Customer News February 2005

Welcome to the Mainstream customer newsletter. Latest news includes:

New bestseller list - The bestselling book, WE ARE TOTTENHAM, is available at the discounted price of £8.99 (£1 off, p&p free in the UK)

New reviews - Since our last newsletter we have had some fabulous reviews for our books. All reviews for titles featured in the Top Ten can be seen alongside the bestseller list. If you bought a book which is not featured in the bestseller list but you would like to see what the press had to say about it, search for the book in the usual manner and click on 'reviews'.

News of our latest releases - The publishing scene is traditionally quiet in January and February but since our last newsletter we have published a number of new books including THE FASHION OF FOOTBALL by Paolo Hewitt and Mark Baxter.

New signings - The London Book Fair takes place in March, which is when we announce our most exciting acquisitions for Autumn 2005.

As you have bought from us in the past and are clearly a book lover I hope that you don't mind my contacting you, but if you do just click the link below or type UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject header and send this e-mail winging it's way back to us and we will ensure that you don't receive any further correspondence from us.

That said, you must check our bestseller list first to see if your purchase has influenced it.

NEW BESTSELLER LIST

The new bestseller list is headed by WE ARE TOTTENHAM which has sold consistently well on line since it was published in September. It is a great achievement for a sports book to beat our much publicised general books to the top spot over the Christmas period. It is interesting that our last bestseller list was also headed by a sports book, perhaps indication that however much press coverage we may get for other titles, on-line sales are driven by links from other web sites and few sites have visitors as passionate as sporting ones. Thank you for your support and I hope you will find time to check out the latest news from Mainstream Sport at www.mainstreampublishing.com

Non sport titles which feature in the general bestseller list include NOT WAVING BUT DROWNING at No.2, SHADOWS at No.5, INDIAN PETER at No.8, THE FERRIS CONSPIRACY at No.9 and SIX APPEAL at No.10. They can be loosely described Irish interest and Scottish interest, further proof that internet sales may well be specialist interest and nothing whatsoever to do with the acres of publicity coverage we generate for our more general books. The fact that THE FERRIS CONSPIRACY has leapt into the Top 10, in spite of being published some years ago, is all down to a spectacular media coup at the beginning of February when Paul Ferris announced that Robert Carlyle was to play Ferris in a film of his life.

NEW REVIEWS: To follow are some of the best reviews for our lead titles towards the end of last year:

DANCING IN THE SEA (to be published in paperback Spring 2005)

'Her book, inspirational and optimistic, convinces us of the unquenchable force of the human spirit. It also makes us think, with increased compassion, about the thousands of anonymous victims of terrorism for whom the pain and suffering go on and on...Her book bears testament to her own indomitable spirit and determination to triumph, move on and rebuild her life.' DAILY MAIL

'Dancing in the Sea is a vivid account of what it is like to be treated as an object by people who are just doing their jobs. Catherine Hill lost not only her buttock, but her right to run her own life. Her book details her extended experience of powerlessness, and her increasing horror -and how she ultimately, and very effectively, rose up in revolt.' THE INDEPENDENT

THE KING AND I
'It is gossipy, sleazy, irresponsible, nasty and amusing. It is also a wondrous orgy of Schadenfreude. Breslin doesn't merely bite the hand that, until a couple of years ago, fed him so well. He chomps upon it and doesn't even spit out the fingernails. In the process - often unsavoury and always fascinating - he sheds considerable light on the fabrication of contemporary popularity and the distortion of aesthetic achievement.' FINANCIAL TIMES

'Part how-to manual, part true confession, their book is the most candid and hilarious expose of operatic venality ever to make it past a lawyers squint. With the glee of a jilted lover; Breslin castigates Pavarotti's greed for food, for fame, for sex. EVENING STANDARD

FLESH AND BLOOD (to be published in paperback Autumn 2005)

'a gripping and harrowing tale of her battle to bear children.' HELLO

1001 NIGHTS WITHOUT SEX

'If you've experienced even a few date-free months, you'll identify with this woman's seriously funny real-life quest to change her fortunes and endure the obvious frustrations of single life. A story so good you won't want it to end.' COSMOPOLITAN

'Suzanne chronicles in hilarious detail her 1,001 days without sex and her attempts to find a man. Laugh-out-loud funny.' HEAT

NEWS OF OUR LATEST RELEASES:

THE FASHION OF FOOTBALL, DRAGONS AND ALL BLACKS and FIFTY YEARS FIGHTING were all published immediately prior to Christmas and were well received by the media. THE FASHION OF FOOTBALL in particular has gone on to receive a huge amount of media attention in 2005. All seem agreed that 'for fans of both the beautiful game and beautiful threads, this book is an absolute must.'

NEW SIGNINGS:

Amongst the highlights of Autumn 2005 will be BOTTLE, The Completely True Story of an Ex-Football Hooligan by Steve Griff with Ivor Baddiel, brother of comedian David Baddiel; JUSTICE DENIED, the genuinely true story of the almost incomprehensible abuse of the legal and human rights of a British man at the hands of the Thai Police and TERRORNAUT, Inside a Secret War by 'cyber-journalist' Neil Doyle. A full rights list will be available at the London Book Fair, March 13th-15th and the Autumn 2005 catalogue will be printed in May.

I hope you find this newsletter useful. We appreciate your custom and welcome your feedback. Please send any comments to webenquiries@mainstreampublishing.com we endeavour to reply to all queries by return during working hours.

Fiona Brownlee
Marketing Director
www.mainstreampublishing.com