takes)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... A Newbery Honor writer, Audrey Couloumbis, has signed a two-book deal with Shana Corey at Random/Golden Books Young Readers Group. The first book, The Misadventures of Maude March, is about a pair of feisty orphaned sisters who head west after...

British historian Frederick Taylor, whose revisionist story of the Dresden bombing in WWII drew praise here and at home, has signed again with Harper's Dan Conaway for an extensive history of the Berlin Wall as fact and symbol.(Short Takes)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... British historian Frederick Taylor, whose revisionist story of the Dresden bombing in WWII drew praise here and at home, has signed again with Harper's Dan Conaway for an extensive history of the Berlin Wall as fact and symbol. He got North...

Broadway's Charlie Conrad bought a book that combines racy travel memoir and food called Foraging for Dinner by a young New York chef, David Shalleck.(Short Takes)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... Broadway's Charlie Conrad bought a book that combines racy travel memoir and food called Foraging for Dinner by a young New York chef, David Shalleck (writing with Erol Munuz), who tells of his internships at various European restaurants and...

Broadway's Charlie Conrad bought a book that combines racy travel memoir and food called Foraging for Dinner by a young New York chef, David Shalleck.(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... What is claimed to be the first major study of French leader Charles de Gaulle by an American was signed by Terry Karten for Harper; it's by Princeton alum Steven Englund, who teaches at the University of Paris, and was signed for North...

Movie producer John H. Williams, who originally brought Shrek! to the screen, has now signed another work by the late William Steig as a possible movie.(Short Takes)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... Movie producer John H. Williams, who originally brought Shrek! to the screen, has now signed another work by the late William Steig as a possible movie. It's The Zabajaba Jungle, in which a boy seeks his captive parents in a mysterious jungle....

Agate, NiaOnline to publish black women's titles.(Partnering)
June 7, 2004... AGATE, A NEW Chicago-based independent publishing house, has entered into an agreement with NiaOnline.com, a Web community focused on black women, to publish a line of books addressing the personal and professional needs of those women. Agate...

BowTie makes second buy.(Deals)(acquired Kennel Club Books and Doral Publishing)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... COMPLETING ITS SECOND dog-related acquisition within a month, BowTie Inc. acquired Doral Publishing in late May. Based in Phoenix, Ariz., Doral publishes titles on a variety of topics, including breeding, training and health care. It has a...

Henry Holt books for young readers.(people)(Laura Godwin promoted to vice president )(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... HENRY HOLT BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS Laura Godwin, v-p and associate publisher, has been promoted to v-p and publisher effective immediately.

Tokyopop Inc.(people)(appointed Rene Garcia)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... TOKYOPOP INC. Rene Garcia, manga expert and former president of production for Craven-Maddalena, has been named v-p, film & television, and is charged with expanding the conversion of manga properties to movies and television.

New Directions.(people)(appointed Peggy L. Fox)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... NEW DIRECTIONS Peggy L. Fox, v-p since 1993 and managing director, has been named president and publisher, succeeding Griselda Ohannessian, who is retiring.... Barbara Epler, current editor-in-chief, has been named v-p in addition to her...

Unbridled Books.(people)(appointed Beverly Fisher)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... UNBRIDLED BOOKS Beverly Fisher, former v-p of Big Guy Books, a Carlsbad, Calif., publisher, has been appointed sales director for the Colorado firm and will work from her Oceanside, Calif., office.

Simon & Schuster.(people)(appointed Aileen Boyle and Deb Darrock; promoted Tricia Boczkowski, Beth Bracken, Wendy Wagner, Sammy Yuen and Ryan Harbage)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... SIMON & SCHUSTER Aileen Boyle, former publicity director, has been named associate publisher.... Deb Darrock, former national accounts manager, has been named associate publisher.... Tricia Boczkowski has been promoted from senior editor to...

Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.(people)(appointed Robb Pearlman, Kathy Lovisolo, Elke Villa, Melissa Tortes, Christina Evans and Mike Annunziata)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... SIMON & SCHUSTER CHILDREN'S PUBLISHING Robb Pearlman has been promoted from subsidiary rights manager, domestic markets and brand licensing, to associate director, licensing and brand management.... Kathy Lovisolo, previously production...

Perseus Books.(people)(Melissa Serdinsky promoted to director )(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... PERSEUS BOOKS Melissa Serdinsky has been promoted to director of marketing from group backlist manager.

