NORWALK, Conn., July 15 /PRNewswire/ — While few people will be surprised that the latest Harry Potter novel heads the list of “Summer Reading Hits” selected by attendees of last month’s BookExpo America trade convention in Los Angeles (May 31 – June 1), they may be a bit more surprised to see that The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown and a biography, An Unfinished Life: John Fitzgerald Kennedy by Robert Dallek both beat out Living History by Hillary Clinton for the number two and three slots in this annual survey of industry professionals. With other diverse selections ranging from Sushi For Beginners to A Short History Of Nearly Everything this summer’s crop of recommended picks proves that there’s something for nearly everyone’s taste.

The survey of book industry and publishing professionals, which is conducted by U.S. Data Group, and is jointly sponsored by the Association of American Publishers and BookExpo America,tallied over 1500 votes from an assortment of book industry and publishing professionals. The attendees were asked to select the books that they thought would be of broad interest, literary merit, or general reading enjoyment. The results, released today, reveal a wide cross section of titles available this summer.

J.K. Rowling’s latest installment in her Harry Potter series, Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix (Scholastic), is an overwhelming favorite, receiving a clear majority of votes. Notably, three books on politics also made the list including Ms. Clinton’s Living History (Simon & Schuster) and Mr. Dallek’s An Unfinished Life: John Fitzgerald Kennedy (Little Brown), as well as The Clinton Wars (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) by Sidney Blumenthal. Thrillers also make the “Summer Reading Hits” list with Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code (Doubleday) being joined in the top ten by A Cold Heart (Ballantine) by Jonathan Kellerman. Other picks include a book on financial strategy, Yes, You Can Time The Market (John Wiley) by Ben Stein and Phil DeMuth, Sushi For Beginners (William Morrow) by Marian Keyes, Life Of Pi (Harvest Books) by Yann Martel and A Short History Of Nearly Everything (Broadway Books) by Bill Bryson.

“The purpose of this annual survey is to call attention to books by providing consumers with information about hot summer reads,” notes Patricia Schroeder, President and CEO of the Association of American Publishers. “We simply want people to think about visiting their local bookstore as they plan their leisure time this summer. As the release of J.K. Rowling’s latest Harry Potter adventure has proved, books remain an ever-popular form of entertainment.”

Get Caught Reading is sponsored by the Association of American Publishers and is designed to promote books and encourage reading. BookExpo America is North America’s largest convention and trade exhibit for book industry professionals, attracting an annual audience in excess of 25,000 attendees. The survey was conducted by U.S. Data Group in association with FSB Associates. Votes were received from book industry professionals, including representatives of the nation’s top bookselling chains, independent retailers, librarians and wholesalers. Forty titles were nominated from over 160 books suggested. Voters were allowed to select up to three titles they would recommend for gifting or reading pleasure, with the top vote recipients represented in this list.

PENGUIN-PUTNAM PUBLISHING GROUP ACQUIRES “QUIETUS” REPRINT RIGHTS FROM HANNOVER HOUSE

Near fatal auto accident inspires best-selling, independent novel “QUIETUS”
Penguin-Putnam Publishing Group acquires reprint rights from Hannover House (New York, NY). Can death be avoided, delayed or genuinely cheated? Novelist Vivian Schilling miraculously survived a near-fatal automobile accident and presents some surprising insights in her new thriller, “QUIETUS” (Hannover House), one of this year’s most successful independently published books.

Inspired by the critical praise and sales momentum for “QUIETUS”, Penguin-Putnam Publishing acquired the reprint / publication rights from hardcover publisher, Hannover House last month. Penguin-Putnam plans to re-release the book in tradeback format next August.

“QUIETUS” is currently available in hardcover format from Hannover House, with a suggested retail list price of $24.95. The Penguin-Putnam tradeback edition next August will list for $14.95. The book is available at bookstores everywhere, or online at many top sites including WalMart.com, Amazon.com, BAMM.com, BN.com, Borders.com and GoHastings.com. Additional information on “QUIETUS” and Vivian Schilling is available online at www.VivianSchilling.com.

TOP SUMMER READING PICKS’ CHOSEN BY BOOK INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS

(reprinted from BOOKNEWS and PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY 2002)

CHICAGO (PRNewswire) – From the bittersweet honesty of Lucky Man to the nail-biting thrills of Beach House, book consumers may find this summer’s selection of new releases to be the best in years. With more than 100 major titles now available, U.S. Data Group surveyed publishing industry professionals in an attempt to determine this year’s “Top Summer Reading Picks.

Lucky Man by Michael J. Fox was the most popularly selected title, followed by three thrillers, Beach House by James Patterson and Peter de Jonge, City Of Bones by Michael Connelly and Quietus, a word-of-mouth hit by newcomer Vivian Schilling. Mary Higgins Clark’s re-titled and re-released romance novel Mount Vernon Love Story was the next most selected book, with Janet Evanovich’s Hard Eight and Tom Clancy’s Red Rabbit rounding out the list of the seven most anticipated summer releases.

The survey was conducted at last month’s Book Expo America convention in New York, and included approximately 1,000 book retailers, wholesalers, reviewers and publishers. Survey participants were asked to select three titles from a list of 100 nominees which they would be most likely to recommend to a customer or friend. As most of the books are new releases, some of those surveyed indicated that titles were selected based on the reputations of the authors or from publisher-supplied, advance reading copies. Book retailers participating in the survey included store managers from Barnes & Noble, Borders, Hastings Books, Waldenbooks, W.H. Smith, Joseph-Beth Booksellers and Davis-Kidd Bookstores. Selection criteria included reading enjoyment, popularity and anticipated sales volume.