M2 Best Books articles from November 2004

M2 Best Books archives from November 2004

Penguin to hold 25% off day on 36 titles for independent booksellers.(Penguin Books Ltd.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Publisher Penguin is to give independent booksellers a pre-Christmas boost by holding a 25% off day on 4 December 2004 on 36 of its titles. The offer on books including Jamie Oliver's...

Wal-Mart refuses to stock comedian's book.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD US retail giant Wal-Mart has reportedly refused to sell comedian George Carlin's new book in its stores. The book, titled 'When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops', is published by Hyperion...

Iranian Nobel Prize winner sues the US over book restrictions.(Brief Article)
November 2, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi is to sue the US government for blocking publication of her memoirs. Ebadi, who last year became the first Iranian and first Muslim woman to win the Nobel...

Miniature Harry Potter book sold at charity auction.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A charity auction at Sotheby's in London, organised by Tatler magazine, has sold 24 miniature books including one by JK Rowling. Celebrities from various fields including the arts and...

Illustrated edition of 'The Da Vinci Code' released.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A new illustrated version of Dan Brown's bestselling religious thriller 'The Da Vinci Code' has been published. 'The Da Vinci Code: Special Illustrated Edition' features around 150...

SanomaWSOY division receives approval to acquire Malmberg Investments BV.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Finish media group SanomaWSOY Corporation said on Tuesday (2 November) that its WSOY division had received approvals from competition authorities for the acquisition of the Dutch-based...

Guardian First Book award shortlist announced.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The shortlist for the Guardian newspaper's Guardian First Book award has been announced after being selected by readers' groups run by the bookstore chain Waterstone's and eight judges. ...

Virgin Books signs deal with Olympic medalist Kelly Holmes.(Brief Article)
November 5, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Virgin Books has signed a two-book publishing deal with British double Olympic gold medalist Kelly Holmes with the first book, 'My Olympic Ten Days', expected to be released on 6 December...

Parragon to be Disney's UK publishing partner.(Parragon Publishing Co.)(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD US media giant Disney has selected the rapidly expanding publisher Parragon as its chief UK publishing partner despite previous partner Penguin's massive sales of Disney tie-in books. ...

50 greatest books adapted for film chosen.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Employees of London's 395 libraries have voted for the top 50 books that have been turned into films in an attempt to persuade fans of film to visit them. Books such as Anne Rice's...

Anti-Bush book sales rise following re-election.
November 9, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD US President George W. Bush's success in last week's US presidential election has reportedly led to an increase in sales of liberal and anti-Bush books. Thomas Frank's 'What's the Matter...

World's largest book donated to West Chicago Public Library.(Brief Article)
November 9, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The world's largest book has gone on display at the West Chicago Public Library. 'Bhutan: A Visual Odyssey Across the Last Himalayan Kingdom' features colour photographs of Bhutan and...

Whitbread shortlists unveiled.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The shortlists for the five categories of the Whitbread Book Awards have been announced. Alan Hollinghurst, the winner of this year's Booker Prize, and Louis de Bernieres are among the...

New pregnancy guide released by Barnes & Noble Books.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Barnes & Noble Books has released a new guide for pregnant women, entitled 'Great Expectations: Your All-in-One Resource for Pregnancy & Childbirth'. Written by Sandy Jones and her...

Madonna's fifth children's book set for summer 2005 release.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Pop star Madonna is to release her fifth children's book in the summer of 2005, according to the singer's publisher Nicholas Callaway. 'Lotsa de Casha' is a tale about how wealth is...

Harper publishing group restructures.
November 11, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A major restructuring at publisher Harper has taken place, gathering all the separate imprints under the new HarperMorrow umbrella led by Morrow/Avon publisher Michael Morrison. The...

Children's publisher Egmont Books restructures.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Children's book publisher Egmont Books has undergone a restructure which has split the publisher into two divisions, Egmont Press and Egmont Publishing. Egmont Press will handle the...

Bertram's announces profit increase.(Brief Article)
November 12, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Book wholesaler Bertram's has announced that its profits for the year ending 31 July 2004 have doubled from 2003 despite a period of restructuring at the company. Bertram's made a...

O'Reilly publishes 'SELinux: NSA's Open Source Security Enhanced Linux'.
November 15, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Publisher O'Reilly has released 'SELinux: NSA's Open Source Security Enhanced Linux' by Bill McCarty. The author has said that he considers SELinux to be the most important computing...

Impac Award longlist announced.(Brief Article)
November 15, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The longlist for the GBP70,000 Impac Award has been released, with 150 novels chosen by 185 libraries around the world nominated for the award. The big names nominated include Booker...

Waterstone's unveils Christmas marketing campaign.(Waterstone's Booksellers Ltd.)(Brief Article)
November 15, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD UK bookstore chain Waterstone's has revealed its Christmas marketing campaign led by a half-price 'offers of the week' promotion. Waterstone's was the final UK high street bookstore to...

Tom Hanks in talks for 'Da Vinci Code' film.(Brief Article)
November 16, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The film adaptation of Dan Brown's bestselling novel 'The Da Vinci Code' is expected to feature actor Tom Hanks in the lead role. Director Ron Howard said that he favoured Hanks to play...

Prince Philip releases book about competition carriage driving.(Brief Article)
November 16, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD HRH The Duke of Edinburgh has written a book about the sport of competition carriage driving, one of his hobbies. '30 Years On and Off The Box Seat' explains how the prince's interest in...