Creative Homeowner.(people)(appointed Herb Carey)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... CREATIVE HOMEOWNER Herb Carey, former national accounts manager at Meredith, has been appointed national sales manager for the book trade.

Fox Chapel Publishing.(people)(appointed Paul McGahren)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... FOX CHAPEL PUBLISHING Paul McGahren, former retail sales manager at Taunton Press, has been named to the newly created post of director of sales.... Troy Thorne, former senior art director at Godfre Advertising, has been named creative...

Berkery, Noyes & Co.(people)(appointed Christopher Curran)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... BERKERY, NOYES & CO. Christopher Curran, former managing director at Eduventures Inc., has been appointed managing director of the investment bank specializing in the information market.

Harcourt.(people)(appointed David Kim)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... HARCOURT David Kim, formerly with the Boston Consulting Group, has been appointed senior v-p, global strategy and business development.

McBooks Press.(people)(Christopher Carey)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... MCBOOKS PRESS Christopher Carey, former marketing manager at Cornell University Press, has been appointed sales and marketing director for the Ithaca, N.Y., house.

Big Idea.(people)(appointed Greg Fritz)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... BIG IDEA Greg Fritz, former v-p of sales and marketing services at Word Distribution, has been appointed v-p of marketing for the Illinois media company.

Rodale.(people)(appointed Ken Citron)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... RODALE Ken Citron, former senior v-p of information systems at Sony Music Entertainment, has been named senior v-p and chief technology officer.

Davis Wright Tremaine.(people)(appointed Linda Steinman)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... DAVIS WRIGHT TREMAINE Linda Steinman, former director of litigation at Random House, has been named partner with a concentration in media law and will be based in the New York office of the international law firm.

Cambridge University Press.(people)(appointed Liza Murphy and Melissanne Scheld )(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Liza Murphy has been named to the newly created position of academic sales and marketing director. She had been director of sales at Oxford.... Melissanne Scheld, formerly with NYU Press, joined the press June 1 as...

Sington joins Virgin.(U.K. Moves)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... ADRIAN SINGTON, who founded Boxtree in 1990, has acquired a minority, stake in Virgin Books and was also named executive chairman of the company. Sington said his role at Virgin will be "to expand the existing operations into a bigger business,...

Berger rises at Scholastic.(U.K. Moves)(Berger Ellie)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... ELLIE BERGER, who has been overseeing the day-to-day sales and marketing functions at the Scholastic trade division since the January resignation of Michael Jacobs, has been named senior v-p for the trade unit. Although sire now has the...

CCNY pub program grows, struggles.(Publishing 101)(City College of New York)
June 7, 2004... EVEN THOUGH IT FINDS jobs for more than a third of its graduates, the publishing certificate program at the City College of New York still straggles to attract funding, and its directors complain that even securing commitments for student...

More gains for EDC.(Forecast)(Educational Development Corp.)(Brief Article)
June 7, 2004... EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT CORP., which had double-digit gains in sales and earnings for the fiscal year ended February 29, said it expects sales to increase 10% to 14% and earnings to be up by more than 25% in the first quarter ended May 31. ...

The commission conundrum: publishing the 9/11 reports brings unseen obstacles for three houses.(book news)
June 7, 2004... From two presidential conventions to the (possible) release of a Michael Moore movie, the next few months will bring plenty of events with loud political resonance. But as the summer approaches, three publishers are throwing their chips down on...

Small beer on the rise.(Micropublisher to Watch)
June 7, 2004... Sean Stewart describes himself as "a writer who traditionally has fallen between categories." Having moved to Ace after beginning his writing career with the small Canadian press Tesseract in 1992, the World Fantasy Award-winner defines his...

A browser's paradise: Berkeley's Dark Carnival has been attracting browsers and fans since 1976.(bookselling)(Company Profile)
June 7, 2004... Stepping into Dark Carnival--which bills itself as a "bookstore of the imagination"--is like stepping into the cluttered library of an extremely eccentric individual. Your eyes don't know where to look first. Shelves of new mystery and science...

Bookstore goes from drab to fab.(Nesting)
June 7, 2004... You can't accuse bookseller Judy Wheeler, owner of Towne Center Books in Pleasanton, Calif., of not leaping onto an opportunity when she sees one. Recently, she started out to support the latest book from a local author and ended up getting her...

