Over at the main mediabistro.com site, Jeff Rivera distills the answers he received from twenty editors, publishers, and agents in response to the big questions: "What are editors currently acquiring? What is consistently selling? And what do they wish writers would stop sending them?" Unsurprisingly, it all boils down to novelty, platform, and marketing hooks. Oh, and a career in the media doesn't hurt: "The discipline it takes to be a journalist, the credibility, and the potential platform they bring are all elements that make journalists attractive to an acquisition executive," Rivera writes.

This article is one of several mediabistro.com features exclusively available to AvantGuild subscribers. If you're not a member yet, you can register for $59 a year, and start reading those articles, receive discounts on mediabistro.com seminars and workshops, and get all sorts of other swell bonuses.

As Jeff Bercovici revealed late yesterday afternoon, the staff of HarperStudio invited some people with their eye on the publishing industry (myself included) to tell us a bit about where the newly formed imprint is headed and to pick our brains about some of the key issues the publishing industry is forced to deal with right now. One topic that came up during the conversation, that I wound up thinking about for much of the day, is what I've referred to in the past as "the so-called crisis in book reviewing," as newspapers continue to whittle away at the amount of space devoted to the book world. I'd already been thinking about the subject because of the interview with Winfrida Mbewe, a publicity manager at W.W. Norton, in this week's Publishers Weekly, where she says:

"We're fooling ourselves if we don't pay attention to the Internet... But I still see the importance of newspaper reviews, magazine features, and radio and television interviews. People are still learning about books and authors through traditional sources."

And that's true enough—see, for example, one book buyer's recent explanation of how a Guardian article eventually led to a purchase—but I'm looking at that article right now, and it's not a review, it's not even a feature story... it's a guest article by the book's author about the premise behind his book. In other words, one of Britain's leading newspapers is essentially taking the same approach to book coverage as apopular author blog (albeit presumably to a larger audience). Now, we can go back and forth about who "invented" this format, but I think the key lesson to take from this example is that what authors and publishers want from the media isn't necessarily incisive literary criticism—anything that gets the name of the book in the paper will do just fine.

continued...

Back on July 11, Gawker reported on the favorable treatment of The Forger's Spell by the husband of Times board member Lynn Dolnick who is also the cousin of Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. A Times rep responded on July 12 to allegations in the New York Post's Page 6: "We would disclose the family relationship if the author was employed by the company, a member of the board or otherwise influential in the operations of the company."

However, according to a tipster:

Ms. Dolnick's husband (Edward I. Dolnick) *IS* "influential in the operations of the company." Per Times 2008 SEC filings he controls 30,685 Class A shares of NYTimes Corp (voting shares reserved for Sulzberger family). He also controls jointly with his wife 10,300 more Class A shares. In total, Edward Dolnick, who received 4 favorable notices for his new book in NYTimes in 2 weeks, controls 40,985 Class A shares of NYTimes Corp. See page 7, footnote 5: This conflict should have been disclosed clearly.

Today is the publication date of Christopher Ciccone's Life with My Sister Madonna and I had to ask Jen Bergstrom, VP and Publisher of Simon Spotlight Entertainment how they did such a great job keeping this publication a secret.

GC:Was the book deal done "under the table" so to speak with no announcement made?

JB: I first met Christopher and his literary agent in October of last year. We met privately and spoke at length about why he wanted to write his memoir and what his personal expectations were. After meeting with him, we moved very quickly to close a deal. When you "click" with an author on a project, negotiating the deal is easy and fast. We all wanted the same thing. There was nothing "under the table" about it except that it happened privately. We chose not to announce it because we wanted to develop and hone it first.

GC: Once the book was acquired, who knew about it and was it kept out of the schedule or listed at a TK title as a placeholder?

JB: It was listed internally as "untitled by anonymous." We always knew we wanted to publish it this July so it was more than just a "placeholder." It was a real book, our lead title, on our summer list. This isn't anything out of the ordinary for us at SSE. We work on a lot of celebrity memoirs and most of our projects are handled with great care and discretion.

GC: Once the manuscript was delivered, was it embargoed in house with limited access?

JB: Yes but key people read the manuscript and worked round-the-clock to get it perfect. We were never lacking great input.

GC: Was part of the secrecy to prevent Madonna from taking legal action early in the process thus preventing publication?

JB: No, the secrecy before publication was to ensure that we didn't unveil the book before it was ready. The embargo was to prevent those in the media from leaking it, or covering it, before we had books in stores. Some have alleged that we crashed this book in record time. That couldn't be further from the truth. We published this book the old fashion way: Lots of author meetings, editorial discussions, rewrites, and hundreds of cover designs. When we were ready to speak to the media about it we approached those here and abroad who we knew we could trust to keep our plans private until our publication date.

