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Book News
There is just always so much book-related news out there, we decided to dedicate a page to attempting to organize some of it in one place. On this page you will find: Recent Releases; Upcoming Releases; Reviews; Movies, TV & Plays; Book Awards; and other Book-related news.
Recent & Upcoming Releases
Books that are being released soon, new hardcover titles that we are already excited about, or paperback releases that we've been waiting and waiting for!
Recent ReleasesJanuary 31, 2012:
Home Front by Kristin Hannah. Her new novel focuses on a military family's struggles.
And Furthermore by Judi Dench. In paperback.
January 24, 2012:
Taken : An Elvis Cole/Joe Pike Novel by Robert Crais
When the police tell a wealthy industrialist that her missing son has faked his own kidnapping, she hires Elvis Cole and Joe Pike-and Cole soon determines that it was no fake.Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef by Gabrielle Hamilton. Now in paper! Chosen for IndieBound.
Fairy Tale Interrupted : What JFK Jr. Taught Me About Life, Love, and Loss by RoseMarie Terenzio. A new memoir.
The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey
Inspired by Jane Eyre, Livesey offers vibrant prose and a feisty heroine in her sixth novel, set in Scotland in the early 1960s. Chosen for IndieBound.What It Was by George Pelecanos.
Mr. g: A Novel About the Creation by Alan Lightman.
Physicist and author Lightman (Einstein’s Dreams) offers another rumination in the form of a touching, imaginative rendition of God’s creation of the universe. Bored with the Void, his bickersome Aunt Penelope and tenderhearted Uncle Deva his only companions through Nothingness, the genius Nephew casts about in his infinite imagination for change, form, and meaning. Seized by an idea, he creates time—past, present, and future—suddenly injecting structure and motion into the “endless sleep” they’d heretofore inhabited.City of Fortune : How Venice Ruled the Seas by Roger Crowley.
From a few isolated islands in Italy during the Middle Ages, Venice grew to the world’s greatest sea power, a position it held for 500 years. British historian Crowley points out that, lacking land for agriculture, and well-positioned for sailing at the head of the Adriatic Sea, Venetians concentrated on trading. Preoccupied with commerce, they ignored the violent religious disputes of the era, but had no objection to violence in pursuit of profit.All I Did Was Shoot My Man by Walter Mosley.
In his latest, mystery vet Walter Mosley brings back Leonid McGill, who has to fend off the problems of a dysfunctional family--including his father, seemingly back from the dead--while taking on the case of Zella Grisham, who can't quite remember shooting her boyfriend seven years prior.Ages 12 and up. There Is No Dog by Meg Rosoff.
Rosoff looks at the world’s natural disasters, injustices, and chaos and presents a perfectly reasonable explanation: God is a horny teenage boy. According to this gleefully heretical account, God, aka “Bob,” was given Earth by his mother, who won the planet in a poker game. She takes gleeful pleasure in reducing God to an inept, lovelorn child, her takedowns often delivered through the dry observations of Bob’s industrious assistant, Mr. B., who “marvels that the same God who leaves his dirty clothes in a moldering heap by the side of the bed could have created golden eagles and elephants and butterflies.”January 20, 2012:
West of Here by Jonathan Evison. Winner of the 2012 PNBA Book Award.
Now in paperback! Chosen for IndieBound.January 17, 2012:
The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook: From Lamb Stew to "Groosling" - More than 150 Recipes Inspired by The Hunger Games Trilogy by Emily Ansara Baines.
A Lovesong for India: Tales from the East and West by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala.
The Flame Alphabet by Ben Marcus
A terrifying, world-threatening illness has turned the speech of children into deadly poison for adults; the suburban couple at the center of the action, Sam and Claire, have become de facto hostages of their own daughter, Esther, and the rest of the neighborhood kids. Good review in the New York Times. Seattle Times review.Gone West by Carola Dunn.
The Rope by Nevada Barr.
The Face Thief by Eli Gottlieb.
The Chalk Girl by Carol O'Connell.
Shadows in Flight (The Shadow) by Orson Scott Card.
