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News from the Association of American Publishers

AAP to Honor Oprah Winfrey at Annual Meeting in Washington D.C.

The U.S. publishing industry will pay formal tribute to television superstar Oprah Winfrey for her unique contribution to American literary life. The Association of American Publishers (AAP) announced today that Ms. Winfrey will receive the "AAP Honors," an award given annually to individuals and institutions outside the publishing industry for significant achievements in promoting American books and authors. The award will be presented at a dinner in Washington, D.C. on February 26, 2003, during the Association's annual meeting.

Through Oprah's Book Club, her on-the-air reading club, Ms. Winfrey brought works of literary excellence to the attention of a wide audience. Described by The New York Times as "one of the biggest boons to reading and book sales since the creation of the Book-of-the-Month Club more than 75 years ago," the Club was a regular feature of her television program from the fall of 1996 until the spring of 2002.

The genesis of what would become a publishing world phenomenon was Ms. Winfrey's own passion for works of serious fiction. On September 17, 1996, she announced that she wanted to share that passion and "get the country reading" by having her viewers read a chosen work and then tune in for a discussion with the author. No one could have anticipated the results.

The first selection was Jacquelyn Mitchard's The Deep End of the Ocean, a first novel enjoying modest success, with some 68,000 copies in print. By the time the discussion was broadcast in mid-October, there were 750,000 copies of the book in print. Each of the 46 books chosen for the Club has enjoyed enormous success, some selling as many as 1.2 million copies. Through Oprah's Book Club a huge new audience became acquainted with the work of noted authors including Ernest J. Gaines, Maya Angelou, and Barbara Kingsolver and with first-time and lesser known authors such as Ms. Mitchard, Andre Dubus III, and Anita Shreve.

"Oprah Winfrey is one of a kind," said Jane Friedman, President and CEO of HarperCollins Publishers and Vice Chair of the Association of American Publishers. "She's brought unparalleled excitement and attention to books. All of America should be grateful to her."

Inaugurated in 1997, the AAP Honors are intended to acknowledge the contributions of individuals and organizations who have helped focus attention on American books. Among past recipients are C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb, whose cable network devotes its entire weekend coverage to books; country music star Dolly Parton, for her efforts to improve the lives of children through books; and National Public Radio, for ongoing and outstanding book coverage.

The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP's approximately 300 members include most of the major commercial book publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies. Reading promotion is among the Association's top priorities. Oprah on The Four Agreements: "This book by don Miguel Ruiz, simple yet so powerful, has made a tremendous difference in how I think and act in every encounter."- Oprah

"I first heard about The Four Agreements when Ellen DeGeneres mentioned it on my show. By the end of the day, I had bought the book. By the next day, I had not only read it, I had bought ten copies. The next week, I got a copy for everyone I knew, everyone in my office. So far I've bought 410 copies! What I love is that you can't miss the point. The book explains how, as children, we're taught all kinds of things about what we must do and who we must please-and a lot of those beliefs make us unhappy. But you can make four simple pacts with yourself that will make a huge difference; if you can keep all four, you're in the bliss zone."

On her favorite books of all time: "The Grapes of Wrath...Steinbeck. Anything Steinbeck. All of Toni Morrison-The Bluest Eye and Sula are all-time favorites. The Power of Now. Of course, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya. White Oleander by Janet Fitch..." - Oprah

The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP's approximately 300 members include most of the major commercial book publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies. Reading promotion is among the Association's top priorities.

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