Katherine Tegen Finds 'Bliss'
Michael Stearns and Ted Malawer closed a three-book North American rights deal for author Kathryn Littlewood with Katherine Tegen, for her eponymous children's imprint at HarperCollins. The six-figure deal is for a new series that Stearns and Malawer—principals at the Inkhouse, a literary development company—said was pitched as "Chocolat meets Cheaper by the Dozen." Book one, Bliss, follows 11-year-old Rosemary Bliss, the daughter of the owners of Bliss Bakery, who, along with her three siblings, cause a stir when they get their hands on their family's secret cookbook, which has been used for centuries to keep their town healthy and happy. Bliss is scheduled for winter 2012, and Stearns is handling both dramatic and foreign rights through his agency, Upstart Crow Literary.

John Phillips, Authorized
St. Martin's Press acquired an authorized biography of the Mamas and the Papas frontman and one-time tabloid fixture, John Phillips. Executive editor Kathy Huck bought North American rights to Chris Campion's Wolfking from Peter McGuigan at Foundry Literary + Media. Campion (Walking on the Moon) is writing the book—the title refers to Phillips's first solo album—with Jeffery A. Greenberg. The book will be the first about the musician authorized by the Phillips estate—Phillips died in 2001—and will follow his musical career and more recent bouts with infamy after his daughter, Mackenzie Phillips, disclosed she had an affair with him in her memoir released last fall. Wolfking is currently scheduled for spring 2012.

Rose on Dancing and Commitment
Agent Lynn Johnston, who runs her own self-titled agency, sold world English rights to a new memoir by actress Jamie Rose. Sara Cader at Penguin's Tarcher imprint acquired the book, which charts Rose's foray into ballroom dancing and how the hobby improved her relationship with her boyfriend. Johnston said Rose, who's struggled romantically throughout her life, found herself in a relationship with a man who didn't want to get married, but she applied the lessons she learned dancing the tango, salsa, and "other partner dances" to strengthen her relationship (and ultimately married him). Rose, who's appeared on myriad TV shows, is best known for her role as Vickie Gioberti on Falcon Crest. Tarcher is planning a late 2011 or early 2012 release.

Perigee Goes with Smith, Again
Meg Leder at Perigee bought another book by Wreck This Journal and This Is Not a Book author Keri Smith. Agent Faith Hamilton at Sanford J. Greenburger sold world rights to Finish This Book, which Perigee described as an "interactive do-it-yourself illustrated story" in which the reader becomes the central character. Smith, an author-illustrator-artist, has written a number of books about the creative process, and the new title will, as the publisher explained, allow readers to finish the story by "writing, pasting, scribbling, and drawing."

Briefs
Robert Pigeon at Da Capo acquired North American rights to Mark Anderson's Finding the Sun. Jennifer Weltz at the Jean V. Naggar Agency brokered the deal for Anderson. The book, scheduled for spring 2012, follows the scientists who, in 1769, set out to measure the Earth's distance from the sun. Anderson, a journalist and former astrophysicist, delivers, per the publisher, a "page-turning adventure" about a journey connected to a "historical moment of spies, wars, and technology that enabled European militaries to colonize the world."