Books/Publishing News

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A controversial novel about the Prophet Mohammad's child bride was rushed to U.S. stores on Monday, nine days ahead of schedule, after the office of the book's British publisher was attacked.

Tobacco Road, a smash on Broadway during the Depression but rarely revived today, opens Oct. 5 after previews from Sept. 30 at the La Jolla Playhouse, introducing a new generation to novelist Erskine Caldwell's hardscrabble Georgia characters, the Lester family.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Comedian, Emmy-winning TV star and Sarah Palin-lookalike Tina Fey has signed a book deal with Little, Brown Book Group, the company said on Monday, confirming a deal media reports said was worth millions.

NEW YORK - Tina Fey, already the busiest of stars thanks to her Emmy-winning role in "30 Rock" and definitive impersonation of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, is working on a book.

ATLANTA - A lawsuit involving the three surviving children of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King is threatening to derail a $1.4 million deal for a book on their mother.

LONDON - Three men charged with plotting to attack the publisher of a novel about the Prophet Muhammad's child bride made a brief court appearance Friday after being charged with plotting to damage the offices of Gibson Square publishers.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - The 2008 winner of the Nobel Prize in literature will be presented on Oct. 9, the Swedish Academy said Friday, completing the schedule of this year's Nobel announcements.

1. "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski (Ecco)

SPOKANE, Wash. - Sherry Jones' "The Jewel of Medina" reached bookstores Monday amid fears that the book about the Prophet Muhammad's child bride might lead to violence and threats. But the author said she had received no threats and was spending the day quietly, except for talking to reporters and being photographed.

Key: F-Fiction; NF-Nonfiction; H-Hardcover; P-Paperback

1. "Brisingr" by Christopher Paolini (Knopf Books for Young Readers)

LONDON (Reuters) - British writer John Le Carre tackles thorny issues of immigration, terrorism and "extraordinary rendition" in his new novel "A Most Wanted Man," which he hinted may be his last.

Tobacco Road, a smash on Broadway during the Depression but rarely revived today, resurfaced Sept. 30 at the La Jolla Playhouse, introducing a new generation to novelist Erskine Caldwell's hardscrabble Georgia characters.

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Perennial favorites, from American novelist Philip Roth to Japanese writer Haruki Murakami, top the list of hopefuls for this year's Nobel Prize in literature.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - After failing to find a buyer, Borders Group Inc. has been forced to issue warrants to Pershing Square Capital Management, giving its biggest shareholder even more control over the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based bookseller.

LONDON (AFP) - Author Salman Rushdie has no regrets about writing "The Satanic Verses", he said in comments published Wednesday, 20 years after the release of the book which earned him an Islamic death threat.

HAIFA, Israel (Reuters) - For 15 years Israeli Saleh Abbasi has traded books between the Jewish state and its Arab neighbors, fostering a rare cultural link.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Bad news for American writers hoping for a Nobel Prize next week: the top member of the award jury believes the United States is too insular and ignorant to compete with Europe when it comes to great writing.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Christian book publisher Zondervan says their next edition of the Bible will be handwritten...by more than 31,000 Americans.

MINNEAPOLIS - Cemeteries don't scare Neil Gaiman. Far from it. The best-selling author of horror and fantasy fables finds them "incredibly peaceful places."

"The Forever War" (Alfred A Knopf. 384 pages. $25), by Dexter Filkins: For generations, war correspondence has been a hallowed art of journalism, a specialty craft in which even the most deft and skilled writers often fail — or for good reason never endeavor to try.

WASHINGTON - First lady Laura Bush and daughter Jenna took a lesson from their own book Saturday at the National Book Festival.

WASHINGTON - Children's book author Jon Scieszka enlightened a National Book Festival audience Friday night with stories about how he learned to read funny books by Dr. Seuss and strange books at school about an "alien" family.

NEW YORK - Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, is working on a memoir about his triumphs in space and the hard times back on Earth.

Busta Rhymes released from UK detention

LONDON (Reuters) - Rapper Busta Rhymes was held by British immigration officials at a London airport for almost 12 hours on Thursday before a High Court judge ordered his release. Officials at London City Airport, citing "unresolved convictions in the USA," detained the rapper after he arrived to perform at a concert in the capital's Royal Albert Hall on Friday.

KEY WEST, Fla. - The famed six-toed cats at Ernest Hemingway's island home aren't going anywhere.

1. "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle" by David Wroblewski (Ecco)

NEW YORK - As the government worked on a plan to prevent a financial disaster, readers are seeking out books about economic crises — past, present and future.

"Downtown Owl" (Scribner. $24. 271 pages), by Chuck Klosterman: The best thing about "Downtown Owl," Chuck Klosterman's first stab at fiction, is this: Every key character sounds suspiciously like Chuck Klosterman.