Ender’s Shadow explores the stars in this all-new novel...Death of Kings: A Novel of the Saxon Tales by Bernard Cornwell.
The fate of a new nation rests in the hands of a reluctant warrior in this thrilling sixth volume in the acclaimed New York Times bestselling Saxon Tales series.The Odds: A Love Story by Stewart O'Nan.
This novel tells the story of the Fowlers, a couple who take a trip to Niagara Falls as their marriage teeters on the brink. Great review in the Seattle Times and chosen for IndieBound.January 10, 2012:
The Terror of Living by Urban Waite. Recommended tag in the store. In paperback. Chosen for IndieBound.
Believing the Lie : An Inspector Linley Novel by Elizabeth George. Inspector Thomas Lynley is mystified when he's sent undercover to investigate the death of Ian Cresswell at the request of the man's uncle, the wealthy and influential Bernard Fairclough. The death has been ruled an accidental drowning. But when Lynley enlists the help of his friends Simon and Deborah St. James, the trio's digging soon reveals that the Fairclough clan is awash in secrets, lies, and motives. Chosen for IndieBound. Review in the Seattle Times.
The Winter Palace: A Novel of Catherine the Great by Eva Stachniak
From award-winning author Eva Stachniak comes this passionate novel that illuminates, as only fiction can, the early life of one of history’s boldest women, Catherine the Great and her improbable rise to power—as seen through the ever-watchful eyes of an all-but-invisible servant close to the throne.The Last Nude by Ellis Avery
The story of a 1920s affair between a haughty Polish aristocrat and a woman who models for her provides the real-life framework for Ellis Avery's bold second novel, which narrates the love affair between Tamara and Rafaela, primarily from the model's point of view. This is a book about art and lust, but it is also about the effects of displacement and migration. Those seeking a literary escape to 1920s Paris will also find marvelous descriptions of the setting. Great review in the Seattle Times.The Orphan Master’s Son : A Novel of North Korea by Adam Johnson.
This epic novel, and thrilling literary discovery, follows a young man’s journey through the icy waters, dark tunnels, and eerie spy chambers of the world’s most mysterious dictatorship, North Korea. Jun Do is The Orphan Master’s Son, a North Korean citizen with a rough past who is working as a government-sanctioned kidnapper when we first meet him. Chosen for IndieBound. Interesting review in the New York Times.The House at Sea's End by Elly Griffith.
The third book featuring likable if flawed heroine Dr. Ruth Galloway, a forensic archaeologist and single mother, drawn into an investigation of six murders on the Norfolk coast of England. Seattle Times review.
Ages 14 and up The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.
A tour de force about the grim subject of teenage cancer, creating a story that is, by turns, hilarious, joyous, outrageous and utterly sad. Great review in the Seattle Times. Good review in the New York Times.Vulture Peak by John Burdett. Chosen for IndieBound.
The Obamas by Jodi Kantor. This book began as a cover story for The New York Times magazine, and has been kept under wraps ever since... what are the secrets?!
January 3, 2012:
Bossypants by Tina Fey. In paperback.
Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy.A Good Man by Guy Vanderhaeghe.
This Canadian author and historian's novel is the superbly written and researched conclusion to his trilogy about America's 19th-century western frontier. Review in the Seattle Times.The Man Within My Head by Pico Iyer.
Acclaimed travel writer Pico Iyer examines his lifelong obsession with British author Graham Greene in his new memoir. Review in the Seattle Times.Distrust That Particular Flavor by William Gibson
A collection of the famed science-fiction author's observations and prophesies, the nonfiction version. Review in the Seattle Times. Great review in the New York Times.How It All Began by Penelope Lively. One mugging, many outcomes. British author Penelope Lively shows how chance and coincidence can alter people's lives. Review in the Seattle Times.
For teen readers. Cinder: Book One in the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl...
Iago: A Novel by David Snodin.
