Shaping the Court
Laura Stickney and Ann Godoff at the Penguin Press have acquired a new book by presidential historian and Williams College professor James MacGregor Burns. Packing the Court will delve into the history of presidential Supreme Court “packing”; in Burns's review of the appointments of our most powerful presidents, he'll reveal the constant pressure to shape the bench to reflect the social and political values of the president who made the appointments, and he'll also provide a groundbreaking suggestion for Court reform. John Taylor “Ike” Williams at Kneerim & Williams sold world rights, and Penguin Press will publish in spring 2009.
Two Years in Iraq
Collins executive editor Adam Bellow won an auction for North American rights to Owen West's The Advisors; Dan Mandel at Sanford Greenburger made the sale. West's account of an Iraqi battalion's two-year fight in the heart of Anbar province will describe how Shiite soldiers, American advisers and Sunni tribesmen learned to live and fight together. West is a Wall Street energy trader who served two tours in Iraq. No pub date yet.
12 Weeks to Happiness
Judith Curr at Atria won a three-day auction for Dr. Kelly Traver's The Program: The 12-Week Method to Get Your Body in Sync with Your Brain for a Healthier, Happier You; Robin Straus sold world rights. Traver, global medical director for Google Worldwide, will write the book with Betty Kelly Sargent; Johanna Castillo will edit.
Azcel to Palgrave
Fermat's Last Theorem author Amir Azcel will move to Palgrave Macmillan for his next book, titled Uranium; editor Luba Ostashevsky bought world rights from Al Zuckerman at Writers House. Azcel's new book will tell the story of the scientists who first harnessed the mineral's destructive power—how they split the atom, created nuclear fission and built the bomb. The book will be published under Palgrave's Macmillan Science imprint, a new imprint set to debut in 2009 that will publish “cutting-edge topics in science by name-brand researchers, emerging scientists and top-notch journalists,” according to publisher Airie Stuart; no pub date for the Azcel yet.
Chronicling the Celtics' Rebound
Da Capo editor Kevin Hanover acquired world rights to Peter May's Top of the World: The Inside Story of the Boston Celtics' Amazing One-Year Turnaround to Become NBA Champions; Colleen Mohyde at the Doe Coover Agency made the sale. May, who covered the Celtics for nearly 25 years for the Boston Globe and the Hartford Courant and wrote about the team's last championship season in The Last Banner, will chronicle their 2008 run. Drawing on interviews with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Doc Rivers, among others, May's inside account will trace the single-season turnaround of this storied franchise, which went from having the second-worst record last year to the best record in the NBA this year and winning the title. Pub date is fall 2008.
Family Cooking
Globe Pequot editor Heather Carreiro preempted Yvette Moyo's Real Women Cook: A Celebration of Family with Recipes That Stir the Soul via Linda Konner. Moyo, president of Chicago-based marketing company Resource Associates International, will describe the joys of cooking with and for the family in her first cookbook, which will include stories and recipes from the likes of Gayle King, Tyra Banks, Beyoncé, B. Smith and Marian Wright Edelman. Michelle Obama will write a foreword; pub date May 2009.