Book Cellar uncorks books and wine.(A Toast!)
June 7, 2004... What is it about the combination of books and booze that's prompting entrepreneurs in the Midwest to offer patrons their choice of these stimulants? First, Jodee Hosmanek began selling books, wines and single-malt Scotch at Ocooch Books &...

A brilliant birthday: Brilliance Audio turns 20 years old.(audio)(Interview)
June 7, 2004... Necessity is indeed the mother of invention, but sometimes shopping can play an inspirational role, too. Such was the case for Michael Snodgrass, founder and current president and publisher of Brilliance Audio. Back in the early '80s Snodgrass...

Crown Journeys tours authors' favorite places.(Trippin')(publisher Steve Ross)(Interview)
June 7, 2004... When visiting a new city, one of the best ways to learn more about the place's history and people, as well as discover its heralded hot spots and hidden treasures, is to ask a native. This idea is at least part of the inspiration behind the...

Ten Big Ones: a Stephanie Plum Novel.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
June 7, 2004... TEN BIG ONES: A Stephanie Plum Novel JANET EVANOVICH, READ BY LORELEI KING. Audio Renaissance, unabridged, five cassettes, 8.5 hrs., $29.95 ISBN 1-55927-783-1 "I think of myself more as an entertainer than as a writer," Evanovich says in a...

Just One Look.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
June 7, 2004... JUST ONE LOOK HARLAN COBEN, READ BY CARRINGTON MACDUFFIE. Penguin Audio, unabridged, seven cassettes, 11 hrs., $39.95 ISBN 0-14-280056-2 Coben's latest thriller (after No Second Chance) is a riveting, albeit perplexing, nightmare that finds...

The Jane Austen Book Club.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
June 7, 2004... THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB KAREN JOY FOWLER, READ BY KIMBERLY SCHRAF. Listen & Live Audio, unabridged, seven CDs, 9 hrs., $34.95 ISBN 1-59316-027-5 * With its many section breaks and point-of-view shifts, Fowler's newest book (following...

Flashpoint.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
June 7, 2004... FLASHPOINT SUZANNE BROCKMANN, READ BY MELANIE EWBANK AND PATRICK LAWLOR. Brilliance Audio, unabridged, nine CDs, 13 hrs., $34.95 ISBN 1-59355-590-3 It should come as no surprise to listeners that Brockmann began her career as a...

Can You Keep a Secret?(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
June 7, 2004... CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET? SOPHIE KINSELLA, READ BY EMILY GRAY. Random House Audio, abridged, five CDs, 6 hrs., $29.95 ISBN 0-7393-1009-7 It would be hard to imagine anyone other than Gray giving voice to Emma Corrigan, the heroine of...

Funny Cide: How a Horse, a Trainer, a Jockey, and a Bunch of High School Buddies Took on the Sheiks and Bluebloods ... and Won.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
June 7, 2004... FUNNY CIDE: How a Horse, a Trainer, a Jockey, and a Bunch of High School Buddies Took on the Sheiks and Bluebloods... and Won THE FUNNY CIDE TEAM WITH SALLY JENKINS, READ BY JAMES SHERIDAN. Penguin Audio, abridged, four cassettes, 6 hrs.,...

The Outlaw Sea: a World of Freedom, Chaos, and Crime.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
June 7, 2004... THE OUTLAW SEA: A World of Freedom, Chaos, and Crime WILLIAM LANGEWIESCHE, READ BY THE AUTHOR. Audio Renaissance, unabridged, six CDs, 7.5 hrs., $29.99 ISBN 1-59397-436-1 The sea's unpredictability and savage indifference to the things it...

Plan of Attack.(Brief Article)(Audiobook Review)
June 7, 2004... PLAN OF ATTACK BOB WOODWARD, READ BY BOYD GAINES. Simon & Schuster Audio, abridged, four cassettes, 6 hrs., $26 ISBN 0-7435-3823-4 While researching this book, Woodward (All the President's Men; Bush at War) interviewed more than 75...

Audio bestsellers.(Bibliography)
June 7, 2004... Audio Bestsellers PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Available online the Friday before issue date at: www.publishersweekly.com Fiction 1 The Da Vinci Code (abr. CD). Dan Brown. Read by Colin Stinton. Random House Audio. Five CDs,...

