Hegi’s ‘Stones’ Rolling Faster With Nod From Winfrey

Book printings don’t necessarily result in book sales, a fact made abundantly clear by the many warehouses full of remainders.

But it’s a simple reality that if the books aren’t available, they can’t sell. And so it should come as no surprise that Simon & Schuster is reprinting massive quantities of Ursula Hegi’s 1995 novel “Stones From the River.”

Ever since Oprah Winfrey announced on Feb. 28 that she will make Hegi’s novel the subject of her next “Oprah’s Book Club,” the national clamor for “Stones” has been deafening. Simon & Schuster has reissued 50,000 hardback editions, and the company’s trade paperback division - Scribner Paperback Fiction - has gone back to press with a whopping 1.2 million printing.

Such efforts have had an effect. The March 16 New York Times will carry “Stones” as No. 4 on its paperback best-seller list. USA Today already lists “Stones” as No. 4 on its overall list of the top 50 bestsellers, and Publisher’s Weekly rates “Stones” No. 2 on its list of trade paperbacks.

Interestingly enough, the book ahead of Hegi’s on the Publisher’s Weekly list is Wally Lamb’s “She’s Come Undone” - Oprah’s previous choice for her book club.

Hegi, who teaches creative writing at Eastern Washington University, has done better at her trade up to this point than most writers of fiction. Her novels regularly rate among the New York Times’ annual notable books list.

But this Oprah phenomenon is, clearly, something special.

“I don’t know what the initial printing was, but I do know that before the whole Oprah thing, we had 165,000 in print,” said Ruth Levine, a publicist for Simon & Schuster. “So it was doing pretty strong on its own.”

Then, she added with a laugh, “Not 1.2 million strong, but strong.”

O.J. revisited

Speaking of best-sellers, Sandpoint resident Mark Fuhrman - he of the Los Angeles Police Department, O.J. Simpson murder trial, bloody glove and the “N” word - also is a bestselling author.

His book “Murder in Brentwood” ranks No. 3 on this week’s New York Times best-seller list. In addition, it has ranked No. 1 on both the Wall Street Journal and Publisher’s Weekly best-seller list and near the top of lists compiled by the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and USA Today.

Fuhrman’s book, which is both a memoir and a recounting of his part in the O.J. trial, already has gone through four printings - which have resulted in 350,000 hardback copies being printed.

The ears have it

If you’re one of those who spends his or her driving time listening to books on tape, you’re part of a burgeoning industry.

According to statistics compiled by the Audio Publishers Association, audiobook fans are as follows:

Gender: 69 percent are females whose average age is 45, compared to the 31 percent of males (average age: 46). Some 76 percent of the women listeners have attended college and 37 percent have earned a four-year degree (respective percentages for the men are 86 and 56).

The average among the 11.3 million households of audiobook listeners has a $49,120 annual income and 2.6 family members. He or she usually listens in a car (76 percent), can do other activities at the same time (64 percent) and borrows books on tape from libraries only slightly more than purchasing them from bookstores (57 to 55 percent).

This information is happily passed on by Seattle’s Hall Closet Book Company, which publishes gay and lesbian audiobooks. For order information, write to: Hall Closet Books Co., P.O. Box 19335, Seattle, WA 98109.

The reader board

Easy, author of “Critters of the Little Spokane Watershed: A Guide and Photographic Tour,” will present a slide-show reading of his book at the 2:30 p.m. Monday at the Camlu at Coeur d’Alene, 606 Best Ave. For further information, call (208) 664-3138.

Brady Udall, author of the short-story collection “Letting Loose the Hounds,” will read from his book at 8 p.m. Wednesday at BookPeople in Moscow, 512 S. Main. For further information, call (208) 882-7957.

Spokane writer Teresa Keene, author of “White Cats and Lilacs,” will read from her book at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Auntie’s Bookstore. For further information, call 838-0206.

Stuart Anderson, author of “Stuart Anderson’s Here’s the Beef: My Story of Beef,” will read from his memoir at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Auntie’s Bookstore.

Louise Shadduck, author of “At the Edge of the Ice,” will sign copies of her book at the Coeur d’Alene Book & Game Co., in Silver Lake Mall.

, DataTimes