Carrie Fisher’s Books Selling Like Wildfire

Just two weeks after her death, Carrie Fisher’s books are selling like wildfire. In fact, they’re selling so many copies, Simon & Schuster has ordered reprints of every one of her books, according to Entertainment Weekly.

“All of them have remained in print, but our supply was wiped out by demand,” said Jonathan Karp, President and Publisher of Simon & Schuster Publishing Group.  Several of them have topped bestseller lists in recent weeks.

Titles that have been reprinted include Fisher’s 2008 memoir Wishful Drinking, her 1987 novel Postcards From the Edge, her 2011 memoir Shockoholic and her 2004 novel The Best Awful. Her latest memoir, The Princess Diarist, also warranted a reprint from its publisher, Blue Rider Press.

Frankly, none of this is a surprise. It’s the same thing we see when a music artist dies and their albums and songs shoot to the top of the charts. It’s heartbreaking to see Fisher go, but lucky for us, her words live on.

 

You Can Help Write New Taylor Swift Book

It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since Taylor Swift’s debut album was released. (Actually, I remember well the first time I heard it — played by my college roommate on repeat in our freshman year dorm — it just seems completely implausible that THAT was 10 years ago.) To commemorate that time — for Taylor, not me — Simon & Schuster is planning to publish a book about the pop superstar, according to Entertainment Weekly.  Oddly, it’s the first major book to be released about her.

Much like some of her album covers and Instagram account, the book about Swift will be a sort of scrapbook paying homage to the singer. The book is set to include fan art, concert photos and articles published about the singer over the years as well as the press release for her first album.

But here’s the cool part: Simon & Schuster is asking that fans contribute by suggesting their favorite published pieces about Swift and coming up with a title and cover for the book. The publishing company is also looking for someone to serve as the “honorary author” and face of the book. Article suggestions can be made by emailing tips@swiftfanbook.com and photos can be sent it by emailing images@swiftfanbook.com, but if you’re interested in authoring the book, designing the cover or creating the title, you can enter various contests. Here are the details, from EW:

Title contest: The book’s title will be determined by a contest. Fans are invited to submit the title they think the book should have, along with a brief essay of 250 words or less in support of their title, with the winning title to be chosen by Simon & Schuster. The fan who wins will receive a $2,500 payment and credit in the published book. This contest will run from Dec. 13, 2015, through Jan. 13, 2016, and entries may be made at www.SwiftFanBook.com.

Honorary authorship contest: Although the book is a group effort, Simon & Schuster is looking for one super-Swiftie to serve as its honorary author and the face of the book to the public. That fan, whose name will appear on the cover and help select content for the book and promote it, will also be chosen via a contest. Fans who think they have the passion, knowledge, creativity, and charisma for the role can make their case in a video of three minutes or less to be uploaded at www.SwiftFanBook.com. The winner will be chosen by Simon & Schuster and receive a $10,000 payment. At the time of publication, the author will be flown to New York for a press tour, a book signing in Manhattan, potential appearances on major media outlets, and more. This contest will run from Dec. 13, 2015, through Jan. 13, 2016.

Cover contest: Once the book’s title and author have been determined and announced, fans with a flair for graphic design can create the cover they think the book should have. The winning cover design may be used on the published book, with the designer to receive credit on the book jacket and a $5,000 payment. This contest will run from Feb. 1, 2016, through March 1, 2016, and submissions should be uploaded at www.SwiftFanBook.com.

The book’s planned release is October 24, 2016 — brilliant, considering it’s just in time for next holiday season, and I imagine a lot of young teenage girls will want a copies for Christmas and Chanukkah.

Though Swift has officially endorsed this project, it seems to be something she would absolutely support since there’s nothing she loves more than interacting with fans through social media and always thanks her fans for the cute ways in which they acknowledge her. Not to mention it’s the easiest — and probably cheapest — way to put together a book that is sure to make a lot of money. You can join the conversation about it online using the hashtag #SwiftFanBook

Anna Kendrick to Pen Book of Essays

Because Lena Dunham wasn’t enough, another twenty-something actress is setting out on becoming an essayist.

According to Page Six, this time it’s Anna Kendrick. The actress/singer is now adding author to her resume, with plans to write a book of autobiographical essays, due out in Fall 2016. Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster is publishing the book, which is said to include funny and embarrassing stories about the star.

The book does not yet have a title.

New Web Site for Books At Least a Year Old

If you’re anything like me, it take you a while to get around to reading the books you’ve added to your “To Read” list. Usually I’m a few years behind on the big bestsellers. It’s not that I don’t want to read them; it’s just that I’m backed up with reading other things, and before I know it, I’m reading books two years after they made the bestseller list.

Well if you’re like me, there’s a new web site that’s perfect for us! According to The New York Times, publisher Simon & Schuster has created a web site called offtheshelf.com. Those who run the site review book that are at least a year old — books that you may not have gotten around to reading, books that you may have simply overlooked, or classics that you read years ago and forgot about. This is the explanation on from the web site:

Off the Shelf is a site and newsletter created by passionate editors, authors, and others inside the book business to help you discover—or rediscover—great books. Whether they’re bestsellers you never got a chance to read or classics you remember falling for when you first read them, the books we write about have made an indelible impression on us as readers and have become friends we revisit often. We hope that shining a new light on these wonderful books will help you discover a passion for them too. 

