Books

If you were wondering when a Game of Thrones comic book would show up, it's been in the works for quite a while from Bantam Books and Dynamite The first issue is due in September. Daniel Abraham writes, Tommy Patterson draws, and Alex Ross and Mike S. Miller will provide the covers. Martin had a previous comics encounter when the Dabel Brothers adapted his Hedge Knight Books.

Jeff Kinney's Wimpy Kid series get profiled revealing that is has now joined such publishing behemoths as Twilight and Stieg Larsson - indeed only the late Swedish author beat Kinney as best selling author in the US last year. The piece expands a bit on how YA publishing is still strong as other genres fade:

As the business is changing, creators are getting creative about the business and finding new revenue streams. One such venture is Crazy 8 Press. Six noted SF writers—Peter David, Michael Jan Friedman, Robert Greenberger, Glenn Hauman, Aaron Rosenberg, and Howard Weinstein—are banding together to start their own online publishing cooperative and sell direct to readers. Books will be offered on a bimonthly basis to start, with greater frequency to come. Interested readers can sign up for the newsletter at the above link.

With the launch of Pottermore yesterday, it appears that J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, will be selling her own e-book versions of the beloved series. She hardly need another revenue stream however -- she's worth an estimated $1 billion and reportedly makes £1 million every three days from the Hogwarts empire. And what do you spend that kind of money on? Realt estate -- a few vacation homes in Tasmania, and mansions in the UK -- and:

Although Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling has remained mum about her future writing, she has a lot of existing writing on the Potterverse -- notebooks full of background information and so on. This week she launched a new website Pottermore, which will sell digital copies of her Potter books, audio books, and offer all sorts of Mufggle-friendly activities:

Now that enough time has passed for everyone to see the final episode, a brief salute to Game of Thrones, via the above 8-bit version of the theme -- WARNING: will embed in your BRAIN -- and a piece of Phil Noto art depicting Daenerys Targaryen who was a real standout in the 10-episode season.

In all the uproar over DC's relaunch, what was once a somewhat robust program for original graphic novels seems to have been lost: no talk of any more Earth One books, and Vertigo's OGN line is limping along in purgatory. Thus an Amazon listing for WONDER WOMAN: HAND OF THE GODS by Margaret Weis, Lizz Baldwin, Justiniano and Walden Wong is of some interest.

Ah... Memorial Day approaches, and with it, summer vacation. Day after day of nothing which must be done, but full of possibilities! Maybe an escape to the air-conditioned refuge of your local library. Perhaps a day spent on the porch, sipping something cold and sinful (I prefer Brown Cows, served in a large ice tea glass). Or maybe hiding away up in a hayloft, or deep in a cool root cellar, where no one can find you. Whatever your preference, there's nothing like a good book to make you forget the world around you. Below are some suggestions for your summer reading pleasures. (And if you need a nap to avoid the afternoon heat, give your kids something to read. It'll keep them quiet long enough for you to recharge your batteries.)

Once again, BookExpo America, “the leading North American publishing event” took place at the Javits Center in New York City. Just like various comic cons, attendees and journalists love to analyze the zeitgeists floating around the exhibition hall, while others prefer to ignore the elephants in the room. So, following in the grand tradition of industry analysts and bloggers (beware the Camel’s nose!), I will give you my opinions at what I experienced this year.

Nothing much goes on at the third day of the BookExpo America -- it's generally a chance just to run around and talk to the people you missed the first two days, although most people have already gone back to the office. We'll have a full write-up tomorrow both here and at PW, but in the meantime, a couple of photos.

Day 2 of BEA produced more sore feet and shoulders as books were schlepped everywhere. but also books, authors, talks, and even a few comics. The Beat's day started with an Author's Stage interview with Bill Willingham on the subject of his new YA prose novel, Down the Mysterly River. Author's Stage interviews are kind of like Inside the Actors Studio -- they take place on a stage ...in front of people...sitting in a chair. No place to hide! They are not meant to engage a sense of comfort in the interviewer! Luckily Bill is such a great raconteur and talker, I had no worries. Publisher Tor has written up the talk:

The first day of exhibits at this year's BEA kicked off with a smaller floor space, and, as opposed to years past when the Diamond booth was the place to be for comics, found comics publishers scattered all over the floor -- Archaia being the latest to move out, over to PGW. But wherever they were, comics seemed comfortable to be there.