GC: Who were the inner circle that kept this secret for so long?

JB: Christopher's phenomenal editor, Tricia Boczkowski, our S&S UK publisher and his team, our legal team, myself and our publicity director, Jennifer Robinson.

And, despite the better efforts of Madonna's rep Liz Rosenberg to thwart the media attempts of SSE and Ciccone as reported by Gawker , or as speculated by Slunch, the possibility that her recent divorce announcement is a way to take away coverage, here's the media line-up for the book:
Good Morning America. 7/14 and 7/15
EXTRA 7/14 and 7/15
Inside Edition 7/15
Fox News Channel's Hannity and Colmes 7/15
CNN Headline News' Showbiz Tonight 7/15
E! News Daily 7/15
Logo 7/15
US Weekly -first print interview (out 7/17)
Premiere Radio Networks - interview to feed to all affiliates
Westwood One Radio - interview to go out on entertainment feed
E! Chelsea Lately - 7/23

TV Newser just reported

Harvey Weinstein announced today that the publishing arm of The Weinstein Company has acquired the rights to publish Larry King's "definitive autobiography," What Am I Doing Here?

In a press release, King said, "I am delighted to be working with Bob and Harvey, who have distinguished themselves by making award-winning films and publishing quality books. Their books are some of the most talked-about and well-produced titles in the business, and I am thrilled to be one of their authors. My life story could not be in better hands," King said.

Meanwhile, Fishbowl LA is breaking news about David Hiller at the LA Times just after they began notifying 150 employees that they would be let go today.

Randy Michaels sends this e-mail to LAT staffers (well, the ones who are left, anyway):

I want to let you know that David Hiller has decided to step down as publisher of The Los Angeles Times, effective immediately. David took over as publisher in October 2006, during a difficult period for the newspaper and has performed with distinction since that time. During the last six months, he has helped The Times begin making the transition to new ownership, facing new realities. Part of that transition must now include a new publisher.

Beth Parker has been promoted to Associate Publicity Director for both the Dutton and Gotham lists and has contributed to the campaigns for New York Times nonfiction bestsellers including Game of Shadows by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, Always By My Side by Jim Nantz, and How Starbucks Saved My Life by Michael Gates Gill. She also works with Harlan Coben, Eric Jerome Dickey, and John Lescroart.

Amanda Walker has been promoted to Publicity Manager for Gotham/Dutton having just joined in the spring of last year from the Free Press. She has spearheaded the success of Hill Harper's books, Letters to a Young Sister and Letters to a Young Brother and is currently working on promoting John Hodgman's upcoming book for Dutton, More Information than You Require.

Meanwhile, Trafalgar Square Publishing (from Independent Publishers Group)just announced it now esclusively distributes titles for nine new publishers including: Alma Books, Angry Penguin Ltd., Cadmos Books, Capuchin Classics, The History Press Ltd., OneWorld Classics/Calder Publications, Piatkus Books, Pushkin Press, and Spy Publishing. This will be the first time Angry Penguin Ltd., Cadmos Books, Capuchin Classics, and Spy Publishing will be distributed in North America.

" I adopted Lucky from the local animal shelter when he was just a kit," says Nancy Parish of FW Publications. "He likes to play fetch, eat cantaloupe, chase the computer mouse and (as you can see in the pic) search the net."

"You may remember Henrey Lee's Dick Cheney impersonation from last year's LOLgalleycats," says Marie Mundaca of Black Dog and Leventhal. "Since then, he's been working on his memoirs, dodging kitten support, and spending a lot of time at the OTB."

Cloud is a 13-year-old Himalayan that Jessica LeTourneur rescued last year. Napping on her books is one of his favorite activities, she says; "he also enjoys jumping on my lap while I am trying to read, and sprawling himself across my book, in addition to frequent naps in the bathroom sink, and licking his sleeping owner's nose at 4 a.m."

Over at DK Publishing, there are two promotions in their publicity department: Mindy Fichter to Senior Publicist and Susan Stockman to Publicist.

For Ballantine Trade Paperbacks, Jill Schwartzman has acquired family therapist (and Millionaire Matchmaker regular) Dr. Shannon Fox and divorce attorney Celeste Liversedge's Back Away From That Bouquet: 10 Keys to Getting a Life Before Saying I Do, encouraging women to not marry before they're truly ready and showing them how to reach their own greatest potential. The North American rights deal was made, at auction, by Daniel Lazar at Writers House.