Indie Hit on Decluttering Nabbed by Chronicle
On the heels of the continued success of Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Chronicle has acquired its own decluttering title. Laura Lee Mattingly took world English rights at auction, in a two-book deal, to Francine Jay’s The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide. The book, subtitled How to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify Your Life, was self-published by Jay in 2010. According to the author’s literary agent, Maria Ribas at Stonesong, Jay has sold more than 70,000 copies of the title on her own. Chronicle’s new edition of Joy, set for April, is being repackaged with new content and illustrations. A companion journal to Joy will be published in September 2016; Ribas said the journal will “offer action items for decluttering the home, plus prompts for cultivating a minimalist approach to life.” Jay, who runs the website Miss Minimalist, has been featured in numerous media outlets, ranging from CNN to the BBC, and Ribas called her “the pioneer of the decluttering movement in the U.S.”
Hachette Takes ‘Pride’ to the Ballpark
Richard Sandomir, a sports columnist for the New York Times, sold Iron Hero to Mauro DiPreta at Hachette Books. DiPreta took world rights from Andrew Blauner at Blauner Books Literary Agency. The book, subtitled Pride of the Yankees and the Legend of Lou Gehrig, examines how the 1942 film Pride of the Yankees shaped Gehrig’s image in pop culture and helped establish a new kind of Hollywood film. According to Sandomir, the movie was “the first important sports film” and “kick-started a genre that was fairly undistinguished until then.” The book is slated for 2017, to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the film’s release.
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that Hachette bought world English rights to Iron Hero; the publisher bought world rights.
