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Book signing announced

ALLIANCE — Author Kenneth L. Simmons will be available to sign copies of his children’s ministry book, “The Shade Tree: A Bible-smart Ministry for Children,” from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at Waldenbooks, 2500 W. State St.

Publishing news

Roberts strikes out with A-Rod tell-all

NEW YORK — Remember that tell-all book about A-Rod? Just a month after making headlines with its allegations that the New York Yankees star likely used steroids as far back as high school, Selena Roberts’ “A-Rod: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguez” has vanished from best-seller lists.

Published in early May by HarperCollins with an announced first printing of 150,000, “A-Rod” has sold just 16,000 copies so far, according to Nielsen BookScan, which tracks about 75 percent of industry sales. The book sold 11,000 in its first week, then quickly faded.

“A-Rod” fell off The New York Times’ hardcover list of nonfiction best sellers after three weeks, peaking at No. 9 in late May. As of June 10, the book ranked No. 2,904 on Amazon.com, where even James Frey’s discredited memoir “A Million Little Pieces” — at 1,776 — is outselling it.

King’s publisher is first to warm to Scribd store

NEW YORK — The publisher of Stephen King and Chelsea Handler will be selling books through Scribd, the online document-sharing service that the industry has criticized for enabling the downloading of pirated texts.

Scribd says that digital versions of books by King and thousands of others published by Simon & Schuster can be purchased through Scribd’s online store. Excerpts from thousands of books will also be available for viewing and linked to Simon & Schuster’s Web site, where a paper edition can be purchased from the publisher or through a wide range of retailers.

Simon & Schuster is the first of the big New York publishers to make its titles available on Scribd, which launched its store last month. Publishers have complained of numerous pirated texts showing up on Scribd.

Hot off the presses

Sit! 13 new ‘Marley’ books coming for children

NEW YORK — Call it the luck of Marley.

The late Labrador retriever made famous by “Marley and Me” will be the hero of 13 children’s books by “Marley” author John Grogan. The first of the series comes out this summer, HarperCollins Children’s Books announced.

Grogan’s “Marley & Me,” published in 2005, is a million-selling memoir and the basis for the hit movie of the same name, starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston.

Combined dispatches