More Memoirs
Gerald Howard preempted Carl Capotorto's Twisted Head for Broadway Books; ICM's Kris Dahl sold world rights. Capotorto, who portrays the character LittlePaulie on The Sopranos and whose name in Italian indeed means "twisted head," will describe growing up Italian-Americanin the Bronx, in particular trying to survive the eccentricities of histyrannical father as well as the 1970s public school system. Pub date is fall2008.
Crown's Allison McCabe bought world Englishrights to Matt Rothschild's Dumbfounded via Dan Lazar at Writers House. Rothschild, of the well-known Europeanbanking family, will recount his experiences after his debutante motherabandoned him with her fabulously rich parents, two Old World Jews among theWASPs on Manhattan's Upper East Side, and the relationship with his grandmotherthat developed.
New Nonfiction
Holt's George Hodgman has bought worldrights to a new, untitled book by Night Draws Near author Anthony Shadid viaagent Robert Shepard. Shadid will return tohis family's ancestral home in Lebanon, where his grandmother's house wasdamaged by an Israeli missile, and reconstruct the house, revisit the story ofhis family and use the lives of the townspeople he encounters to help explainArab identity and the Middle East today. Shadid, who won a Pulitzer in 2004 forhis reporting in Iraq, is up for another for his work in Lebanon lastsummer.
Random's Will Murphy bought North American rights to Do or Die: Endgamein Iraq by Atlantic Monthly correspondent Bing West,via Dan Mandel at Sanford Greenburger. West, aformer assistant secretary of defense, will provide a historical narrative thatweaves together strategic decisions and combat realities, to include theoutcome of the current surge of U.S. forces and the alternatives facing thenext administration.
John Oakes at the newly formed Atlas Bookshas bought world English rights to David Rosenberg's An Educated Man fromagent Howard Morhaim. In this dual biographyof Moses and Jesus, Rosenberg will examine exactly what is meant by the termJudeo-Christianity, through an in-depth look at the lives of the founders ofthe two religions. Rosenberg is coauthor of The Book of J with Harold Bloom; his most recent work was Abraham: The First Historical Biography (Basic).
Bob Bender at S&S has acquired Robert Greenfield's Ahmet Ertegun and theRise and Fall of Rock 'n' Roll from agent Paul Bresnick, who sold world English rights. Ertegun, who died in December, founded Atlantic Records in 1947 and over six decades recorded Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Sonny and Cher, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Bonnie Raitt, among many others. Greenfield's Timothy Leary was published by Harcourt last year; no pub date for Ertegunyet.
Maguire's Novel
Former Basic Books publisher Elizabeth Maguire, who died last year at age 47, wrote a novel titled The Open Door, which Rosemary Ahern at Other Press has just acquired fromagent Betsy Lerner. The book is based on thelife of Constance Fenimore Woolson, an American author and friend of Henry James. Woolson left America for Europe in her late 30s, where the book begins,and also suffered lifelong depression, committing suicide in Venice at the age of 54. Other Press holds world rights and pub date is scheduled for 2008.
Multibook Fiction
Dutton's Ben Sevier preempted an auctionfor Meg Gardiner's The Dirty Secrets Club and an untitled follow-up thriller with asix-figure offer to Britt Carlson at GelfmanSchneider on behalf of Jonny Pegg at Curtis Brown London. The deal also includes five backlist titles in the author's Evan Delaney series. This is Gardiner's first deal on these shores, spurred in partby a recent piece by Stephen King in Entertainment Weekly praising her work. Dutton, which holds U.S. rights only, willpublish the new novel in summer 2008, and NAL will bring out the five Evan Delaney thrillers as mass market originals.
Putnam's Rachel Kahan just closed a new deal for two more novels by bestselling author Kate Jacobs (The Friday Night Knitting Club), who is now represented by Dorian Karchmar at William Morris. Putnam holds North American rights and expects to publish the first of the two novels in 2008, with a Berkley paperback to follow a year later.
Peter Borland at Atria with Louise Burke at Pocket have acquired The Sarasota Kid and two untitled thrillers by Stephen Frey, moving from Ballantine, via agent Cynthia Manson. The Sarasota Kid is about a retired Yankees baseballscout who comes across a young player of immense talent in the Florida minor leagues, but a secret in the player's past might put them both in danger. Atria will publish in hardcover in summer 2008.
Jenny Jackson at Knopf has acquired two new novels by Still Life with Husband author Lauren Fox from agent Julie Barer, who sold North American rights. Knopf published Still Life this February; likely pub date for the first of the new books is 2009.
Bestselling author Dan Simmons (The Terror) has inked a new three-book deal withLittle, Brown, with Reagan Arthur acquiring two historical thrillers and the other, a near-future thriller, going to Tim Holman for Orbit. Agent Richard Curtis made the North American deal, with first book to pub in 2009.
