Tattered Essence

Remember who Tom Ridge is? He is the first secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Well, looks like he has signed a deal with Thomas Dunne Books for Need to Know: Beyond Chaos and Fear, A Secure Path for America. Yes, that’s correct, he got a book deal.

Rob Kirkpatrick acquired North American rights from Flip Brophy at Sterling Lord. Ridge’s first book promises a glimpse into the early and challenging years of homeland security, as he looks back at events presently unknown to the public.

Ridge will also assess present policies in the U.S. and abroad, and explain what he thinks must be accomplished if America and its allies are to prevail against international terrorism

BookExpo America is hosting a panel discussion featuring a number of American booksellers and librarians at the upcoming Beijing Book Fair. Eight Americans are being brought to the Fair where they will host the panel on bookselling that deals with, among other topics, conducting business in a digital marketplace. The book fair takes place January 8 – 11, 2008.

There are several booksellers attending. Among the booksellers attending the Fair are: Karl Pohrt, founder and owner of Shaman Drum Bookstore in Ann Arbor; Rick Simonson of Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle; Sarah McNally of McNally Robinson in New York; Alison Hill of Vroman’s in Los Angeles; and Paul Yamazaki of City Lights in San Francisco.

You may recognize Melville House as an indie publisher of political books. Melville House has published books such as What We Do Now and novelists including Stephen Dixon and Tao Lin.

Melville House is moving its headquarters very soon. They are going from Hoboken, NJ to Brooklyn’s DUMBO neighborhood. As you may know the DUMBO hood is home to other indie publishers like Akashic Books and PowerHouse, and former home to Soft Skull Press.

Melville’s new space will be at 145 Plymouth St.

This new space will house not only the publisher’s offices, but a bookstore and event space!

Guess what? Marvel Illustrated is Adapting Literary Classics!

Marvel Comics is courting the literary and educational crowd with Marvel Illustrated. It is a new imprint devoted to adapting classic literature into comic books.

The WGA Strike Affects Comics Creators Too!

The ongoing strike by Writer’s Guild impacts not only film and TV but also the comics field. Many comic book writers are taking to the picket lines as well.

DC Comics’ collected editions have seen annual double-digit sales growth for a number of years. This is according to George Brewer, DC Comics’ v-p of design and retail product development.

Beginning in spring 2008, as DC’s books begin to be distributed to the bookstore market by Random House.  The company is introducing a new line of collections: Deluxe Editions, trade hardcovers with a trim size a bit larger than a standard comic book or paperback, but not quite as large as DC’s high-end, oversized Absolute Editions.

The first book in the new format was released in October. It was  Jeff Smith’s Shazam!: The Monster Society of Evil.