Artisan Taps Gardenista
Lia Ronnen, associate publisher and executive editor of Artisan Books, has acquired world rights to The Gardenista Book by Michelle Slatalla from David McCormick at McCormick & Williams, for publication in spring 2016. The book will be a “source book for cultivated outdoor living, with tips on everything from finding the right water-resistant decking and outdoor light fixtures to choosing the perfect color palette for one’s flowerbeds.” Slatalla, a former New York Times columnist, is editor in chief of Gardenista.com, which has 450,000 unique visitors each month. The Gardenista Book is conceived as a companion to Remodelista: A Manual for the Considered Home, which Artisan published in November 2013.
Mumford Gets Mindful at Parallax
Rachel Neumann at Parallax Press picked up world rights for mindfulness coach George Mumford’s first book, tentatively titled The Mindful Athlete: The Secret to Pure Performance. Described by the publisher as “the best-known mindfulness teacher you haven’t yet heard of,” Mumford worked with legendary coach Phil Jackson as he led the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers to 11 NBA championships. In the book, Mumford shares “gentle but groundbreaking techniques that can transform the performance of anyone with a goal, be [he or she an] Olympian, weekend warrior, executive, hacker, or artist.” Mumford represented himself in the deal, and the book is scheduled for an April 2015 release.
Harper Perennial to Reissue ‘Eleanor Roosevelt’
The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt, originally published by HarperCollins in 1960, will be reissued this fall in a revised and expanded version as part of the 50th anniversary of the Harper Perennial Modern Classics imprint. Maya Ziv acquired North American English rights from the estate, which is represented by Anna Olswanger and Liza Dawson of Liza Dawson Associates. The audio rights to the autobiography went to Troy Juliar at Recorded Books/Highbridge Audio in a preempt, also handled by Olswanger and Dawson, and will appear simultaneously with the book’s release. The new version will include an afterword by Nancy Roosevelt Ireland, Roosevelt’s granddaughter.
Carolrhoda Nabs Debut
Andrew Karre at Carolrhoda Lab bought world rights for the debut YA novel of Shannon Gibney, a professor at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, who represented herself in the deal. The book tells the story of Alex, an African-American teenage girl who’s gained a reputation as an elite baseball player, thanks, in part, to her famous white father. Publication is set for late 2015 or early 2016.
