Valley native wins multicultural fiction award

Published:Sunday, June 8, 2008

Valley native wins multicultural fiction award

MCLEAN, Va. — Independent Publisher selected “Osaka Heat,” a novel by Mahoning Valley native Mary Claire Mahaney, as the 2008 silver medal winner in the category of multicultural adult fiction at its 12th annual IPPY Awards last month.

“Osaka Heat” is the story of an American widow who travels to Japan and becomes involved in a forbidden romance with a Japanese man. Released by AuthorHouse, it was one of 3,175 works competing in a variety of categories for the best independently-published books of 2007.

Mahaney, who grew up in Warren, is a retired lawyer in Fairfax County, Va. For more information, visit the author’s Web site, www.maryclairemahaney.com.

Stottsberry Award

CANTON — The Greater Canton Writers’ Guild named Ron Luikart of North Canton as the winner of its Marlene Stottsberry Award for his short story, “Charles S. Price.”

The award, which carries a cash prize of $50, is given in memory of longtime guild supporter and past president Marlene Stottsberry.

Giovanni Andreazzi (pen name) of Alliance was presented with an award of distinction for his humorous story, “I Dropped My Stones in Siberia.”

Runners up honors went to Mary Jane Smith of Canton (“Hog Heaven”), Bebe Weinberg-Katz of University Heights (“Emma’s Secret”), Namiko Golden of Canal Fulton (“A Summer Episode)” and Joseph McLaughlin of New Philadelphia (“Old Man of the Lake”).

Orange Prize

LONDON — English writer Rose Tremain won Britain’s Orange Prize for fiction by women for “The Road Home,” her 10th novel, the story of an Eastern European migrant who arrives in Britain with no English and little money.

Tremain beat five finalists including two North American writers nominated for their first novels: Montreal-based Heather O’Neill for “Lullabies for Little Criminals”; and Patricia Wood, a doctoral student at the University of Hawaii, for “Lottery.”

Tremain wins $60,000 and a bronze statue by artist Grizel Niven. In its 13th year, the award’s full title is the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction after its sponsor, telecommunications company Orange, and is awarded only to female authors.

Readers poll

LOS ANGELES — American readers buy books most frequently online and in chain stores, with considerably fewer seeking out independent stores as their first choice, according to a survey of U.S. book buying habits released Thursday by Zogby International.

Asked about their overall buying habits, 77 percent said they shop online, 76 percent buy at chains and 49 percent shop at independent stores, the survey found.

The polling firm, best known for its surveys of presidential races, was commissioned to conduct the survey by Random House.

In other findings, the survey found that mass acceptance of digital publishing and e-books may still be a ways off, with 82 percent saying they preferred to read traditional, printed books compared to 11 percent who indicated they were comfortable reading books in other formats, such as an e-book reader on a hand-held device.

When it came to reading habits, about 46 percent said they had spent the same amount of time as usual reading in the last year and 23 percent said they had spent more time reading; 30 percent reported that they had been reading less than usual.

Book sales to stay flat

LOS ANGELES — As publishers pray for a new children’s series to equal Harry Potter and await the next novel by “The Da Vinci Code” author Dan Brown, a recent report released by the Book Industry Study Group at last weekend’s BookExpo America predicts a tight market for at least the next few years.

The BISG projects 3- to 4-percent growth through 2011, when revenues should top $43 billion, but expects little change in the actual number of books sold and a drop in the general trade market by more than 60 million, from 2.282 billion copies in 2007 to 2.220 billion in 2011.

Barring another Potter phenomenon, the children’s market is expected to barely break even. Modest gains are projected in most adult categories, but Brown’s release could change that [Note: no release date has been given].

The biggest losers are likely to be mass market paperbacks, which continue to plunge as baby boomers seek formats with larger print. Religious books should keep growing (5-percent or more annually). But, the hottest market: standardized tests, boosted by the requirements of the No Child Left Behind legislation, with a growth of 8-percent or better expected through at least 2009.

Another CEO departs

NEW YORK — Jane Friedman, whose profitable and apparently joyous 10-year reign as CEO at HarperCollins abruptly ended last week.

HarperCollins, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., announced the 62-year-old’s resignation late last Wednesday, catching even close friends off guard and leading to speculation that she had been pushed out, perhaps over continued unhappiness of the handling of O.J. Simpson’s “If I Did It.”

Simpson’s fictionalized “confession” to the murder of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman, was pulled in late 2006 soon after its announced publication enraged the industry and the general public. Publisher Judith Regan, who had often feuded with Friedman, was fired and her ReganBooks, a lucrative HarperCollins imprint, was disbanded.

Friedman’s contract was not due to expire until November, but her resignation was effective immediately. She has been succeeded by Brian Murray, 41, who had been president of HarperCollins since last summer.

Two other publishing CEOs have left in the past year: Simon Schuster’s Jack Romanos and Peter Olson of Random House.

Combined dispatches