I just received two new books in the mail: one in French, entitled Donner Sans Compter, and the other in Hebrew, entitled something (exactly what I can’t say, since I don’t read Hebrew). These two books share something in common with a Turkish book I saw recently, Yolveren, a Spanish book, Dar Para Recibir, and four other books sitting on my shelf in Dutch, Japanese, Korean and Thai: they are all foreign-language editions of The Go-Giver.

This brings us to eight total non-English editions so far. (Eight others are coming: Afrikaans, Chinese simplified, Chinese complex, Danish, Indonesian, Polish, Portuguese and Vietnamese.)

To celebrate, I’ve put up covers and web links for all of them right here. Scroll down and you’ll see seven covers (I don’t have the Dutch cover yet); clicking on any cover takes you to a web site where you can read about that edition in its own language (and even purchase it).

Speaking of new editions, there is also a brand new edition of The Slight Edge out, with a gorgeous new cover design (I never liked the old one much) and a fresh design on the inside as well. A much higher-quality production.

With the new edition, they are also offering new pricing: $5 each, when you buy in quantities of 5 or more.

No, it’s not really an Oscar—it’s an Axiom.

Last week, in the final few days’ countdown to the 81st Academy Awards, we learned that in the 2nd annual Axiom Business Book Awards, the Gold Medal in the “Business Fable” category went to … (the hall goes silent, quiet snare drum roll as the host opens the envelop) … The Go-Giver.

The Axiom Business Book Awards are an international award sponsored by the independent publishing community aimed at “recognize and promoting the world’s best business titles.” According to their web site, “The goal of the awards is to celebrate the innovative, intelligent and creative aspects of the books that make us think, see and work differently every day.”

This news comes on the heels of The Go-Giver being named #3 on the “2008 Bestsellers” list at 8CR (800-CEO-Read), and also topping their “International Bestsellers” list for Canada last month.

Now that’s an exciting way to start the year.

Something is moving in the snow-dappled bushes outside my office window. I know it’s there, because I glimpsed movement — but I can’t see any clear shape:

(click on pictures for larger versions)

To me, this is what the core idea of a new book looks like, when you’re sitting in front of an empty page (or computer screen), eyes closed, trying to grasp it with your mind’s fingers.

If you focus your brain too clearly, the motion frightens the thought away, and it dashes off into the woods. But when it’s this well camouflaged among the snow and branches of your mind’s landscape, you can’t really see it clearly enough to put it into words . . . so you have to focus. But you daren’t startle the thing off, so you focus — ever, so, carefully …

I just spent a week doing this. Finished The Secret Language of Money last week (it’s coming out in August), and then plunged into the indistinct underbrush of a brand new book project, and had to get it clear enough on paper to show to a publisher in New York — all in five days. It took all day Sunday, but I finally managed to get the focus clear enough to see its outline — without making any fast moves that would cause it to leap up and scamper completely out of sight.

This one’s a secret still, alas, so I can’t let on its subject — but it’s going to be a very exciting project indeed, and I’ll whisper it here as soon as I’m able.

Meanwhile, I’ll keep peeking through the window to see what other shapes might be nibbling on the leaves out there.