Penguin

Oscar winning actor Timothy Hutton and Riverhead publisher Geoffrey Kloske co-starred in a new book trailer for author Julie Klam. Follow this link to watch the video.

New York Magazine described the trailer: “[Hutton] plays an a**hole version of himself in a book trailer for Julie Klam, an author he knew only from Twitter.”

This is the first time both Hutton and Kloske have appeared in a book trailer. The trailer advertises the paperback version of You Had Me at Woof: How Dogs Taught Me the Secrets of Happiness and the hardcover publication Love at First Bark: How Saving a Dog Can Sometimes Help You Save Yourself.

Nightshade trilogy author Andrea Creamer has inked a deal with Penguin Group (USA)’s Philomel imprint for a new YA steampunk series.

The first book, titled The Inventor’s Secret, is slated for publication in fall 2013. Executive editor Jill Santopolo negotiated the deal with InkWell Management literary agents Richard Pine and Charlie Olsen.

Here’s more from the release: “The series is set in an alternate nineteenth-century North America where the Revolutionary War never took place and the British Empire has expanded into a global juggernaut propelled by marvelous and horrible machinery…As part of the deal, Philomel has also acquired a second prequel to Nightshade entitled RISE, which is scheduled for publication in summer 2013. The first prequel to Nightshade,entitled RIFT, is scheduled for publication in fall 2012.” (Photo Credit: Gina Monroe)

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Oscar-winning actress and screenwriter Emma Thompson has landed a deal with Penguin Young Readers Group to write The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit.

The book is slated for release in September 2012 to commemorate the 110th-year anniversary of Beatrix Potter‘s The Tale of Peter Rabbit. The book will be released simultaneously in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Here’s more from the release: “In The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit, Peter’s adventures take him beyond the boundaries of Mr. McGregor’s garden, all the way to Scotland, where he meets the gentle giant Finlay McBurney, a distant Scottish relative. Emma was inspired to set the tale in Scotland by her knowledge of Beatrix’s childhood holidays there.”

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Molly Barton has been promoted to vice president, digital publishing, business development and strategy at Penguin Group.

Barton has spearheaded a number of digital publishing initiatives. This includes launching Book Country, Penguin’s online community for aspiring writers; developing Penguin’s eSpecial program; expanding Penguin’s relationship with Starz Television Network; and developing interactive book apps like Jack Kerouac’s On the Road app for the iPad.

According to Barton’s LinkedIn page, she has been with Penguin since May 2005, when she joined the company as publishing coordinator. Prior to working at Penguin, Barton worked for Viking Books and Oxford University Press.

Eamon Dolan will leave Penguin Press to run his own imprint at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. According to The New York Times, Dolan’s imprint will be called “Eamon Dolan Books.” The imprint will publish ten narrative and serious nonfiction books every year.

Here’s more from the article: “Before Mr. Dolan joined the Penguin Press in 2007, he was editor in chief at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. While at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Mr. Dolan edited Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser, How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman and 3 Nights in August by Buzz Bissinger, among other best-sellers.”

Dolan will begin his new role on June 13th. At Penguin, Dolan was demoted from editor-in-chief to executive editor due to the recent hiring of Scott Moyers.

Publisher David Rosenthal has named his imprint Blue Rider Press. Rosenthal joined Penguin in November 2010, but his imprint remained unnamed.

He explained the significance of the name to The New York Times: “The Blue Rider name historically represents individuality and quality in the arts. And that same intent will be reflected in the eclectic fiction and nonfiction books Blue Rider Press will publish.”

According to the article, Blue Rider Press will launch its inaugural list with The New New Rules and Goodnight iPad this fall. The imprint also has projects in the works with Valerie Plame Wilson, Delia Ephron, and R. A. Dickey. (via Publishers Weekly)

If you’ve ever attended Book Expo America (BEA), you’ll know that the food cart choices parked outside the Javits Center typically feature hot dogs and kebabs.

Penguin Young Readers Group author Sarah Dessen (pictured, via) will shake things up with the Dessen Sweetery Truck.

Associate director of publicity Elyse Marshall explained in an email: “Sarah will head out to the truck to hand out free whoopee pies to fans and hungry BEAers. There will be three flavors available: red velvet, chocolate, and Sarah’s Strawberry Surprise (a custom whoopee pie). The truck will be entirely wrapped in Sarah Dessen branding, with all her book covers featured. There will be giveaways available for a few lucky attendees before the Dessen Sweetery Truck moves onto it’s second location of the day: Union Square.”

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Editor-turned-literary agent Scott Moyers will now serve as publisher of Penguin Press. From 2003 to 2007, Moyers worked as an editor at the same imprint. He left to run the New York office of The Wylie Agency.

The imprint plans to expand its yearly list from 42 titles to at least 62. According to The New York Times, the expansion is part of what drew Moyers to return to Penguin Press. This also means that the current publisher Ann Godoff will become editor-in-chief and Andrew Wylie will take Moyers’ clients.

Here’s more from the article: “In some respects, Mr. Moyers will return to Penguin a much more valuable asset than before. As a literary agent, he has learned about every publishing program in the business and brokered deals with a wide range of publishers. At Penguin, it is possible that he will work on books that he sold to the publisher as an agent.”

Blue Bloods writer Melissa de la Cruz and her husband Michael Johnston are joining forces for a young-adult trilogy called The Other Land Chronicles.

The couple has signed with Penguin Group’s G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers imprint. 3 Arts Entertainment literary agent Richard Abate negotiated the deal with Jennifer Besser. Frozen, the first book in the series, will be released in spring 2013.

Here’s more from the press release: “Set in 111 C.D., one hundred and eleven years after a Catastrophic Disaster has wiped out 99% of humanity and left the earth covered in ice, this new series introduces readers to a ragtag group of friends and the dawning of a new time. The world of reason, of mathematics and science, is ending, and a new civilization is being born from the ice: a world of magic and mayhem, sorcerers and spellcraft.” (Photo Credit: Denise Bovee)

Thirteen Reasons Why author Jay Asher and The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things author Carolyn Mackler have signed a deal with Penguin’s Razorbill imprint for a young adult novel they co-wrote.

The Future is Us will come out in November with an initial printing of 500,000 copies. Publisher Ben Schrank negotiated the deal with two literary agents, Laura Rennert of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency and Jodi Reamer of Writers House.

Here’s more from the release: “The Future is Us is set in 1996, when less than half of all American high school students have ever used the internet. Facebook will not be invented for several more years. Emma just got a computer and an America Online CD-ROM with 100 free hours. When she and her best friend Josh log on to AOL they discover themselves on Facebook … fifteen years in the future. Everybody wonders what life has in store for them. Josh and Emma are about to find out.”