Anthony Bourdain is lending some of his culinary star power to a new line of books at HarperCollins. The chef-turned author-turned TV personality will be acquiring roughly three to five books annually for Ecco, and each will be called An Anthony Bourdain Book. A rep at HarperCollins said no date has been set for the first title from Bourdain.
The book line, which follows similar deals for stars like Chelsea Handler and Deepak Chopra--in November Grand Central announced it was giving Handler her own line, while Crown unveiled Deepak Chopra Books in April--will allow Bourdain to bring talent into the fold at HarperCollins. Although the line will predictably feature books about food, and written by chefs, the focus extends beyond the culinary world. Bourdain elaborated: "From my privileged vantage point, I've encountered a lot of extraordinary people with exciting things to say. This is a chance to get those voices heard. We look forward to publishing an unusual mix of new authors, existing works, neglected or under-appreciated masterworks, and translations of people from elsewhere who we think are just too damned brilliant not to be available in English."
The deal, which was ironed out by Bourdain's agent Kim Witherspoon and Ecco's president and publisher, Dan Halpern, continues a standing relationship Bourdain has with HC; his first bestseller, Kitchen Confidential, was published by Ecco in paperback. Halpern, putting the history in perspective, said Kitchen Confidential was one of the first books Ecco published nearly a decade ago. Calling Bourdain an "informal" advisor for years, Halpern said with the new imprint Bourdain is "becoming one of us, sort of."
