In a Book Forum essay, Washington Post book columnist Michael Dirda argued that bestseller lists generally support established authors and rarely help lesser-known writers. Dirda offered this solution: “A writer can only be on the best-seller list once.”

Dirda (pictured, via) explained: “As a result, the list would stay fluid, avoiding the sclerosis caused by the wearisome reappearance, year after year, of the usual suspects. At the same time, readers would start to pay more attention to reviews, whether in print or online, if only to learn that a favorite author had brought out a new book. The best-seller list itself would be transformed into a showplace for the hot, the exciting, the deserving.”

The New York Times bestseller list currently includes Ann Brashares, David Baldacci, and Charlaine Harris. These authors have all enjoyed the NYT spotlight on multiple occasions. Do you think Dirda’s solution would benefit the industry as a whole?

Today, Amazon announced that mystery author John Locke was the first self-published author to sell one million Kindle books, joining what the retailer calls the “Kindle Million Club.”

For your reading pleasure, we’ve put together a mixtape of free samples of Locke’s work.

If you want more books, we made similar literary mixtapes linking to free samples of the Hugo Award nominees, the Best Cookbooks of 2010, the 2011 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction nominees, the National Book Critics Circle Award finalists, the 2011 Edgar Awards finalists, the 2011 ALA Youth Media Awards winners, the 2011 Book Critics Circle Awards finalists, the Best Translated Books longlist, the Believer Book Awards shortlist, and the Best Books of 2010.

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Amazon made the announcement that mystery writer Michael Connelly has sold more than one million Kindle eBooks. This makes him the seventh writer to be inducted into the “Kindle Million Club.”

Connelly (pictured, via) recently published the twenty third book in the Mickey Haller series, The Fifth Witness. He had this statement in the press release: “As a storyteller it brings me particular fulfillment to know so many readers are receiving my work through the Kindle. Added to that, my name is now on a list of an amazing group of writers. I am very proud of this moment.”

Last week, Hunger Games novelist Suzanne Collins became the first children’s author and the sixth member of the “Kindle Million Club.” The first inductee was Millennium trilogy author Stieg Larsson followed by James Patterson, Nora Roberts, Charlaine Harris, and Lee Child.

HBO has released a 6-minute sneak peak of the season 4 premiere of True Blood. The full episode will air on June 26th.

In the video embedded above, fans get a glimpse of magical fruits, fairy godmothers, and a family reunion. What do you think?

In May 2011, author Charlaine Harris published the eleventh title in the Southern Vampire series Dead Reckoning. It debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and currently occupies the #6 spot. (via The Hollywood Reporter)

Novelists Lee Child and Suzanne Collins joined the “Kindle Million Club” today, the fifth and sixth authors to sell more than one million eBooks through Amazon.

According to Amazon’s announcement, Collins became the first children’s author to achieve this digital feat. Other members of the club include Stieg Larsson, James Patterson, Nora Roberts and Charlaine Harris.

Thriller novelist Child added this comment: ““I started writing at the same time Amazon first went live, back in 1995, and it has been a thrill to move forward together through the years and through the generations of new technology … I’m really delighted to have hit this current milestone, and I look forward to many more together.”

Vampire novelist Charlaine Harris (her novels inspired HBO’s True Blood series) has partnered up with I-play Entertainment to create “Dying for Daylight,” a PC video game. This project stars Dahlia, a character described as “a vampire with a devastating sense of fashion and a razor-sharp wit.”

Players journey through New Orleans, Memphis, and Charleston Harbor searching for a magical tonic that allows vampires to endure open sunlight. Dahlia gathers clues, solves puzzles, and meets interesting characters along the way.

The press release offers this quote from Harris: “As an author, I have spent my life focusing on the power of words. I can honestly say that this collaboration with I-play has been eye-opening, showing the unique way stories can be told and characters brought to life in games.”

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Oscar-nominated actress Julianne Moore, Emmy-nominated comedian Mindy Kaling, and journalist Jim Lehrer will host breakfast events at this year’s Book Expo America.

Moore, author of picture book Freckleface Strawberry, will preside over the children’s writers’ breakfast. Kaling (a writer at The Office)  and Lehrer (author of both fiction and nonfiction) will host two adult writers’ breakfasts.

Here’s more from the press release: “The other speakers who will be joining the hosts for these popular events include Sarah Dessen, Roger Ebert, Anne Enright, Jefferey Eugenides, Charlaine Harris, Kevin Henkes, Diane Keaton, Erik Larson, and Brian Selznick.  In addition, Katherine Paterson, who is the current Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, will be saying a few words at the Children’s Breakfast on behalf of the Children’s Book Council.”

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos rocked the publishing world with a Kindle sales quote late yesterday.

He explained: “[W]hile our hardcover sales continue to grow, the Kindle format has now overtaken the hardcover format. Amazon.com customers now purchase more Kindle books than hardcover books–astonishing when you consider that we’ve been selling hardcover books for 15 years, and Kindle books for 33 months.”

The online bookseller put out a release today loaded with intriguing facts. Nevertheless, the company still has not released straightforward figures about total Kindle sales or total eBooks sold. Among the other details, the company revealed they have sold three times as many Kindle books in the first half of 2010 compared to the first half of 2009.

According to the release (embedded below), five authors have already sold more than 500,000 Kindle books. eBookNewser has the complete list of these new digital all-stars.

Amazon also shared this statistic for paid books: “Over the past three months, for every 100 hardcover books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 143 Kindle books. Over the past month, for every 100 hardcover books Amazon.com has sold, it has sold 180 Kindle books.”

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