HBG Big News This Week: May 27-31, 2019

Following is a recap of major news at Hachette Book Group for the week of May 27-31, 2019:

Book Expo: The publishing industry’s leading trade show took place in NYC this week, with publishers, booksellers, librarians, and retailers gathering to discuss books and authors, trends, and technology. HBG had a great presence at the show – our authors spoke at sold-out events, signings in our booth drew hundreds of fans, colleagues appeared on panels, media and booksellers gathered for lunch events with our authors, and much more. Check out Publishers Weekly’s Show Daily magazines (attached) for highlights, including interviews with numerous HBG authors.

Bestseller news: Admiral William H. McRaven’s Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations (GCP) debuted at #4 on the NYT Print Hardcover and Combined P&E Nonfiction lists while McRaven’s Make Your Bed (GCP) returned to #1 on the Advice, How-To & Misc list. Also debuting on the NYT list was Thomas Harris’ Cari Mora (GCP) at #3 on the Print Hardcover and Combined P&E (Fiction) lists. HBG has 12 books on the NYT list; our distribution clients have six books on the list with two #1 bestsellers, Jeff Kinney’s Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid (Abrams) on the Middle Grade Hardcover and I Wish You More by Amy Krouse Rosenthal (Chronicle) on the Picture Books lists.

Major launch: George Will’s The Conservative Sensibility (Hachette Books) goes on sale next week, launching with an extensive national media lineup. Television appearances include MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Andrea Mitchell Reports, MSNBC Live with Stephanie Ruhl, The Eleventh Hour, and Hardball; NBC’s Meet the Press, FOX News’s The Daily Briefing with Dana Perino, CNN’s New Day, PBS’s The Newshour, and HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, as well as numerous national radio appearances, a New York Times Book Review “By the Book” interview (attached), and more.

Rick Steves in the news: Avalon author and activist Rick Steves announced his Annual Million-Dollar Commitment to Carbon Neutral Travel this week, and 148 online broadcast and print media outlets picked up the news. Through this initiative, Rick Steves Europe (RSE) will donate $1 million dollars annually to organizations fighting climate change to help mitigate the carbon footprint of flights for the 30,000+ people who buy their tours. RSE ensures that their $1M donation directly funds climate-smart agriculture, conservation, and agroforestry projects in underdeveloped countries. Read more here.

PBS/NYT Bookclub: N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season (Orbit) has been selected by PBS NewsHour as the June featured book for their “Now Read This” book club, in partnership with the New York Times. Previous “Now Read This” selections from HBG include Andrew Sean Greer’s Less (LB), Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko (GCP), and Naomi Alderman’s The Power (LB).