Book News: A Swiss Bestseller, Oprah's Book Club Picks, And Elvis' Last Love Will Be 2014 Movers & Shakers

I use Grammarly's online grammar check because auto-correct isn't always write .

While the net is flooded with countless end-of-the-year/best-of-2013 book lists, the publishing world is already moving forward. Keeping an eye on the movers and shakers of 2014, the national press is  abuzz with rumored big-money deals, publishing sensations from overseas, Oprah's endorsements, and highly anticipated memoirs. Here are the latest news, hot off the press.

PENGUIN BOOKS' BIG-MONEY DEAL TO ACQUIRE EUROPEAN BEST-SELLER

Penguin Books has acquired the U.S. rights to a Swiss best-selling novel written by a young and relatively unknown author. Why all the buzz about it? The imprint won't disclose the figures of this deal for now, but Executive Editor John Siciliano has reportedly paid at auction the highest advance in Penguin's publishing history to secure The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker. 

Italian cover, Bompiani Editore

Pitched as "a fast-paced, tightly plotted, cinematic literary thriller, an ingenious book within a book", Dicker's hit novel is the Swiss answer to The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. What certainly elicited US publishers' interest is the fact that the award-winning book has toppled E.L. James' Fifty Shades Of Gray and Dan Brown's Inferno from all European best-seller lists,  sold rights to 35 countries, and was among the most popular titles at the latest Frankfurt Book Fair (the Golden Globes of the publishing world, so to speak). Originally published in 2012, The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair revolves around the disappearance of a 15 year old New Hampshire girl. The cold case attracts the attention of a young American writer when the girl's body turns up three decades later in his mentor's backyard. I just can't wait to see for myself what the buzz is all about.

Joel Dicker (Photo Credit: Google.com)

Born in Switzerland, the up-and-coming 28-year-old author has spent countless summers in New England. Penguin announced that Dicker's best-selling thriller will be released in paperback on May 27, 2014. Visit Amazon for pre-orders.

OPRAH HAS SPOKEN: THE INVENTION OF WINGS WILL 'WOW' YOU
When 'book club queen' Oprah speaks, we all should listen. She always hits the mark and she did it again with a book that hasn't been released yet, but will make you press the Amazon pre-order button at the speed of lightning.  The TV mogul hadn't even turned the last page of  The Invention Of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd when she decided that such a gripping novel had to be a Oprah's Book Club 2.0 top pick. 

(Photo Credit: Google.com)

And how to disagree with such a quick move? Set in early nineteenth century Charleston, Kidd's powerful novel is inspired by the historical figure of American abolitionist and suffragist, Sarah Grimke. Through characters struggling for women's empowerment and liberation from slavery, the acclaimed author of The Secret Life Of Bees  re-opens one of the darkest pages of American history.

Kidd's novel won't be released until January 7, 2014 (Viking Adult), but you can visit Amazon and all major book retailers to pre-order your copy. 

'ELVIS' LAST LOVE' COVER REVEAL
Model and actress Ginger Alden is coming out with a biography that is guaranteed to keep the myth of the King Of Graceland alive and his fans talking. 

Elvis & Ginger: Elvis Presley's Fiancee And Last Love Finally Tells Her Story's cover has been officially revealed, but to read about the relationship between the model and the King we will have to wait until August 5, 2014 (Berkeley Books). In her memoir, Ginger Alden narrates in detail her whirlwind romance with the rock and roll legend in the hope to set the record straight and put an end to the negative speculations that surrounded her after his death in 1977.

(Photo Credit: Google.com)

The release of the book is three seasons away, but, if you like to plan your book shopping months in advance, you can pre-order Elvis and Ginger: Elvis Presley's Fiancee and Last Love Finally Tells Her Story on Amazon.