Good reading on the way...

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

Fiction: General/Other:
Jack Whyte's KNIGHTS OF THE BLACK AND WHITE: The Templar Trilogy, telling the story of the Knights Templar from the founding of the order, to their years as the world's richest and most powerful entity, to their violent destruction, and their rebirth in exile and diaspora, to Rachel Kahan at Putnam, by Russell Galen at Scovil Chichak Galen Literary Agency (US). Danny Baror handles foreign rights. russellgalen@scglit.com

DEBUT:
Shira Nayman's untitled novel and short story collection, about the experiences of children of Holocaust survivors, to Alexis Gargagliano at Scribner, by Aaron Priest at the Aaron Priest Agency (world English). suzanne.balaban@simonandschuster.com

Film critic Sara Voorhees's THE ÉCLAIR AFFAIR, about a struggling journalist covering the Cannes Film Festival who discovers that the French Riviera may hold more secrets for her than just celebrity scandals, to Marysue Rucci at Simon & Schuster, by Bess Reed at Regal Literary (world English).bess@regal-literary.com

Screenwriter and performer Robert Loehr's debut THE CHESS MACHINE, an historical novel set in the eighteenth century, about the inventor of a machine that would defeat all chess players, also featuring "a dwarf, a pair of aristocratic siblings, a beautiful housemaid and a cheeky boy in a series of murders, a wonderful love story, a great roof top chase and even an orgy," to Scott Moyers at Penguin Press and UK colleague Juliet Annan at Fig Tree, at auction, by Tanja Howarth on behalf of Piper Verlag, which publishes this month (world English). French rights to Laffont in a pre-empt, and Dutch rights to Karakter.

FILM:
Lolita Files's CHILD OF GOD, to rapper Kanye West, in a good deal, by Steve Fisher at APA, on behalf of Elaine Koster Agency.sfisher@apa-agency.com

Joe R. Lansdale's A FINE DARK LINE, about a boy "consumed by the contents of an old tin box that carries the secrets of a small town's past," to Traveling Light producer Adam Friedman, who will also direct.

Stuart F. Tower's 1904 historical novel of Jewish emigration from Eastern Europe THE WAYFARERS, to W.Q.G. - Film, a joint venture between Quintus Films BV of Amsterdam, Genius Films of Romania, and The Wayfarers in Florida, on behalf of The Lighthouse Press.
Jeff Abbott's forthcoming thriller PANIC, about a documentary film-maker who discovers his entire life has been a carefully constructed lie, pursued by a ruthless organization of killers, searching for the truth about who he really is, to Brendan Deneen at The Weinstein Company, by Holly Frederick at Curtis Brown.

NON-FICTION, GENERAL/OTHER:
Dawn Prince-Hughes's PASSING AS HUMAN, an exploration of our society's focus on what is considered normal and abnormal human behavior, to Shaye Areheart and Kim Meisner at Harmony, by Jenny Bent at Trident Media Group.


Zachary Shore's new book BLUNDER: Why We Risk Everything with Destructive Decision-Making, which answers how and why the rigid ways in which people approach and solve problems on the basis of pre-conceived notions and preset patterns of thought can lead to catastrophic judgment calls on a national scale, shatter corporate competitiveness, and sabotage personal relationships, to Kathy Belden at Bloomsbury, for publication in Spring 2007, by Will Lippincott at Lippincott Massie McQuilkin.

HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:
Toby Faber's FATAL EGGS: The extraordinary creations of Carl Gustavovitch Faberge, the story of Faberge's Imperial Easter eggs, a tale of greed, tragedy, and devotion which mirrors the history of twentieth century Russia, to Susanna Porter at Random House, by Zoe Pagnamenta at PFD New York (US).zpagnamenta@pfdny.com

Steven Fraser's A HISTORY OF THE GILDED AGE, to Lara Heimert at Basic, in a pre-empt, by Sandra Dijkstra at the Sandra Dijkstra Agency (world).isabelle.bleecker@perseusbooks.com
Christopher de Bellaigue's book on one of the great crossroads of the Middle East, Kurdistan, by Inigo Thomas at Penguin Press, in a very nice deal, by David Godwin of David Godwin Associates.

Journalist James Kynge's CHINA SHAKES THE WORLD, detailing China's breakneck metamorphosis from a famine-ridden, semi-medieval state into a global economic superpower, with particular attention to the internal weaknesses, to Webster Younce at Houghton Mifflin, for publication in Fall 2006, by George Lucas at Inkwell Management, on behalf of Felicity Bryan at Felicity Bryan.

Writer for Salon.com Eric Boehlert's LAPDOGS: How the Press Laid Down for the Bush White House, an account of how the media has failed to do its job as it has covered George W. Bush as governor of Texas, as the 2000 Republican candidate, and as a wartime president, to Dominick Anfuso at Free Press, by Richard Abate at ICM (NA).

POP CULTURE:
Rob the Bouncer's CLUBLIFE: Behind the Velvet Rope, based on the blog that has been featured in Gawker and Newsweek, exploring the nightclub subculture from the point of view of a New York City bouncer, to Mauro DiPreta at Harper, by Eileen Cope at Trident Media Group (world).
Wrap...