Norton Wins Enright
Norton senior editor Maria Guarnaschelli won a best-bid auction for the next novel by Booker Prize—winner Anne Enright; Melanie Jackson made the U.S. rights sale in association with Gill Coleridge in London. Enright is the author of five works of fiction, the most recent being the prize-winning The Gathering, published by Grove. Norton is not releasing any other details about the new book at the moment; it will be published in 2011, and Jonathan Cape is publishing in the U.K.
S&G Prevails in Preempt
Within 48 hours of submission, two houses offered six-figure preemptive bids for Carol Wallace'sLeaving Van Gogh, with Cindy Spiegel at Spiegel & Grau taking North American rights via Emma Sweeney. This historical novel is about the last year of the artist's life, as told by his psychiatric doctor. Wallace, who just finished her master's in art history at Columbia, is the author of 22 books of nonfiction; she coauthored the 1980 bestseller The Official Preppy Handbook. S&G's pub date is 2010.
Bee Season
Mirroring recent deals for Tina Fey and Sarah Silverman, comedian Samantha Bee has just signed with Simon Spotlight for a book of skewed, humorous essays; publisher Jennifer Bergstrom bought North American rights to the untitled work from Jay Mandel at William Morris. Bee, the first female and non-U.S. correspondent for The Daily Show, recently signed on to co-create and co-write a pilot for CBS with her husband, fellow Daily Show correspondent Jason Jones. SSE editorial director Tricia Boczkowski will edit the book, to be published in 2010.
First Lady of Fashion
Hachette associate publisher Harry Helm acquired world rights to Mary Tomer's Mrs. O with a major six-figure preemptive offer to Eileen Cope at Trident. Based on Tomer's Web site, Mrs-O.org, the book will cover all style aspects of Michelle Obama's first year as First Lady, including the inauguration, her first state dinner, trips abroad and her influence on White House decor. Mrs-O.org, which provides commentary and information on Mrs. Obama's fashion and style, has received coverage in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times and Vanity Fair. The book, which Tomer is writing in partnership with ZAG, a division of ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty, should be in stores at the end of 2009.
Fitness Frontier
Little, Brown executive editor Tracy Behar beat four other bidders for Gretchen Reynolds's Brave New Body: On the Frontiers of 21st Century Fitness; Sam Stoloff at the Frances Goldin Agency sold world rights. Growing out of Reynolds's articles in the New York Times, the book will describe the cutting-edge scientific research that is changing our understanding of exercise, fitness and training, and contain practical guidelines for achieving peak physical and mental performance. Tentative pub date is spring 2011.
Meeker to Ballantine
Random senior editor Jill Schwartzman has acquired, for Ballantine, The Emotional Habits of Happy Mothers by Meg Meeker, M.D., in a two-book, world rights deal with Dan Conaway at Writers House. The new book will help mothers navigate the unique challenges they face in balancing family and career; Ballantine, which publishes Meeker's Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters in paperback, is bringing out a second Meeker reprint, Boys Should Be Boys, this May. Both of those titles were published in hardcover by Regnery.