This British author brings years of adapting Shakespeare for the BBC to the task, and tells a propulsive tale in the story of what happens after the curtain falls "on Othello's bloody bed." Review in the Seattle Times.Keep Our Secrets (Board Book) by Jordan Crane
Two young children tour their noisy house with fresh eyes, discovering along the way that all is not as it seems. Featuring heat-sensitive, color-changing ink on every page [we have a hairdryer for you to try this out with!], this book contains dozens of delightful surprises. Among them: a giant dog slumbering in a piano, a wishing puddle full of dimes, a raccoon that is actually a robot, and a camera that is secretly made of cheese.American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History by Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen, Jim DeFelice.
Kyle earned legendary status among his fellow SEALs, Marines, and U.S. Army soldiers, whom he protected with deadly accuracy from rooftops and stealth positions. Gripping and unforgettable, Kyle’s masterful account of his extraordinary battlefield experiences ranks as one of the great war memoirs of all time.Running the Rift: A Novel by Naomi Benaron. This debut novel follows Jean Patrick Nkuba, a gifted Rwandan boy, from the day he knows that running will be his life to the moment he must run to save his life, a ten-year
span in which his country is undone by the Hutu-Tutsi tensions. Chosen for IndieBound : Lead review for January 2012. Great new review in the Seattle Times.Agent 6 by Tom Rob Smith.
Tom Rob Smith's debut, Child 44, was an immediate publishing sensation.
In this spellbinding new novel, Tom Rob Smith probes the tenuous border between love and obsession as Leo Demidov struggles to untangle the threads of a devastating conspiracy that shatters everything he holds dear. Deftly capturing the claustrophobic intensity of the Cold War-era Soviet Union, it's at once a heart-pounding thriller and a richly atmospheric novel of extraordinary depth.... Chosen for IndieBound.The Death Instinct by Jed Rubenfeld. In paperback. Chosen for IndieBound.
The Confession: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery by Charles Todd.
Scotland Yard’s best detective, Inspector Ian Rutledge, must solve a dangerous case that reaches far into the past in this superb new mystery.Poser: My Life in Twenty-Three Yoga Poses by Claire Dederer. In paperback.
The Sentry by Robert Crais. In paperback.J. D. Salinger: A Life by Kenneth Slawenski. In paperback.
Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?: A Rock 'n' Roll Memoir by Steven Tyler. In paperback.
A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama's Mother by Janny Scott. In paperback.
Night Road by Kristin Hannah. In paperback.Breakdown : A V.I. Warshawski Novel by Sara Paretsky.
Carmilla, Queen of the Night, is a shape-shifting raven whose fictional exploits thrill girls all over the world. When tweens in Chicago's Carmilla Club hold an initiation ritual in an abandoned cemetery, they stumble on an actual corpse, a man stabbed through the heart in a vampire-style slaying. For V. I. Warshawski, the questions multiply faster than the answers.December 27, 2011:
Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler and Maira Kalman (Illustrator).
Min, precocious and equally obsessed with classic cinema and good coffee, broke up with Ed, a popular math-loving jock who secretly carries a protractor. Daniel Handler weaves this heartrending story of first love and other powerful firsts as Min reveals, item by item, what's in the box she's leaving on Ed's doorstep.The Jefferson Key: A Novel by Steve Berry. Now in paperback.
Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy. Now in paperback.
Fatal Error: A Novel by J. A. Jance. In paperback.
77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz.
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua. In paperback. Chosen for IndieBound.
Listening Against the Stone: Selected Essays by Brenda Miller. New collection of essays, 6 of which have won a Pushcart Prize, from this Washington author.
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. In paperback. Chosen for IndieBound.
Little Princes : One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of
Nepal by Conor Grennan. Now in paperback. Chosen for IndieBound.December 22, 2011:
Covert Warriors : A Presidential Agent Novel by W.E.B. Griffin.
December 13, 2011:
The Leopard by Jo Nesbo.
December 6, 2011:
Man Seeks God: My Flirtations with the Divine by Eric Weiner. After he's hospitalized, the author decides it's time to figure out what kind of God he might believe in. Review in the Seattle Times.
