A Founding Father

Alice Mayhew at Simon & Schuster has acquired North American rights to Charles Rappleye's American Atlas: The Life of Robert Morris from agent Paul Bresnick. The first full-scale biography of this “forgotten” founding father in over a century will detail how Morris, reputed to be the richest man on the continent in the late 18th century, devoted all his fortune and energies to the American cause. One of just two men to sign the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, he was an intimate of George Washington, John Hancock and John Jay. Publication is set for late 2009.

A Garment's Tale

Megan Lynch at Riverhead won an auction for Erika Kawalek's Ragpicker: The Secret History of a Wardrobe via Elisabeth Weed at Trident, who sold North American rights. Kawalek will reveal the entire fashion ecosystem by tracing the social and technological history of eight of her favorite garments, bringing readers into fast-fashion factories, haute couture salons and secondhand clothing shops. Planned pub is 2009.

Hot Fiction

Knopf's Jenny Jackson has preempted North American rights to Kim Barnes's Bramble via Sally Wofford-Girand at Brick House. In the novel, a young, idealistic couple set out to create their own utopia in the wilds of Idaho, only to find that the challenges of rural life threaten to tear them apart. Barnes was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for In the Wilderness, published by Doubleday in 1996; likely pub date for the novel is fall 2008.

Kerri Kolen at S&S preempted world rights to a trilogy, the Wolf Chronicles, by debut author and former Jossey-Bass editor Dorothy Hearst via Mollie Glick at Jean Naggar. Pitched as a cross between Watership Down and The Clan of the Cave Bear, the novels will tell the story of how wolves became dogs, from the wolf's point of view. The first book in the series, Promise of the Wolves, begins 14,000 years ago in what is now southern Europe and follows a young she-wolf who discovers that she is destined to draw wolves and humans together; pub date is summer 2008.

Scribner's Alexis Gargagliano bought North American rights to an untitled novel by Golden Country author and former Harcourt publicity director Jennifer Gilmore; Jennifer Joel at ICM made the six-figure deal. The book's focus is the Goldsteins of Washington, D.C., as they struggle with shifting family dynamics, the decline of radicalism, food, LSD, the Straight Edge movement and “the Soviet threat” in the aftermath of Carter's grain embargo in 1980. Tentative pub date is 2009.

In Paperback

Lisa Sharkey and Henry Ferris at Harper Perennial have acquired world rights to the tentatively titled The Undecided Voter's Guide to the Next President by Time editor-at-large and ABC News analyst Mark Halperin. Halperin will examine the candidates' biographies, policies, political skills and presidential prospects; pub is this fall and the project was unagented.

For Villard Trade Paperbacks, Jill Schwartzman has acquired Salon and Wall Street Journal cartoonist Carol Lay's The Big Skinny: How I Lost My Fattitude; agent Betsy Amster sold world rights. Lay's graphic memoir will detail her struggles and eventual triumph over her weight and show readers, in words and pictures, how they can do it, too. Pub date is early 2009.

The Briefing

Jamie Raab at Grand Central bought world rights to the next book by Jane Goodall, Hope for Nature; agent Jonathan Lazear made the million-dollar deal. The book will be written with Thane Maynard, director of the Cincinnati Zoo.