The Inner Sanctum

Well I am off to the big show–This is my first time at San Diego Comic Con. I have been to the show in NYC, but everyone tells me that is just a taste of what the “real” Comic Con is like.

Looking forward to it and promoting some of our big books and authors.

DJ MacHale (Morpheus Road: The Light) will be there, along with Scott Westerfeld (Leviathan) . Tony DiTerlizzi (The Search for WondLa) will be there as well along with Jonathan Mayberry (Rot & Ruin) and Nancy Holder (Crusade).

We will also be giving away some cool stuff –The Search for WondLa and Infernal Devices ARCs as well as Dork Diaries Tattoos and Zombies vs. Unicorns Pins.–and holding a few original art raffles at the booth.

If your out in San Diego stop by our Booth #1017.

Jennifer Weiner and Judith Light discuss the Fly Away Home Audiobook

Beloved bestselling author Jennifer Weiner returns to audio this summer with a compelling new story. On sale today, the Fly Away Home audiobook is narrated by none other than Judith Light (Who’s the Boss, Ugly Betty). Check out an excerpt from the audiobook and a video of Jennifer and Judith discussing the writing and recording of Fly Away Home at http://pages.simonandschuster.com/flyawayhomeaudio.

In case you didnt know:)!  The Search for WondLa  (9781416983101) is the first book in an amazing new series from Tony DiTerlizzi. The series follows  Eva 9 who after her underground santuary is destroyed goes on a search for other humans with the robot that raised her: Muthr.

Besides being a fantastic read, we are doing something really special inside the book to enhance the reading experience–The book will include 3 special icons that when held up to a web cam will unfold a 3-D image that looks like it is coming out of the screen. The Augmented Reality technology that we used has been used in magazines and on book cover, but never inside a book to add to the reading experience.

Check out the WondLa Vision at http://www.wondla.com/

Many of you have been selling tons of the first Dork Diaries title–Tales From a Not-so-Fabulous Life ( 9781416980063)by Rachel Renee Russell. If you don’t know it, the Dork Diaries series  follows the middle-grade angst (don’t we all remember it well!) of Nikki Maxwell and have become an instant hit with tween girls looking for an alternative to that other diary book:). The first book has been a bestseller since it published last summer, and now the second book: Tales from a Not-So-Popular Party Girl (9781416980087) is on-sale tomorrow.

These are must for Summer Reading and should fly off your shelves. Check out this adorable piece of art from the new book …

You must check out this video from a Oregon student based on  Laurie Halse Anderson’s Chains (9781416905868). It is an amazing example of how kids can learn about history on their terms!

http://tinyurl.com/2wbmmwf

The follow-up to the bestselling The Summer I Turned Pretty (ISBN: 9781416968290),  It’s Not Summer Without You(ISBN: 9781416995555) just went on sale this week and it will not disappoint fans of the first book.  These books are the perfect summer read. They of course will appeal to teens, but also your adult customers (I know a lot of women here at S&S who are hooked).

  
We’re honoring the great playwright and poet’s birthday week and celebrating the immeasurable impact he had on the world.
 
Click on the banner above to check out the website we’ve created especially for the occasion, which includes
• Crossword puzzle featuring clues about Shakespeare’s life and works.
• Slideshow featuring famous quotes from Shakespeare’s famous plays.
• Scribd excerpt from Contested Will.
• An author interview video with James Shapiro.
• Several other videos from Folger Shakespeare Library in the video player.
• Books from Folger Shakespeare Library
• And more!
 
Find out how you can win a copy of James Shapiro’s CONTESTED WILL or a set of eight of Shakespeare’s great works from Folger Shakespeare Library!

Anna Quindlen visited us in our offices a few weeks back to record a video about her new audiobook, Every Last One. A huge fan myself, meeting her was such a thrill and watching her record her video an even bigger one. I hope you’ll take a moment to check out what Anna has to say and listen to an excerpt from Every Last One as well. We’re thrilled with the production and promise there won’t be a dry eye in the house after you’ve listened to this recording by Hope Davis (currently featured on HBO’s hit series, In Treatment).

I’d be remiss if I didn’t also tell you how thrilled we are to have Craig Wasson (who Stephen King called a “mad hot audio narrator” in last week’s Entertainment Weekly) and acclaimed actress Mare Winningham narrating the latest Stephen King audiobook, Blockade Billy (on sale 5/25).

Happy listening!

How excited am I that Laurie Halse Anderson is in our offices today. Not only is she an amazing author, but one of the coolest people I have met. She told us some great research stories and talked about her writing cabin. If you haven’t seen the her Mad Woman in the Forest video check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxNkZzKmJl4

We are are all eagerly awaiting Forge (Oct. 2010 9781416961444) the follow-up to Chains ( 9781416905868)–the manuscript is in and ARCs are coming soon!

Laurie will be at BEA this year, singing Forge ARCs in our booth–#3940–on Thursday 5/27 at 11:30am.