BOOK DEALS AND PRESIDENTIAL SEALS
BY JANET DONOVAN
The Annual Booksellers convention
descended on Washington on May 17th
with all the creative force of Dorothy
en route to Oz. The five day publishing
extravaganza included congressional hearings,
book signings and more agents than the C.I.A.
THE LYNN & DICK SHOW
Mom worked the
crowd, Dad held court. It was a family affair
for Vice President Dick Cheney and wife Lynn,
who did their best not to upstage their daughter
Mary at her book launch for Now It's My Turn
in the back room of The Palm. The ‘multimedia'
crowd consumed most of the square
footage: MSNBC's Tammy Haddad, CQ's Chris
Lehmann, Washingtonian's Harry Jaffe, NBC's
Betsy Fischer and Slate's John Dickerson. It
was an interesting crowd since the event was
"off limits" to the press. Mary Matalin, former
assistant to President George W. Bush,
heads up the new conservative imprint
for Simon & Schuster. No sign of
hubby James Carville that we know
of, but hey, he's press.
NOW HEAR THIS!
Ann Coulter has
not ... repeat ... not ... lost any of her
100 plus newspaper outlets despite the
controversy surrounding her remarks
about 9/11 widows. Judging by all the
air & ink sucking going on, it's gotta
be true. "Ann Coulter Wows Leno,"
screams NewsMax. "Latest Ann Coulter
Outrage," prints Editor & Publisher.
"Want to Really Get Back at Ann Coulter?
Then Shut Up About Her," advises Blogcritics.
Too late. The edgy right-wing conservative's
Godless: The Church of Liberalism features her
trademark - blasting liberals. She's got the gig
down pat.
HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF
At first glance
you'd think that Pulitzer nominated (Long
Time Passing) author and political writer Myra
MacPherson was taking
her cue from Good Night
and Good Luck! Not true.
Her upcoming book has
been in the works for 13
years! All Governments Lie:
The Life and Times of Rebel
Journalist I. F. Stone wades
through the life of a man
driven, according to the
author, by insecurity
and curiosity. "Stone
remains enormously
relevant today, in an era
of too much journalistic
acquiescence." Publisher's
Weekly notes. Personally, MacPherson thinks this
administration is definitely smoking something,
as well as dispensing it to the press corps.
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PLAY BALL
Mystery author James Patterson
had a ball, literally, at his book launch for
Beach Road. Set in the Hamptons, the perfect
summer thriller got the perfect thriller party at
Teatro Goldoni, where beach balls were tossed
around as much as the conversation. Party
goers included Wyatt and Tandy Dickerson,
Clearchannel's Marilyn Thompson, CQ's Jodi
Schneider, Katherine Wood and 300 other
fans, publishers and
out-of-towners.
THICKER THAN WATER
Lebanese
Ambassador Farid
Abboud and his wife
Rim hosted a lavish
book party for Helen
Thomas, despite any
political differences.
While she may not be a popular figure at The
White House, the Hearst columnist commanded
a formidable crowd for Watchdog of Democracy?
Colleague Sam Donaldson took over: "During
the Carter administration, they planted trees.
Helen was there. After Carter left, we said ‘Oh,
come on Helen', take the shovel and throw in
a little dirt. It was then that I thought I heard
the ghosts of Presidents past, present and future
whispering ‘Shove her in!'"
Thomas shot back, "It's
really nice to hear your
obituary. After looking
at my book, I'm sure the
ambassador thought I'd be
looking for asylum."
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BILL"NABS" THE
SPOTLIGHT
Jennifer
Berry, Miss America 2006,
presented the Leadership
Award at the America
Awards Gala on June 12th
at The Ritz Carlton. While
the Oklahoma beauty is no
stranger to D.C., we suspect the draw may have
been the recipient: Former President William
Jefferson Clinton. The event, sponsored
by Bonneville Int'l Corp. and the National
Association of Broadcasters featured Deborah
Norville, host of Inside Edition, and honored
Broadcasters for outstanding courage in the wake
of Hurricane Katrina.
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