Publishers Weekly articles from March 2003

Publishers Weekly archives from March 2003

Earnings rise at Random House despite sales slip: revenue at Random's American division hits $1.45 billion.(Company Profile)
March 31, 2003... BERTELSMANN'S Random House subsidiary had worldwide revenue of just under 2 billion euros ($2.11 billion) in 2002, a slight decline from the prior year, when revenue was just over the 2-billion euro level. EBITA (earnings before interest,...

Friedman exits B&N publishing. (People).(Michael Friedman of Barnes and Noble publishing division)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... MICHAEL FRIEDMAN STEPPED down last week as publisher and general manager of the Bames & Noble publishing, division. Friedman had been directing B&N's publishing efforts since August 1999, when the bookstore chain acquired his publishing and...

Scholastic revises Potter fair plan. (Magic).(promotion of 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix')
March 31, 2003... IN RESPONSE TO scores of booksellers angry over the pre-pub selling of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by its book fairs division (News, Mar. 17), Scholastic is reorienting the program to drive customers into stores. Customers who...

Millbrook reorg to put more focus on trade. (Market Conditions).(Millbrook Press)(Company Profile)
March 31, 2003... MILLBROOK PRESS, struggling to create a firm niche for itself in the children's publishing market, is undergoing a restructuring that company president Dave Allen said will capitalize on the strength of its Roaring Brook Press imprint, while...

Literary Lions den. (News).(Young Lions Fiction Award winners awarded by New York Public Library)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... For the first time, the New York Public Library named two winners of its annual Young Lions Fiction Award. Anthony Doerr (The Shell Collector, Scribner) and Jonathan Saf ran Foer (Everything Is Illuminated, Houghton) will each receive...

Sales, earnings up at Taylor & Francis. (Results 2002).(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... PRETAX PROFITS at U.K.-based Taylor & Francis rose 23%, to [pounds sterling]32.9 million ($52 million) last year, on a revenue increase of 7.3%, to [pounds sterling]147.4 million ($230 million). The company's journal division had the largest...

Al Regnery moving to American Spectator'. (People).(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... AL REGNERY, president and publisher of Regnery Publishing since 1986, is resigning from the company to become publisher of the American Spectator magazine. Marji Ross has been named to succeed Regnery as both president and publisher. Ross...

Book sales improve at Hastings Entertainment. (Retailing).(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... COMPARABLE-STORE SALES of books rose 3.6% for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2003, at Hastings Entertainment, the multimedia retail chain reported last week. Sales were dragged down by a weak fourth quarter in which same--store sales...

January e-book sales show surprising strength. (Trends).(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... The biggest surprise emanating from the AAP's new monthly statistics program was the growth of the ebook market (News, Mar. 24). According to the data, e-book sales were $3.3 million in January 2003 after sales of just a shade over $200,000...

Devlin, Reynolds resign from SPX. (Comics Trouble).(Tom Devlin, Eric Reynolds leave Small Press Expo)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... CONFLICTS OVER THE decision to move the Small Press Expo, the premier trade show for U.S. independent comics producers, from a hotel in Bethesda, Md., to a larger venue as part of the Baltimore Comicon has led to a shakeup of the Expo's...

Franklin Electronic ups Mobipocket stake. (E-publishing).(Franklin Electronic Publishers)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... FRANKLIN ELECTRONIC PUBLISHERS has increased its stake in Mobipocket, the French epublishing software developer, to more than 25%. Franklin originally had taken a smaller stake in Mobipocket, partnering with the software developer to bring...

Mandela's Favorite. (News).('Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales' wins NAACP Image Award)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Earlier this month, W.W. Norton sales rep Dan Christiaens accepted the annual NAACP image Award for a children's literary work, Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales, at a gala event in Los Angeles. He was accompanied by thirdgrade...

Doubleday Graphic Novels shut down. (News).(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... AFTER MONTHS OF ISSUING conflicting responses about the future of Doubleday Graphic Novels, Doubleday has finally acknowledged that it is folding the DON line of book-format comics barely six months after it released its first two books....

Attendance up 20% at London Book Fair. (News: International).( )(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... DESPITE FEARS of the outbreak of war in the Persian Gulf, attendance at the London Book Fair, held March 16-18, rose 20%, counting 13,500 visitors overall, and 5,000 from outside the U.K. "I think everyone had concerns about the outcome of...

