Hollywood is abuzz over news that Gary Ross, director of The Hunger Games, has bowed out of the sequel, Catching Fire, scheduled for release in November of 2013. In a statement, he says, “As a writer and a director, I simply don’t have the time I need to write and prep the movie I would have wanted to make because of the fixed and tight production schedule.”

The Hollywood Reporter speculated earlier that contract negotiations were not going well.

No replacement has been announced. Stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth will return for the sequel.

Filming for the second Percy Jackson movie, Sea of Monsters, based on Rick Riordan’s middle grade novel (Hyperion), will begin next week in Vancouver, Canada. It’s scheduled for release March 27, 2013.

Hunger Games actress, Leven Rambin, has just been tapped for the role of Clarisse, the daughter of Ares. Logan Lerman will return as Percy, Brandon Jackson as Grover,  and Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth. The director has changed, however. Thor Freudenthal (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Hotel for Dogs) is in that role this time, replacing Chris Columbus, who is one of the producers.

A graphic novel version is coming in January.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Sea of Monsters, The: The Graphic Novel Rick Riordan, Robert Venditti Retail Price: $19.99 Hardcover: 128 pages Publisher: Hyperion Book CH – (2013-01-08) ISBN / EAN: 1423145291 / 9781423145295

Many of Stephen King fans are eagerly awaiting his return to the horror genre in Dr. Sleep, the sequel to Carrie, [CORRECTION: As pointed out in comments, Dr. Sleep is the sequel to The Shining] scheduled to be released some time in 2013.

Neil Gaiman profiles him in a story called, of course, “The King and I,” in the Sunday Times Magazine of London (the story is behind their paywall — but it’s available in full here, for those who don’t mind violating copyright — via New York magazine’s “Vulture” blog).

According to Gaiman, King is now at work on a novel titled Joyland, about an amusement park serial killer.

John Grisham takes a break from legal thrillers with his new novel, Calico Joe,(RH/Doubleday), but sticks to the tradition of appearing on The Today Show on the day of the book’s publication (excerpt here). The Washington Post reviewed the book on Friday, calling it, ” a sweet, simple story, a fable really.”

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Grisham returns to the legal thriller in the fall, with The Racketeer, about the murder of a federal judge (note; the cover below is not final).

The Racketeer John Grisham Retail Price: $28.95 Hardcover: ? pages Publisher: RH/Doubleday – (2012-10-23) ISBN / EAN: 0385535147 / 9780385535144

Carole King wrote her first hit song at age 17 (“Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” sung by the Shirelles). She recently turned her writing talents to a longer form, her memoir, A Natural Woman, releasing today. She was interviewed on NPR’s Morning Edition today as well as on The Today Show (book excerpt here).

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A Natural Woman: A Memoir Carole King Retail Price: $27.99 Hardcover: 496 pages Publisher: Hachette/Grand Central – (2012-04-10) ISBN / EAN: 1455512613 / 9781455512614

Thorndike Large Print; Hachette Audio

We don’t often see an art book zoom up Amazon’s sales rankings, so the rise of Colorful Realm: Japanese Bird-and-Flower Paintings by Ito Jakuchu from #1,376 to #109, is remarkable.

The book is the illustrated catalog of an exhibition of the revered 18th C Japanese artist’s work at the National Gallery of Art, featured on the PBS NewsHour last night. The paintings on silk are so fragile that they are rarely displayed.

Watch 18th Century Japanese Scrolls Make Rare U.S. Appearance on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Colorful Realm: Japanese Bird-and-Flower Paintings by Ito Jakuchu Yukio Lippit Retail Price: $50.00 Hardcover: 224 pages Publisher: University Of Chicago Press – (2012-04-15) ISBN / EAN: 0226484602 / 9780226484600

Amazingly, there are no full-length biographies of Mike Wallace, the ground-breaking 60 Minutes journalist who died on Saturday at 93, other than his own two memoirs (Close Encounters, Morrow, 1984 and Between You and Me, Hyperion, 2005).

In a stroke of great timing, an unauthorized biography is on the way. Originally scheduled for publication on April 24th, the publisher, Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of Macmillan/St. Martin’s, announced that it will be released early,  this coming Friday, April 14 (via The Hollywood Reporter).

The Daily Beast today offers a summary, “Mike Wallace Reconsidered: 6 Revelations From a New Biography.”

It was reviewed favorably by Library Journal, Publishers Weekly and Kirkus, which concluded,

Rader’s revelations about Wallace go to some pretty impressive psychological depths…[his] portrait is of the classic American workaholic, one whose burning ambition and freakishly tireless work ethic were fueled by massive insecurities and existential crises. Bold, well-crafted biography of a long-elusive and controversial public figure.

Mike Wallace: A Life Peter Rader Retail Price: $25.99 Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books – (2012-04-13) ISBN / EAN: 0312543395 / 9780312543396

Thorndike large print

Greg Mortenson, the author of Three Cups of Tea, will step down from his position as executive director of the charity he founded, the Central Asia Institute, and will repay $1 million, as a result of a  yearlong investigation by the Montana attorney general. The Associated Press reports that the attorney general found “Mortenson had little aptitude for record keeping or personnel management.” He will continue to work for the organization and to speak on its behalf.

