Penguin to Publish Last Nabokov Novel

Dave Eggers, Philip Roth, Jon Krakauer have new titles out

(NEWSER) - Hoping to salvage a miserable year, publishers are flooding the fall season with more hot tickets than normal. Some samples, from the Wall Street Journal:

• Dan Brown, The Lost Symbol, Sept. 1: The next in a series from the Da Vinci Code writer.
• Nicholson Baker, The Anthologist, Sept. 8: A heartbroken poet reflects.
• Nick Hornby, Juliet, Naked, Sept. 29: Pop figures loom large as usual.
• Dave Eggers, The Wild Things, Oct. 1: The author's novelization of Maurice Sendak's children's book.

Bond franchise hoping new author can leave book sales, fans stirred

(NEWSER) - This year is the centenary of author Ian Fleming's birth, but while Daniel Craig gave the James Bond movie franchise a much-needed recharge, sales of the 007 books haven't caught up. Now, the Wall Street Journal reports, the Fleming estate has commissioned respected writer Sebastian Faulks to pen a new Bond novel, Devil May Care, with an ambitious first US printing of 250,000. More»

Son's imagined convo with dead dad might've saved final manuscript

(NEWSER) - Dmitri Nabokov's decision not to destroy his famed father's unfinished manuscript followed an imagined conversation with Vladimir's ghost, writes Ron Rosenbaum for Slate. Rosenbaum, who sleuthed his way through the "to burn or not to burn" debate, was previously told by Dmitri—who hinted at the book's genius before announcing his intent to destroy it—that he would keep his decision secret. More»

Venice Fulton scores 7 figures for dieting advice like: skip breakfast

(NEWSER) - Today, in the annals of careers you really should have chosen instead of the one you're doing right now: diet-book writer. Grand Central Publishing has announced that it has won the rights to Venice A. Fulton's Six Weeks to OMG. Fulton will apparently get "seven figures" for the deal (in the US ... he got an "equally spectacular" deal in the UK, reports AP ). What brilliance is contained in his dieting tome? He pushes no breakfast, being careful about eating broccoli, and taking cold baths. Seven figures. More»

But DoJ suit expected to be bad news for readers in long run

(NEWSER) - Just after the Department of Justice launched its antitrust lawsuit against Apple and five major publishers , Amazon announced plans to slash e-book prices. But while the move is expected to cut the prices of major titles from $14.99 to $9.99 or less, analysts believe the benefit to consumers will be short-lived. Amazon, which already controls around 60% of the e-book market, can afford to sell books at a loss to boost Kindle sales and the price-fixing lawsuit is expected to give it an overwhelming advantage, allowing it to drive competitors out of the market and start dictating its own terms to publishers. More»