Mailer on the war. (Hot Deals).(Random House to publish Norman Mailer's 'Why Are We at War?')(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... It's been plain in recent interviews and articles that veteran novelist Norman Mailer is not happy about our current war with Iraq, and his views will be given full rein in a brief, low-priced trade paperback that Random House is rushing out...

Singer's story for Broadway. (Hot Deals).(Tori Amos to write work about her life)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Tori Amos is a hot singer and songwriter (Scarlet's Walk) who has just been signed by Broadway's Gerald Howard, with editor Rakesh Satyal, for a book that will chronicle, with veteran rock journalist Ann Powers, her life on tour. The book...

Glass, Ha Jin stay at Pantheon. (Hot Deals).(rights to books by Julia Glass and Ha Jin purchased by Pantheon Books)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Two National Book Award-winning authors have been signed up for new novels at Pantheon: Ha Jin and Julia Glass, winners for, respectively, Waiting (1999) and Three Junes (2002). The house's LuAnn Walther bought world rights in Ha Jin's next,...

Johnson on America's Anxiety. (Hot Deals).(Harcourt buys rights to book by Haynes Johnson )(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Pulitzer Prize--winning journalist Haynes Johnson has signed for a new book with Harcourt, a study of the legacy of the McCarthy era and the ways in which it has shaped American life into the terrorist shadowed present. It's called The Age of...

Shooting the Heart. (Short Takes).(rights to book by Paul Cody purchased)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Viking's Paul Slovak brought aboard novelist Paul Cody, last published by Picador, for a book called Shooting the Heart, described as a love story about a man who thinks he may have murdered his wife. The buy was from agent Noah Lukeman,...

Vermillion. (Short Takes).(rights to book by Gene Hackman and Daniel Lenahan purchased)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Also from Lukeman, SMP's George Witte bought a new novel by actor Gene Hackman and his collaborator Daniel Lenahan (Wake of the Perdido Star). The new one is Vermillion, a noir story of race and murder in the 1920s Midwest; it was a world...

A Girl's Gotta Have It! (Short Takes).(rights to book purchased by Warner Books)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Warner's Caryn Karmatz Rudy paid six figures for a first novel by an editor at People magazine, Vietnam-born Julie Dam. Bought on the basis of the first 50 pages, A Girl's Gotta Have It! is the story of a fashion reporter in Paris who...

Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. (Short Takes).(new name for literary agency)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Jane Dystel's literary agency is being renamed Dystel & Goderich Literary Management, reflecting the promotion of longtime partner Miriam Goderich. The agency is also expanding with the addition of two new agents, Jessica Papin and Jim...

The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. (Short Takes).(rights to book by Greg Palast purchased by Plume)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... A new book by American-in-Britain investigative journalist Greg Palast (The Best Democracy Money Can Buy) was signed at Plume by editor Kelly Notaras. It's a collection of his political investigative reports, signed for world English rights...

Now and Future Medicine. (Short Takes).(right to book by Ray Kurzwell and Terry Grossman purchased)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... A book called Now and Future Medicine by futurist Ray Kurzwell and longevity expert Dr. Terry Grossman was bought for six figures, world English rights, by Rodale's Stephanie Tade from agent Loretta Barrett. It will offer information about...

Tyndale, Tekno to create new Left Behind series. (Leveraging).(Tyndale House, Tekno Books )
March 31, 2003... TYNDALE HOUSE has contracted with Tekno Books, a book packager in Green Bay, Wis., to create a three-book military thriller line and a three-book political thriller series based on the popular Left Behind series. A possible third series with...

Boston Mills Press revived with new list. (New Life).(Firefly Books manages to keep publisher afloat)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... LESS THAN A YEAR after it purchased a majority interest in Ontario-based Boston Mills Press, which was headed into bankruptcy with the collapse of its parent, Stoddart Publishing Company, Firefly Books has gotten the 29-year-old publisher on...

New owner at Vendome. (Illustrated Books).(Mark Magowan is new president of Vendome Press)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... FORMER HARRY N. ABRAMS publisher Mark Magowan has taken a majority stake in Vendome Press, a 30-year-old publishing house specializing in illustrated books on art, architecture, travel and lifestyle. Magowan will take over as president of...

Sales up, losses down at Audible. (Results 2002).(Audible Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Audible Inc. finished 2002 with a net loss of $17.2 million, down from a loss of $26.7 million in 2001. Total revenue rose 36.2%, to $12.4 million. The revenue increase was driven by a 113% increase in sales in its content subscription...

