Conservative commentators are objecting to the choice of Gwen Ifill as moderator for tonight’s debate between Joe Biden and Sarah Palin because she is writing a book, The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama.

As Keith Olbermann pointed out on his show last night, there should have been no confusion on this issue. Waving a copy of the Doubleday catalog, he said the book was listed in it weeks before both sides agreed to Ifill as the moderator.

Just one more reason to read publishers catalogs.

 

        

Doubleday Spring 2009 Catalog (PDF)

 

Ifill catalog pages:

 

The AAP Webcasts of editors previewing their picks of the Winter/Spring/end-of-Fall/Winter season (titles to be pubbed Jan through April ‘09) begin tomorrow. This is a great opportunity to get an insider’s view of the lists.

For those who have not yet registered, there are still some spaces left. Go to AAP Book Editors Online & Unscripted and click on “Register” next to each event you want to join.

To make ordering easier, we’ve put together an Excel spreadsheet of all the titles, with ISBN’s (you can also access it via the link to the bottom right, under “Spring ‘09 Preview”).

Below is the schedule, with jackets and catalog download links for this week’s sessions. Chapter excerpts are available at the AAP Book Editors Online & Unscripted site for those who are registered.

By the way, if you’re anything like me, you’ve registered but you’ve forgotten your password. After much cursing at my computer screen, I found it in an email from “messenger@webex.com” with the Subject line, “Registration approved for Web seminar…”

 

Tuesday, Sept. 16, 12 – 12:30 pm

Rebecca Saletan, SVP and Publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade Books

Download Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Adult Catalog — Winter 09

      

                       

Animals Make Us Human, by Temple Grandin 

How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer

Blood in the Cage by L. Jon Werthem

My Abandonment by Peter Rock

Runner by Thomas Perry

Live Through This by Debra Gwartney

Hunting Eichmann by Neal Bascomb

 

 

Tuesday, Sept. 16, 3  – 3:30 pm

Tom Miller, Executive. Editor, John Wiley & Sons

  

           

American Medical Association Complete Guide to Prevention and Wellness 

Prescription for Drug Alternatives: All-Natural Options for Better Health without the Side Effects, by James Balch, Mark Stengler, Robin Young Balch 

The Youth Equation: Take 10 Years Off Your Face, by Jeffrey Dover, MD and Cara Birnbaum 

The Truth about Cheating: Why Men Stray and What You Can Do to Prevent It, by M. Gary Neuman 

Faith, Hope, and Healing: Inspiring Lessons Learned from People Living with Cancer, by Bernie Segel 

 

 

Wednesday, Sept, 17, 12  – 12:30 pm

Bill Thomas, Editor In Chief and Publisher, Doubleday Publishing Group

Download Doubleday Catalog— Spring 2009

  

Sag Harbor, by Colson Whitehead

Lost City of Z, by David Grann

 

 

Wednesday, Sept. 17, 3 – 3:30 pm

Geoff Shandler, Vice President, Editor In Chief, Little Brown

Download Little, Brown Catalog — Fall ‘08

     

Beat The Reaper, by Josh Bazell

Endgame, 1945: The Missing Final Chapter of World War II, by David Stafford (trade paperback reprint)

 

 

Thursday, Sept. 18, 12 – 12:30 pm

Cindy Spiegel, Senior Vice President & Publisher, Spiegel & Grau

Download Spiegal & Grau Catalog — Spring ‘09

   

American Rust, by Phillipp Meyer

Outcasts United, by Warren St. John

 

 

Thursday, Sept 18, 3 – 3:30 pm

Amy Einhorn, VP & Publisher, Editor In Chief, Amy Einhorn Books/G.P. Putnam Sons

Downlaod Putnam Catalog — Winter ‘09

         

The Help, by Kathryn Stockett

I’m Sorry You Feel That Way, by Diana Joseph 

Why Manners Matter, by Lucinda Holdforth 

Ten Degrees of Reckoning, by Hester Rumberg 

 

Tuesday, Sept 23 12 – 12:30 pm

George Witte, Vice President, Editor In Chief, St. Martins Press

Download St. Martin’s Press Catalog — Winter ‘09

Honolulu: A Novel by Alan Brennert

Hiding Man, a Biography of Donald Barthelme, by Tracy Daugherty

Soft Spots: A Marine’s Memoir of Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, by Clint Van Winkle

