Cynthia Bond's RUBY is Latest Oprah Pick; Krakauer's MISSOULA to Publish April 21

Publishers Lunch

Oprah's revived Book Club, which now only picks books about once a year, has selected Cynthia Bond's debut novel RUBY as its latest choice. (Its previous selection, in early 2014, was THE INVENTION OF WINGS by Sue Monk Kidd.) The novel was published in hardcover last April by Hogarth to a modest reception. Those who reviewed it praised the book but it was overlooked by all of the major outlets, with hardcover sales as recorded by Nielsen Bookscan under 3,000. (On the other hand, note that RUBY was featured ahead of publication with an excerpt in our 2014 spring/summer Buzz Book sampler. You can download the newest collection of big discovery books right here in our recently publisher spring/summer edition.)

The publisher has announced a first paperback printing of 250,000 copies (with the Oprah book club logo) and a special digital edition, including a reader's guide and Winfrey's favorite passages. Winfrey's production company Harpo Films has also acquired film and TV rights to RUBY, and an interview with Bond will appear in the March issue of O Magazine, due on newsstands on February 17.

Winfrey told the AP in a telephone interview, "I thought, 'Wow, this is so good I have to wait until I actually have the time to absorb the language.' I put it down and waited until I was in bed with the flu to start reading it. I found the language and descriptions so vividly compelling that sometimes I would have to take a breath and repeat the sentences out loud." In the official release, Winfrey added: "When I found out that Cynthia Bond is 53 years old and hasn't written a book before, I couldn't fathom it. RUBY is a vivid, searing novel that penetrates straight through the page and into the reader's heart."

Separately, Doubleday announced it will publish Jon Krakauer's MISSOULA: RAPE AND THE JUSTICE SYSTEM IN A COLLEGE TOWN on April 21, with a 500,000-copy first printing. In a statement Krakauer said he was compelled to write the book after learning of the rape of a family acquaintance. "I was angry with myself for being so uninformed, not only about her ordeal but about non-stranger rape in general. I responded by doing a lot of reading, and seeking out rape survivors who were willing to share their stories. The more I listened to these women, the more disturbed I became."

In other release news, Knopf Children's is publishing two more e-originals connected to R.J. Palacio's bestselling WONDER. The first, PLUTO, publishes today; the second, SHINGALING, releases May 12 -- leading up to THE WONDER JOURNAL, a "keepsake journal" which will publish July 14.