Dan Brown's new novel to Release 9/15

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Random to Release Dan Brown's 'The Lost Symbol' in September
By Jim Milliot -- Publishers Weekly, 4/20/2009 8:55:00 AM

Publishing in general and Random House in particular should receive a much-needed boost this fall when RH’s Doubleday imprint releases The Lost Symbol, the long awaited next novel from Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown. Random is setting a five million-copy first printing for the book, which will be released in the U.S. and Canada September 15.
Ever since Da Vinci became a worldwide bestseller in 2003 there has been much speculation about when Brown would deliver his next book. After a number of false reports, Ron Howard, director of the Da Vinci movie, said earlier this year that Brown’s next book would come out sometime in 2009. In a statement, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group chairman Sonny Mehta said Symbol “is one of the most anticipated publications in recent history, and it is well worth the wait.”
The story takes place over a 12-hour period in the life of Da Vinci protagonist Robert Langdon. “Weaving five years of research into the story’s twelve-hour timeframe was an exhilarating challenge,” said Brown in a statement. “Robert Langdon’s life clearly moves a lot faster than mine.” The book will be edited by Brown’s longtime editor Jason Kaufman.
There are more than 81 million copies of Da Vinci in print worldwide, and the book made bestsellers out of earlier Brown works, most notably, Angels and Demons; a film of Demons will be released May 15, directed by Howard and starring Tom Hanks once again as Langdon.

Rethinking Events and Who Promotes books?

I've been struggling to comprehend the mindset of most publishers these days. First, publishers began selling books outside bookstores through mega-discount dealers. At first, they were happy to be able to sell additional copies of their books. Then they began to do a bit of financial analysis. Yes, they got many more sales, but at a drastically reduced profit margin. In fact, many publishers had to run higher print runs to fill orders from mega-discounters, just to have thousands of copies returned to them when the sell-throughs weren't good. Many smaller publishers are just breaking even.

It is the traditional bookstore that generates profits for publishers. Frontline booksellers are the ones who actually read these books and hand-sell them to our customers. We are the ones who help to establish new talent, and continue to sell books beyond their marketing cycle. Bookstores are depositories of experience and knowledge of books.

And yet, more and more, we see major authors doing book signings at WalMart and Costco, and not making stops at regional bookstores. This makes no sense to me. Bookstores need these events to help keep us financially solvent so that we will be there to sell that author's next book (and his or her previous 6 books, which by the way, are not available at Costco). Publishers have decided that instead of touring an author, they will print 100,000 tacky bookmarks and ballpoint pens promoting the books and sending them to bookstores. Spare me. Spend the money to send the author to a few bookstores (even if mine isn't one of them). It will sell more books, and maybe make a difference to a reader.

On a positive note, we had a great event at the store last week that I wanted to share. We hosted our first "author dinner" in the cafe next door. The Blue Heron served a three course meal to 30 attendees and Diana Joseph, author of "I'm Sorry You Feel That Way" read from her book and answered questions. The Blue Heron has such a good reputation, that I'm sure a few of the attendees came just for the food. The author was funny and a good time was had by all. I think I've decided to feature one author this way each month in order for my customers to have an experience beyond just sitting and listening to a reading. (Plus I get to pass some business to my friends who own the cafe).

Books releasing soon to watch for:

"Coop" by Michael Perry
"A Reliable Wife" by Robert Goolrick
"The Cellist of Sarajevo" (in paperback) by Steven Galloway

Book Guy's First Blog

OK...so I've decided to join the millions of "bloggers" out there to add my own voice to din of book-related discussion on the blogosphere.

My name is Chris Livingston, and I own a small independent bookstore in southeast Minnesota. My customers, friends, and peers have been insisting I blog about my "exploits," although I'm not altogether sure what I have to say is relevant to most of you. However, I have been considering a journal, and why not use a blog to do just that.

I have been wrestling with whether to continue to host as many authors in the store as I have been recently. Pros: Events are what (theoretically) set us apart from our online competition. Events can be profitable if we are lucky. Events keep our customers connected to books and reading. Events allow readers to connect with the elusive author. Cons: They are a lot of work. It is just as likely no one will show up as it is to have a good crowd (this is both dissapointing from a financial perspective, but humiliating to both me and the author). Even when events are successful, they are not overly profitable.

We had Nicole Helget ("The Turtle Catcher") in February....successful. We had Pamela Carter Joern ("The Plain Sense of Things") in early March...not successful. We had Marisha Chamberlain ("The Rose Variations") last night...good turn out, but sold only a few books.

Anyway...the wheels are turning. I think the answer for the store may just be to reduce the number of events we do to just two per month, and serve dinner. We have a cafe/restaurant that shares space with the store, and I might as well use them to our advantage.