Stephen King Top Pick of 2009? Waters' LITTLE STRANGER

Stephen King's Top Ten Books of 2009 column from last week's Entertainment Weekly is up on EW's site. Uncle Stevie's top pick? Sarah Waters' THE LITTLE STRANGER--"a deeply textured and thoughtful piece of work. Several sleepless nights are guaranteed."

[Edit 12/23: King was also quoted on The New Yorker's book blog about his fave of '09: "Like the best ghost stories, this is a tale of deepening obsession . . . authentically horrifying."]






















Riverhead May 2009

Happy Holidays from JVNLA!!

Click here to see the animated card!!!

NIGHT NAVIGATION in Psychiactric Services

Ginnah Howard's NIGHT NAVIGATION, whose themes include addiction and mental illness, has been awash in praise from newspapers, blogs, and literary journals since its publication in April 2009--rave reviews include those from, among others, New York Times Book Review, Washington Post, Publishers Weekly and Kirkus.

How does the title hold up under the critical eye of the psychiatric world? Just as well, it seems--Psychiatric Services, a monthly journal for mental health professionals and others interested in mental health issues, published a similarly positive review of NIGHT NAVIGATION in its December 2009 issue. The reviewer praises the verisimilitude of Howard's story, stating: "clearly [Howard] has either done her homework or has had first-hand experience with addiction and its meandering course."

Final analysis? "An entertaining and worthwhile true-to-life story about complicated people grappling with vexing problems."


















Houghton Mifflin Harcourt April 2009

Stills from the Lynne Barasch Museum Corner Exhibit @ Middle Country Public Library

The above and below photographs show the gorgeous exhibit featuring the lush, original sketches of author/illustrator Lynne Barasch now available to visit at the Middle Country Public Library in New York State.

Mark your calendars--Lynne will appearing at the exhibit on January 16th!

THE BIG THRILL Interviews Steve Perry

The International Thriller Writers, Inc.'s monthly webzine The Big Thrill features an interview with Steve Perry, "prolific writer of media tie-ins, teleplays, and original work," whose latest INDIANA JONES AND THE ARMY OF THE DEAD "brings the cultural icon face-to face with a resurgent horror subgenre."

"Perry's insight into Indiana Jones? He's "a classic adventure hero [whose] appeal is that he seems like an ordinary guy who rises to the challenge. Reluctantly sometimes . . . but he still does what needs to be done."

More on the challenges of writing in an established universe in the full article!!



Del Rey September 2009

POPE JOAN Film Premiers at #1 in Germany

From ScreenDaily.com:

"Constantin’s UK-Germany-Spain-Italy co-production Pope Joan . . . made a strong start to its run, with a $5m tally from 565 screens in three territories. The lion’s share of the gross came from Germany, where the film secured top spot with $4.4m from 465 screens, a $9,500 average. Set in the 9th century, the drama follows a woman who disguises herself as a man in order to rise through the ranks of the Vatican. Pope Joan opens in Belgium on November 18 and Netherlands on December 17."













Crown paperback rerelease June 2009

Lisa Cook on Life After Japan

"With no job of my own waiting for me, and only six days of marriage under my belt, I boarded a plane for Nagoya, Japan, a place that apparently had preserved the era and mindset of the 1950s." --Lisa Cook, on the journey recounted in her memoir Japan Took the J.A.P. Out of Me, and new motherhood, on Momlogic.com

Broadway Books October 2009

New Doreen Orion interview on WOW!--Women on Writing

"Everyone always says the most important thing is to spend time with the people we love, but I don’t think most of us really put this into practice. Spending 24/7 together in 340- square feet for 365 days with our 60-pound dog and 2 cats, Tim and I discovered we were happier than we’ve ever been." --Doreen Orion, on her memoir QUEEN OF THE ROAD, now in its sixth printing

Broadway Books June 2008

CEZANNE'S QUARRY on New York Times Book Review's Paperback Row!!