The Forgotten Affairs of Youth : An Isabel Dalhousie Mystery by Alexander McCall Smith.
Mr. Kill: A Sergeants Sueño & Bascom Mystery by Martin Limon. The Lynnwood writer's new mystery has the two Army investigators traveling the length of 1970s Korea to solve a rape that's being linked to an enlisted man. Review in the Seattle Times.
Red Mist : A Scarpetta Novel by Patricia Cornwell.
Clockwork Prince (Infernal Devices #2) by Cassandra Clare.
In the eagerly awaited sequel to Clockwork Angel, Charlotte’s leadership of the Institute is challenged by a rival Nephilim faction. With only two weeks to locate the sworn enemy of all Shadowhunters—the Magister—Will, Jem, and Tessa follow clues that lead to shocking discoveries, betrayal, and terrible danger. Tessa continues to agonize over who or what she is, even as her brother Nate reveals who she is not.Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James. The 91-year-old detective novelist said she was glad to finally complete a long-desired project : a sequel to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. More information here. Review in the Seattle Times.
Contents May Have Shifted: A Novel by Pam Houston. A new Pam Houston!February 6, 2012. Chosen for IndieBound.
Kill Shot : A Mitch Rapp Novel by Vince Flynn. Flynn is back with another nail-biting political thriller that follows the young Mitch Rapp on a deadly mission to hunt down the men responsible for the Pan Am Lockerbie terrorist attack. February 7, 2012.
Before I Go to Sleep by S. J. Watson. In paperback. Recommended tag in the shop and Chosen for IndieBound. February 7, 2012.
The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson. Chosen for IndieBound. Now in paperback. February 7, 2012.
Vaclav & Lena by Haley Tanner. Chosen for IndieBound. Now in paperback. February 7, 201.
Private Games by James Patterson, Mark Sullivan
Private, the world's most renowned investigation firm, has been commissioned to provide security for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Its agents are the smartest, fastest, and most technologically advanced in the world, and 400 of them have been transferred to London to protect more than 10,000 competitors who represent more than 200 countries. February 13, 2012The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larrson. In the concluding volume of Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy, Lisbeth Salander lies in critical condition in a Swedish hospital, a bullet in her head.... Coming in paperback [finally!] February 21, 2012!
Watergate by Thomas Mallon. New fiction from the author of novels about the Lincoln assassination and Joe McCarthy's anti-communist witch hunts. February 21, 2012.
Reverend America by Kris Saknussemm. The fourth book from this local author! He will be at the Bookshop to chat and sign copies of his newest book on Sunday, February 26, 2012. February 21, 2012.
Lone Wolf: A Novel by Jodi Picoult. This new novel explores the notion of family, and the love, protection and strength it’s meant to offer. But what if the hope that should sustain it, is the very thing that pulls it apart? Another tour de force from Jodi Picoult, it examines the wild and lonely terrain upon which love battles reason. February 28, 2012.
The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin by Masha Gessen. This Moscow-based journalist examines the once and future president. March 1, 2012.
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. This debut novel is the retelling of Homer's tale of the Trojan War. March 6, 2012
Why Be Happy When you Could Be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson. A new memoir. March 6, 2012.
Arcadia by Lauren Groff. Second novel from this author, set in a commune in rural western New York in the late 1960s. March 13, 2012.
The New Republic by Lionel Chriver. March 27, 2012.
Chomp by Carl Hiaasen.
In his fourth book for young readers (after Hoot, Flush, and Scat)), he keeps to the same formula: set up a cast of plucky, lovable Everglades kooks, pit them against greedy, wildlife-hating outsiders and buffoonish swamp villains, and mix it all up with offbeat humor, swift plotting, and heartfelt environmentalism. We love Carl Hiaasen! His kids books are as much fun as his adult novels. March 27, 2012.Sacre Bleu: A Comedy d'Art by Christopher Moore.
In his latest masterpiece, Moore takes on the Great French Masters. It is part mystery, part history (sort of), part love story, and wholly hilarious as it follows a young baker-painter as he joins the dapper Henri Toulouse-Lautrec on a quest to unravel the mystery behind the supposed “suicide” of Vincent van Gogh. April 3, 2012.The Wind Through the Keyhole: A Dark Tower Novel by Stephen King.
