The wait for these books will be worth it...

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

FICTION/DEBUT:

Playwright (and Peabody and an Edgar winner) Theresa Rebeck's first novel, three girls And their brother, narrated in four parts from the point of view of each of four siblings as they experience a year filled with the good, the bad and the ugly of the New York celebrity scene after the sisters are proclaimed "It Girls of the Twenty-First Century," to Shaye Areheart of Shaye Areheart Books, at auction, for two books, for publication beginning in 2008, by Loretta Barrett of Barrett Books (NA).

Author of I Am Not Myself These Days, Josh Kilmer-Purcell's first novel CANDY EVERYBODY WANTS, a coming of age story about a small town boy who makes it big, to Maureen O'Brien at Harper for Perennial, along with another work of nonfiction, by Andy McNicol of the William Morris Agency.

Author of Like Family: Growing Up in Other People's Houses, Paula McLain's A TICKET TO RIDE, about a 15-year-old girl under the dangerous influence of her older cousin, to Emily Takoudes at Ecco, in a pre-empt, for publication in 2008, by Julie Barer at Barer Literary

THRILLER:

NYT bestseller Stephen Coonts' two new hardcover thrillers featuring Tommy Carmellini, to Matthew Shear at St. Martin's, by Robert Gottlieb at Trident Media Group (NA).

NYT bestselling author Robert K. Tanenbaum's ESCAPE, the 20th book in his Butch Karp legal thriller series, another provocative and topical story which blisters the use of the insanity defense pushing the limits of the law and letting murderers go unpunished, to Roger Cooper at CDS Books for hardcover North American rights, and to his longtime paperback publisher Louise Burke at Pocket for paperback reprint, by Bob Diforio at D4EO Literary Agency, in association with Michael Hamilburg at the Mitchell J. Hamilburg Agency.d4eo@optonline.net

[Note: Mike Hamilburg is one of the most respected, honest, decent agents ever...but if you submit to him, the work had better be polished..ready to submit to an editor when he asks that you send it (after you've queried) because he doesn't edit, he doesn't ask for rewrites, nor does he recommend book doctors. With Mike, it's either ready to sell or it's not.]

GENERAL/OTHER:

MEN OF BRONZE author Scott Oden's THE LION OF CAIRO, in which the ancient world's greatest empire -- the 12th century caliphate of Egypt -- begins to crumble and an assassin becomes the caliph's only hope of surviving, to Peter Wolverton at Thomas Dunne Books, in a four-book deal, by Bob Mecoy at Creative Book Services (World).

NON-FICTION/BIOGRAPHY:

Writer for Vanity Fair and Uncut and former Spin magazine senior writer Marc Spitz's GOD AND MAN, a biography of David Bowie that will chronicle his decades-long career, his impact on the current music scene, his evolution as both musician and businessman, and his enduring legacy, to Carrie Thornton at Crown, in a pre-empt, by Jim Fitzgerald at the James Fitzgerald Agency (World).Foreign: lkaplan@randomhouse.com

HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:

Investigative journalist and Middle East authority Richard Sale's CLINTON'S SECRET WARS, presenting a variety of CIA, NSA and Seal operations and Clinton's direction, first against Milosevic, then Bin Laden and Hussein, to Tom Dunne at Thomas Dunne Books, for publication in fall 2007, by Joseph Vallely at Flaming Star Literary Enterprises.

Author of Ahamd's War, Ahmad's Peace Michael Goldfarb's EMANCIPATION: How Liberating the Jews from the Ghetto Led to Revolution and Renaissance, a narrative history following what happened after the Jews were emancipated and led out of their ghettoes by Napoleon, as within a century, Marx, Freud, and Einstein had created revolutions and the likes of Proust, Schoenberg, Mahler, and Kafka redefined cultural expression, to Alice Mayhew at Simon & Schuster, by Kathleen Anderson at Anderson Literary Management (NA).kathleen@andersonliterary.com

Political scientist Alan Wolfe's WHY LIBERALISM MATTERS, a comprehensive, yet compact, Baedeker to the liberal tradition, showing why it is still as relevant as ever, and how it can provide a politics capable of moving modern society forward, to Jonathan Segal at Knopf, at auction, by Andrew Stuart at The Stuart Agency (World).

Senior Middle East correspondent for WSJ Farnaz Fassihi's untitled memoir about what life was really like in Baghdad, to Clive Priddle at Public Affairs, for publication in fall 2007, by Flip Brophy at Sterling Lord Literistic (World).

The Case for Democracy author Natan Sharansky's IDENTITY, exploring the effects of the politics of identity, inspired by his own experience as an imprisoned Soviet citizen forced to question who he was, what he stood for, and what aspect of his sense of self truly gave his life meaning, to Clive Priddle at Public Affairs, by Marvin Josephson of Josephson International (world).

HUMOR:

Peter Allison's WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T RUN, stories from the author's twelve-year career as a safari guide in Botswana, including the antics of the tourists hyped on malaria medication, the vicious animal that adopted him as a pet, and the locals who dubbed him with the African epithet, the Sexually Frustrated Elephant, among others, to Laura Strom at Globe Pequot, in a nice deal, by Kate Epstein of the Epstein Literary Agency (World).kate@epsteinliterary.com

MEMOIR:

Alan Wieder's YEAR OF THE COCK, the unapologetically frank memoir of a TV producer who abruptly leaves his wife to go experience the thrill of having money to burn and freedom to wake up wherever he wants, to Ben Greenberg at Warner, by Pilar Queen and Kim Witherspoon at Inkwell Management (World English).benjamin.greenberg@hbgusa.com

Time's Tehran correspondent and author of Lipstick Jihad and co-author of Shirin Ebadi's Iran Awakening Azadeh Moaveni's memoir about her recent return to Iran, marrying into a large Iranian family and starting a family of her own, as the political tensions between Iran and much of the world increase, to David Ebershoff at Random House, by Diana Finch (world).ctisne@randomhouse.com

REFERENCE:

Philip Dodd's THE REVEREND GUPPY'S AQUARIUM: TALES OF BRIEF LIVES AND IMMORTAL FAME, a personal journey through the stories of those who, deliberately or by chance, left their names embedded in the language and consciousness of future generations: from the Earls of Cardigan and Sandwich to Gabriele Fallopio and Candido Jacuzzi, to Erin Moore at Gotham, in a pre-empt, by Gordon Wise at Curtis Brown UK.

RELIGION/SPIRITUALITY:

Journalist Matt Baglio's THE RITE: The Making of a Modern Day Exorcist, following a priest's year long training and apprenticeship with a senior exorcist as he prepares to return to the US as one of the relatively few exorcists in the country, to Andrew Corbin at Doubleday, at auction, by Christy Fletcher of Fletcher & Parry (US).UK: Robinson Literary Agency

UK:

Michael Bywater's LIKE BROTHERS: Men and Friendship, about the strange (and usually unspoken) world of male friendship, with his 20-year friendship with Douglas Adams as the narrative spine, to George Miller to Granta, (the first of intended "big, bolder acquisitions that will appeal to an international audience" under David Graham's direction), for publication in fall 2008, by Patrick Walsh at Conville & Walsh (world).rights: arose@granta.com

FILM:

Dunstan Prial's THE PRODUCER: John Hammond and the Soul of American Music, a biography of the pioneering music producer who discovered and championed everyone from Billie Holliday, Count Basie and Benny Goodman to Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Aretha Franklin and Stevie Ray Vaughn, to Warner Bros. and Jerry Weintraub, by Endeavor, on behalf of the Martha Kaplan Agency.

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