We're sure there was a lot of deal-making going on, but here's one book deal that got nailed at inaugural parties held in D.C. Although they had met him in New York when he had made the rounds of publishers earlier, St. Martin's Press publisher Sally Richardson and editor Greg Cohn flew down to the capital to see rapper/actor LL Cool J perform for Clinton's Inaugural Youth Ball, and nailed down plans to publish his autobiography there. The resulting "major" six-figure deal was negotiated with agent B.J. Robbins, manager Charles Fisher and lawyer Ed Hayes.
In the as-yet-untitled autobiography (to be written with New York Daily News writer Karen Hunter), LL Cool J will reveal for the first time details about how his father shot his mother and grandmother when he was four years old; will be candid about early sexual experiences and other escapades; and will discuss his turn-around in a happy marriage.
SMP plans an adult, uncut version and one for the YA market. No pub date is set, but Cohn told PW that he's hoping to rush the project through to tie-in with LL Cool J's next album, to be released next fall.