"This elegant mystery by a historian is full of period details as well as questions about women's place in the 19th century and the conflict between science and religion." --New York Times Book Review, Editors' Pick, Paperback Row, Sunday 10/4

Pegasus Books paperback September 2009

Lynne Barasch's FIRST COME THE ZEBRA in The New York Times

"Barasch successfully dramatizes a real-life conflict . . . the scenes are simply drawn, and the resolution feels hopeful and realistic." --The New York Times, Children's Bookshelf

Fishing Lessons with Carl Safina

Filmed during an outing with New York Times Dot Earth blogger Andrew Revkin--click here for the Times post.

Jewish Journal interview with Zoe Klein

“He’s a brooder; he’s the most autobiographical of the prophets, and there’s something so desperately lonely and sad about him that I wanted to reach back in time and comfort him somehow . . . I wanted to provide someone who is just mad about him and loves him as a man, not as a prophet.” --Zoe Klein, expounding on her novel DRAWING IN THE DUST

LITTLE STRANGER Tribune Article

"From the outset, with Tipping the Velvet, her debut novel, to the present . . . [Waters] has persistently gone where few dare follow, in the echoing footsteps of Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins and the Brontes." --The Herald, on Sarah Waters' literary antecedents

The Little Stranger is short-listed for the Man-Booker Prize.

The Little Stranger, Riverhead May 2009

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

The Taiwanese edition of Doreen Orion's riotous memoir QUEEN OF THE ROAD just came in and everyone at the office is absolutely smitten with the cover.

We are all also intensely curious about what Doreen's adoring husband is exclaiming down at the bottom of the image, as nature calls during a photo (in)opportunity:

















Anyone read Chinese?

Broadway Books June 2008, Marco Polo Press June 2009

Lucinda Roy in Newseek, USA Today

The always-insightful Lucinda Roy was twice featured in major publications in the past two weeks. Her reflections on US race relations in the Obama era, sparked by the controversial arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates last month, was published in USA Today at the end of July, and has swiftly been followed by an article in Newsweek this past Friday that discusses how writing can help students and parents get--and stay--connected. Check 'em out!


















Riveting . . . balanc[es] sympathy over an anguished soul with horror over his presence. Filled with a poet's mastery of tactile details. Calm analysis only highlights the urgency of Roy's warning that fundamental problems . . . need to be addressed lest similar tragedies recur." --Kirkus Reviews

Heartbreaking . . . infused with startling moments . . . conveys the anguish of being caught up [as] an accidental actress in am American melodrama." --Washington Post

Harmony Books March 2009

LAST BRIDGE Media Blitz!! New Links

LA Times article of this weekend: Where Few Men Dare to Tread, featuring Cat Drucker of Teri Coyne's debut novel--part of a tradition of "damaged, kick-butt women" from crime fiction in recent decades. Check it out!!

Bookreporter.com on THE LAST BRIDGE: "Coyne's pacing and prose are unrelenting . . . Very accomplished and confident . . . haunting and scary, full of rage and energy . . . a worthwhile and compelling examination."

Teri Coyne takes the Page 69 test


















Ballantine, July 2009

Sarah Waters' THE LITTLE STRANGER nominated for Man Booker 2009!!

[update 09/08/09 Sarah's made the shortlist as well!!]

Sarah Waters has twice been shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for her novels FINGERSMITH and THE NIGHT WATCH. Now, her newest, THE LITTLE STRANGER, has been longlisted for this year's award, with the shortlist to be announced on September 8th. Go Sarah!

Waters on her inspirations and influences for THE LITTLE STRANGER:

LAST BRIDGE Trailer

POPE JOAN Motion Picture, German Trailer

Zoe Klein on debut novel DRAWING IN THE DUST

Christopher Gortner on THE LAST QUEEN

Karen Schaler on TRAVEL THERAPY: Where Do You Need to Go?

Dr. Joseph Luciani on recording RECONNECTING