Books/Publishing News

"Death's Half Acre" (Grand Central Publishing, 262 pages, $24.99), by Margaret Maron: Growing up in a trailer park with a drunk for a father and a tramp for a mother, Candace Bradshaw seemed to have few prospects. But a strong work ethic and good looks allowed her to marry well, take over a profitable business and win a seat on the county board of commissioners.

LONDON - Novelist Salman Rushdie won an apology Tuesday from a former bodyguard who attacked his character, a court decision the author hopes will set a new precedent for high-profile English libel trials.

"Soccer Dad" (Skyhorse Publishing. 288 pages. $22.95), by W.D. Wetherell: In the first chapter of this loving remembrance of his son's final year of playing soccer on a top-ranked high school team, W.D. Wetherell says he assumes that anyone reading the book "already understands and values soccer."

NEW YORK (Billboard) - Peter Buck of R.E.M., "SNL" star Amy Poehler and novelist Jonathan Lethem are among the curators of a limited-edition series of CDs that will mark the 20th anniversary of North Carolina independent label Merge Records.

"Supreme Courtship" (Twelve. 285 pages. $24), by Christopher Buckley: Opinions by the U.S. Supreme Court have footnotes, so it's fitting that a novel about that institution would have them, too. But who'd expect them to be so amusing?

"The Good Thief" (The Dial Press. 326 pages. $25), by Hannah Tinti: Hannah Tinti treats readers of her first novel much like a runaway train does its passengers: She takes off on her fantastical tale knowing they'll have no choice but to hang on to see how things end.

NEW YORK - As the centennial of Lyndon Johnson's birth approaches, historian Robert A. Caro would like to think of his longtime subject at his happiest and most fulfilled: Not when Johnson was president, in anguish over Vietnam, but a few years before, as Senate majority leader, the one-man legislative machine.

EDINBURGH, Scotland - He's recognized around the world as the iconic face of James Bond. But in Britain, Sean Connery is also well known as a proud Scot, and on Monday he returns to his hometown to launch his autobiography.

LONDON - Novelist Rosalind Belben and first-time biographer Rosemary Hill have won Britain's oldest literary award, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes.

NEW YORK - Olympic superstar Michael Phelps will write a book telling the story behind his historic eight gold medal swims just in time for the holiday season, Free Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, announced Friday.

MINNEAPOLIS - When reporter David Carr began thinking about writing his life story, he found he couldn't trust his own memory.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Barnes & Noble Inc., the nation's largest bookseller, posted a 15 percent drop in second-quarter profit Thursday as it struggles with sluggish consumer spending.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Barnes & Noble Inc, cut its full-year sales forecast on Thursday, blaming a troubled U.S. economy, sending the shares of the largest U.S. specialty bookseller down more than 3 percent.

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

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German publishing house Gruner & Jahr is interested in buying the trade magazines unit of Anglo-Dutch publisher Reed Elsevier, a German newspaper reported on Wednesday.

"The First Billion Is the Hardest" (Crown Business. 252 pages. $26.95), by T. Boone Pickens: T. Boone Pickens deals in big figures. Very big. He quotes Forbes Magazine as pegging his worth at $3 billion in 2007, when he was 79.

Elvis Cole is Robert Crais' best friend.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Barnes & Noble Inc , the largest U.S. specialty bookseller, said on Tuesday the chief executive of its online business resigned.

NEW YORK - In an Aug. 18 story about a new book by Bob Woodward, The Associated Press reported erroneously that CBS Television Network is owned by Viacom Inc. CBS Corp. split off from Viacom in 2006.

NEW YORK - A former writer and producer for "The Simpsons," a former writer for "Saturday Night Live" and a former president of the Harvard Lampoon are finalists for the Thurber Prize for American Humor, a $5,000 award.