Monkfish to launch first list in fall. (Independent Publishing).(Monkfish Book Publishing Co.)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... IN TODAY'S TOUCH publishing climate, Paul Cohen, publisher of the newly established Monkfish Book Publishing Company, still believes there's room for a nondenominational independent press that combines books of literary merit and spiritual...

Books for a Better Life Awards. (Book Prizes).(from Naitonal Multiple Sclerosis Society)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... THE NATIONAL MULTIPLE Sclerosis Society sponsored the annual Books for a Better Life Awards ceremony last month in New York City. The awards honor the best self-improvement books of 2002. In addition, author Andrew Weil, finance author Suze...

Avalon Publishing first-quarter sales up 30%. (Results).(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... THE AVALON PUBLISHING group reported that sales for the first quarter of 2003 are up more than 30% over the same period in 2002. Susan Reich, president and COO of Avalon, said sales increased close to 50% for its New York-based division,...

Publishers look to save trees. (Paper).(environmental policy)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... More than 20 publishers have joined in a commitment to use more recycled paper to publish their books and decrease the use of paper produced from old-growth forests. The effort is sponsored by the Green Press Initiative, a nonprofit...

Smith ends talks for AOLTWBG. (No Deal).(W.H. Smith not buying AOL Time Warner Book Group)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... WH SMITH, thc British retailer and publisher that had been one of the few companies to actually acknoweldge making a preliminary bid for the AOL Time Warner Book Group, issued a brief statement last week saying that it would no longer pursue...

Clarkson Potter's new edit. Director. (People).(Pam Krauss promoted)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... THE RANDOM HOUSE imprint known for publishing Martha Stewart's branded line of books has a new editorial director. The long-vacant role at Clarkson Potter has been filled from within -- v-p, executive editor and director of cookbooks Pam...

Memorial service. (News).(memorial service for executive of M. Evans Publishing)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... A memorial service for George deKay, former president of M. Evans Publishing, will be held April 17 at the Century Association, 7 West 43rd St., in New York, from 4:30 to 6 p.m.

Veni, Vidi, DaVinci. (Behind the Bestsellers).('The Da Vinci Code' by Dan Brown)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... All hail Dan Brown! He came, saw and conquered the national charts, making it to the #1 spot after only about a week in the marketplace--and he did so without any previous time on any national list. The Da Vinci Code, his fourth book, had a...

Same name, but. (Behind the Bestsellers).(release and marketing of Queen Noor's biography)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Last fall, publisher Miramax and Queen Noor agreed to postpone her book Leap of Faith: Memoirs of an Unexpected Life because of the growing conflict in the Middle East. Publication date was moved from November 2002 to March 18, 2003. No one...

Suitable for hardcover. (Behind the Bestsellers).(romance book 'The Reluctant Suitor' printed in hardcover)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Back in 1972, Kathleen Woodiwiss launched the romance paperback boom with The Flame and the Flower, published by Avon Books (when looking for a paperback publisher, Woodiwiss reportedly started with the A's). She went on to write 10 more...

Whoops--we forgot Warner. (Behind the Bestsellers).(best selling books published by Warner Books Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Unfortunately, in our feature last week (Mar. 24) on the paperback bestsellers of 2002, we left out Warner's mass market titles. The publisher had six with sales of more than 500,000 copies, and that changes an observation we made. We noted...

On the heels of 'Jarhead': what does Anthony Swofford's breakout memoir suggest about wartime reading tastes? (Book News).
March 31, 2003... In his bestselling debut, Jarhead (Scribner), Anthony Swofford reflects on his experiences as a Marine scout and sniper fighting in Gulf War, emotional effects. Though other accounts have related Desert Storm heroics, such as Andy McNab's...

Wings Press launches novel by author of 'Black Like Me'. (Rediscovery).(John Howard Griffin's new book, 'Street of the Seven Angels')
March 31, 2003... Bryce Milligan is not the kind of guy to rest on his laurels, or to rest, for that matter. The publisher of Wings Press in San Antonio, Tex., credits insomnia - "I run on about three hours of sleep," he told PW -- with giving him time to...

Rolling with the punches; regional heads: indies are "moving ahead" in slumping economy. (Bookselling).
March 31, 2003... Most independent bookstores are weathering difficult economic times and are in a much better position than in previous downturns, according to anecdotal evidence from the executive directors of many regional booksellers associations. ...

