Worthy books upcoming...

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

FICTION/DEBUT:

James Canon's TALES FROM THE TOWN OF WIDOWS, in which the men are swept away during Colombia's long and bloody civil war, and the women of Mariquita learn hard lessons about love and survival as they challenge the tenets of male-dominated society, discover power with all its pitfalls and strive to create an entirely new social order, an all-female utopia, to Claire Wachtel at Morrow, by Lisa Bankoff at ICM (NA, Translation). UK/Commonwealth is being repped by Kate Jones at ICM London.

THRILLER:

NYT bestselling author of SHOOTER Jack Coughlin and Donald A. Davis's THE SNIPER, based on Coughlin's twenty years as a Marine sniper and black ops team leader, to Charlie Spicer at St. Martin's, by Jim Hornfischer at Hornfischer Literary Management (world).jim@hornfischerlit.com

BUSINESS/INVESTING/FINANCE:

James Thompson's THE CUBICLE SURVIVAL GUIDE: Protecting Your Privacy and Your Job in the Least Hospitable Environment on the Planet, a humorous how-to addressing all aspects of cubicle life -- from how to (and how not to) decorate to what to do when your doctor calls unexpectedly, to Christina Duffy at Random House, for publication as a trade paperback original in spring 2007, by Andrea Somberg at Harvey Klinger (world English).Rights: rbernstein@randomhouse.com

HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:
BRING IT ON: The Life and Times of Terry McAuliffe, by former Democratic Party Chairman, Terry McAuliffe, a blow-by-blow account of the American political scene as he has seen and worked it since his early twenties, when he was finance director for President Carter's re-election campaign, with colorful anecdotes, his take on the mistakes, twists and turns of the last Presidential election and views on what the Democratic Party needs to do to win the White House, to Sean Desmond at Thomas Dunne Books, for publication in winter 2007, by Bret Saxon of TMP (world).

Journalist John Ross's WAR ON THE RUN: Robert Rogers and the Birth of Commando Warfare, the story of how an impoverished farmer's son, leading a motley band of warriors in daring, bloody raids against the French and Indians, reinvented warfare in the French and Indian War, his codified tactics still in use by US Army rangers today, to John Flicker at Bantam, by Deborah Grosvenor at Grosvenor Literary Agency (world).deb@gliterary.com

David A. Price's DEATH AND LIFE ON THE USS COLE: A Story From the Terror War, a narrative of the Oct. 12, 2000, Al Qaeda suicide attack on the USS COLE in Yemen, and of the survival story in the days afterward as the sailors struggled to rescue the injured and save the ship, to Bruce Nichols at Free Press, by Glen Hartley at Writers' Representatives.glen@writersreps.com daprice@gmail.com

WSJ reporters Robert Block and Christopher Cooper's critical assessment of the failures of the federal and local governments to prepare for Hurricane Katrina, revealing the ominous weaknesses that still exist in America's defense and preparedness systems and how those weaknesses had terrible consequences, based on "first-hand and exclusive reporting" and including inside accounts from the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA, to Paul Golob at Times Books, for publication in fall 2006, by Esmond Harmsworth and Todd Shuster of the Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency (world).claire.mckinney@hholt.com

HUMOR:

Twenty-five-year old Bobby Henderson's THE GOSPEL OF THE FLYING SPAGHETTI MONSTER, purporting to assert another theory of "intelligent design" which the author feels should be taught alongside evolution (cited by many newspapers since he wrote to the Kansas Board of Education), showing how the Flying Spaghetti Monster actually created the universe, accompanied by scripture, proofs, and rites observed by Pastafarians, to Chris Schluep at Villard, for publication as a trade paperback, by Paula Balzer at Sarah Lazin Books (world). Rights: ctisne@randomhouse.com

MEMOIR:

Attorney and the wife of 2005 vice presidential candidate John Edwards, Elizabeth Edwards' memoir, focused on the sustaining role that communities have played at every stage of her journey, from the military community (her father as a Navy pilot) as a child and the support she received as a mother, to the comfort extended when one of her sons died in a car accident, and support from all over during her current recovery from breast cancer, along with her story of campaigning, to Stacy Creamer at Broadway, by Robert Barnett of Williams & Connolly (NA).

UK:

Two-time Olympic rowing Gold medalist James Cracknell and BBC presenter Ben Fogle's TWO NAKED MEN IN A BOAT, about their participation in the toughest rowing race on Earth, to Toby Mundy and Louisa Joyner at Atlantic Books, by Julian Alexander of LAW (UK/Commonwealth, excluding Canada).louisebrice@groveatlantic.co.uk

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