Bit of this, bit of that in this selection of books....

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

FICTION/DEBUT:

AP editor Tim Molloy's HOW TO BREAK BAD NEWS, a humorous debut pitched
as in the vein of Nick Hornby and Christopher Buckley, about an
undercover reporter who goes to work in a fast food restaurant only to
find that he prefers it to his job in TV news, to Ken Siman at Virgin,
by Devin McIntyre at Mary Evans (world English).

MYSTERY/CRIME:

Catherine O'Connell's WELL READ AND DEAD, the sequel to WELL BRED AND
DEAD, in which neither a psychic's warning nor arson in her penthouse
can deter a Chicago society sleuth from investigating the disappearance
of a close friend, to Sarah Durand at Harper, by Helen Breitwieser at
Cornerstone Literary (world English).

GENERAL/OTHER:

Sheila Curran's LUCY VARGAS IS COMING AROUND, in which four women band
together to protect their late friend's widower and children from the
ravages of grief, rapacious relatives, and wicked stepmothers, to Emily
Bestler at Atria, by Laura Gross at Laura Gross Literary Agency (world).

NON-FICTION/BIOGRAPHY:
THE BELLS IN THEIR SILENCE author and Smith College English professor
Michael Gorra's PORTRAIT OF A NOVEL, about how a young novelist named
Henry James asserted his greatness by writing "Portrait of a Lady," his
first masterpiece, to Robert Weil of Norton, for publication in 2010, by
Steve Wasserman at Kneerim & Williams (world English).

HUMOR:

Writer for Comedy Central's Indecision2008 and winner of the Bill Hicks
Spirit Award for his stand-up comedy Jeff Kreisler's GET RICH CHEATING,
a guide to lying, cheating and stealing your way to the top of the heap,
using examples from the masters of cheating from the worlds of politics,
business, sports and celebrities, to Matt Harper at Harper Perennial, by
Jason Yarn at Paradigm (World). jyarn@paradigmagency.com

MEMOIR:

Former WWF champion Bret "The Hitman" Hart's Canadian bestseller HITMAN:
My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling, describing his life and
a series of tragedies: a concussion and a stroke, the collapse of his
marriage, and the death in the ring of his brother Owen, who perished in
a dangerous and ill-advised stunt, to Ben Greenberg at Grand Central, in
a good deal, for publication in Fall 2008, by Bruce Westwood of Westwood
Creative Artists (US).
Rights: natasha@wcaltd.com

NARRATIVE:
Journalist Lisa Davis's THE REDEMPTION OF BROTHER CURTIS, about Seattle
attorney Ted Kosnoff and the successful civil lawsuit to which he
dedicated four years of his life, to take on the Mormon church and its
defense of religious practices that place children in the path of
predators, to Colin Harrison at Scribner, by Judith Riven (world).

POP CULTURE:

Photo historian and professor Gail Buckland's WHO SHOT ROCK?:
Photographers of Rock and Roll, a history of rock and roll photography
from the 1950s to the present day, from photographers who were on the
frontlines and behind the scenes during each successive musical
revolution, to accompany a traveling exhibition curated by Buckland
starting at the Brooklyn Museum, to Victoria Wilson at Knopf, by Luke
Janklow at Janklow & Nesbit.

SPORTS:

NBC golf broadcaster Jimmy Roberts's BREAKING THE SLUMP: How Great
Players Survived their Darkest Moments in Golf -- and What You Can Learn
from Them, interviews with successful golfers (including Arnold Palmer,
Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Johnny Miller, John Daly, and Dottie Pepper,
plus such celebrity players as Michael Jordan and Bill Murray) on how
they overcame the worst slump in their careers, in hopes of ultimately
overcoming his own interminable funk and possibly learning a life lesson
or two in the process, to Doug Grad at Collins, at auction, by Scott Waxman at Waxman Literary Agency.

Wrap...