War Child, A Memoir: A Child Soldier’s Story, by Emmanuel Jal

Life Without Summer: A Novel, by Lynne Griffin 

 

Tuesday, Sept. 23 3 – 3:30 pm

Eric Raab, Editor, Tor/Forge

Download Tor Catalog — Winter ‘09

Download Forge — Winter ‘09

Boca Knights, by Steven M. Forman

Comets Curse, by Dom Testa

Critical Mass, by Whitley Strieber 

Bones of the Dragon, by Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman 

Lamentation, by Ken Scholes

Mortal Coils, by Eric Nylund

Tuesday, Sept 23 3:45 – 4:15 pm

Kathryn Court, President & Publisher, Penguin Books

Download Penguin Books Catalog — Winter ‘09

Download Viking Catalog — Winter ‘09

Sonata for Miriam, by Linda Olsson (Penguin Paperback Original)

The Angel Maker, by Stefan Brijs, (Penguin Paperback Original

Disquiet, by Julie Leigh (Penguin Paperback Original)

The Element, by Ken Robinson, Ph.D (Penguin)

The Piano Teacher, by Janice Y.K. Lee (Viking)

Wednesday, Sept 24, 12 – 12:30 pm

Gillian Blake, Executive Editor, Collins

Download Collins Catalog — Winter ‘09

My Booky Wooky, by Russell Brand

The Thoreau You Don’t Know, by Robert Sullivan 

Wednesday, Sept 24, 3 – 3:30 pm

Helen Atsma, Editor, Henry Holt and Company

Download Henry Holt Catalog — Winter ‘09

The Spare Room, by Helen Garner

One Nation Under Dog by Michael Schaffer 

Darling Jim, by Chirstian Moerk

 

Thursday, Sept 25, 12 – 12:30 pm

Chuck Adams, Executive Editor, Algonquin Books

A Reliable Wife, by Robert Goolrick

 

Thursday, Sept 25 3 pm – 3:30 pm

Deb Futter, VP, Editor In Chief, Grand Central Publishing

Download Grand Central Catalog — Fall ‘08

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, by Tiffany Baker

Little Pink House, by Jeff Benedict

The Unlikely Disciple, Kevin Roose

Undress Me in the Tmple of Heaven by Susan Jane Gilman

 

We should have guessed; the Vanity Fair excerpt of Michael Wolff’s book on Rupert Murdoch, The Man Who Owns the News, has generated dozens of articles, proving once again that the media is obsessed with itself.

Reuters headline is Murdoch yearns to buy New York Times; New York Magazine likes the part about Rupert’s dye job, The Aubergine-Haired Mogul and the Girl From Shandong Province (the Financial Times, which has a “People” Column, who knew?, gets all NY Posty with Do or dye for Rupert Murdoch). Most, however, ran with the revelation that Obama, Murdoch and Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes had a sit-down (e.g., Howard Kurtz in the Washington Post, Obama Met With Fox News Executives). That story dovetails nicely with news that Obama will appear on the O’Reilly Factor on Fox tomorrow night.

If so much news can be generated from a short excerpt, you’ve got to wonder what will happen when the book comes out in February (9/5 update; the publisher has moved the pub date to Dec. 2nd).

As we mentioned in our story yesterday, the book has not yet been reviewed by prepub sources and is not on order in any of the libraries we checked.

The Man Who Owns the News: Inside the Secret World of Rupert Murdoch

Michael Wolff

• Hardcover: $27.95; 320 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (Dec 2, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0385526121
• ISBN-13: 978-0385526128

The October Vanity Fair features an excerpt from VF columnist Michael Wolff’s forthcoming book on Rupert Murdoch, The Man Who Owns the News.

It has not yet been reviewed by prepub sources and is not on order by any of the libraries I checked.

The Man Who Owns the News: Inside the Secret World of Rupert Murdoch

Michael Wolff

• Hardcover: $27.95; 320 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (Originally announced for Feb. 19, the pub date was moved to Dec 2, 2008)
• ISBN-10: 0385526121
• ISBN-13: 978-0385526128