For those discovering the epic bestselling Dark Tower series for the first time—and for its legions of dedicated fans—an immensely satisfying stand-alone novel and perfect introduction to the series. April 24, 2012The Serpent's Shadow (The Kane Chronicles, Book Three) by Rick Riordan. The conclusion to the Kane Chronicles. May 1, 2012.
Deadlocked (ookie Stackhouse, Book 12) by Charlaine Harris. May 1, 2012.
The Passage of Power : The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert A. Caro. The Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer delivers Volume 4 in his massive life of LBJ. May 1, 2012.
Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel. May 1, 2012.
11th Hour: A Women's Murder Club Novel by James Patterson, Maxine Paetro. Lindsay Boxer is pregnant at last! But her work doesn't slow for a second. When millionaire Chaz Smith is mercilessly gunned down, she discovers that the murder weapon is linked to the deaths of four of San Francisco's most untouchable criminals. And it was taken from her own department's evidence locker. Anyone could be the killer--even her closest friends. May 7, 2012.
In One Person by John Irving. His 13th novel promises a return to the sexual themes and unconventional characters that are vintage Irving. May 8, 2012.
Reviews and Columns
Recent reviews of new and/or notable titles, books that have a specific interest to the northwest -- author or setting -- and one more place for us to share our latest favorites! Lots of links to articles about books!
New Mary Ann Gwinn column: author Jana Harris talks horse sense.
A Q&A with Jana Harris, whose book Horses Never Lie about Love: The Heartwarming Story of a Remarkable Horse Who Changed the World Around Her, recounts her 25-year relationship with a horse named True Colors. See the interview here.
New crime fiction column: Nothing like a good 19th-century mystery!
Several stories either written in the 19th century, or, with P.D. James' Death Comes to Pemberley and Anthony Horowitz's The House of Silk, new novels that pay homage to great 19th-century writers. And Kate Colquhoun's Murder in the First-Class Carriage recounts a sensational true case of 19th-century murder. Entire column here.
A book released last year just got a new review in the Seattle Times: Slade Gorton: A Half Century in Politics is an authorized biography of the former U.S. Senator.
New kids' books: Books by Northwest authors and illustrators for children and teens feature the story of a huggable porcupine, the search for Sasquatch and some fractured fairy tales for teens. Wrap them up now; read them by the fire with your favorite youngster later. All the details here.
Food lovers on your gift list? Nancy Leson has great ideas! Buy local (authors, that is!). "Buy local" is a constant theme in the food world, so why not do your part during the holidays by biting into a stack of food-centric books by local authors? Among the giftables in that impressive 2011 collection are moving memoirs, homegrown how-tos and culinary diversions, including these.
Best mysteries of 2011. Adam Woog's picks for the best mysteries of 2011 include books by Kate Atkinson, C.J. Box, Alan Bradley, Henning Mankell, Louise Penny, Jonathan Rabb, Jed Rubenfeld, Fred Vargas and Jacqueline Winspear. All the information here.
Some more local "best" lists [which all include some of our favorites too!]: top 10 favorites at the Seattle Library; top 10 at the King County libraries; coffee table books for book lovers; gift books for travelers; Nancy Leson's great list of books for food lovers from all sorts of local authors!
It has already begun: lists of the best books of the year! Seattle Times columnist Mary Ann Gwinn talks about a couple of the early ones [spoiler alert! a few of our favorite local authors are already making the list!], and about what she is most looking forward to next year! [already!]
Publisher's Weekly has one of the first best of 2011 lists! And if you want to get technical about it, they have multiple lists, since they have it divied up by genre -- lots of great books listed!
A great special section on children's books, including the best illustrated children's books of 2011 in the New York Times. [11/13/11]
One of our favorite local authors [Eastern Washington] had the honor, the challenge, of having an essay of his published on the front page of the Seattle Times on September 11, 2011. Read the essay by Jess Walter here.
