Simon & Schuster Publishers has teamed up with Media Predict; called Project Publish, the initiative allows virtual traders to bet on which book proposal will ultimately get the green light...An interesting departure from the usual system of editors selecting which books to launch. S&S's team will select the grand prize winner among the top scorers, and that author will land the book deal (via The New York Times).

Really, book publishing industry? "American Idol" tactics?

I guess it's the inevitable next step after The New York Times called you out on not being able to predict your own bestsellers (via Bookninja). Ouch.

Posted by Graceanne at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Read or add comments (0)

Zooba's got the newest from Michael Chabon, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. The New York Times calls The Yiddish Policemen's Union "a gripping murder mystery and one of the most appealing detective heroes to come along since Sam Spade or Philip Marlowe." (Whoa!)

Posted by Graceanne at 09:43 AM | Permalink | Read or add comments (0)

Zooba's got the latest from bestselling author Elmore Leonard, Up In Honey's Room. This is a much better book name than his working title, Hitler's Birthday. (via ElmoreLeonard.com)

Check out a review, and get it now from Zooba.

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-It's White House Press Secretary lit: Ari Fleischer got a book deal, now Scott McClellan's inked his own. Tony Snow, care to comment? (via GalleyCat)

-May is Get Caught Reading Month, promoted with posters of celebrities with books. The only poster out of stock? Rosie O'Donnell's. (via Book Patrol)

-Oh, snap. Are blogs salting book reviewers' game? (via The New York Times)

Posted by Graceanne at 09:55 AM | Permalink | Read or add comments (0)

It seems like just yesterday that ex-CIA Director George Tenet was struggling with his manuscript deadline. The book is out now, and Wonkette has already weighed in.

Get it now from Zooba, and let us know what you think...

Posted by Graceanne at 02:38 PM | Permalink | Read or add comments (0)

-It's PEN World Voices Week in New York. (via The Literary Saloon)

-Hey, any Stephen King fans out there? He'll be at the upcoming Edgar Awards. (via David Thayer)

-Author Ray Carver: screenwriter? (New York Magazine via Maud Newton)

Posted by Graceanne at 09:40 AM | Permalink | Read or add comments (0)

Hi, members! When I tried to check if Zooba.com had any George Orwell or Raymond Carver just now, I discovered that the site is temporarily down for my browser, Firefox. (I can get to Zooba if I use Internet Explorer, though.)

If you, too, are having problems accessing your account and would like help, please contact Customer Service:

E-mail: customer.service@zooba.com

Phone: 888-827-1828

We're working to remedy this problem. In the meantime, please be patient. Thank you!

Posted by Graceanne at 03:12 PM | Permalink | Read or add comments (0)

-The London Book Fair begins! (via London Book Fair)

-Ray Carver's short story hits the big screen on April 27 (via New York Times)

-The New York Times Book review explores international lit (NYT Book Review via LitKicks)

-Big Brother watches George Orwell's flat (via Slush Pile)

Posted by Graceanne at 02:59 PM | Permalink | Read or add comments (0)

Sadly, one of our favorite authors, Kurt Vonnegut, died last night. (via Shelf Awareness)

Read more via The New York Times. Better yet, read Slaughterhouse-Five for a taste of his sheer brilliance.

Posted by Graceanne at 09:50 AM | Permalink | Read or add comments (0)

-Miss Snark, literary agent, has some sympathy for Don Imus. After all, "he helped promote a lot of books." (via Miss Snark)

-Newly uncovered manuscript from the late author of Suite Française (via Conversational Reading)

-More mind-blowing poetry videos from Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate (Billy Collins Action Poetry via Very Short List)

-Au revoir, Cody's Books (via SFGate)

Posted by Graceanne at 03:34 PM | Permalink | Read or add comments (0)

-Hey, our parent company, Bookspan, is in the news! All publicity is good publicity, right? (via The Wall Street Journal)

-Write your own bite-size fiction threads at Ficlets (via The Olive Reader)

-Guerilla artists' book installation brightens our commute (via New York magazine)

-A moment of clarity in the midst of our rereading addiction (via Moonlight Ambulette)

Posted by Graceanne at 10:21 AM | Permalink | Read or add comments (0)

-A book review of The Feminine Mistake: "Are stay-at-home mothers putting themselves—and feminism—at risk?" (via The New Yorker)

-Edith Wharton: "From ugly upper-class duckling to literary queen." (via The New Yorker)

-Publisher FSG lets its brand name do all the work (via GalleyCat)

Posted by Graceanne at 04:16 PM | Permalink | Read or add comments (0)

Via the New York Times:

"In a hotly contested deal, the life story of Dewey, a rescued cat who lived for 19 years in a library in a small town in Iowa, has sold for about $1.25 million to Grand Central Publishing."

Actually, I'd rather see the hilarious video Operation Kitten Calendar turned into a book. Who's with me?

Posted by Graceanne at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Read or add comments (0)

Size matters over at Boldtype. This literary e-magazine's new issue rounds up books under the theme Tiny; that is, "books that are either physically slight themselves or concerned with tiny subjects."

Brought to you by my zeitgeisty friends at Flavorpill.

Posted by Graceanne at 03:35 PM | Permalink | Read or add comments (0)

-The Washington Post reviews Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes. Check out the excerpt, too. (via Washington Post)

-Publishers revamp Jane Austen (via New York Times)

-Farrar, Straus & Giroux Publishers launches a poetry blog for National Poetry Month (The Best Words in the Best Order via Bookdwarf) 

-It's never too early to celebrate July, part II. Here's part I. (Miranda July's No One Belongs Here More Than You via Moonlight Ambulette)

Posted by Graceanne at 01:45 PM | Permalink | Read or add comments (0)

We are very sorry about the recent difficulties you've had accessing www.zooba.com. We have launched a new web site to serve you better, but we have some technical problems that are affecting site access.

To solve these problems, please click the link below and follow the instructions for your specific browser...

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Posted by Graceanne at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Read or add comments (1)

-How did Gabriel García Márquez get that shiner? (via New York Times)

-The first rule of promoting Chuck Palahniuk's new book is: You do not talk about Chuck Palahniuk's new book! (ChuckPalahniuk.net via Bookninja)

-PopMatters reviews Sheridan Hay's upcoming The Secret of Lost Things (via PopMatters)

-Mitch Albom's secret? Keyboard shortcuts. (via Yankee Pot Roast)

*Update: Is The Namesake based on a man author Jhumpa Lahiri briefly dated? Probably! (via New York Magazine)

Posted by Graceanne at 02:46 PM | Permalink | Read or add comments (0)

Happy Monday, everyone!

Check out Zooba's new site! Members, sign in here. Want to sign up for a book per month at $9.95 each? Direct yourselves here.

Let us know what you think of our new look. We heart comments.

Posted by Graceanne at 09:43 AM | Permalink | Read or add comments (0)