Razorbill Nabs Transmedia Project
Ben Schrank at Razorbill bought world rights to a multimedia novel called Chopsticks by author Jessica Anthony and designer Rodrigo Corral. The book, about the relationship between a piano prodigy and a boy from her past, is scheduled to be published in print in fall 2011, but will unfold, according to Razorbill, in a variety of digital formats beforehand—as a Web site, on Twitter, as an app, etc. In the young adult novel, the heroine, who is in a Bronx mental hospital after suffering a breakdown, begins corresponding with her former neighbor, an Argentinean boy who lived next door to her when she was six. She then escapes the institution to reunite with him. Anthony's debut, The Convalescent (McSweeney's), was an ALA Adult Notable Book of 2009, as well as a B&N Discover selection. Corral, who runs Rodrigo Corral Design, has designed book jackets for a variety of authors, including Chuck Palahniuk and Junot Díaz. Agent Jim Rutman at Sterling Lord brokered the deal.
HC Takes New Marr Trilogy
In an acquisition in the upper six-figure range, Anne Hoppe at HarperCollins took world rights to two books, in a currently untitled new trilogy, by bestselling YA author Melissa Marr. Merrilee Heifetz at Writers House represented Marr, who writes the Wicked Lovely series. That series is also published by HarperCollins and the first book in the new trilogy will fall under Marr's existing contract with the house. There are currently four Wicked Lovely titles—the books follow a high school junior in a small Pennsylvania town who, along with her grandmother, can see faeries—and book five, which is the final title, Darkest Mercy, is scheduled for February 2011. The new series is about a young female assassin living in a world where, as Heifetz put it, "myth meets science." HarperCollins has set fall 2013 as the tentative release for book one in the new series.
Square One Goes for the Funny Bone
Rudy Shur, president of Long Island indie press Square One Publishers, bought world rights to standup comedian Pat Cooper's memoir, Pat Cooper: How Dare You Say How Dare Me. Cooper, an Italian-American funnyman who made his splash on the comedy circuit in 1963 when he appeared on The Jackie Gleason Show, went on to work the nightclub circuit where he crossed paths with Rat Packers like Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. as well as bold-faced names like Tony Bennett and Bobby Darin. In the '80s and '90s Cooper was back in the spotlight with a variety of appearances on The Howard Stern Show, where he gained notoriety for starting verbal spats with the shock jock. Cooper is co-writing the book with Rich Herschlag and Steve Garrin, and Jerry Lewis is contributing the foreword. Square One is planning a November 2010 publication. Cooper negotiated the deal directly with Shur.
Rodale Starts ‘Hoarding'
In the second recent deal to come out of A&E's popular show Hoarders, Rodale's Julie Will took North American rights to Dr. Robin Zasio's The Hoarder in You. The purchase comes on the heels of Perigee's acquisition of a book by the show's host, Matt Paxton (Deals, June 28). Zasio, who appears as an expert on the show, will direct the book at people who, according to Rodale, "fall somewhere on the hoarding continuum"—in other words, anyone whose inability to toss their junk impedes their life. Rebecca Gradinger at Fletcher & Company represented Zasio, a licensed clinical psychologist and social worker who owns and directs the Sacramento, Calif.-based Cognitive Behavior Therapy Center.