Great essay in the New York Times about George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones and the HBO series.
Lovely new review of Tom McNeal's novel, To Be Sung Underwater, published June 2, 2011, in which a long-buried romance comes to life again in a small Nebraska town. The review is by our friend Valerie Ryan!
New review of a local book by a local author: Made in Hanford — The Bomb that Changed the World by Hill Williams.
Seattle-based artist, Trimpin, subject of a new, and beautiful, book. Trimpin: Contraptions for Art and Sound, review in the Seattle Times.
Movies, TV, Plays
We can't figure out if Hollywood is just completely out of new ideas, or if they finally figured out what all of us already know -- you will never run out of great books! Here are just some of the latest titles to make it to the stage or screen, current and upcoming...
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy book by John LeCarre.
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo. Movie from Steven Spielberg. The movie is already getting all kinds of rave reviews, and now Golden Globe nominations. Read the book first! Opened December 25, 2011.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Foer. The movie starring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock opened December 25, 2011.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo [US version]. December 21, 2011. Starring Rooney Mara, Daniel Craig, and Robin Wright. [the Swedish version is already on DVD -- definitely worth the rental!]
Adventures of Tintin in IMAX at the Pacific Science Center...opened December 21, 2011. For details, check their web site.
One For the Money, the first Stephanie Plum novel by Janet Evanovich. Starring Katherine Heigl, Debbie Reynolds as Grandma Mazur; and Sherri Shepard as Lula... Latest release date: January 27, 2012.
Joshua Ferris' 2007 novel Then We Came to the End will be a movie directed by local Seattle filmmaker Lynn Shelton. No date announced yet...
The Financial Lives of Poets by Jess Walter, has been optioned as a movie, with the new title Bailout, and is set to start filming in August 2011. Jack Black is attached as star and producer. Stay tuned for more details.
World War Z by Max Brooks is being filmed starring Brad Pitt! To be released sometime late in 2012.
The Hunger Games release date, March 23, 2012. You've been seeing the previews already... Plenty of time to still read the books!
Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. Not too many details yet... sometime in 2012 and: Patrick Dempsey!
Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. Release date sometime in 2012.
The Passage by Justin Cronin. Producer attached to the project is Ridley Scott. (yippee!) No date announced yet. Book #2 in the series, The Twelve, is scheduled for release sometime in 2012. Nothing more specific than that, yet...
Coming in 2013, with very few other details: The Maze Runner.
More young adult novels that are in development [as they say!] at major studios: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare, Matched by Ally Condie, Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, and Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. All of which we have in the store and a couple of which we have recommended tags on! [City of Bones and Shiver] Everyone is looking for the next Twilight... can't wait to see what the next big thing is!
Book Awards
There are indeed a crazy amount of awards given to books throughout the year. We will attempt to keep you updated on the big ones, and on the ones we particularly agree with!
The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA) has announced six winners of the 2012 Pacific Northwest Book Awards. Chosen by independent booksellers in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Alaska from nearly 200 nominated titles. [Announced early January 2012.]
The winners are:
- The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt. This novel, about two very different brothers in the old West, "is a Western novel for people who think they don't like Westerns. Soft-hearted brother Eli's narration in the trail dust of gun-slinging brother Charlie is philosophical and funny — very funny — amidst a stark and violent backdrop."
- West of Here by Jonathan Evison. Bainbridge Island author Evison's novel begins on the Olympic Peninsula of 1890, "when dreamers, drifters, scoundrels and hardworking settlers dove in with unrestrained ambition ... (and continues) to 2006 and their descendants, now suffering the consequences of that wild enthusiasm."
- Feathers by Thor Hanson. Friday Harbor resident Hanson was honored for his nonfiction account of everything you have ever wanted to know about feathers: "Feathers are pretty remarkable. And reading about them in Thor Hanson's well-researched book is like sitting down for a lively chat with a particularly bright friend."
