Pushing Books
Little did Wendy Werris imagine, when she began a temporary job at a Hollywood bookstore in 1970 at age 19, that she had just embarked on a lifelong career. Now, 36 years later, she will recount An Alphabetical Life: Living It Up in the Business of Books, which covers her formative stint as a retail bookseller and three decades as a sales rep for major publishers. Werris will describe the changing nature of the business and the many remarkable industry figures and authors she's met along the way. Carroll & Graf editor-in-chief Philip Turner, himself a former bookseller, acquired world rights from agent BJ Robbins; he plans to publish in fall 2006.
Indy's Woman
Danica Patrick, the 2005 Indy Racing League Rookie of the Year and the first woman to hold that title, will share the story of her extraordinary rise from 10-year-old Go-Kart champion to 23-year old Indy star in Danica: Crossing the Line. Fireside's Nancy Hancock acquired the work from Dan Strone at Trident in conjunction with Patrick's manager, Lynn Roach. Danica is scheduled for publication in May, to coincide with this year's Indy 500. Fireside holds world rights.
Uncorked
George Taber, the author of Judgment of Paris, which recounted the historic wine tasting in 1976 between Californian and French vineyards in which a California wine claimed victory, will return to a related theme in Cork: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, which Scribner's Brant Rumble has acquired from agent Harvey Klinger. The book will recount the history of the simple stopper, the future of which remains in doubt as screwtops become more widely used. Rumble acquired North American rights and will publish in October 2007.
A Detainee's Story
Moazzam Begg is a British Muslim who traveled to Afghanistan as an aid worker before his capture and two-and-a-half-year detainment at Guantánamo Bay, including 18 months in solitary confinement, during which time his wife gave birth to their third child. His memoir, Enemy Combatant, is an account of that prison experience; Andy Hsaio at the New Press has acquired North American rights from Zoe Pagnamenta at PFD NY, on behalf of PFD UK's Pat Kavanagh. The book is scheduled for fall 2006 and will be co-written by British journalist Victoria Brittain.
Miller on Lewis
Salon cofounder and frequent NYTBR contributor Laura Miller has sold The Magician's Book—part autobiography; part literary criticism of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; and part meditation on the power of story and the magic of books—to MichaelPietsch at Little, Brown. Pietsch, who acquired world rights in a preempt from agent Lydia Wills, plans to publish in 2008.
The Briefing
Charles Spicer at St. Martin's acquired world English rights to a first novel by Alton Rivers titled Where We Belong, just published in the author's native Australia and depicting a romantic encounter in '70s London between a young American air force pilot and the aging screen idol of his childhood, Ava Gardner, from agent Thomas Colchie.... Da Capo's Ben Schafer bought world rights to Entertainment Weekly music critic David Browne's Goodbye 20th Century: Sonic Youth and the Rise of the Alternative Nation, an authorized biography of this influential band, from Gernert's Erin Hosier; pub date is fall 2007.... Hyperion's Brenda Copeland has acquired North American rights to Dr. Ira Sacker's Regaining Your Self: A New Approach to Overcoming Eating Disorders, from Adam Chromy at Artists & Artisans. Sacker, the author of Dying to Be Thin, draws on more than 30 years in the field of eating disorders to present a fresh approach to the epidemic; Hyperion will publish in spring 2007.
Deals can be reached at pwdeals@yahoo.com.