Crowning achievement.(Delta Burke participates in St. Patrick's Day parade in Jackson, Mississippi)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Delta Burke (l.) joined Sweet Potato Queen Jill Conner Browne (r.) and a record crowd of 40,000 at the 21st annual Mal's St. Paddy's Day Parade in Jackson, Miss. Burke is starring in a WB Network pilot based on Browne's books. "Each new book...

Ruminator closes Open Book bookstore. (Open Closes).(Ruminator Books, Minneapolis, Minnesota)
March 31, 2003... Ruminator Books is closing its 3,000-sq.ft. Minneapolis store at the end of March. The shop, which opened in May 2000, was one of the original tenants at Open Book, the downtown nonprofit center for writing, publishing and book arts. The...

Mint condition. (Distribution Daybook).(Mint Publishers Group)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... When Morty Mint, former head of Penguin Books in Canada and Penguin USA, started Mint Publishers Group a decade ago, he chose a different tack than most North American distributors and decided to concentrate on brands. "That's the niche we've...

All clear. (Distribution Daybook).(Blook Clearning House Fulfillment and Distribution)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Seventy-one-year-old Book Clearing House Fulfillment and Distribution in Harrison, N.Y., has handled fulfillment for small presses for the past five years. "I sell research and develop books and videos for Fortune 500 companies," said BCH...

Supplies made fashionable: some fun and funky school and office supplies to snag your customers' attention. (Sidelines).(russell+hazel office products)
March 31, 2003... Desktop decor ranges from fabulous to funky, elegant to essential, as manufacturers continue to add variety to work and study. Tapping into the school and office products market, the fashionable folks at russell+hazel in Minneapolis...

Moving on up: A look at some titles currently flying high. (Children's Books).(popular children's books)
March 31, 2003... Fantasy Fans Get a Nix Fix According to Josette Kurey, senior manager of publicity at HarperCollins Children's Books, through its first eight weeks, Abhorsen was selling nearly 3.5 times the rate of Lirael in hardcover. In addition, the...

McGraw-Hill adds new trade imprint. (Children's Books).(McGraw-Hill Children's Publishing launches Gingham Dog Press)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... McGraw-Hill Children's Publishing has created a new imprint in its children's publishing line, bringing the company's total number of children's imprints to 13. Gingham Dog Press, spearheaded by trade publisher Tracey Dils, will officially...

Step into Reading gets a new look. (Children's Books).(reading series by Random House)
March 31, 2003... The first-ever leveled reader line has just gotten a facelift. Step into Reading, created in 1934 by Janet Schulman, has been undergoing rebranding since 2001, when its publisher, Random I-louse, decided the series needed a new look in order...

Obituary.(author Monica Hughes)(Brief Article)(Biography)
March 31, 2003... Monica Hughes, 1925-2003. Children's author Monica Hughes died of a stroke on March 7. Born in England, she moved to Canada in 1952 and settled there permanently after marrying Glen Hughes in 1957. She began writing for young people...

Criticas March Bestsellers.
March 31, 2003... @ Vivir para contarla. Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. (Living to Tell the Tale) U.S.: Knopf: Random House. 2002. ISBN 0-4000-4106-6. $25. 1 In less than a month, Knopf sold all 50,000 copies of the Spanish-language hardcover...

Nations of the Mind: poetry, publishing and public debate; poets assert their role in the national discussion.
March 31, 2003... ON MARCH 5, THE CROUP Poets Against the War, hastily but determinedly set up by Copper Canyon publisher Sam Hamill, presented members of the U.S. Congress with a sheaf of 13,000 poems, in conjunction with a day of readings all over the...

Fresh picks for kids: new titles and promotions from a variety of publishers call attention to children's poetry.
March 31, 2003... APRIL MEANS MANY THINGS to many people: spring has finally arrived, Easter and Passover are around the corner, but in the publishing world, April means poetry. For the past seven years, the Academy of American Poets has sponsored...

Scott Spencer: affairs of heart and soul. (Interview).(Interview)
March 31, 2003... The day to visit Rhinebeck, N.Y., Scott Spencer's picturesque hometown on the Hudson River, is the dazzling morning after a January snowfall, when the laden branches droop languidly over the nearly deserted Taconic Parkway and the...

