Release Me

Cosmopolitan, the fashion, beauty and lifestyle bible for nearly 17 million readers a month, announced the honorees of the magazine’s first annual “Fun Fearless Fiction Awards” during a special ceremony and cocktail event at the Hearst Tower in New York City on May 30 (http://www.cosmopolitan.com/magazine/fun-fearless-fiction).  In the spirit of Cosmo’s other “Fun Fearless” awards programs, such as “Fun Fearless Females” and “Fun Fearless Males,” “Fun Fearless Fiction” was inaugurated to honor the outstanding work of female authors published in 2006, as well as preview the most anticipated fun, fearless novel of this year.

“Cosmo girls know that there is one thing you can be certain will never disappoint you in bed – a good book,” said Kate White, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan.  “We are excited and proud to recognize our first group of fun, fearless female authors, who were responsible for some of the most riveting, heartbreaking and hilarious work of the last year.  We look forward to seeing more from all of them.” 

Cosmo, one of the only women’s magazines today that consistently publishes fiction in its pages, conceived the “Fun Fearless Fiction Awards” to recognize and support the work of today’s most talented and influential female authors across all genres. The group of women being honored includes a Pulitzer Prize winner, an American Booksellers’ Association winner, a New England Bookseller Award winner, and a number of New York Times bestselling authors.

White presided over the awards along with Candace Bushnell (herself a fun, fearless author of New York Times best-sellers Sex and the City and Lipstick Jungle) and Carlos Watson (businessman, political commentator and dynamic host of NBC’s “Conversations with Carlos”), honoring the following authors:

Cecelia Ahern:  Her stories, including her latest, If You Could See Me Now, are magical, but far from “fairy tales.” There may be princes on horseback – or at least doctors in hot cars – but the women of Ahern’s books are strong, smart, and they never wait around to be rescued.  The 25-year-old has accomplished so much already, and with a new book coming out at the end of the year and the premier of the movie based on her book, PS, I Love You, starring Hilary Swank, she shows no signs of peaking.

Sara Gruen:  When Gruen was laid off from her technical writing job, she decided to try her hand at another kind of writing: fiction. With her third book, Water for Elephants, Gruen accomplishes what few women can; she tells a love story from a man’s point of view. A torrid love triangle and outrageous characters helped turn it into last summer’s runaway.

Jane Green:  Green knows better than anyone that you have to be fun and fearless to be single in the city – her first book, Straight Talking, about a twenty-something Londoner, became a bestseller and established her reputation as a leading chick-lit author.  Cosmo has excerpted two of her juicy novels: Mr. Maybe and Straight Talking. And readers everywhere find themselves devouring her books and declaring “That’s me she’s writing about!”  Green’s latest novel, Second Chance, takes us into the world of a group of old friends reunited by a tragedy.

Jodi Picoult:  Picoult is an author who is not afraid to tackle controversial themes:  in her latest book, Nineteen Minutes, which rocketed straight to #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, she transforms a “ripped from the headlines” story into a relatable, personal tale, examining the devastation of a small town after a high school shooting.  And after 14 books, she still leaves readers wanting more.

Amy Sedaris:  Even though the irreverent Sedaris’ book, I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence, is technically a non-fiction how-to guide, Cosmo decided to honor it because everyone, from domestic goddesses to the party-challenged, enjoy her tips (like preparing turkey sandwiches with crushed up Doritos between the bread).  Sedaris’ passion is entertaining and she’s got her own way of doing it. As she writes, “It may not be the proper way, or the most traditional, or even legal, but it works for me.”

Lisa Scottoline:  Daddy’s Girl, bestselling author Scottoline’s fourteenth book in a series of highly successful legal thrillers, is a suspense-filled page-turner about a law professor who finds herself in a world of mystery and murder. It’s gutsy, intelligent, and witty, like the author herself.

Jane Smiley:  Smiley’s latest book, Ten Days in the Hills, is about celebrity A-listers who escape to a director’s mansion to avoid news of the fighting in Iraq. For ten days they watch movies, argue, plan for the future, and even grow. The characters are unforgettable and their stories are better than anything you could ever read in a weekly gossip rag. Whether she’s writing about love, sex, war, or Hollywood, Pulitzer Prize winner Smiley never ceases to wow readers.

Alice Sebold:  Whatever Sebold writes, fiction or non-fiction, people want to read. She has a gift for turning horrific topics into captivating page-turners that we read over and over again. Ever since her heart-wrenching, staggeringly successful fiction debut The Lovely Bones, readers have been waiting for more, which is why Cosmo has named her forthcoming novel, The Almost Moon (out in the fall), the most anticipated Fun, Fearless Fiction book of 2007.

About Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan is the best-selling young women’s magazine in the U.S., a bible for fun, fearless females that reaches nearly 17 million readers a month. Cosmopolitan delivers the latest news on men and love, fashion and beauty, women’s health and self-improvement, and entertainment. With more than 50 international editions that are published in 32 languages and sold in more than 100 countries, Cosmopolitan is published by Hearst Magazines, a unit of Hearst Corporation (www.hearst.com) and one of the world’s largest publishers of monthly magazines, with a total of 19 U.S. titles and nearly 200 international editions. Hearst reaches more adults than any other publisher of monthly magazines (74.1 million in the U.S., according to MRI, spring 2007). The company also publishes 20 magazines in the United Kingdom through its wholly owned subsidiary, The National Magazine Company Limited.