Book award's mistaken nominee, 'Shine,' withdraws

(AP) — This year's National Book Awards have become a story of embarrassment a month before the winners are to be announced.

Within just a few days, children's author Lauren Myracle has been a nominee, a non-nominee, a nominee again and, finally, a non-nominee, asked to withdraw over mistakes not her own.

Myracle's "Shine" was on the original list of five finalists announced last Wednesday for the young people's literature category. But the National Book Foundation, which sponsors the prizes, cited a "miscommunication" with the judges and quickly said that her book had been confused with Franny Billingsley's "Chime." (To avoid advanced word leaking on the Internet, judges inform the foundation by telephone of their choices).

So Myracle was out.

But within a couple of hours, the foundation changed its mind again and welcomed "Shine" back to make six nominees. Meanwhile, fans were posting congratulatory notes on Myracle's Facebook page.

By Friday, the foundation had decided five nominees were best.

Myracle said Monday in a statement issued through her publisher, Amulet Books, an imprint of Abrams, that she was "over the moon last week after receiving the call telling me that 'Shine' was a finalist for the award."

"I was later informed that 'Shine' had been included in error but would remain on the list based on its merits," she said. "However, on Friday I was asked to withdraw by the National Book Foundation to preserve the integrity of the award and the judges' work, and I have agreed to do so."

The National Book Awards, among the country's most prestigious literary honors, also include categories for fiction, nonfiction and poetry, judged by separate panels of fellow authors. Winners will be announced Nov. 16.

In a statement released early Monday afternoon, the foundation said that it "regrets that an error was made in the original announcement of the finalists for the 2011 National Book Award in Young People's
Literature and apologizes for any confusion and hurt it may have caused Lauren Myracle."

Speaking to The Associated Press earlier on Monday, foundation executive director Harold Augenbraum would not comment directly on whether Myracle had been asked to pull out but said, "We agree with her that the integrity of the judging process means the five selections by the judges need to be the National Book Award finalists."

Myracle, known for her candid and explicit takes on teen and tween life, tells of a hate crime against a teenage boy in "Shine." In her statement Monday, she noted that the book foundation would be donating $5,000 to the Matthew Shepard Foundation, named for the Wyoming youth, who was murdered in 1998.

Myracle, 42, is a highly praised and controversial author. She is the winner of several awards and often is on lists of books most frequently challenged by parents and educators. Her other books include "TTYL," based on transcripts of instant messages among high school girls, and "Thirteen," about the life of a 13-year-old girl.

By Monday afternoon, a (hash)isupportshine hash tag had been set up on Twitter. Messages of sympathy were filling Myracle's Facebook page, and sales for "Shine" picked up enough that its ranking on Amazon.com jumped from No. 1,976 early Monday to No. 263.

Myracle's publisher, Susan Van Metre, said this week was one of "of extraordinary highs and lows."

"Throughout, all of us at Amulet and Abrams have remained in complete support of our amazing author, who has published great, groundbreaking books with our house for almost a decade," Van Metre said in a statement. "We are so proud of 'Shine,' a beautiful and important book, and of Lauren, not least for her grace in such a difficult week."

Van Metre encouraged the National Book Foundation to review its procedures for transmitting award information between the judges and the staff and to authors and the public so "a painful error like this doesn't happen again."


*Can you say what a crock of %$%$%!!*

Penny Marshall has book deal with Amazon.com

(AP) — Filmmaker-actress Penny Marshall has a book deal with a fresh twist: The publisher is Amazon.com.

Marshall's agent, Dan Strone, announced Tuesday that the online retailer would release Marshall's memoir "My Mother Was Nuts" in Fall 2012. Marshall is still remembered fondly for co-starring in the 1970s sitcom "Laverne and Shirley" and she is among the few women directors to have major commercial success in Hollywood, her big screen hits including "Big" and "A League of Their Own."
According to Strone, Marshall will also write about ex-husband Rob Reiner, her friendship with John Belushi and her fight against lung and brain cancer in 2009.

"I can't say I'm excited about the Yankees losing, or there not being a basketball season yet, but I am excited about writing this book," Marshall said in a statement. "People have always asked me how I got from the Bronx to Hollywood, so I thought it was time to tell how it all happened. I have had many lives —not in the Shirley MacLaine sense — and you will hear about them all. Just don't expect any recipes. I don't cook."

Marshall's memoir will be available as a hardcover and an e-book. Strone told The Associated Press that several publishers bid, but that Amazon "won the auction." He declined to offer financial details, but said that Amazon's offer was "a lot" and that it also agreed — as it usually does — to a much higher royalty on e-books than the 25 percent traditionally given by publishers.

