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Susan Petersen Kennedy, President of Penguin Group (USA), announced today that the company is starting a new imprint for science books for general readers that will be called Current. Adrian Zackheim, the president and publisher of Penguin Group (USA)’s Portfolio and Sentinel imprints, is adding the same roles for Current, which will share the existing editorial, marketing and publicity staff of Portfolio and Sentinel.

“Our goal is to publish provocative, compelling books that explore the newest and most powerful ideas in a wide range of disciplines,” said Mr. Zackheim. “Once Current gets ramped up, we aim to publish in every subcategory from genetics to quantum physics to neuroscience. Our authors will be some of the foremost pioneers and experts in their respective fields.”

Mr. Zackheim anticipates that Current will grow to about five to eight new titles per year. “We plan to be very selective about good books that will work for a general audience. We've found that niche publishing has been very successful for Portfolio since 2001, and Sentinel since 2003. This is a logical next category to expand into.”

Current’s two debut titles are:

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The inspiration for The Surrendered has its roots in a project I worked on more than twenty years ago, while I was still in college. I was taking a seminar on modern Korean history, and I decided that I would conduct an interview with my father to fulfill the writing assignment, conceiving a reporter-at-large-type piece that would offer personal testimony and narrative set against a historical backdrop. I wasn’t sure if he would agree. My father was twelve years old on the eve of the Korean War, and although over the years I had asked him a number of times about his experiences, his responses were typically vague and hurried; he never seemed to want to talk about that time, only briefly mentioning that his sister had died during the war from an untreated bout of pneumonia. But since I was taking a course with a special focus on Korea, he agreed to speak in more detail about that period.

My father’s family was originally from Pyongyang, now the capital of North Korea, and they had joined the throngs of refugees who were heading south in an attempt to get behind the line of American forces. He first recounted a story about his favorite older cousin, who was pregnant and just about to give birth as the rest of the extended family was frantically packing up and leaving. My father was dispatched to tell his cousin that everyone was departing—explosions could be heard in the distance—yet even though she and her husband desperately wanted to go, she had already started her labors. She couldn’t be moved. Everybody soon left, and that was last time the cousin and her husband were seen alive; to this day no one knows what happened to them, whether they perished or survived the war and ended up living in North Korea.

Grisham to Write First-Ever Children's Book Series, the First of Which Will Be Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, to Publish May 25, 2010

John Grisham, #1 international bestselling author, will be writing his first-ever children's books series for Penguin Young Readers Group, it was announced today by Don Weisberg, President of Penguin Young Readers Group. The first two novels in the series will be edited by Julie Strauss-Gabel, Associate Publisher of Dutton Children's Books.

The two novels in this series will be aimed at readers ages 8-12, The first book in the series, Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer, is scheduled for publication on May 25, 2010, and will follow the adventures of a 13-year-old, amateur attorney who unwittingly becomes involved in a high-profile murder trial.  The second book in the series, also featuring Theo, is due to be published in 2011.

David Shanks, CEO of Penguin Group (USA), said, "It's an honor to welcome John Grisham to Penguin Group (USA)'s family of award-winning, bestselling authors.  We are excited to be publishing him and we're proud to be unveiling his first children's series."

Don Weisberg commented, "We are looking forward to introducing John Grisham to a whole new generation of young readers. Theodore Boone delivers Grisham's trademark storytelling, perfectly spun for a younger audience. Kids are going to love it."

John Grisham is recognized as the world's most popular storyteller, with over 250 million books in print worldwide, which have been translated into 29 languages.

The contest is now open! Amazon.com and Penguin Group (USA) will be accepting submissions for the third annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition at www.amazon.com/abna from January 25th through midnight EST on February 7th, 2010. For the first time, the competition will award two grand prizes: one for general fiction and one for best young adult novel. Each of the two winners will receive a publishing contract with Penguin Group (USA), which includes a $15,000 advance. Entries will be accepted until February 7th or until 10,000 entries have been received (with up to 5,000 each in the general fiction and young adult categories). Enter now!

The contest consists of five judging phases by Amazon editors and expert reviewers, publishing professionals and Amazon.com customers. The grand prize winner chosen in each category will each receive a $15,000 publishing contract with Penguin Group (USA).

Amazon Contest Writing Amazon Breakthrough Contest Novel Penguin Books

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Richelle Mead wrapped up her Fan Appreciation Tour last night after visiting three cities voted on by fans in a poll created on the VampireAcademyBooks.com website.