Sounds awesome! What do you guys think? Stupid or brilliant?

Goldman Sachs Parody Book Gets New Publisher

A little more back and forth about that Goldman Sachs Twitter feed turned book deal — the book is back on!

Last week, I reported that after having gotten a book deal with Simon & Schuster imprint Touchstone, the Straight to Hell: True Tales of Deviance and Excess in the World of Investment Banking author had lost the deal since he never actually worked for Goldman Sachs.

But according to The New York Times, author John LeFevre got a new publishing deal, this time with Grove Atlantic, an independent publishing house. Plans for the book remain virtually the same; the book will be based on the Twitter account @GSElevator, a parody account that includes dark, harsh, but funny tweets supposedly overheard in the elevators at Goldman Sachs, one of the biggest investment banking firms in the world.

LeFevre, who until now had remained anonymous, received a six-figure advance from Grove Atlantic. Publishers promise the book will be strictly marketed as a work of fiction — again, because he never worked for Goldman Sachs. (He worked for Citigroup.) The book is due to be released in November.

Sounds like it’s hard to say no to this wolf of Wall Street!

Goldman Sachs Parody Book Cancelled

Just as I was about to write this fabulous post about the seemingly funny and great book due out this fall, I learned that plans for it had been cancelled.

According to Time, the  book based on the parody Twitter account @GSElevator will no longer released. This comes after the publisher learned that the writer of the Twitter account never actually worked for Goldman Sachs, the company that the tweets are based on.

@GSElevator is a parody account that includes dark, harsh, but funny tweets supposedly overheard in the elevators at Goldman Sachs, one of the biggest investment banking firms in the world. The account has more than 600,000 followers.

Entitled Straight to Hell: True Tales of Deviance and Excess in the World of Investment Banking, the book was expected to “go beyond” the “over-the-top behavior that has become associated with big Wall Street banks”  described in the @GSElevator tweets.

‘X Files’ Actress Gillian Anderson to Pen Sci-Fi Book Series

After nine years starring in one of the most successful sci-fi television series of all time, it’s fitting that The X Files actress Gillian Anderson would continue to pursue work in the world of science fiction.

According to Entertainment Weekly, that’s exactly what the actress is doing. Anderson has signed on to co-write a sci-fi book series with writer Jeff Rovin. The series is called the EarthEnd Saga. The first book, entitled A Vision of Fire, is set to be published in October by Simon & Schuster’s new science fiction imprint, Simon451. The new imprint will be geared toward science fiction and “speculative fiction.”

Anderson says she’s developed a mind for sci-fi after all those years of acting it out on the small screen. She says she wants to write science fiction novels that involve a strong female character.

But don’t think Gillian Anderson is giving up on acting yet. Her new NBC series Crisis debuts in March. She also stars in a series called The Fall and will appear in a few episodes of NBC’s Hannibal this season.

More information about the new Simon451 imprint is expected to come out at New York Comic-Con in October.

Derek Jeter: Baseball Player to Book Publisher

No, Yankee Captain Derek Jeter has not announced his retirement. In fact, he’s signed on to play another year for his beloved Yankees. But he is adding a new title to his name: book publisher.

According to The New York Times, the baseball player is starting his own publishing imprint, Jeter Publishing, partnering with Simon & Schuster. His imprint will publish books in a variety of genres, including adult nonfiction, children’s books, and young adult fiction. He says he started thinking a lot about life after baseball after he was injured several times in 2013, as Julie Bosman explains:

But Jeter said that in recent months, he had let his mind wander to the next phase of his career. An impetus was the injuries, which forced him to rest.

“I’ve had a lot of time to myself to think,” he said. “The whole last year has been sort of a blur. Being away from it for so long gave me the opportunity to think about what the future may hold after baseball.”

Jeter Publishing has been in the works for about a year now. The first of Jeter Publishing’s books are expected to  be released in 2014.

‘What Does the Fox Say?’ Children’s Book On the Way

If you ever wanted to know what the fox says, you’ll soon have the opportunity to read about it.

That’s right. According to Entertainment Weekly, the viral video of the song, “What Does the Fox Say?” by Norwegian comedy group Ylvis is getting published as a children’s book. Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing has acquired a picture book version of the song/video, which has gotten more than 230 million view on YouTube.

The book is due to be released on December 10 — a quick turnaround, and just in time for the holiday season.

Danielle Fishel (‘Topanga’) To Release Memoir

Everyone loves Topanga. And while she’s set to return to the world of television in the Boy Meets World spinoff next year, the story about the actress who plays her will be coming to a bookshelf near you.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Danielle Fishel is writing a memoir. Titled Normally, This Would Be Cause for Concern: Tales of Calamity and Unrelenting Awkwardness, the memoir will include details about Fishel’s audition experiences, red carpet moments and wedding planning disasters.

In the press release about the memoir, she wrote “Life is an incredible, and often embarrassing, journey and I can’t wait to share my experiences in Normally, This Would Be Cause for Concern. Get ready to laugh with me (or at me — that’s okay, too!).”

The memoir, published by Gallery Books (a Simon & Schuster imprint), is expected to be released in the fall of 2014.