WritingSpirit Resources

The Quill Awards - Vote for Your Favorites

The Quills’ 2006 Religion/Spirituality Nominees

The five finalists in this category are:

• The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions by Karen Armstrong (Knopf)
• Mama Made the Difference by T.D. Jakes (Putnam)
• Misquoting Jesus: The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why by Bart D. Ehrman (Harper San Francisco)
• The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis (Harper San Francisco)
• The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality by Dalai Lama XIV (Broadway Books).

The 2005 winner in Religion/Spirituality was Peace is the Way: Bringing War and Violence to an End by Deepak Chopra (Harmony).

The Quill Awards, presented in 19 book categories, is supported by Reed Business Information and the NBC Universal Television Stations. Winners will be announced at a gala ceremony at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City on October 10, 2006.

For more information and a complete list of the nominees, go to:
www.thequills.org

To cast a vote for your favorite books, go to:

www.quillsvote.com

America's Most Literate Cities

Jack Miller, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin, authored a study on America’s Most Literate Cities-2004. Drawing on numerous sources, such as educational attainment, newspaper circulation, magazine publishing, library resources and booksellers, he found that these 10 cities were the most literate in America in 2004:

1. Minneapolis, MN
2. Seattle, WA
3. Pittsburgh, PA
4. Madison, WI
5. Cincinnati, OH
6. Wahsington, DC
7. Denver, CO
8. Boston, MA
9. Portland, OR
10. San Francisco, CA

The top ten cities for booksellers in 2004, were:

1. San Francisco, CA
2. Cincinnati, OH
3. Seattle, WA
4. Madison, WI
5. Atlanta, GA
6. Minneaoplis. MN
7. Louisville, KY
8. Pittsbrugh, PA
9. St. Louis, MO
10. Scottsdale, AZ

Keep these cities in mind when scheduling a book tour or deciding where to run ads for your book.

America's Most Literate Cities

Walt Whitman's "Leaves of Grass" Turns 150

Walt Whitman self-published the first edition of Leaves of Grass, and then put it on sale in two New York stores on July 6, 1855. One reviewer, shocked by its sensual images, called it ''a mass of stupid filth." Another, puzzled by its emotional intensity, said its author ''must be some escaped lunatic, raving in pitiable delirium." In response, Whitman anonymously published three reviews of his own, praising the book and himself.

The original edition of Leaves of Grass had only twelve poems, including Song of Myself and I Sing the Body Electric. (It eventually grew, through five versions and eight editions, into a book of 389 poems.) Very few of the book's original 795 copies have survived, and on the rare occasion that one comes up for auction, it can sell for anywhere from $60,000 to $600,000.

Song of Myself is one of my favorite poems and I was surprised to learn, recently, that inside the four editions of Leaves of Grass that were published between 1860 and 1876, the poem was retitled, Walt Whitman.

With Leaves of Grass, Walt Whitman forever changed the face of poetry by forgoing rhyme schemes in favor of free verse.

A bit of Whitman trivia: Leaves of Grass was one of gifts that President Clinton gave to Monica Lewinsky.

New Imprint at Shambhala

Shambhala Publications will launch its new Trumpeter Books imprint this September with poet Patrick Lane's memoir, What the Stones Remember: A Life Rediscovered. The 36-year-old Buddhist-oriented press sees the new imprint as an opportunity to do something fresh. Areas to be covered by Trumpeter are literary nonfiction, memoir, psychology, and fiction. The new imprint will publish four titles this fall and then 10 to 12 books a year.

From Publishers Weekly

Harper San Francisco Expanding Its Fiction Line

Harper San Francisco, whose primary focus has always been on non-ficiton titles, is going to begin building its fiction line under editor Renee Sedliar. Initially, the line will publish six titles a year in the literary, visionary, and American heartland areas. Upcoming fiction titles include Lizzie's War, by Tim Farrington, and The Christmas Scrapbook, by Philip Gulley.

Spiritual Publishing Goes Mobile

The latest technological breakthrough in spiritual publishing is in your pocket, purse, or home—right now. It’s your cell phone. Publishers have begun to deliver text, audio, and graphics wirelessly to subscriber’s mobile phones. Here are two examples of how this is being used by spiritual authors and publishers:

Deepak Chopra

With The Mobile Deepak Chopra, you can have Chopra’s Seven Spiritual Laws delivered directly to your mobile phone. Subscribers receive a different Law of Success every day of the week, and get insight on how to apply it to daily living. Enlightening quotes, inspirational images, success tips, and a weekly message from Deepak himself are combined in a mobile application that inspires, motivates and provides understanding of the Laws in a simple, easy-to-use format.

Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins

Tyndale House's Left Behind series, by Tim Lahaye and Jerry Jenkins, doesn’t have to end when you close the last book. With The Left Behind Mobile Prophecies, you can access the prophecies wherever you go, whenever you need it. This wireless application puts the Scriptures in the palm of your hand. Subscribers receive scripture passages, prophecies, devotions, discussions, and screensavers.

Da Vinci Code Hits 10 Million

In just two years The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown, has sold 10 millions copies in the United States. Published in 44 languages, it has sold 29 million copies worldwide. According to Doubleday, if you stacked every copy of The Da Vinci Code printed, that stack would be 220 miles high. An orbiting space shuttle could run right into it! Columbia Pictures will release The Da Vinci Code movie, starring Tom Hanks, in 2006.