Thursday, October 25, 2007

Some really good books on the way...

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

FICTION: SCI-FI FANTASY:

Diana Paxson's SWORD OF AVALON, a posthumous sequel to Marion Zimmer Bradley's MISTS OF AVALON, dealing with the origins of Excalibur, to Anne Sowards at Roc, in a good deal, for publication in Fall 2009, by Russell Galen at Scovil Chichak Galen Literary Agency (NA).
Foreign: barorint@aol.com

THRILLER:

Brunonia Barry's originally self-published debut supernatural thriller THE LACE READER, about a woman who can see the future by reading patterns in lace who returns home to Salem, Massachusetts after her great-aunt goes missing, to Laurie Chittenden at William Morrow, in a major deal, reportedly for $2 million (NY Mag), at auction, by Rebecca Oliver at Endeavor (world English).

GENERAL/OTHER:

German rights to journalist and arts critic Peter Murphy's JOHN THE REVELATOR, to Suhrkamp Insel Verlag, in a nice deal, by Lisa Baker of Faber & Faber.

Emily Fox Gordon's novel IT WILL COME TO ME, a comic tale set on a southern college campus, about a faculty wife trying to recapture her early literary success and reclaim her identity, for publication in spring 2009, and an essay collection, THE PRODIGAL RETURNS, including pieces that have appeared in the Best American Essays and Pushcart anthologies, with an introduction by Philip Lopate, to Julie Grau at Spiegel & Grau, by Elyse Cheney at Elyse Cheney Agency (US).

Dr. David Casarett's LAST ACTS, a look at the ways in which people spend their final days, to Bob Bender at Simon & Schuster, by Howard Yoon and Gail Ross of the Gail Ross Literary Agency (NA).
UK/translation: Anna Stein

Tamerlane author Justin Marozzi's HERODOTUS AND HIS HISTORY, with Digressions, exploring and evoking the world of Herodotus -- the places he visited and the history he wrote -- with abundant digressions on the legacy and spirit of the father of history, and the literary art he created, to Robert Pigeon at Da Capo, for publication in Fall 2008, by Georgina Capel at Capel & Land (NA).

Ellie Kay's HEROES AT HOME: Help & Hope for America's Military Families, a second revised edition of this book about military families (over 70,000 sold), to Julie Smith at Bethany House, in a nice deal, for publication in 2008, by Steve Laube at the Steve Laube Agency (world).

CHILDREN'S/YOUNG ADULT:

NYT bestselling author of CROSS MY HEART AND HOPE TO SPY and I'D TELL YOU I LOVE YOU BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO KILL YOU Ally Carter's next Gallagher Girls novel and the first book in a new YA series pitched as Ocean's 11 meets Veronica Mars, about a girl from a family of high-end conmen who must choose between leaving the family business or saving her art thief father by pulling one last heist, again to Donna Bray at Hyperion Children's, by Kristin Nelson at Nelson Literary Agency (NA).
UK & Translation: jenny@meyerlit.com
Asian: wlee@fieldingagency.com

NON-FICTION/BIOGRAPHY:

Former WSJ Supreme Court reporter Steve Wermiel and Seth Stern's biography of Supreme Court Justice William Brennan, considered to be the driving force behind the Earl Warren court and renowned -- and vilified -- for his stands on abortion, the death penalty, the constitutional right to privacy, and gender discrimination (before his death in 1997 Brennan granted Wermiel unprecedented access to speeches, letters, and other documents that won't be available to the public until 2017), to Deanne Urmy at Houghton Mifflin, for publication in 2010, by Gail Ross at Gail Ross Literary Agency (NA).

BUSINESS/INVESTING/FINANCE:

Macroeconomic advisor to investors including George Soros and Stanley Druckenmiller and finance and foreign ministers and central bankers in David Smick's book on the global liquidity crisis, to Adrian Zackheim and Jeffrey Krames at Portfolio, for publication in 2008, by Fredrica Friedman at Fredrica S. Friedman and Company.