Dragon lady keeps flying: Margaret Weis sets fantasy books and gaming on fire.(Innovators Series)(Interview)
June 7, 2004... A COLD WIND IS BLOWING through the pale green willows around Lake Michigan on this day in card spring. We're in Milwaukee with bestselling author Margaret Weis, about to enter a posh bistro to meet Weis's daughter, Lizz, as well as Patrick...

Lily Tuck: at home as a foreigner.(PW interview)(Interview)
June 7, 2004... Lily Tuck's heroines are strangers in strange lands. The spoiled suburban housewife in The Woman Who Walked on Water; the young bride adrift in PEN/Faulkner nominee Siam; the vacationers, honeymooners and exiles in the short story collection...

Madeleine Is Sleeping.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... MADELEINE IS SLEEPING SARAH SHUN-LIEN BYNUM. Harcourt, $22 (272p) ISBN 0-15-101059-5 * An immensely obese woman who sprouts two magnificent pairs of wings, a lonely housewife who grows strings to match her husband's viol and a lascivious,...

The Blighted Cliffs.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... THE BLIGHTED CLIFFS EDWIN THOMAS. St. Martin's/Dunne, $23.95 (304p) ISBN 0-312-32511-8 Recounting the misadventures of a hapless, besotted lubber in Dover, England, during the winter of 1806, this well-researched, charmingly outrageous...

White Hot.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... SANDRA BROWN. Simon & Schuster, $25.95 (432p) ISBN 0-7432-4553-9 White-hot labor disputes, family conflict, murder and romance are ablaze in bestselling Brown's latest romantic thriller (after Hello, Darkness), when Sayre Lynch returns to...

An Ornithologist's Guide to Life.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... AN ORNITHOLOGIST'S GUIDE TO LIFE ANN HOOD. Norton, $23.95 (208p) ISBN 0-393-05900-6 A first collection by novelist Hood (Something Blue; Ruby; etc.) comprises n conventional but affecting stories that suffer from a back-cover comparison to...

Buddy Cooper Finds a Way.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... BUDDY COOPER FINDS A WAY NEIL, CONNELLY. Simon & Schuster, $24 (304p) ISBN 0-7432-4664-0 "It wasn't supposed to be this way." That's the story of the last four years of Buddy Cooper's life--botched opportunities, failed relationships and...

Bling.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... BLING ERICA KENNEDY. Miramax, $24.95 (528p) ISBN 1-4013-5215-4 Hip-hop's sexed-up commercial side meets its gangsta roots in this sassy beach read debut. Eternal playboy Lamont Jackson is the larger-than-life head of hip-hop label Triple...

The Ghost Writer.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... THE GHOST WRITER JOHN HARWOOD. Harcourt, $25 (384p) ISBN 0-15-101074-9 Sly nods to spooky literary spinsters--Henry James's Miss Jessel and Dickens's Miss Havisham--set the tone for this confident debut, a gothic suspense novel with a...

Dinner for Two.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... DINNER FOR TWO MIKE GAYLE. Downtown Press, $13 paper (352p) ISBN 0-7434-7766-9 With chick lit flourishing, the hopeful but floundering subgenre of lad lit has emerged, a prime example being Gayle's novel about a 32-year-old music...

Chop Shop: a Bug Man Novel.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... CHOP SHOP: A Bug Man Novel TIM DOWNS. Howard, $12.99 paper (400p) ISBN 1-58229-401-1 Romance among the maggots and blowflies? Well, yes, and plenty of hilarity and suspense in this delightful sophomore Bug Man novel from Downs (Shoofly...

The Awakening.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... THE AWAKENING ANGELA HUNT. WestBow, $14.99 paper (320p) ISBN 0-84994-481-3 A dreamlike quality pervades this lovely tale by Hunt, the veteran author of more than 70 books. Thirty-five-year-old Aurora Norquest is left floundering after the...

Port Mungo.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... PORT MUNGO PATRICK McGRATH. Knopf, $24 (242p) ISBN 1-4000-4165-1 The psychologically suspenseful story of Jack Rathbone, a "latter-day Gauguin" who flees his native England to pursue a career as a painter as well as a volatile relationship...

Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... OLIVIA JOULES AND THE OVERACTIVE IMAGINATION HELEN FIELDING. Viking, $24.95 (320p) ISBN 0-670-03333-2 Considering the number of writers who've tried, and generally failed, to do plummy Bridget Jones one better, it only makes sense that...

