The Bookseller.com

7th September 2008

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Publishers gear up for Summer Read

16.06.08 Anna Richardson

Orion boasts two titles on this year’s “Richard & Judy” Summer Read selection—Linwood Barclay’s No Time for Goodbye and Julia Gregson’s East of the Sun—with its parent group Hachette taking five of the eight slots.

The Random House group has secured one spot, for Sadie Jones’ The Outcast (Vintage), while independents Canongate and Faber feature with Rebecca Miller’s The Private Lives of Pippa Lee and James Bradley’s The Resurrectionist respectively.

The selection is officially revealed on air on Monday (16th June) with The Outcast the first book to be reviewed on the show on 25th June.

Viewers are able to vote for their favourite online or via voting cards in stores throughout the summer, and the winner will be announced on 20th August, based on “average enjoyment marks” given by viewers.

The R&J Summer Read campaign is supported by retailers, wholesalers and libraries, through promotions and official POS material, including posters, stickers and voting cards.

Foyles’ Jonathan Ruppin said: “This is a particularly thoughtful and diverse selection, which should result in strong sales across the trade from supermarkets to independents.” Waterstone’s fiction buyer Janine Cook added: “There are no clear winners on the list, but they are all good books that deserve the wide audience ‘R&J’ will bring.”

Publishers are already feeling the “Richard & Judy effect”, with Headline securing a UK subscription of 200,000 for The Pirate’s Daughter, following the list’s confidential announcement to the trade last month.

The publisher will be supporting the title’s Summer Read selection with a publicity and marketing campaign to include a sample in the Mail on Sunday’s You magazine and a four-sheet London Underground poster campaign.

R&J BROADCAST DATES:

25th June: The Outcast – Sadie Jones (Vintage)

2nd July: No Time for Goodbye – Linwood Barclay (Orion)

9th July: East of the Sun (Orion)

16th July: Down River – John Hart (John Murray)

23rd July: The Pirate's Daughter – Margaret Cezair-Thompson (Headline)

30th July: The Private Lives of Pippa Lee – Rebecca Miller (Canongate)

6th August: Addition – Toni Jordan (Sceptre)

13th August: The Resurrectionist – James Bradley (Faber)

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