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"Tortoise" Wins Canadian First Novel Award: Author Jessica Grant has won the Amazon.ca First Novel Award for her debut work of fiction, Come, Thou Tortoise about a woman who returns home to St. John's Newfoundland after learning that her father has died in an accident. In her Globe & Mail review, Diane Baker Mason described the work as "a little bit Alice in Newfoundland," and "extraordinary, original and simultaneously both deep and lightheartedly charming." Stuart Woods--head First Novel Award judge and editor of Quill and Quire magazine -called the book "a heartfelt tale full to the brim with warm sentiment and the gentle absurdities of contemporary life." Check out all four finalists for this year's prize and learn more about past winner's including Joseph Boyden, Nino Ricci, Michael Ondaatje, and Gil Adamson.
Bush in the Hand Is Worth Two Bios: Michiko Kakutani reviews former First Lady Laura Bush's memoir Spoken from the Heart (available May 4) in today's New York Times. Kakutani observes that the single volume is actually two very differently conceived and written biographies. The first part, which covers Bush's early years in Texas, is a "deeply felt, keenly observed account." The second half, which covers the years as a politican's better half, is as one might expect, "filled with the sort of spin and canned platitudes common in political autobiographies."
11 (Not 10) for 39 Clues: Although the 10th and final book in the bestselling 39 Clues middle grade series, Into the Gauntlet by Margaret Peterson Haddixreleases on August 31, fans will have another book to dive into this fall. The 39 Clues:The Black Book of Buried Secrets
will be released Oct. 26 (we'll keep you posted when the Amazon page
goes live). The new book will feature an introduction by Rick Riordan,
who established the story line for the entire series and penned Book 1: The Maze of Bones. The energetic Riordan is very busy these days with the upcoming launches of two new series The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, Book 1(May 5) about ancient Egypt, and his Percy Jackson spin-off, The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus, Book 1) (available October 12).
Moving and Shaking: Author Kelly Corrigan exchanges memories on motherhood this morning with Today show-host, Meredith Vieira. Their heartwarming chat lifts Lift into the #8 spot on our Movers & Shakers list.
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