HBG Big News This Week: September 17-21, 2018

Following is a recap of major news at Hachette Book Group for the week of September 17-21, 2018:

You know you’ve made it when…: On Tuesday, HBG CEO Michael Pietsch was the answer to the $2,000 question in the I Got Your Book category for the Double Jeopardy round. The question: “Michael Pietsch, editor for this late Infinite Jest scribe, organized The Pale King into a 2011 work.” The answer, of course, is David Foster Wallace.  Watch here (at 14:14) for this exciting moment!

#1 NY Times Bestsellers: James Patterson and his latest, Juror #3 (with Nancy Allen; LB) has put HBG back at the top of the NYT bestseller list. The new novel debuts at #1 on the Print Hardcover Fiction and Combined P&E lists. We have 17 titles on the list overall. Our distribution clients have five titles on the list this week. HBG also has 12 titles on the USA Today list overall, see the full list here.

Financial Times shortlist: The Value of Everything: Making and Taking in the Global Economy by Mariana Mazzucato (PublicAffairs) made the shortlist for the £30,000 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year, with the winner to be named on November 12. 
Glorious reviews: reviewers are loving Kate Atkinson’s new novel, Transcription (LB), which went on sale this week. An interview with the author in Time Magazine declares, “Kate Atkinson’s WWII Spy Drama Is Fall’s Must Read Novel.” Janet Maslin delivers a rave review in the New York Times, saying, “This one is a major event.” More praise in the New Yorker, Seattle Times, O, Real Simple, Vogue, Good Housekeeping, Vanity Fair, Marie Claire, Entertainment Weekly, NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday, and reviews still to come in the LA TimesSan Francisco Chronicle, People, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, and many more venues.  

Media blitz: Juan Williams will be very busy promoting his new book What the Hell Do You Have to Lose? (PublicAffairs), with appearances on many FOX shows (FOX News Sunday, Daily Briefing with Dana Perino, Varney & Co, Cavuto: Coast to Coast, Making Money with Charles Payne, Intelligence Report w/Trish Regan, with other programs waiting in the wings). Williams will also be interviewed on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, WNYC’s Brian Lehrer, The Daily Beast, as well as local media tied into his five-city tour.

Major release: To mark the publication this week of The Challenge Culture: Why the Most Successful Organizations Run on Pushback (PublicAffairs), author Nigel Travis discussed the book on national TV and radio shows including CNBC’s Squawk Box, MSNBC Live with Stephanie Rhule, Bloomberg television, and BNN (leading business network in Canada), Bloomberg Radio, and CBS Radio (syndicated to 200+ markets nationwide). Travis closed out pub day by ringing the NASDAQ Closing Bell, while a 7-story tall billboard display celebrating the book flashed in the center of Times Square.

Parents Choice Awards: Congratulations to Hachette Audio for their many 2018 Parents Choice Awards! Gold honors for Proud, The Disappearing Spoon, The Year of the Dog, I’m Just No Good At Rhyming, and many more winners in additional categories. Click here for the list of winning products and their reviews.

Acquisition news: Basic Books announced their forthcoming book with Victor Davis Hanson, The Case for Trump (March 2019) on National Review Online yesterday. The announcement was picked up by The Conservative Cartel and America First News, and sparked keen interest among national media outlets, including Fox and CNN.