"It was a decision whether to go with old school or new school," said Strone, CEO of Trident Media Group. He added that he had a history of working with the head of Amazon Publishing, Laurence J. Kirshbaum, who as CEO of Warner Books published another Strone client, Jon Stewart.

Amazon, which has been steadily expanding its publishing operations, recently signed a deal with best-selling self-help author Timothy Ferris and on Tuesday announced that it had started an imprint for science fiction, fantasy and horror. Publishers and booksellers have been worried about Amazon's dual roles as client and competitor and rival stores have expressed strong reservations about selling books released by Amazon.

Amazon Publishing editorial director Julia Cheiffetz said she regarded Marshall as a "trailblazer" in show business and that she hoped to find "new and innovative" ways for Marshall to reach readers.
Amazon has angered stores by signing deals with authors that make the online retailer the exclusive seller, but Cheiffetz said that Amazon intended "to make this book available to any retailer that would like to carry it in physical or digital format."

Rocker and romancer Rod Stewart to publish memoir

(Reuters) - Rod Stewart, the raspy-voiced rocker, will publish his memoirs next year, promising to "hold nothing back" in detailing a career in which he sold more than a 100 million records, survived cancer and romanced a string of blond bombshells.

Stewart's book, which is yet to be titled but will be published worldwide by Random House, comes as he has toned down his rock and roll act, concentrating on remaking standards by everyone from Cole Porter to George Gershwin.

Due out in October 2012, the book follows renewed interest in rock autobiographies thanks to bestsellers by Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and The Rolling Stones' Keith Richards and an upcoming release by Neil Young.

Stewart, 66, rose to superstar fame with a string of hits, including "Maggie May," "Tonight's The Night," "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy," and "Some Guys Have All The Luck." Over his 50-year music career, he has had 31 top-10 singles in Britain and 16 top-10 singles in the United States.

"It is a funny old thing telling my life story but I truly intend to hold nothing back," Stewart said in a statement. "Forget skeletons in the closet; this one's going to be socks and knickers under the bed."

Born in North London, Stewart left school at 15 and had his start with The Ray Davies Quartet, which later become The Kinks, before his first big break in 1967 when he teamed up with the Jeff Beck Group, where he joined Jeff Beck of the Yardbirds and Ronnie Wood, who went on to join The Rolling Stones.

Stewart subsequently took his spiky, rooster-style hair and working class songs to a new London supergroup, Faces, joined by Wood. He struck it big with his 1971 with his mega-hit "Maggie May" on his solo "Every Picture Tells A Story" album.

From there, his career caught fire as he alternated solo work with tours and albums with the Faces, even as his personal life began making tabloid headlines.

Moving to the United States in the mid-seventies and concentrating on his solo career, Stewart began wearing new wave suits and cemented his reputation as a playboy, dating Swedish actress Britt Ekland, model Bebe Buell and Alana Hamilton, another model whom he eventually married.

Stewart and Hamilton had two children before divorcing in 1984. He had another child with Kelly Emberg, and then married supermodel Rachel Hunter in 1990. The couple, who had two children, divorced in 2006.

He finally married Penny Lancaster, yet another blond model, and fathered two more children.

Stewart once said Brigitte Bardot was the only woman he'd ever had a sexual fantasy about. "With me, looks come first, and she's everything a woman should be. She's blond and beautiful, she's got the most incredible legs, etc. etc. And she's French as well."

An inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and recipient of the Commander of the Order of the British Empire, Stewart was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, threatening his life and his career. He underwent throat surgery in 2000, and since then has been an active fundraiser for cancer charities.

Anne Hathaway, Kate Winslet sign on for audio books

(TheWrap.com) - Starting early next year, Anne Hathaway, Kate Winslet, Kim Basinger and a host of other stars will be available to read you a bedtime story.






Audio-book company Audible.com announced Friday that it's launching a new line of audio books read by some of Hollywood's biggest talents, including the above names.

Also participating in the line: Jennifer Connolly (who'll read Paul Bowles' "The Sheltering Sky"), Dustin Hoffman (who's tacking Jerzy Kosinski's "Being There") and Samuel L. Jackson (who shall recite Chester Himes' "A Rage in Harlem" -- to which he'll hopefully bring the same panache as his reading of "Go the F--- to Sleep.")

Audible.com will announce further participants in the series later this year, while the company will begin to roll out titles from the line in early 2012.

Other celebrities confirmed include Annette Bening, Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Meg Ryan, Susan Sarandon and Naomi Watts.