Three More from Bourdain

Daniel Halpern at Ecco has acquired Anthony Bourdain's next three books in a North American rights deal with Kim Witherspoon at Inkwell. The first book, Cooks, is a follow-up to Kitchen Confidential, in which the author explores how the industry he loves—and the people in it—have changed, if at all, since his years in the kitchen, and tracks the bizarre changes in his own life. The book will also focus on the chefs who are changing the way we think about how and what to eat. The second book will be a crime novel, No New Messages, about a disgraced former “It Boy” novelist and a chef, fresh off a public humiliation on a reality series, who become involved in a murder on the Caribbean island where both are lying low. The third book is Bourdain's memoir of moving his family to a small Vietnamese village to spend a year in total immersion there. Pub date for Cooks is fall 2009.

Bent Sells Two

Hyperion executive editor Gretchen Young bought world rights to Please Don't Feed the Daisy: Living, Loving and Eating with the World's Fattest Dog by Beverly West and Jason Bergund via Jenny Bent at Trident. The story of an unconventional family brought together by a very fat Chihuahua, this memoir—cum—weight-loss and fitness guide includes healthy food and drink recipes for pets and people, dog training tips, and a diet and exercise plan. Pub date is May 2009.

Bent also sold world rights to Rescuing Fire from the Rain to Rutgers University Press editor Rachel Friedman. An anthology that explores the theme of risk in the lives of writers and in society at large, with original essays from writers including Ishmael Beah, Jane Smiley, Frank McCourt, Dave Eggers and James McPherson, the book was the inspiration of Luke and Jennifer Reynolds, graduate students at Northern Arizona University and the University of Hartford, who are committed to “the power of words to change reality and the course of society.” All author, publisher and agency proceeds from the book are being donated to the Save Darfur Coalition, and pub date is spring or summer 2009.

One More for Rutgers

Elsewhere at Rutgers, editor-in-chief Leslie Mitchner acquired North American rights to Los Angeles Times writer Scott Martelle's The Fear Within via Jane Dystel. The book recounts the 1949 Foley Square Trial, a little-known Communist witch hunt that preceded and influenced the Red Scare. Rutgers published Martelle's first book, Blood Passion, last year; pub date for the new work is fall 2010.

American Wilderness

Harmony executive editor John Glusman has signed up Nature Noir author Jordan Fisher Smith for a new book, The Once and Future Wilderness, via Sandra Dijkstra, who sold North American rights. A former park ranger hailed by Newsweek as someone who “writes about the natural world with more grace than anyone since Edward Abbey,” Smith will explore the idea of wilderness in American culture and how that concept has been enforced or distorted by rangers and scientists entrusted with the preservation of our most cherished landscapes. Pub date is spring 2011.

Behind the Mousketeers

Grand Central editor Celia Johnson acquired world rights to Entertainment Weekly writer Jennifer Armstrong's untitled book on The Mickey Mouse Club via Nicole Steen at Elyse Cheney, who sold world rights for six figures. This behind-the-scenes look at the 1950s TV show will reveal the stories of the individual Mouseketeers and explore how the youth entertainment model the show pioneered is even more relevant today. Projected pub date is 2010.