Questions about Mortenson’s running of the charity were first raised by CBS 60 Minutes and author Jon Krakauer.

CBS Sunday Morning celebrates the 50th anniversary of the classic children’s title, The Phantom Tollbooth, with a profile of the author and the illustrator.

The segment, which aired yesterday, sent various editions of the book up the Amazon’s sales rankings. The hardcover rose to #12.

A fiftieth anniversary edition was published recently, with essays of appreciation, including one by Suzanne Collins. It’s currently at #22 on Amazon.

The Phantom Tollbooth 50th Anniversary Edition Norton Juster Retail Price: $24.00 Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers – (2011-10-25) ISBN / EAN: 0375869034 / 9780375869037

It’s been on-again, off-again for the movie of City of Bones, the first book in YA series, Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare. A release date of Aug, 23, 2013 was just announced, signaling that the project is finally moving forward.

Lily Collins (daughter of singer Phil Collins and now starring in Mirror Mirror) has signed to play teenager Clary Fray, directed by Harald Zwart (The Karate Kid).

Jacqueline Winspear’s ninth book in the Maisie Dobbs series, Elegy for Eddie, debuts at number one on the 4/5 Indie Bestseller list.

The series has been steadily rising (the most recent title, A Lesson in Secrets, debuted at #4 on the Indie list and at #6 on the NYT list), based on strong support from independent booksellers (eight of the titles, including this one, were chosen by booksellers for the Indie Next list) and librarians.

About a former WW I nurse turned detective in London, the series may also be gaining traction from the Downton Abbey-fueled interest in that period. The full series list is available on the author’s web site.

Unfortunately, Winspear, who is in the middle of her U.S. book tour, has had to cancel upcoming appearances due to a family emergency.

Elegy for Eddie: A Maisie Dobbs Novel Jacqueline Winspear Retail Price: $25.99 Hardcover: 352 pages Publisher: Harper – (2012-03-27) ISBN / EAN: ISBN10: 0062049577/ 9780062049575

AudioGo and HarperAudio; Thorndike large print

Charlotte Rogan captivated the audience when she spoke last month at PLA’s Debut Authors panel. The NYT interviews her today about her book, Lifeboat, saying it is,

…already riding a wave of heady praise and early reviews. It carries sparkling blurbs by Emma Donoghue, the author of Room, and Hilary Mantel, the author of Wolf Hall. Booksellers have predicted that it will become a hit among book club members, those prized word-of-mouth readers who have helped make best sellers out of novels like The Help and The Paris Wife.

With its theme of a WWI shipwreck and survivors facing moral crises, it echoes James Cameron’s The Titanic which opens today in IMAX theaters (in others on Friday), a connection pointed out by many, including the UK’s Guardian, which calls it “A compelling and disquieting first novel.”

Libraries are showing holds, averaging 5:1.

The Lifeboat: A Novel Charlotte Rogan Retail Price: $24.99 Hardcover: 288 pages Publisher: Hachette/Little, Brown/Reagan Arthur – (2012-04-03) ISBN : 9780316185905

Hachette Audio

This week one more book appeared to add to the shelf of books about how the French dress better, live better and raise their kids better, all while not getting fat. Turns out their kids eat better, too.

French Kids Eat Everything: How Our Family Moved to France, Cured Picky Eating, Banned Snacking, and Discovered 10 Simple Rules for Raising Happy, Healthy Eaters Karen Le Billon Retail Price: $24.99 Hardcover: 320 pages Publisher: HarperCollins/Morrow – (2012-04-03) ISBN / EAN: 0062103296 / 9780062103291

The author was interviewed on Good Morning America yesterday. The book just broke into the Amazon Top 100 (it’s at #98).

It seems the author’s name is real.

J.K. Rowling’s full Harry Potter Web site is scheduled to launch this month (it was delayed from the original October, 2011 date; the Pottermore Shop is open, however).

A sneak peek was released last week:

An “exclusive” nine-minute clip from the audio of Fifty Shades of Grey is on Entertainment Weekly‘s “Shelf Life” blog. We were suspicious, since the post is dated April 2nd (this year’s unofficial alternate to April Fool’s Day, since it was on a Sunday) and no publisher is listed.

Turns out, dear listeners, that it’s true. RH/Books on Tape confirms that they are doing the audio and that it will be available on OverDrive (UPDATE: it is downloadable ONLY).

BOT Library Edition Downloadable only, OverDrive; ISBN: 9780449808177 Price : $95

The book’s reader Becca Battoe, is the narrator of several YA and children’s audios, including Judy Blume’s It’s Not the End of the World. Her voice sounds young, appropriate for the innocent college student, Anastasia Steele. Don’t worry, the clip is very SFW.

Who should play Anastasia in the planned movie? People magazine suggests six actresses, including Emmy Rossum (starring in Showtime’s series Shameless and in the upcoming film version of the YA title, Beautiful Creatures).