The Book Against God. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... JAMES WOOD. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $23 (272p) ISBN 0-374-11538-9 * Joining the select company of critics who write serious fiction--and do it well--New Republic book critic Wood produces a novel in the tradition of Hazlitt's Liber...

The English Disease. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... JOSEPH SKIBELL. Algonquin, $23.95 (256p) ISBN 1-56512-257-7 The sophisticated interplay of conflicted faith and prosaic everyday life, and the clashes between inborn heritage and constructed love, are at the heart of this second novel by...

Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... CHRISTOPHER MOORE: Morrow, $23.95 (336p) ISBN O-06-055679-X. * From Jonah to Pinocchio, men have dreamed of stowing away alive in the bellies of whales. Nate Quinn experiences this doubtful honor in Moore's outrageous new novel (after...

The Wandering Hill. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... LARRY McMURTRY. Simon & Schuster, $25.95 (302p) ISBN 0-7432-3303-4 This is the second volume in McMurtry's four-book series the Berrybender Narratives, following last year's Sin Killer. Set in 1833 along the banks of the Yellowstone...

The Light of Day. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... GRAHAM SWIFT. Knopf, $24 (304p) ISBN 0-375-41549-1 George Webb, a divorced ex-cop and the narrator of this fine novel, works as a private investigator in London specializing in "matrimonial work": finding evidence of philandering. Some of...

Willow Temple: New and Selected Stories. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... DONALD HALL. Houghton Muffin, $24 (224p) ISBN 0-618-32981-1 Celebrated poet and essayist Hall maintains the restrained, elegant style that established him as a master of his craft in the 1987 collection The Ideal Bakery, adding seven new...

Moon Over Manhattan. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... LARRY KING AND THOMAS COOK. New Millennium, $24.95 (256p) ISBN 1-893224-57-0 * In this delightful farce--and such an animal is a rarity these days--the famed talk-show host and the veteran mystery author bite with gusto into the Big...

Land of the Living. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... NICCI FRENCH. Warner, $23.95 (350p) ISBN 0-446-53151-0 A horrifying premise catalyzes this fast-paced, suspenseful thriller: A woman wakes up in a darkened room, bound, disoriented, unable to recall the recent past. She is terrorized and...

Fresh Air. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... CHARLOTTE VALE ALLEN. Mira, $23.95 (288p) ISBN 1-55166-682-0 Spunky nine-year-old Katanya Taylor, from Harlem, moves in with agoraphobic Lucinda Hunter, in Connecticut, when Katanya's original Fresh Air Fund matchup for a two-week...

Exploring fate, terror and responsibility. (Talks with Nicci French).('Land of the Living')(Interview)
March 31, 2003... Sean French and Nicci Gerrard are the married authors behind the pseudonymous Nicci French. PW: Tell us about the genesis of Land of the Living [reviewed on p. 391 and its protagonist, Abbie Devereaux. Sean French: We started with...

That Faith, That Trust, That Love. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... JAMELLAH ELLIS. Villard/Strivers Row, $12.95 paper (320p) ISBN 0-8129-6656-2 Ellis's heartfelt but predictable debut follows 31-year-old Marley Shepherd, a Spelman graduate and attorney with a major Atlanta law firm, who is about to...

Pieces of Payne. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... ALBERT GOLDBARTH. Graywolf $15 paper (196p) ISBN 1-55597-378-7 In his first foray into fiction, prize-winning poet (Saving Lives) and essayist (Many Circles) Goldbarth offers a wide-ranging exploration of ideas, incorporating concepts and...

The Australia Stories. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... TODD JAMES PIERCE. MacAdam/Cage, $20 (230p) ISBN 1-93 1561-28-1 Pierce uses a family's intriguing history to produce a thoughtful, evocative portrait of Australia in this compelling first novel consisting of a collection of...

Wild Orchids. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... JUDE DEVERAUX. Atria, $25.95 (346p) ISBN 0-7434-3712-8 Forget garden-variety ghosts and poltergeists--the devil himself makes an appearance in bestseller Deveraux's latest romantic suspense novel. When famed mystery writer Ford Newcombe...

A Father's Affair. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... KAREL VAN LOON, TRANS. FROM THE DUTCH BY SAM GARRETT. Canongate, $23 (199p) ISBN 1-84195-421-7 Dutch novelist Van Loon's American debut is a whodunit with an irresistible twist: Armin Minderhout, a widower in his 30s with a...