Slightly Dangerous.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... SLIGHTLY DANGEROUS MARY BALOGH. Delacorte, $20 (352p) ISBN 0-385-33811-2 The long-awaited conclusion to Balogh's Regency-era romance series, focusing on the eccentric Bedwyn family, possesses the same charm and richness of character as her...

Waking Raphael.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... WAKING RAPHAEL LESLIE FORBES. Bantam, $25 (432p) ISBN 0-553-38281-0 * Forbes, who set her first two literary thrillers in lush, fascinating India, turns to Europe in her excellent third, to the idyllic Italian town of Urbino, birthplace of...

Circle of Grace.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... CIRCLE OF GRACE PENELOPE J. STOKES. Doubleday, $19.95 (304p) ISBN 0-385-51013-6 In the same vein as her novel The Blue Bottle Club, Stokes again presents a story of four women friends and the twists and turns their lives take. The...

Three Wishes.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... THREE WISHES LIANE MORIARTY. HarperCollins, $21.95 (352p) ISBN 0-06-058612-5 Three chick-lit heroines are better than one in Moriarty's witty debut starring Sydney-based triplets Cat, Gemma and Lyn Kettle. Borrowing a convention from...

A Love Story.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... A LOVE STORY DENENE MILLNER AND NICK CHILES. Dutton, $23.95 (256p) ISBN 0-525-94824-4 Dual narrators enliven this best-friends romance by husband/wife duo Millner and Chiles (Love Don't Live Here Anymore). Aaron Simmons and Nina Carruthers...

The Bourne Legacy.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... THE BOURNE LEGACY ERIC VAN LUSTBADER. St. Martin's, $25.95 (464p) ISBN 0-312-33175-4 Veteran thriller maestro Lustbader (Black Heart, etc.) seizes the reins of Robert Ludlum's bestselling Jason Bourne series, proving that even Ludlum's...

Blowout.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... BLOWOUT CATHERINE COULTER. Putnam, $25.95 (400p) ISBN 0-399-15187-7 The latest in prolific novelist Coulter's series of FBI thrillers once again features high-powered husband and wife team Dillon Savich and Lacey Sherlock. In tire middle of...

The Alias Man.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... THE ALIAS MAN BILL PRONZINI. Walker, $24 (228p) ISBN 0-8027-3381-6 Best known for his long-running (four decades) Nameless Detective series, the prolific Pronzini centers his latest standalone around three angry, women who have all been...

Justice for None.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... JUSTICE FOR NONE GENE HACKMAN AND DANIEL LENIHAN. St. Martin's, $24.95 (320p) ISBN 0-31232425-1 This second outing by coauthors Hackman and Lenihan (Wake of the Perdido Star) centers on Boyd Calvin, a 28-year-old shell-shocked World War I...

Sam's Letters to Jennifer.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... SAM'S LETTERS TO JENNIFER JAMES PATTERSON. Little, Brown, $24.95 (272p) ISBN 0-316-71057-1 Though Patterson is best known for his Alex Cross thrillers, one of his biggest-selling titles has been Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas (2001), an...

June publications.(Fiction Notes)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... Peter Stephan Jungk explores the dark side of Walt Disney's Technicolor life in The Perfect American, a fictionalized biography of the venerable cartoon magnate. Wilhelm Dantine, a German immigrant and cartoonist fired by Disney for protesting...

The Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde: the Devoted Friend, the Nightingale and the Rose.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... THE FAIRY TALES OF OSCAR WILDE: The Devoted Friend, The Nightingale and the Rose P. CRAIG RUSSELL. NBM, $15.95 (32p) ISBN 1-56163-391-7 * Two perfect prose miniatures find their ideal illustrator in this fourth volume of Russell's...

Grendel: the Devil Inside.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... GRENDEL: The Devil Inside MATT WAGNER AND BERNIE MIREAULT. Dark Horse, $12.95 paper (88p) ISBN 1-56971-604-8 Grendel is a character who comes close to defying description. He's inhabited a number of people over time, and the only constants...

A Gregory Treasury.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
June 7, 2004... A GREGORY TREASURY MARC HEMPEL. DC Comics, $9.95 paper (176p) ISBN 1-4012-0271-3 Gregory, a straight-jacketed child, is eternally trapped in a barren holding cell where he spends his time in drooling vegetation, banging his head on walls...