Marian Wood, who has her own imprint at Putnam, says it's been "a long time in the wasteland, but I finally found a manuscript that knocked me out." It's a first novel about the bond between two brothers, set in Idaho 40 years ago, by poet and memoirist Kim Barnes, who lives there. The title is Goodnight, Irene, and Wood preempted for world English rights within three days of receiving it from agent Sally Wofford-Girand at the Elaine Markson agency. Barnes, said the editor, is "the real thing a writer of extraordinary style and deftness." She hopes to publish next fall or winter.