Writers' Take Charge

This is a great article by Johnny Temple about writing for indie verses major publishing houses.

Small Press Center

First annual writer's conference from the Small Press Center starts this weekend.

Still time to sign up.

Award Finalists and A Big Uh Oh

PMA, The Independent Book Publishers Association has just announced the finalists for the 2005 Ben Franklin Awards. Congratulations to all who entered, but especially to the following authors and small publishing houses:

Best New Voice (Fiction)
The Race. Dave Shields. Three Story Press
The Shadow of Justice. Milton Hirsh. American Bar Association
Singularity. Bill DeSmedt. Per Aspera Press

The winner will be announced June 1 in New York.

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In other news, Mariah Carey has announced her decision to join the ranks of children's book authors. Her series will be about a bi-racial orphan and called Automatic Princess. The project has yet to begin, but she says, "It's still something I really want to do, and I'm going to do, and I'm going to start getting that into production soon." Source: RTE Guide.

It Has Begun.

The Writers and Readers Group has finally started. There's still an opportunity to get involved...e-mail us if you're interested.

Now on to your regularly scheduled blog....

New review posted in the Reviews section. Older reviews are in the Archives.

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Best Seller Lists

NY Times
Hardcover Fiction:
1. True Believer. Nicholas Sparks.
2. The Mermaid Chair. Sue Monk Kidd.
3. Revenge of the Sith. Matthew Stover.
4. No Place Like Home. Mary Higgins Clark.
5. The Da Vinci Code. Dan Brown

Hardcover Nonfiction:
1. My Life So Far. Jane Fonda.
2. Blink. Malcolm Gladwell.
3. The World is Flat. Thomas L. Friedman.
4. On Bull----. Harry G. Frankfurt.
5. Freakonomics. Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.

Booksense
Trade Paperback Fiction:

1. The Kite Runner. Khaled Hosseini.
2. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Mark Haddon.
3. The Secret Life of Bees. Sue Monk Kidd.
4. The Shadow of the Wind. Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
5. The Time Traveler's Wife. Audrey Niffenegger.

Trade Paperback Nonfiction:


1. The Tipping Point. Malcolm Gladwell.
2. Bad Cat. Jim Edgar.
3. The Devil in the White City. Erik Larson.
4. Reading Lolita in Tehran. Azar Nafisi.
5. Truth & Beauty. Ann Patchett.