Buzz/PR

Nobody has ever accused the GalleyCat editors of being fashion experts, so it was news to us that the partial-body model on the cover of James Patterson's latest, Swimsuit (co-written by Maxine Paetro), is wearing a Perry Ellis original, and one from this summer's collection at that. But somebody's figured out that this is a golden cross-promotional opportunity, so today, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., Macy's flagship store in Herald Square is having Patterson over to sign copies of the novel for the first 300 people who are willing to buy $100 worth of Perry Ellis swimwear. We are told a stylist from Lucky will be on hand to help people pick out the appropriate suits.

This is all well and good, of course, but if you ask us, it doesn't go far enough—somebody get Isaac Mizrahi or Betsey Johnson working on a novel, stat!

Last month, we told you about Hal Leonard's BookExpo time warp, what with their emphasis on two books celebrating the music of 1969. Now the author of one of those books is using the iTunes Store to create several unofficial "soundtracks"—one for each chapter. At his blog, The Joy of Segues, Bruce Pollock publishes playlists such as the one which starts with Bob Dylan and proceeds to trace the intersection of country and rock infuences in the late '60s, from Johnny Cash to The Byrds. So far, other playlists have explored the Los Angeles music scene and the (more than) political unrest that defined the era.

Any other nonfiction authors care to give the format a try? Senior editor Ron Hogan is off to collect songs from 1970s Hollywood for a playlist inspired by The Stewardess Is Flying the Plane!; feel free to tell us what you come up with for your book...

In an age of blog tours and Twitter book clubs, author Marjorie M. Liu has turned to an ancient form of book promotion--writing a good old-fashioned letter.

While promoting "Darkness Calls," the author is serializing a letter written by the hero of her demon-hunting series to his unborn daughter--the first installment was just posted at Romantic Times. After reading the whole letter, Publishers Weekly writer Barbara Vey admitted it made her cry.

Here's more about the blogged missive: "The second excerpt will be posted on the popular science fiction and fantasy blog tor.com on June 15th; the third excerpt will be posted on June 22nd on Smart Bitches Trashy Books, a book review site for romance novels ... On June 29th, the day before Darkness Calls hits stores, the complete letter will be released to select blogs."

Amazon.com, Inc. and Showtime have taken the first tentative step into the wild, unknown world of advertisements and digital books.

In a new partnership, the cable network will offer Kindle readers the summer-long opportunity to download a free copy of the first script from Showtime's new show, "Nurse Jackie." According to Ad Age, the unique deal could forge more relationships between television and this new digital medium, paving the way for more scripts, tie-ins, and other text-based promotions on the Kindle.

Here's more from Jon Haber, U.S. director of Ignition Factory, the "media shop" used by Showtime: "Nobody has figured out what the future ad model for a device like the Kindle is going to be ... [this] is the first step in figuring out how marketers can use this platform and provide some value to consumers from a content standpoint while finding a way to raise awareness and buzz about a product, or in this case a TV show." (Via Mike Cane)

During BEA, scores of publishing types celebrated their accomplishments and plotted future successes. A smaller number of brave souls discussed projects that didn't work out the way they had planned--the most valuable kind of publishing intelligence.

GalleyCat caught up with Doubleday/Knopf's online director Jeffrey Yamaguchi for an exclusive interview about what he learned from unexpected results during a campaign for Michael Crichton's novel, "Next." Yamaguchi also runs the website 52 Projects.

Yamaguchi told this story at the excellent "7x20x21" event, a BEA presentation curated by Ryan Chapman and Ami Greko. They chose seven industry professionals and gave each speaker seven minutes, the chance to choose 20 slides, and 21 seconds to talk about each picture.

An iPhone app promoting Hachette Book Group's "The Man's Book: The Essential Guide for the Modern Man" has nabbed the second place spot in the overall free-apps category in the Apple App Store.

The company built the "Urinal Test"--an iPhone game that tests one's ability to navigate a crowded bathroom--as a promotional tool for the male-centered handbook by Thomas Fink. The App debuted on April 16, and has earned a coveted spot on the App Store homepage.

Here's more about the book: "The answers to every man's burning questions are within these pages, from the morning wet shave to the whiskey night-cap, from hunting deer with a .30-06 to wooing women like 007. At a time when the sexes are muddled and masculinity is marginalized, THE MAN'S BOOK unabashedly celebrates maleness."

Until last year's post-reorganization layoffs at Random House, Gretchen Koss (left) and Meghan Walker were the publicity and marketing directors, respectively, at Spiegel & Grau. Both had been spotted doing freelance work early this year—we've been talking to them about a couple of their projects, in fact—but now they're prepared to pull back the curtain on Tandem Literary, their new PR/marketing firm.

Among the publishing insiders who give the joint venture a thumbs-up: former bosses Cindy Spiegel and Julie Grau. "Together they are unbeatable," the two publishers say in a statement posted to the Tandem website. "They bring creativity, dedication, insight, and a welcome dose of humor to every project. We consider ourselves incredibly lucky to have worked closely with them in the launch and development of Spiegel & Grau, which benefited immensely from their publishing savvy, energy, and innovative thinking."

On Saturday, April 25, Beyond the Book's Chris Kenneally moderated the closing panel of the annual New York Round Table Writers Conference. The audience were treated to crystal ball readings and insights on technology, marketing and business models from Paul Biba, Laura Dawson, Mike Shatzkin and GalleyCat's Jeff Rivera.

To download the podcast of the session, click here.

Back in February, we told you about a panel discussion at O'Reilly's Tools of Change conference about online community building and the publishing community, in which GalleyCat senior editor Ron Hogan interviewed authors John Scalzi and Tobias Buckell about attracting readers to their personal websites, then spoke with Patrick Nielsen Hayden of Tor about how the science fiction/fantasy imprint learned from its writers in creating its own online community.

It's been a while, but we're pleased to report that Blip.TV has made that roughly 40-minute talk available for public viewing.

Writers at every experience level should find this conversation helpful in figuring out how to establish a meaningful public presence online (thanks in large part to the insightful panelists, we hasten to add). Then, if you want to learn more about where publishing might be headed in the near future, several other presentations from Tools of Change are also available for online viewing.

His wife shopped a book and starred in a comic, but an upcoming Esquire feature might put Todd Palin next in line for a memoir.

As this compelling video illustrates, Sarah Palin's has all the fixings for a classic 2009 celebrity book deal--a life lived in the headlines, family conflict, and plenty of insider gossip. Look for more speculation when the story hits newsstands.

Here's more from Esquire: "Alaska's first husband is not scared of you, the cops, or his wife. Get a sneak peak at a week in the life of the ultimate stay-at-home dad, hunter, fixer, and champion snowmobiler right here, then pick up the May issue of Esquire for Luke Dittrich's full, in-depth profile." (Via HuffPo)