Unpublished Barbara Cartland novels to be released.(Brief Article)
November 16, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Barbara Cartland left behind 160 unpublished novels when she died in 2000 at the age of 98, it has been revealed. Now there are plans to publish these books, starting from this week. One...

Author of books on government loopholes charged with welfare fraud.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD An author of books on how to take advantage of US government loopholes has been charged with stealing thousands of dollars from Social Security. Dianne Holmes-Despain, author of...

New guide explains how to find true love.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
November 17, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Favorite Press has released a new guide for women on finding true love with an "emotionally present" partner. 'The Emotionally Available Partner: A Journey to True Love' is written by...

New Harry Potter screenwriter announced.(Brief Article)
November 17, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The screenwriter for the film adaptation of the fifth Harry Potter book has been chosen. 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix' will be adapted by Michael Goldberg. Shooting on the...

Bonnier Books acquires AdLibris.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The Swedish privately-owned media group Bonnier AB said on Wednesday (17 November) that its book publishing business Bonnier Books had agreed to acquire the Swedish online bookstore AdLibris....

National Book Awards announced in New York.(Lily Tuck, Kevin Boyle, Jean Valentine)(Brief Article)
November 18, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The US National Book Awards have been presented to the winning authors at a ceremony in New York, with the fiction prize going to novelist Lily Tuck for her book 'The News From Paraguay'. ...

Swedish literary magazine beams poetry into space.(Brief Article)
November 18, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Swedish poetry magazine Lyrikvannen has broadcast readings of Swedish poetry into space at an event at an observatory in Stockholm. The magazine's editor Daniel Sjolin said that he...

MP Chris Smith calls for audiobooks to be VAT zero rated.(Value-added tax)(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Former chair of the Man Booker Prize Chris Smith MP has thrown his weight behind the RNIB's Right to Read campaign by urging the UK's Chancellor Gordon Brown to make audiobooks used by the...

WH Smith drops People's Choice Book Awards.(Brief Article)
November 19, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD UK bookseller WH Smith has dropped its People's Choice Book Awards and will instead concentrate on its widely respected WH Smith Literary Award and its support of the British Book Awards. ...

WH Smith closes in on new chairman.(Brief Article)
November 23, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Troubled UK high street bookseller WH Smith is closing in on securing a new chairman after leading shareholders in the company were asked if outgoing Seven Trent CEO Robert Walker was a...

Second Lit Idol search begins.(Brief Article)
November 23, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The second 'Lit Idol' competition has been launched following the success of the 2003 competition which saw the winner Paul Cavanagh sign a publishing deal with HarperCollins. The 2004...

AuthorHouse makes book donation to US troops.(Brief Article)
November 24, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Self-publishing services provider AuthorHouse is to send more than 4,000 books to US servicemen and women stationed around the world. AuthorHouse encouraged its authors to donate copies...

WH Smith confirms appointment of Robert Walker as new chairman.(Brief Article)
November 24, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD UK high street bookseller WH Smith has confirmed that it has appointed outgoing Seven Trent CEO Robert Walker as its new chairman. Walker will join the board of WH Smith on 1 January 2005...

John Peel autobiography to be published in 2005.(Brief Article)(Biography)
November 25, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD The autobiography of the late BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel that was only one third complete at the time of his death will be released by publisher Transworld in the autumn of 2005. ...

New Alan Bennett collection acquired by Faber & Faber and Profile Books.
November 25, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Publishers Faber and Faber and Profile Books have announced the joint acquisition of a new book by the author and playwright Alan Bennett. 'Untold Stories' is Bennett's first collection...

Winner of Llewellyn Rhys Prize announced.(John Llewellyn Rhys Prize)(Brief Article)
November 26, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Charlotte Mendelson has won the GBP5,000 John Llewellyn Rhys Prize for her novel 'Daughters of Jerusalem' (Picador), the second award the novel has picked up. Mendelson, who is also...

New cross-industry publishing skills group formed.(Publishing Skills Group)(Brief Article)
November 26, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A new UK group aimed at developing skills and training for the publishing industry has been formed following the closure of the Publishing National Training Organisation. The Publishing...

Alma Media Corporation subsidiary starts book publishing.(Brief Article)
November 29, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Finnish media group Alma Media Corporation reported on Monday (29 November) that its subsidiary Kustannus Oy Aamulehti would start regular publishing of books and had therefore established a...

'Airport' author dies, aged 84.(Brief Article)(Obituary)
November 29, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Arthur Hailey, who wrote 11 best-selling books including 'Airport', 'Hotel', 'Wheels' and 'The Moneychangers', has died at the age of 84. Doctors believe that the British-born author,...

New book offers insight into the life of a celebrity personal assistant.(Brief Article)
November 29, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A recently published book explains what is involved in the role of personal assistant to a busy celebrity. 'Beyond the Red Carpet: Keys to Becoming a Successful Personal Assistant'...

Book of 46664 charity concert released.(Brief Article)
November 29, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD A new book has been published to mark last year's "46664" charity concert in aid of former South African president Nelson Mandela's HIV/Aids awareness foundation. '46664 The Concert'...

Authors donate short stories for Aids charity book.(Brief Article)
November 30, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Leading authors have donated short stories to a new book that will raise money for a South African Aids charity. 'Telling Tales' will include stories from 21 authors including Salman...

Cricket biography wins Sports Book of the Year award.(Brief Article)
November 30, 2004... M2 BEST BOOKS-(C)2000-2004 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD Peter Oborne has been named as the winner of this year's William Hill Sports Book of the Year award. 'Basil D'Oliveira', published by Little, Brown, tells the story of the black South...