Check this out! Here’s the front page of the Dagens Nyheter Newspaper Culture section as it appeared on September 22nd. The cover story is about Alfred A. Knopf Book Designer, Chip Kidd, with the headline, "In The Mind of a Cover Boy". In the interview ( by Pontus Dahlman, not available online ) Chip Kidd states, concerning e-books, "And when it comes to the experience of reading, there will always be a market for paper books. I myself am a print person. A printing ink person." This is really great foreign publicity ( and we love that ) but the really fun part is that they used Book Cover photos from our GALLERY PAGE to illustrate the story… Awesome!

Ashbel Green, vice president and senior editor at Alfred A. Knopf, passed away on Tuesday, September 18th, in Westerly, R.I. Mr. Green was both a Friend and colleague of Chip Kidd. He was 84.

Chip Kidd, respectfully, wanted to share this statement:

“I would like to recognize the death of Ash Green, a beloved colleague at Knopf and one of the best editors in publishing history. I will miss him terribly, as will we all at Alfred A. Knopf. Ash, you were one of the greats, it was an honor to know and work with you. C”

The BIG Book Reading News this Summer is the much-anticipated adventure story by Peter Heller titled, “THE DOG STARS, a novel”. The basic plot goes like this:

“Hig survived the flu that killed everyone he knows. His wife is gone, his friends are dead, he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, his only neighbor a gun-toting misanthrope. In his 1956 Cessna, Hig flies the perimeter of the airfield or sneaks off to the mountains to fish and to pretend that things are the way they used to be. But when a random transmission somehow beams through his radio, the voice ignites a hope deep inside him that a better life-something like his old life-exists beyond the airport. Risking everything, he flies past his point of no return-not enough fuel to get him home-following the trail of the static-broken voice on the radio. But what he encounters and what he must face-in the people he meets, and in himself-is both better and worse than anything he could have hoped for.”

Narrated by a man who is part warrior and part dreamer, a hunter with a great shot and a heart that refuses to harden, The Dog Stars is both savagely funny and achingly sad, a breathtaking story about what it means to be human.

Peter Heller Book Signings:

Lemuria Book Store Inc
August 21st, 2012 at 5:00 pm
202 Banner Hall
4465 I-55 North
Jackson, MS 39206

SQUARE BOOKS
August 22st, 2012 at 5:00 pm
160 Courthouse Square
Oxford, MS 38655

Book Trailer Video:

Writers on Writing:

Today is a very important day in History! Yes, August 15th, 2012, is the 100th Birthday of Julia Child! Of course everyone at Alfred A. Knopf ( Random House ) is totally proud of this event because they’re the ones who published her Cookbook, ”Mastering The Art of French Cooking”, almost 51 years ago. The book has now become a total classic and is still a bestseller to this day. It became iconic for it’s use of very detailed illustrations that helped many people learn how to cook. One interesting side note is that Google posted a wonderful image of her today for their logo ( see pic down below ). In closing, Thank You for everything you taught us Julia Child. You are deeply missed by millions of people and will always be a true Icon and a National Treasure, “Bon Appetit!”

This morning Chip Kidd had the honor of appearing on NPR Radio in New York City, specifically their podcast for “NPR Books”. The main topic was, “In The E-Book World, Are Book Covers A Dying Art?”. Please CLICK HERE so you can give it a listen and also let us know what YOU think. Thanks, and Thank You NPR BOOKS!

First off, we would like to thank the HUFFINGTON POST for their recent article about this new book titled, WONDER, written by R. J. Palacio and published by Random House KNOPF. She has created a very inspiring book and it really deserves some attention & we appreciate it.

In the video above , Author R. J. Palacio and Chip Kidd discuss Palacio’s debut novel, WONDER. They also discuss the anti-bullying campaign, CHOOSE KIND, that was inspired by the book and more. The basic premise of the book is that it is about a little boy named Auggie. He is ten and he was born with a facial deformity that is really quite severe. One of the really interesting things R. J. has done is she writes from his point of view and she writes from other characters points' of view, and little by little, she describes what he looks like. You start to build it in your head, but it starts with people's reactions to it. The entire story is very inspirational and will change your point of view about both life, and people, in many good ways.

Please check out the Official Book Trailer for WONDER up above and then, for more information, please check out this extra “Introduction” Video with the Author R. J. Palacio down below:

Here at Alfred A. Knopf we’re really excited about the sudden success of the recently published book titled, “The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln, A Novel”. The Book asks the question, “What if Abraham Lincoln hadn’t been killed by that bullet on April 14, 1865 and, also, did the president subvert the Constitution? ”

That’s the startling premise of the latest novel from Yale Law School professor Stephen Carter, in which Lincoln survives that terrible night at Ford’s Theatre, only to face an impeachment trial two years later. Please be sure to check out the BOOK TRAILER Video and then, below that, be sure to listen to what the Author had to say on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” TV News Program. They’re both pretty interesting.

This is just a quick post to remind Book Fans that Chip Kidd and other Pantheon Authors will be at SAN DIEGO COMIC CON this weekend. Actually, the show runs from Thursday, July 12th to Sunday, July 15th. Pantheon Publishing will be at BOOTH #1515 ( we included a nice map down below. Don’t worry, the booth is easy to find ) and Chip Kidd will be there most days around 12-noon. Also remember, any time you’re ever wondering where Chip’s next event or lecture will be held just be sure to visit the NEXT APPEARANCE page of this website, Thanks!

OK, I don’t mean for today to be “Video Day” here at CHIPKIDD.COM ( Ha Ha! ). But while surfing through YouTube last night I came across this extremely excellent video of the Opening Sequence to THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Movie (2011) and the visuals are just completely incredible! It reminds me of the ones you see in many James Bond 007 films. It’s pretty cool. Plus, the modern-day cover version of Led Zeppelin’s Classic, “The Immigrant Song” ( circa 1970 ), is great too.

WAIT! THERE’S MORE! I should also note that this movie is based on the Stieg Larsson Trilogy Book Series published by Random House Knopf. The book covers were art directed by Peter Mendelsund & down below is a link to the special “Millennium Trilogy Deluxe Boxed Set” published after the huge success of these books. I mention it here because Peter did an excellent video for it that you can see ON the Amazon page. I wanted to share that too but you can’t embed or share it. You have to watch it on Amazon. So please be sure to check it out.

Many people work behind the scenes at Random House to bring each book to the widest possible audience. In this brand-new promo video, you’ll meet some of them and learn more about what’s involved, from editorial and design through production, marketing, sales, and distribution. This video was posted just last month at the Official Random House YouTube page & if you watch it I think you’ll experience two things: One, what it’s like to bring a book to life, and two, how many very talented people it really takes just to get things done.