New Orleans placed third in the poll with about 400 votes and hosted their event on Saturday, January 16^th at Octavia Books. Despite the Saints game shutting down most of the city, Octavia had a standing room only crowd of about 75. We were told that more than a few teenagers in the crowd arrived about 3 hours before the event to hold seats in front, some coming from as far away as Austin, TX.

After her New Orleans visit Richelle headed further south to Miami for an event hosted by Books & Books on Sunday, January 17^th at the Coral Gables Congregational Church, a beautiful setting for the reading (see photo to the right). A crowd of about 250 showed up for the event! Again t-shirts were raffled off, this time to the people who had traveled the farthest for the event.

Loved The Omnivore's Dilemma and gobbled up In Defense of Food? Using Food Rules to make better food choices everyday? Well, now here's your chance to get award-winning author Michael Pollan to answer those lingering questions you still have about everything from food to eating to whatever it is you still want to know more about within his realm of expertise.

Time magazine invites you to post your questions for Michael Pollan and they'll pick ten to ask him for an interview that'll appear in the next issue of Time magazine.

To find out more and to post a probing question, visit the Time website.

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What is Twitterature?

A chat with Penguin editors

A few months ago when we gathered some Penguin editors to talk about their Ten Essential Penguin Classics, we also talked about their new book, Twitterature. Joining the discussion in order to talk about what "twitterature" is, and how we can relate to classics books in a modern way, were Elda Rotor, Editorial Director, John Siciliano, Editor, Stephen Morrison, Associate Publisher, and Jeremy Tescher, National Account Manager of Paperback Sales.

So, what is Twitterature?

John: Twitterature is a new Penguin book that, in a way, translates more than 80 of the great works of literature into Twitter-speak. What's fascinating is that it's written by two teenagers, two nineteen-year-old guys who met at the University of Chicago in their freshman year. They were roommates, and they hatched this idea because they'd read all these books; they are far better read than I am. And I think they've really nailed how to convey the specialness of each of these books, how to make them hip. None of these entries read the same way, so it's not this rote, programmatic approach that you can apply to Of Mice and Men as equally as you can to Moby Dick or Walden. But these guys, the authors, know the lingo of a person on Twitter, or else another modern-day teenager who has an iPhone and a Twitter account. And the reason I wanted to publish this book is that it does the job of translating the classics for our moment better than I could have done.

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It's time to celebrate after a year of hard work and great success! Penguin Group (USA)'s New York office will be closed from Thursday, December 24, 2009 - Sunday January 3, 2010, reopening on Monday January 4, 2010.

While we're away, here's a roadmap to help you continue to enjoy the most exciting content in publishing: 

Our newest episodes of From the Publisher's Office include timely holiday treats in the Radio Room, the Reading Room, and the Screening Rooom. In the Radio Room, we have the full audiobook of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, a Radio Room Special featuring Mike Huckabee author of A Simple Christmas, "Tolstoy's Last Year" in Penguin Classics on Air, and Robert Frost's famous poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is featured in A Cup of Poetry.

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For the last edition of Spotlight of the year, we wanted to take a look back at some of the highlights from among Penguin Group (USA)’s extraordinary 2009 successes.

Great 2009 Publishing Stories Led by Bestsellers from Charlaine Harris, Kathryn Stockett, Nora Roberts, and Greg Mortenson

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Jane Austen, the woman who launched a thousand books, was born December 16^th, 1775. In her life, Jane only published four novels, after her death she had two more published and today it is possible to find a volume of her shorter works.

Could Jane Austen have imagined the amount of writers she would inspire a century and a half onward? Today, updated and inspired by versions of her books are everywhere (Bridget Jones Diary), there are books about people reading Jane Austen and having emotional journeys along with her heroines (The Jane Austen Book Club), books about accidentally ending up in an Austen novel (Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict), books where you can create your own Austenian adventure (Lost in Austen), and last but not least, sequels, prequels and other additions to the stories Austen wrote (The Confession of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Mr. Knightley's Diary).

In celebration of Jane Austen's birthday on December 16^th, Penguin USA will use the Twitter hashtag #AustenAddiction,  following Penguin Australia's idea, and will promote our Austen titles, do a giveaway, link to online video and radio segments and any relevant pop culture tidbits through the day.