Food, Sex, Sports Scandals, and the Shady Story of Lady Liberty's Birth

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- If you're looking for a great read by a great writer, the popular new digital publisher Byliner offers an early fall lineup of nonfiction titles by bestselling authors guaranteed to entertain, enlighten, enrage, and occasionally titillate. Consider it an extension of the beach-reading season.

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Byliner launched just five months ago with two instant bestsellers, Jon Krakauer's Three Cups of Deceit and William T. Vollmann's Into the Forbidden Zone. The San Francisco-based startup is pioneering a new model for how accomplished authors tell and sell their stories, and has signed-up an impressive roster of award-winning, bestselling writers. These "quick read" e-books, called Byliner Originals, are short enough to be read in a couple of hours and long enough to tell the full story. Their prices are also right, from $1.99 to $3.99, and are available in all digital storefronts. Byliner Originals have staked a permanent spot on the e-book bestseller lists and have received rave reviews from media and readers alike.

The following are new or soon-to-be-released Byliner Originals:

Cooking Solves Everything: How Time in the Kitchen Can Save Your Health, Your Budget, and Even the Planet by Mark Bittman (September 2011, $2.99): A simple meal prepared at home is a powerful tool, argues the New York Times columnist and bestselling author of How to Cook Everything. It's one small step toward improving your health and, by extension, the health of the planet. "Cooking may not solve everything," Bittman argues in this refreshing manifesto, "but it solves a lot. People who prepare meals—even infrequently—achieve outcomes that extend far beyond the morsel at the end of the fork."

The Cartel: Inside the Rise and Imminent Fall of the NCAA by Taylor Branch (September 2011, $3.99): "College athletes are not slaves," writes Pulitzer Prize-winning civil rights historian Taylor Branch. "Yet to survey the scene…is to catch the unmistakable whiff of the plantation." The Cartel, a portion of which appeared in different form in the October 2011 issue of The Atlantic, is a devastating investigation into college sports and the NCAA. In it Branch exposes decades of greed and self-interest and makes clear that the organization is poised to collapse under the weight of its hypocrisy.

The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing and Life by Ann Patchett (September 2011, $2.99): From the bestselling author of Bel Canto and State of Wonder, a remarkably entertaining autobiography-cum-user's guide to the agony, ecstasy, and occasional lunacy of the writing life. This wise, funny, tricks-of-the-trade memoir will appeal to both aspiring writers and anyone who loves the work and mind of the deservedly celebrated Ann Patchett.

Sleeping with Famous Men by Elizabeth Kaye (to be published October 2011): In the course of her life and work, the journalist Elizabeth Kaye had occasion to meet many famous and accomplished men—some of whom became her lovers. Sleeping with Famous Men is her elegant, unabashed, and rueful memoir of a love life that took her around the world in the arms of legendary actors, musicians, writers, and even an astronaut who walked on the moon. It's a boldly intimate look into the aphrodisiacal effects of power and accomplishment on a writer who for many years preferred to be the other woman.

Lady with a Past: A Dastardly Frenchman, His Quest for Immortality, and the Real Story of the Statue of Liberty by Elizabeth Mitchell (to be published October 2011): Everything you learned in grade school about one of America's most recognized landmarks is wrong. The Statue of Liberty wasn't originally designed for New York, but for Egypt. It wasn't a gift from the government of France, but the outsized scheme of a French sculptor who was determined to find someone—anyone—who would let him build his colossus. Elizabeth Mitchell, author of the Byliner bestseller The Fearless Mrs. Goodwin, reveals a petulant, often racist artist who, in his fierce pursuit to build his "Big Daughter," is taught a lesson by the little people. Timed to the 125th anniversary (on October 28) of Lady Liberty, Mitchell's book tells the ironic, unvarnished story of how an American icon came to be. 

Joan: Forty Years of Life, Loss, and Friendship with Joan Didion by Sara Davidson (to be published October 2011): Davidson, the author of the bestselling books Loose Change and Cowboy, delivers an extraordinary and loving portrait of the writer Joan Didion, her close friend and mentor for forty years, whose eagerly awaited Blue Nights will be published November 1. At the heart of Joan is the story of how Didion has evolved over the decades, both as a writer and a wife and mother. It's also the story of a remarkable friendship between two strong, creative women.

Byliner Inc. is a publishing company providing an exciting new platform for writers to tell and sell their stories. The company's e-books, called Byliner Originals, are works of compelling nonfiction that can be read in a single sitting. The companion website, Byliner.com, combines curated archives of the best nonfiction writers' work with personalized recommendations. It allows fans of great storytelling to easily find, share, and purchase new and classic work by their favorite authors.

SOURCE Byliner Inc.