An Extravagant Mix of Books.....

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

FICTION/DEBUT:

Shawna Yang Ryan's LOCKE 1928, which weaves history and mythology around a community of Chinese immigrants in a small California town in 1928, exploring the lives of a beautiful young prostitute in love with the preacher's daughter; a husband and wife mysteriously reunited after ten years; a lovesick brothel owner who can see into the past and the future, and the ghosts haunting them all, to Jane Fleming at Penguin Press, at auction, by Daniel Lazar at Writers House (NA).

GENERAL/OTHER:

John Parker, Jr.'s ONCE A RUNNER, the story of a college senior who gives up everything in his life and submits to a brutal training regimen in a quest to become a world champion, originally published in 1978 andBookfinder's most in demand out of print book last year, to Brant Rumbleat Scribner, by Byrd Leavell at the Waxman Literary Agency (NA).

J. Robert Lennon's CASTLE, in which a military veteran returns to his home town to repair an old house and discovers a mysterious structure in the nearby woods, and PIECES FOR THE LEFT HAND, a story collection, to Ethan Nosowsky at Graywolf, for publication in Spring 2009, by Jim Rutman at Sterling Lord Literistic (NA).

YOUR BODY IS CHANGING and AWESOME author Jack Pendarvis's SHUT UP, UGLY, an accidental detective story, relating the adventures of a would-be adulterer who, while hiding from a psychopathic husband in a dubious bed-and-breakfast, is mistaken for a private eye and eagerly fakes his way into an exciting and dangerous new life, again to MacAdam/Cage, with David Adams editing, for publication in 2009, by Paul Bresnick at Paul Bresnick Agency (world).

Celebutantes authors Amanda Goldberg and Ruthanna Khalighi Hopper's CELEBUTANTES: Take Deux, which takes the trio of Hollywood insiders to the Cannes Film Festival, to Jennifer Weis at St. Martin's, by Deborah Schneider at Gelfman Schneider (NA).UK rights to Susan Lamb at Orion.

WE ARE ALL FINE HERE author Mary Guterson's I HOPE YOU'RE VERY HAPPY, about a young woman recovering from a breakup with the "help" of her meddling mother, her clueless father, and a golden retriever she's dognapped from her ex-boyfriend, to Hilary Rubin Teeman at St. Martin's, by Sarah Burnes at The Gernert Company (NA).

T. Greenwood's TWO RIVERS, about a good man who has done a terrible thing, to Peter Senftleben at Kensington, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in February 2009, by Henry Dunow at Dunow, Carlson & Lerner (World).

CHILDREN'S/YOUNG ADULT:

Sarwat Chadda's THE DEVIL'S KISS, the story of a fifteen-year-old girl conscripted into the modern-day remnant of the Knights Templar, to Donna Bray at Hyperion, in a major deal, for publication in Fall 2009, and to Lindsey Heaven at Puffin, in a very nice deal, sold simultaneously, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication Spring 2009, by former Macmillan UK children's publishing director Sarah Davies in her first deal at her Greenhouse Literary Agency. Foreign: AlexandraDevlin@rightspeople.com

NON-FICTION/BUSINESS, INVESTING, FINANCE:

The Last Tycoons author William Cohan's MELTDOWN, examining the collapse of Bear Stearns in the broader context of the present financial crisis, using it as a canvas to explore why we are yet again facing a disastrous financial bust after a heady financial boom" and what, if anything, should be done to prevent a recurrence, to Bill Thomas at Doubleday, by Joy Harris of the Joy Harris Agency (world English).

HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:

Pulitzer Prize-winner, Philadelphia Daily News writer, and writer of the blog Attytood's Will Bunch's THE REAGAN MYTH MACHINE: The Legend of Ronald Reagan and the Threat to the American Presidency, a breakdown of the key myths about the 40th president and his record, identifying the intentional creation of a cult of personality in the 1990s and the 2000s and, most notably, their use in the 2008 presidential race, to Martin Beiser at Free Press, for publication in early 2009, by Will Lippincottat Lippincott Massie McQuilkin (World).

HUMOR:

Oonagh O'Hagan's I LICK MY CHEESE, the humorous guide for roommates, in all their weirdness, told through the notes they leave each other, to David Cashion of Abrams Image, at auction, by Peter McGuigan of Foundry Literary + Media, on behalf of Gordon Wise of Curtis Brown.

MEMOIR:

Nine-time Grand Slam tennis winner and current contestant on 'Dancing with the Stars' Monica Seles's memoir, exploring her journey of brilliant tennis, fame, tragedy, loss and self-discovery, to Megan Newman at Avery, at auction, for publication in March 2009, by Dana Beckat Bill Adler Books.

NYT bestselling author Charles Brandt and Special Agent Lin DeVecchio's WE'RE GOING TO WIN THIS THING, a true account of DeVecchio's life inside the organized crime world and his groundbreaking acquittal, to Denise Silvestro at Penguin, by Frank Weimann at The Literary Group.
[NOTE: Weimann runs an excellent agency]

NARRATIVE:

Leading Boston divorce attorney Gerald Nissenbaum's MONEY TO BURN, an insider's perspective on the world of divorce among the extravagantly wealthy, co-written with IN MY BLOOD author John Sedgwick, to Luke Dempsey at Hudson Street Press, in a pre-empt, by Dan Conaway at Writers House (NA).

POP CULTURE:

Jason Zinoman's SHOCK VALUE, based on his recent Vanity Fair article, offering a definitive look at the golden age of the modern horror movie by examining the infamous directors who revolutionized the business, exploded taboos, and brought a new brand of intellectualism and politics to the genre, to Jane Fleming at Penguin Press, by Farley Chase at the Waxman Literary Agency (NA).

Wrap...