Matthew May's THE POWER OF THE MISSING PIECE, a follow-up to the author's The Elegant Solution, to Roger Scholl at Doubleday Currency,by John Willig at Literary Services (world). john@LiteraryServicesInc.com

RISE OF THE CREATIVE CLASS, FLIGHT OF THE CREATIVE CLASS author Richard Florida's WHO'S YOUR CITY?, showing why the different regions of the US and the world are growing increasingly divergent -- culturally, economically, and in their inhabitants' personalities -- and also shows readers how to choose the right place for their ambitions and life-stage, to William Frucht at Basic, for publication in Spring 2008, by Susan Schulman (NA).

HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:

Lauren Weber's CHEAP: The Biography of a Misunderstood Virtue, covering more than 200 years of American history, to present arguments and observations about our ever-evolving conception of thrift and stories of the frugal, both famous and obscure -- moving between the collective and subjective stories of how we save and spend money, to John Parsley at Little, Brown, for publication in 2010, by Rob McQuilkin at Lippincott Massie McQuilkin (NA).

Former Democratic fundraiser Kathleen Willey's TARGET: Caught in the Crosshairs of Bill and Hillary Clinton, her story of how Bill Clinton sexually assaulted her in the White House, along with what's called new evidence that Hillary Clinton orchestrated a campaign of threats and intimidation to cover it up, to Eric Jackson at World Ahead, for publication in November 2007, by Anu Hansen at Atmarr Services.

WHISKEY REBELLION author William Hogeland's DECLARATION, a narrative about the 10-week struggle in 1776 Philadelphia where street fights, crazed posses, and backroom dealings forged the uneasy partnership of prominent Founders and radicals that was ultimately responsible for the Declaration of Independence, to Bob Bender at Simon & Schuster, by Eric Lupfer at William Morris Agency.

HUMOR:

Colin Nissan and Sean Farrell's DON'T BE THAT GUY: 51 Annoying Guys We All Know, an illustrated collection of regrettable males, to Adam Korn at Three Rivers Press, for publication in fall 2008, by Jason Anthony at Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency (World).

MEMOIR:

Widow of Philadelphia police officer murdered 26 years ago Maureen Faulkner and lawyer Michael Smerconish's MURDERED BY MUMIA: A Life Sentence of Loss, Lies, and Injustice, about her battle against a political, cultural, and media machine "that has systematically remade Mumia Abu-Jamal from a street thug who murdered a cop into an international celebrity," (Abu-Jamal's attorneys are on their final appeal of his death sentence), to Gene Brissie at Lyons Press, for six figures, for publication in December 2007, by Larry Kirshbaum at LJK Literary Management.

Manny Howard's GREEN ACRE, his account of how he turned his Brooklyn backyard into a farm -- a story about consumption and production, family and community, and the virtues and pitfalls of a good old-fashioned can-do approach to life and work in a demanding urban environment and an ever-changing world, to Brant Rumble at Scribner, at auction, by Chris Parris-Lamb at The Gernert Company (NA).

Film submission is currently underway with Kassie Evashevski at UTA.

Miranda Weiss's POINT POSSESSION: Navigating an Alaskan Life, about her move to Homer, Alaska, where many people still live traditional, rural and subsistence lifestyles, and learning to live in a place where know-how is currency and a novice's mistakes can kill you (among the things she learned: how to read a map, how to read the tides, how to build a boat and house, how to grow and catch food, how to embrace fear, and how to be alone), to Gillian Blake at Bloomsbury, by Kris Dahl at ICM (NA).

SCIENCE:
Lynn Darling's A SENSE OF DIRECTION, a wide-ranging study of navigation and direction, revealing the importance of knowing one's way: why North is noble, why West is fateful, and how our biological instincts have been shaped over time, to Gillian Blake at Bloomsbury, by Flip Brophy at Sterling Lord Literistic (world English; German).

SPORTS:

Fulbright scholar and journalist Michael Scott Moore's SWEETNESS AND BLOOD: The Spread of Surfing Across the Globe, numerous untold stories embedded in surfing's remarkable transformation from ancient tradition to world phenomenon, to Karen Rinaldi and Lindsay Sagnette at Bloomsbury, by Elizabeth Sheinkman at Curtis Brown UK.

Wrap...

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