Tuesday, April 18, 2006

A rather different selection of Books...

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

MYSTERY/CRIME:

A.W. Hill's THE LAST DAYS OF MADAME REY, Hollywood noir with a post-modern bite and a mystical aura, reminding us that the gumshoes of old were really Grail knights in brown fedoras, to Philip Turner at Carroll & Graf, in a nice deal, by Kimberley Cameron at Reece Halsey Paris (NA). bookgir2@comcast.net

THRILLER:

Charles Cumming's A SPY BY NATURE, THE HIDDEN MAN, THE SPANISH GAME, to Diane Reverand at St. Martin's, by Luke Janklow at Janklow & Nesbit. melissa.contreras@stmartins.com

GENERAL/OTHER:

Whitbread and National Book Critics Circle Award-winning novelist Jim Crace's THE PESTHOUSE, to Nan Talese at Nan A. Talese, for publication in May 2007, plus two more novels, by David Godwin at David Godwin Associates.ndewey@randomhouse.com

Death of an Ordinary Man and I, Lucifer author Glen Duncan's THE BLOODSTONE PAPERS, in which an Anglo-Indian family carries its history, certain mysteries, and unresolved passions from the last days of the Raj to modern day London, to Dan Halpern and Millicent Bennett of Ecco, in a two-book deal, by Jane Gelfman of Gelfman Schneider, on behalf of Jonny Geller of Curtis Brown London (NA).jane@gelfmanschneider.com

Lynn York's second novel, a follow up to her debut The Piano Teacher, to Trena Keating at Plume, in a very nice deal, by Suzanne Gluck at the William Morris Agency (NA).

CHILDREN'S/MIDDLE GRADE:

MY BIG SISTER IS SO BOSSY SHE SAYS YOU CAN'T READ THIS BOOK author Mary Hershey's STUMP, a darkly humorous coming-of-age story about the relationship between a teen boy, who calls himself Stump to draw shocked attention to his missing leg, and his dad, who left the family after the accident that caused the amputation five years earlier, to Liesa Abrams at Razorbill, in a nice deal, by Erin Murphy of Erin Murphy Literary Agency (world). kitohana@earthlink.net

FILM:

Rights to Laura Lippman's EVERY SECRET THING, about two young women and what happens to them after seven years in juvenile prison for a crime committed when they were eleven, optioned to Frances McDormand, by Justin Manask at IPG on behalf of Vicky Bijur at the Vicky Bijur Literary Agency.

John Connolly's BAD MEN, on the run from a ruthless ex-husband a woman and her young son settle on a desolate and secluded island, to Sobini Films, in a good deal, by Steve Fisher, working on behalf of the Darley Anderson. Screenwriter Steve Susco ("The Grudge") is adapting. sfisher@apa-agency.com

BUSINESS/INVESTING/FINANCE:

John Connolly's BAD MEN, on the run from a ruthless ex-husband a woman and her young son settle on a desolate and secluded island, to Sobini Films, in a good deal, by Steve Fisher, working on behalf of the Darley Anderson. Screenwriter Steve Susco ("The Grudge") is adapting. sfisher@apa-agency.com

HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:

Historian Alexander Rose's AMERICAN RIFLE, an examination of the relationship between American culture and gun technology from the Revolution to the present and AMERICAN SOLDIER, which explores the question of what it's really like being in battle from the perspective of a common soldier, to John Flicker at Bantam Dell, by Emma Parry at Fletcher & Parry.

Vincent DiGirolamo's CRYING THE NEWS: A History of America's Newsboys, exploring how these resourceful and ambitious child workers came to personify the spirit of capitalism in America, to Susan Ferber at Oxford University Press, by Brettne Bloom at Kneerim & Williams (world).bloom@fr.com

MEMOIR:

Sarah Goodall's THE PALACE DIARIES, The True Story of Life Behind the Palace Gates, described as Bridget Jones meets Paul Burrell, life behind the scenes of the Royal Establishment by a young woman who bumbled her way into a job working for Prince Charles and remained with him for 12 years, to Jackie Cantor for Berkley, for publication in hardback and trade paperback by NAL and Signet for mass market, in a very nice deal, by Fiona Brownlee at Mainstream (NA). fiona.brownlee@mainstreampublishing.com

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Neil Steinberg's DRUNKARD, illuminating the quiet desperation of a functioning alcoholic, to Trena Keating for Dutton/Plume, in a very nice deal, by Susan Raihofer at David Black Literary Agency (NA).

Anti-terrorism consultant for the FBI Daveed Gartenstein-Ross's MY YEAR IN RADICAL ISLAM, in which the author tells of converting to Islam as a college student and working for the al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, a charity dedicated to fostering Wahhabism, Saudi Arabia's austere form of Islam that serves as a theological inspiration for many terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda, to Sara Carder at Tarcher, in a very nice deal, by Gary Morris at the David Black Literary Agency.

Federal prosecutor Stanley Alpert's THE BIRTHDAY PARTY, about his kidnapping in Manhattan just before his 38th birthday, the intense psychological duel with his captors that eventually set him free, and the investigation that led to their arrests, to Neil Nyren at Putnam, in a pre-empt, for publication in early 2007, by Ronald Goldfarb (world).
SCIENCE:

Microbiologist Anne Maczulak's THE MICROBES WHO LIVE WITH YOU, a guide to the applications of microbiology from bioterrorism and health hazards in schools, hospitals, and nursing homes to household cleaning detergents, money handling, and food preservatives, to John Oakes at Thunder's Mouth, in a nice deal, by Jodie Rhodes (World).jrhodes1@san.rr.com

GENERAL/OTHER:

English travel writer and author of THE CALIPH'S HOUSE Tahir Shah's IN ARABIAN NIGHTS, about the traditions of Moroccan storytelling, the idea that every soul has its own story, and the author's own family legacy of storytelling, again to Philip Rappaport at Bantam Dell, by Emma Parry of Fletcher & Parry. UK/translation: Patrick Walsh at Conville and Walsh

Wrap....

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