When it comes to who's reading what, book industry experts agree that popular fiction – also called genre fiction – has the widest audience. No surprise. Within that, the two biggest categories are romance and mystery-thriller. If you doubt it, take a look at the New York Times hardback fiction list, next door to this column.

The folks who bring us novels in those genres are well organized. For instance, the sprawling Romance Writers of America held its 31st annual conference in June in New York City. Its list of Golden Heart and RITA award winners is too long to list here, but it's posted at www.rwa.org.

The younger International Thriller Writers held its own gathering earlier this month. Its program – Thriller Fest VI in New York City – was "the largest thriller writers conference on the planet" (www.thrillerwriters.org). There, it announced the winners of the Thriller Awards, a much more manageable list:

Best hardback novel: "Bad Blood" by John Sandford

Best paperback original novel: "The Cold Room" by J.T. Ellison

Best first novel: "Still Missing" by Chevy Stevens

Best short story: "The Gods for Vengeance Cry" by Richard Helms

Receiving special awards for their "outstanding contributions to the thriller genre" were mega-selling authors R.L. Stine, Joe McGinniss and Karin Slaughter.

More summer reading

Edith Bennett of Sacramento shares her summer reading list:

"First on my list is 'A Dance With Dragons' by George R.R. Martin (Book 5 in the 'Song of Ice and Fire' series), since I've been waiting six years for its release. These are some additional titles I am looking forward to reading this summer":

"Iron House" by John Hart

"The Snowman" by Jo Nesbo

"Collecting Cooper" by Paul Cleave

"Killer Move" by Michael Marshall

"Fallen" by Karin Slaughter

"The Nearest Exit" by Olen Steinhauer

"Sister" by Rosamund Lupton

"You're Next" by Gregg Hurwitz

"The President's Vampire" by Christopher Farnsworth

"The King of Plagues" by Jonathan Maberry

Getting graphic

Here's a continuing trend: Best-selling authors playing around in the field of graphic novels. Coming to mind are horrormeister Peter Straub, urban fantasist Kim Harrison and the prolific James Patterson.

Enter an icon and pioneer in the fantasy, horror and science-fiction genres – Ray Bradbury – with "authorized adaptations" of two classics: "The Martian Chronicles" (1950, illustrated by Dennis Calero) and "Something Wicked This Way Comes" (1962, illustrated by Ron Wimberly). They're published by Hill & Wang, $30 each.

Local connections

A few titles with Northern California connections:

"All in Her Head" by Michelle Paisley (Eloquent, $10.50, 124 pages): The Sacramento author of "Yoga for a Broken Heart" moves to fiction. Bridget is a woman "obsessed with her weight" until she meets a hypnotherapist who "unknowingly regresses Bridget back to a time when she was in spirit form." The eventual moral of the story: "Embrace the life you have."

"Hiding Behind Thunder" by Don Falloon (CreateSpace, $16.99, 376 pages): The Citrus Heights author sets his thriller in the world of 1960s NASCAR racing. When Davey Sutherland becomes a "fugitive from the law and a target of a criminal organization," he's forced into a very public kind of hiding.

"Tahoe Hijack" by Todd Borg (Thriller Press, $16.95, 349 pages): Lake Tahoe-based Borg is back with another mystery in his Owen McKenna series. This one mixes a boat hijacking, a woman hiding out from militia crazies and a lost Gold Rush treasure.

"People's Warrior" by Michael R. Lemov (Farleigh Dickinson University Press, $27.95, 200 pages): Among other distinguished accomplishments for the public good, John Moss, the late U.S. representative from Sacramento, helped create the Freedom of Information Act. The John E. Moss Federal Building in Sacramento was named in his honor. Lemov was Moss' chief counsel.

"Citrus Heights" by Jim Van Maren (Arcadia, $21.99, 128 pages): Local-history specialist Arcadia continues its "Images of America" series with this profile of Citrus Heights, told through vintage photographs and text blocks.

More titles

"The Inverted Forest" by John Dalton (Scribner, $26, 336 pages): Industry buzz has preceded this anticipated novel. When the "genetically disfigured" Wyatt Huddy inadvertently becomes a summer camp counselor to "104 severely developmentally disabled adults," his life and those of his charges undergo profound changes.

"Scout, Atticus & Boo," compiled by Mary McDonagh Murphy (Harper, $24.99, 240 pages): This compilation of "reflections" on Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" celebrates the novel's 50th anniversary. Authors of the 26 essays include Tom Brokaw, Rosanne Cash, Scott Turow and Oprah Winfrey.

"How To Build a Fire" by Erin Bried (Ballantine, $15, 304 pages): Sage advice from your grandparents' generation includes useful how-to's such as: paint a room, buy a suit, find self-discipline, build a fire, grill a steak and so much more.

LET US KNOW

If you have information on author appearances, book sales, writing seminars, writers club meetings or other book-related special events, email it to bookmarks@sacbee.com at least two weeks before the event. To read the online calendar, go to www.sacbee.com/books.

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The Bee's Allen Pierleoni can be reached at (916) 321-1128 or apierleoni@sacbee.com. Contact him with news of coming literary events that are open to the public.

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