(From Publishers Lunch, 11/18.)
Last year the books that had sold the best won the two main National Book Awards but this year provided pointed contrast, with the novel that had sold the least paired with the nonfiction book that sold the most. Jaimy Gordon's just-released LORD OF MISRULE from McPherson, with three-digit print sales in its first two weeks on the market, prevailed in the fiction category. Meanwhile, Patti Smith's award-winning nonfiction title JUST KIDS had already outsold the rest of the nonfiction field combined.
Paperback rights to Gordon's book were sold to Vintage earlier this month (with her next book sold separately to Pantheon), and HarperCollins released Smith's book in trade paperback at the beginning of the month. But as of now you can't buy Gordon's novel as an ebook (though news here is expected shortly). Vintage will publish the trade paperback with an on-sale date of March 1, 2011, as their lead title with a six-figure printing to be set later.
Also taking medals were Kathryn Erskine's MOCKINGBIRD for young people's literature (from Philomel–her title isn't available as an ebook either), and Terrance Hayes' LIGHTHEAD for poetry (from Penguin).
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