Oprah chooses best-selling 'The Story of Edgar Sawtelle'

Though it’s unclear whether her endorsement will mean much for Barack Obama, we’ve already seen what an Oprah Winfrey recommendation can do for an obscure novel (see White Oleander, Gap Creek, etc.). But her most recent book club pick, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by first-time novelist David Wroblewski, was already one of the year’s surprise bestsellers when she gave it the nod late last week. With a modest first printing of 26,000, the 562-page Shakespearean saga about a mute Wisconsin boy and the inner life of dogs hit the New York Times bestseller list on June 29 and has remained there ever since.

How much better can things get for Wroblewski, who once worried the book he labored over for 10 years wouldn’t find a publisher?

Much.

At the time of Oprah’s announcement, HarperCollins had 300,000 copies in print. They’re now rushing out an additional 750,000 to meet projected demand.

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