- Shards by Ismet Prcic. Portland writer Prcic won for his first novel, in which the main character (also named Ismet Prcic) tries to write stories of his native Bosnia to heal his anguish at leaving his family and country. "Powerful, gorgeous writing, complicated without a hint of intellectual grandstanding. This novel is a difficult treasure."
- Habibi by Craig Thompson. Portland author/illustrator Thompson's graphic novel tells the story of a girl and boy in a Saudi Arabia-like country who undergo a series of harrowing trials. "The intricate artwork in Habibi weaves the beauty of Arabic calligraphy and traditional patterns into a story that feels simultaneously ancient and modern, starkly realistic and mythological."
- The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch. This memoir by a Portland author revisits the author's abused childhood and unsettled adulthood as she studies under Ken Kesey, gets her doctorate and swims, competitively and for herself. "Yuknavitch has a striking story to tell, but the way she tells it is even more striking. The book becomes experiential, which fosters an intimacy between the writer and reader."
Here is the official announcement on the PNBA web site.
The National Book Awards were announced November 15, 2011:
- FICTION: Jesmyn Ward, Salvage the Bones
- NONFICTION: Stephen Greenblatt, The Swerve: How the World Became Modern
- POETRY: Nikky Finney, Head Off & Split
- YOUNG PEOPLE'S LITERATURE: Thanhha Lai, Inside Out & Back Again
For more information visit the official web site, and see the article in the Seattle Times.
Julian Barnes wins prestigious Booker Prize. It was fourth time lucky for British writer Julian Barnes, who won literature's Booker Prize on October 18, 2011, for The Sense of an Ending, a memory-haunted novel about a 60-something man forced to confront buried truths about his past after the unexpected arrival of a letter.
Barnes, a finalist on three previous occasions who once described the contest as "posh bingo," finally took the 50,000 pound ($82,000) prize.The contest this year had as many insults, rivalries and bitter accusations as a paperback potboiler. For more juicy details see the article in the Seattle Times. And visit the official Man Booker Prize web site for more details.
The 2011 Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded October 6, 2011 to surrealist poet Tomas Transtromer of Sweden.
2011 Washington State Book Awards
This year's Washington State Book Award winners:Fiction: Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes.
Poetry: The Bled by Frances McCue.
Biography/Memoir: The Hustle: One Team and Ten Lives in Black and White by Doug Merlino.
History/General Nonfiction: The Long Way Home: An American Journey from Ellis Island to the Great War by David Laskin.
Scandiuzzi Children's Book Award winners:
For a picture book: Polar Opposites. Written and illustrated by Erik Brooks. The story of two pen pals, a polar bear and a penguin, at opposite ends of the Earth.
Books for early readers (6-9 years old): Guinea Dog by Patrick Jennings. Fifth-grader Rufus wants a dog, but gets a guinea pig instead. Complications ensue.
Middle grades and young adults (10- to 18-year-olds): Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride of Seattle. Sam, a skateboarder/vegetarian/fry cook who can summon the dead, gets kidnapped by a more powerful necromancer, who forces him to train with him or be eliminated.
The winners and finalists will be honored at a celebration from 6-8 p.m. October 12 at Seattle's Richard Hugo House. Sponsored by Hugo House and the Seattle Public Library Foundation, the event is free and open to the public. For more information call Hugo House at 206-322-7030 or go to www.hugohouse.org.For all of the details: Washington State book awards.
Congratulations to local children's author Bonny Becker! She was just awarded the 2011 Crystal Kite Member Choice Award, given by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. The organization's Washington/Oregon/Alaska/Idaho/Montana/North Dakota/South Dakota chapter gave the award to one of our favorites, Becker's delightful A Bedtime for Bear.
The Edgar Award winners were announced April 28, 2011.
Congratulations to all the winners including:
- Best Novel:
The Lock Artist by Steve Hamilton- Best First Novel:
Rogue Island by Bruce DeSilva- Best Paperback Original:
Long Time Coming by Robert Goddard- Best Fact Crime:
Scoreboard, Baby: A Story of College Football, Crime and Complicity by Ken Armstrong and Nick Perry. These local authors are Seattle Times columnists.- Best Juvenile:
The Buddy Files: The Case of the Lost Boy by Dori Hillestad Butler- Young Adult:
The Interrogation of Gabriel James by Charlie PriceFor a list of all the nominees and winners in all of the categories, see the press release here.
