An Obama boom in the publishing industry

November 16, 2008 at 12:00a.m.

NEW YORK — Between the books already out there and the books signed up for the future, it’s boom time for President-elect Barack Obama in the publishing world.

According to Nielsen Bookscan, which tracks about 70 percent of the country’s sales, more than 100,000 copies of his books sold Nov. 3-9, including 50,000 copies each of “The Audacity of Hope” and “Dreams from My Father” and 19,000 copies of “Change We Can Believe In,” a collection of speeches and policy papers.

Bids on eBay for a signed first edition of “The Audacity of Hope,” a million-seller published in 2006, have topped $1,000.

Meanwhile, publishers are grabbing up new books about the first black president-elect. According to the industry newsletter www.publishersmarketplace.com, which compiles deals, at least seven Obama-related projects have been agreed upon since the Nov. 4 election. They include William Eggers’ and John O’Leary’s “If We Can Put a Man on the Moon,” a policy “roadmap” for the incoming administration, and “Renegade: The Education of Barack Obama,” by Newsweek’s Richard Wolffe.

Sources: Laura Bush looking into book deal

NEW YORK — Laura Bush wants to write a memoir and will be meeting with several publishers, according to three publishing executives with knowledge of the proceedings. They asked not to be identified, saying discussions are in the early stages and highly confidential.

The sources said the first lady is being represented by high-powered Washington attorney Robert Barnett, whose clients include President-elect Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton. Barnett, who worked with Mrs. Bush on a children’s book published this year by HarperCollins, declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press.

An object of fascination even among those who didn’t vote for her husband, the first lady has said little about her private life or her White House years. She’s known as a passionate reader, and a book contract could rival Hillary Rodham Clinton’s $8 million deal for 2003’s “Living History.”

Publishers have urged President George W. Bush to hold off on shopping a proposal, citing his poor approval ratings.

Joseph Boyden wins Canadian literature award

TORONTO — Joseph Boyden, a 41-year-old New Orleans resident who was raised in Toronto, has won the $41,000 Scotiabank Giller Prize for his book, “Through Black Spruce,” a portrait of contemporary aboriginal life and family struggles that ensue after a beautiful young woman goes missing. Boyden, a Canadian with Irish, Scottish and Metis roots, writes exclusively about Canada and First Nations people.

Competing against Boyden were Rawi Hage for “Cockroach,” Mary Swan for “The Boys in the Trees,” Anthony De Sa for “Barnacle Love” and Marina Endicott for “Good to a Fault.”

The Giller Prize, considered one of the most prestigious in Canadian literature, was created in 1994 by businessman Jack Rabinovitch in memory of his late wife, literary journalist Doris Giller, to honor the best in Canadian fiction.

Amazon’s Top 10 for 2008

NEW YORK — Philip Hensher’s “The Northern Clemency” is a British novel that as of Nov. 9 had yet to attract any customer reviews on Amazon.com. But the online retailer’s staff reviewers have noticed, making it Amazon’s book of the year.

Hensher’s novel was followed by Michael Greenburg’s “Hurry Down Sunshine” and Rick Perlstein’s “Nixonland.” Also cited was David Wroblewski’s debut novel, “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle,” which was later endorsed by Oprah Winfrey.

Others in the top 10: “The Forever War” by Dexter Filkins; “The Likeness” by Tana French; “Serena” by Ron Rash; “So Brave, Young, and Handsome” by Leif Enger; “The Lazarus Project” by Aleksandar Hemon; and “The Ten-Cent Plague” by David Hajdu.

Online King video gets more than 1 million hits

NEW YORK — Stephen King is a video star. The animated video adaptation of the horror master’s short story “N.” has been viewed more than a 1 million times on the Internet and on mobile phones since its release in July, according to publisher Simon & Schuster. King has well demonstrated his digital appeal before; his e-novella “Riding the Bullet” was a sensation in the early years of the Internet.

The print version of King’s short story, in which a psychiatrist fatally absorbs the madness of one of his patients, is included in the collection “Just After Sunset,” released this week.

Combined dispatches