After we broke the news yesterday about a hot U.S. auction agent Molly Friedrich was coordinating at the Frankfurt Book Fair for Laurie Frankel's sophomore novel Deadmail, we have word that the title has been acquired by Alison Callahan at Doubleday.
Friedrich coordinated the auction from the States and said the book is most often being compared to David Nicholls's literary romance One Day (which was recently adapted into a film). It follows a computer whiz who comes up with a way for people to e-mail their dearly departed. (Although we reported yesterday that the novel has a sic-fi element, referring to the aforementioned e-mailing the dead, the Friedrich Agency quashed the sf reference, saying there is "no sic-fi element" to the work.)
The agency also said the title Deadmail is a working one, and will likely change. As of Thursday afternoon, the book has been sold in five countries with four sales pending.