2011 Pulitzer Prizes Awarded.
Announced April 19, 2011, the prize winners in Letters are:
- Fiction: A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan
- History: The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery by Eric Fone
- Biography: Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow
- Poetry: The Best of It: New and Selected Poems by Kay Ryan
- General Non-Fiction: The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee
For more information about these winners, and to see the rest of the winners in Journalism, Drama, and Music, visit the Pulitzer web site.
The National Book Critics Circle Award winners have been announced [March 10, 2011]:
- Fiction. Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Goon Squad
- Nonfiction. Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration
- Biography. Sarah Bakewell, How To Live: Or, A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer
- Autobiography. Darin Strauss, Half a Life
- Poetry. C. D. Wright, One with Others: [a little book of her days]
- Literary Criticism. Clare Cavanagh, Lyric Poetry and Modern Politics: Russia, Poland, and the West
For all the details visit the National Book Critics Circle web site.
The Caldecott and the Newbery awards for 2011 were announced January 10, 2011.
The Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The 2011 winner is Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool. To see the 2011 Honor winning titles visit the ALA web site.
The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. The 2011 winner is A Sick Day for Amos McGee illustrated by Erin E. Stead and written by her husband Philip C. Stead. To see the 2011 Honor winning titles visit the ALA web site.
2010 Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry won by local poet.
Announced in January 2011. Congratulations to the local poet Lucia Perillo! Her 2009 book Inseminating the Elephant, by one of our favorite local publishers Copper Canyon Press, was announced as the winner of the Bobbitt National Prize. We were honored to have her here to read and sign her book when it was newly published, so, we are thrilled that she has won this prestigious prize, awarded to the most distinguished book of poetry published in the preceding two years. Huge congratulations to Ms. Perillo!
Pulitzer Prize-winning poet [Shadow of Sirius], W.S. Merwin has been named the 17th Poet Laureate, awarded by the Library of congress to recognize poetic merit.
One of our very favorites, Seattle author, Sherman Alexie has won the PEN/Faulkner award for fiction for War Dances, a book of short stories, essays and poems. Mary Ann Gwinn's article in the Seattle Times. Visit the PEN/Faulkner web site for more information about the award and to see all of the finalists for this year's award.
Other Book-Related News
There is always something going on in the Seattle book world! Author appearances in and around the Northwest, interesting book-related news, anything that doesn't fit in the above categories we'll mention here...
The Seattle Public Library always has lots of book-related events! Visit the Seattle Public Library web site for all the details!
Seattle Children's Theatre has announced their 2011- 2012 season.
Highlights include some of our favorite books!
Harold and the Purple Crayon, A Year with Frog and Toad and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Visit their web site for all the dates and details!
Book-It Repertory Theater:
Prairie Nocturne. Opening Friday, February 10, 2012.
The Art of Racing in the Rain. Opening Friday, April 20, 2012.
Visit the Book-It web site for all the details.
Seattle Arts & Lecture series:
The 2011/2012 season has been announced. Seven outstanding authors whose work ranges from multi-award-winning novels and short stories to mystery and biography:
- February 1, 2012. Jennifer Egan.
Author of a story collection and four novels. A Visit From the Goon Squad recently won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction and the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.- March 8, 2012. Amanda Hesser.
Food writer for the New York Times, Times Magazine, and food52.com, Hesser's books include The Essential New York Times Cookbook and Eat, Memory.- May 2, 2012. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Nigerian-born author of three books, including Purple Hibiscus (awarded the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize) and Half of a Yellow Sun (awarded the Orange Prize). She received a 2008 MacArthur Fellowship.- May 24, 2012. Colum McCann.
Winner of the National Book Award for Let the Great World Spin, "the first great 9/11 novel."Visit www.lectures.org to find out about SAL's speakers and subscription details.
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