Daily book biz round-up: Of Thee I Sing sells; judging books by their covers; and more

Today’s book news:

• HarperCollins and Gawker make nice
• Of Thee I Sing becomes fastest selling picture book in Random House history
• Better Book Titles (via MobyLives)
• Salty Ink launches the 2010 Judge-a-Book-by-its-Cover Competition
• The two most essential, abhorrent, intolerable lies of George W. Bush’s memoir

Books of the Year 2010: Books for Young People

There’s no formula for choosing the books of the year. Some break ground, some tackle familiar themes with new energy. Some represent the best work from established authors, some introduce us to important new voices. And some are simply in-house favourites we feel deserve a little more attention. Here are the Books for Young People that made the most impact in 2010.

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Daily book biz round-up: new Oprah pick coming; money for Ontario textbooks?; and more

Today’s book news:

• Oprah prepares to announce new book club pick, and it’s not Freedom
• Scholastic Book Club takes new marketing approach
• Dalton McGuinty makes vague reference to helping Ontario schools cover cost of textbooks
• Penguin sues sports writer over undelivered bio
• Century 21 scoops up former Barnes & Noble space before corpse is even cold
• EW uncovers shocking Hollywood prejudice: authors not asked to be on Dancing With the Stars
• Delightful literary oddities available on EBay

Daily book biz round-up: white Twilight; How to be Alone; and more

Today’s book news:

• Either Amazon, Apple, or B&N is lying about their share of the e-book market
• Twilight novels get virginal white covers for Christmas
• PEI poet breaks through on YouTube with How to be Alone
• New Jersey town to lose all its libraries
• John Wiley & Sons launches enormous database for scholarly journals
• Is wireless reading ruining the cafe business?

Why social media does/doesn’t matter and why you should/shouldn’t just shut up about it already

• Journalist Dave Obee uses author Dave Bidini as an example of why artists shouldn’t quit Facebook
• Author Maureen Johnson’s hilarious rant on the tedium of social media marketing: I Am Not A Brand
• A marketing specialist discovers that all the time you spend hawking your work via social media is not paying off in sales at all
• and because it is Friday … a little something special

Daily book biz round-up: Lionel Shriver lets it rip; 25 iconic book covers; and more

Lots to peruse today:

• The New York Observer posts an excellent article about outgoing S&S publisher David Rosenthal
• Lionel Shriver slams Orange Prize organizers, Bret Easton Ellis, and publishing in general
• Apparently, teenagers like Anne Michaels
• Swedish publishers get all silly over unpublished short stories by a 17-year-old Stieg Larsson
• eBookNewser launches ongoing spotlight on online writers
• AbeBooks looks at 25 iconic book covers

Shortcovers rechristened Kobo, with no branded e-reader in sight

It’s official: Shortcovers, the Indigo-owned e-book service launched less than a year ago, has a new name. At midnight last night, the company was rechristened Kobo (an anagram of “book”), and along with a redesigned website and mobile app, introduced several new features. However, no mention was made of a branded e-reading device, despite recent speculation.

What does the name change mean? Presumably, if the Shortcovers brand is starting from scratch all over again, we can expect more than simply a new “look and feel.” But the initial changes, outlined in a blog post by Kobo CEO Mike Serbinis, seem fairly minor. They include the ability to browse by category (fiction, romance, sci-fi & fantasy, etc.), a regularly updated bestsellers list, and recommended reading lists.

Serbinis says to also expect new apps, new “supported devices,” and expanded international offerings, including the ability for consumers around the world to make purchases in their local currency.

To experience the new Shortcovers, go to kobobooks.com.

What is Kobo?

Remember that rumour from this past summer that Indigo was planning to unveil a dedicated e-reading device? Well, some intrigue at the Canadian Intellectual Property Office is reviving such speculation.

Yesterday, blogger Mark Bertils noted that the Shortcovers app had gone AWOL in the Apple store. And a little digging from the Association of Canadian Publisher’s Nic Boshart has unearthed that Indigo-owned Shortcovers has taken out a trademark on the name Kobo, described as a portable e-reading device “for receiving, downloading, displaying, providing access to and reading text, images and sound and other digital content through wireless Internet access.”

Bookmarks: Fall blockbuster books, vampires, and “glowy magic”

Sundry links from around the Web:

• Proof the world is going to hell: rapper 50 Cent writes “motivational philosophy” in a new book sporting an eerily Biblical cover
• Atwood, Munro, and Coupland, oh my!  The National Post predicts the fall 2009 book season will be a blockbuster
• Long live the undead: Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan on why vampire mania will never die 
• This just in: swords and “glowy magic” dominate fantasy covers; or: how to keep your summer intern busy with meaningless work
• Haagen-Dazs with your Hemingway? Author Betsy Lerner asks publishers what they eat when they read

Sorry, who wrote this book again?: Dan Brown headlines on someone else’s book

While it may be standard practice to see book covers with blurbs that read “In the tradition of [insert best-selling author's name here],” the Internet is abuzz today about one of the most blatant abuses of this questionable technique. MarketingWeek is reporting that the cover of Deadline, a new novel by British thriller writer Simon Kernick, features The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown’s name well above, and much more prominently than the book’s actual author.

The cover (which can be seen here) states, “If you like your thrillers as fast, furious and unputdownable as Dan Brown, then we thought you’d enjoy…,” followed by the real author’s name and book title way down at the bottom. The top half of the back cover copy lists reasons to read Dan Brown – only the bottom half mentions Deadline.

Photos of the cover indicate that this edition is exclusive to U.K. chain WH Smith. From writer Pace J. Miller’s blog:

There is no right of publicity in the U.K., but I’m sure both Brown and Kernick would be spewing if they knew about this cover (and at least a prima facie case of passing off could be made). It’s designed to mislead and deceive the careless book buyer, or at the very least cause what is commonly referred to as “initial interest confusion.” The danger is exacerbated when this book is placed right next to Dan Brown’s books, which it was when I found it in WH Smith.

The thing is, Kernick is not some crappy first time author who can’t sell a copy. His previous novel, Relentless, was the 8th best-selling paperback, and the best-selling thriller in the UK in 2007.