The Bathhouse. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... FARNOOSH MOSHIRI. Beacon, $14 paper (160p) ISBN 0-8070-8357-7 As human rights abuses involving women in the Middle East continue to be exposed, Moshiri's prison novel (her second, after At the Wall of the Almighty) abotit a 17-year-old...

The Missing Piece. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... ANTOINE BELLO, TRANS. FROM THE FRENCH BY HELEN STEVENSON. Harcourt, $14 paper (256p) ISBN 0-15-601337-1 Debut novelist Bello's intricate murder mystery satirically imagines an alternate 1990s world in which spectators tired of chess and...

Acts of Love on Indigo Road. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... JONIS AGEE. Coffee House, $16.95 paper (385p) ISBN 1-56689-138-8 Terse, edgy and explosive, this collection--featuring 25 new stories as well as material from four earlier collections--proves conclusively that Agee still has her literary...

Vapor Trail. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... CHUCK LOGAN. HarperCollins, $24.95 (320p) ISBN 0-06-018573-2 Logan's new police thriller, a sequel to Absolute Zero, has former cop Phil Broker on the hunt for "the Saint," a mysterious killer of suspected child molesters whose signature...

Dragon Dance. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... PETER TASKER. Kodansha Int'l., $22.95 272p) ISBN 4-7700-2948-9 Though this new thriller from Tasker (Samurai Boogie) is a mixed bag, it does boast a winning premise. Backed by a powerful Chinese general and capitalizing on Japan's...

Second Glance. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... JODI PICOULT. Atria, $25 (368p,) ISBN 0-7432-5450-2 * It is August in Comtosook, Vt., yet suddenly the temperature fluctuates wildly, rose petals mysteriously fall like snow, patches of land are completely frozen and roiling garter snakes...

Home Before Dark. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... SUSAN WIGGS. Mira, $24.95 (384p) ISBN 1-55166-673-1 Jessie Ryder, the heroine of this latest novel from romance veteran Wiggs (Halfway to Heaven), returns to her Texas hometown after 16 years to visit Lila, the daughter she gave up for...

Picoult's Haunting Tale. (Talks with Jodi Picoult).('Second Glance')(Interview)
March 31, 2003... PW: Your 10th novel, Second Glance (see review above), combines diverse material on three subjects: paranormal research, Vermont's eugenics project and a piece of history about the Abenaki Indians. Which of these was the actual genesis for...

When Luba Leaves Home: Stories. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... IRENE ZABYTKO. Algonquin/Shannon Ravenel, $22.95 (240p) ISBN 1-56512-332-8 Occasionally awkward, but often shining with quiet grace, these 10 interconnected stories by Zabytko (The Sky Unwashed) follow the childhood-to-young-adulthood...

Sharpe Marches on. (Talks with Bernard Cornwell).('Sharpe's Havoc')(Interview)
March 31, 2003... PW: Sharpe's Havoc [see review, p. 45] is the 19th book in the series to feature your up-from-the-ranks rifleman, Richard Sharpe. Did you envision so many when you started? Bernard Carnwell: Since I was taking C.S. Forester's Hornblower...

Glory in the Name. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... JAMES L. NELSON. Morrow, $24.95 (432p) ISBN 0-06-019969-5 Nelson (By Force of Arms) the author of two nautical series, offers an exciting stand-alone naval warfare adventure. This time his hero is an officer in the battered and...

Sharpe's Havoc: Richard Sharpe and the Campaign in Northern Portugal, Spring 1809. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... BERNARD CORNWELL. HarperCollins, $25.95 (368p) ISBN 0-06-053046-4 Sharpe fans who may have worried that Cornwell's popular series was drawing to a close can heave a sigh of relief--the 19th entry (after 2002's Sharpe's Prey) brings the...

Miss Julia Hits the Road. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... ANN B. Ross. Viking, $24.95 (338p) ISBN 0-670-03207-7 Fourth in a popular series about a Southern widow with perfect manners and a taste for trouble, Ross's latest will bring a chorus of "Thank you, Lord"s from faithful readers. Newcomers...

A Guide to the Perplexed. (Fiction).(Book Review)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... GILAD ATZMON, TRANS. FROM THE HEBREW BY PHILIP SIMPSON. Serpent's Tail, $14 paper (151p) ISBN 1-85242-826-0 Debut novelist Atzmon has penned a comic polemic against his fellow Israelis, set in the near future, soon after the collapse of...