An Interesting mess of books...

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

FICTION...
DEBUT:

Imogen Robertson's INSTRUMENTS OF DARKNESS, featuring a reclusive anatomist and a sea captain's wife cum country estate mistress, who combine efforts to discover the truth behind a series of brutal murders all linked to the mysterious Thornleigh Hall, to Pamela Dorman at Pamela Dorman Books, in a two-book deal, by Headline Publishing Group (US).
Jane Morpeth at Review acquired world rights.
Translation: Joanna Kaliszewska at Headline

29-year-old Emma Rathbone's debut novel THE PATTERNS OF PAPER MONSTERS, about an anguished yet observant 17-year-old boy trapped in a juvenile detention center, to Oliver Haslegrave at Reagan Arthur Books, for publication in 2010, by Jim Rutman at Sterling Lord Literistic (NA).

Tiphanie Yanique's HOW TO ESCAPE FROM A LEPER COLONY, a short story collection set mostly in the US Virgin Islands, part oral history, part postcolonial narrative, a loving portrait of a wholly unique place, to Fiona McCrae at Graywolf, for publication in March 2010, by Elise Capron at Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency (World).

GENERAL/OTHER:

Dieter Schlesak's CAPESIUS: the Chemist of Auschwitz, about the personal encounter between victims and perpetrator that used to be next-door neighbors, based on a true story, blending narrative, documentation and flashbacks based on interviews, letters and recordings, to Jonathan Galassi at Farrar, Straus, in a nice deal, by Piergiorgio Nicolazzini at Piergiorgio Nicolazzini Literary Agency (world English).
Translation: piergiorgio.nicolazzini@pnla.it

Author of Dear American Airlines Jonathan Miles' WANT NOT, a darkly comic novel that traces the lives of three characters, a dumpster-diving freegan, a 9/11 widow recently remarried, and a linguistics expert charged with determining a way to warn future generations about this generation's nuclear waste, as each searches for fulfillment amidst the detritus and excess of everyday life until their worlds collide, to Susan Canavan at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, for publication in 2011, by Sloan Harris at ICM.

UC Irvine MFA and book editor Brando Skyhorse's novel in stories, AMEXICANS, for publication in June 2010, and a memoir, THINGS MY FATHERS TAUGHT ME, for publication in October 2011, to Amber Qureshi at Free Press, at auction, by Susan Golomb at Susan Golomb Agency.

Lisa Moore's FEBRUARY, about complex love and cauterizing grief, set around the disastrous sinking of an oil rig off the coast of Newfoundland, to Elisabeth Schmitz at Grove/Atlantic, for publication in February 2010, by House of Anansi Press (US). All other rights are with Anne McDermid Associates.

THE TEN BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE author Adena Halpern's 29, in which a 75-year old woman gets one day of youth, and brings her family together in surprising and inspiring ways, to Trish Lande Grader at Touchstone Fireside, in a two-book deal, for publication in Spring 2010, by Brian DeFiore at DeFiore and Company (NA).

NON-FICTION...
BIOGRAPHY:

NYT bestselling author of IMPERIAL HUBRIS and MARCHING TOWARD HELL and former head of the CIA's Osama bin Laden Unit Michael Scheuer's OSAMA BIN LADEN: A biography, showing bin Laden to be a talented and ruthless politician and a formidable enemy the West has seriously underestimated, to Tim Bent at Oxford University Press, by Stuart Krichevsky at the Stuart Krichevsky Agency (World).

Whitbread award-winning historian John Guy's biography of Thomas Becket: once a close friend and advisor to Henry II then fierce opponent and martyred victim, the story of one man's fierce resistance to the overwhelming forces of government still resonates today, to John Flicker at Random House, by Grainne Fox at Fletcher & Company, on behalf of Peter Robinson in the UK (NA).

BUSINESS/INVESTING/FINANCE:

Chairman Emeritus of AOL; owner of many sports teams including the Washington Capitals [NHL]; documentary film producer; philanthropist; and serial entrepreneur Ted Leonsis's THE BUSINESS OF HAPPINESS, which explains the connection between personal happiness and professional success, with contributions from major celebrities (Robert Redford, Bono, Ashley Judd, etc.), to Marji Ross at Regnery, by Laney Katz Becker and Jeff Kleinman at Folio Literary Management (NA).

COOKING:

Bon Appetit's THE BON APPETIT DESSERTS COOKBOOK, a comprehensive guide to all things sweet and wonderful, with more than 850 recipes, to Kirsty Melville at Andrews McMeel.

HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:

Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal's book about his life, "lessons I've learned throughout my life," and policy ideas, written with Peter Schweizer, to Regnery, for publication in 2010, by Glen Hartley at Writers' Representatives.

Evan Mandery's THE KILLING COURT, the story of two landmark Supreme Court cases: Furman v Georgia in 1972 that abolished the death penalty and Gregg v Georgia that reinstated it a mere four years later, focusing on the people involved: the justices themselves, the lawyers and the plaintiffs; and, what happened in those four years that made the Court "change its mind," to Christopher Lehmann-Haupt at Delphinium, in a nice deal, for publication in 2011, by Janet Reid at FinePrint Literary Management.

MEMOIR:

THE GHOSTS OF MISSISSIPPI author Dean Faulkner Wells' THE PILOT'S DAUGHTER: A Memoir of the Faulkners of Mississippi, in which William Faulkner's niece tells the story of growing up as the famous author's surrogate daughter, providing insights into both William and the Faulkner family which have never been published, to John Glusman at Harmony, at auction, by Jeff Kleinman at Folio Literary Management (NA). Rights: Celeste Fine at Folio Literary Management.

NARRATIVE:

Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson's THE GREAT TYPO HUNT: Changing The World, One Punctuation Error at a Time, in which two young men set off on a quest to right the wrongs of punctuation, and find more than they'd bargained for (the typos become a window into history, education, racism, and life), until they correct one error and fall onto the wrong side of the law, to Julia Pastore at Harmony, in a pre-empt, by Jeff Kleinman at Folio Literary Management (World English).
Translation: Celeste Fine of Folio Literary Management

Judy Dutton's SCIENCE FAIR SEASON, detailing the secret lives of kids competing in the high-stakes world of international science fairs and what it takes to win, to Sarah Landis at Hyperion, in a pre-empt, by Douglas Stewart at Sterling Lord Literistic (NA).

SPORTS:

New York Magazine's sports columnist and the founder of Deadspin.com Will Leitch's BASEBALL 2.0: Fathers, Sons, and the Great Game in the New Century, assessing various beloved aspects of the game -- from umpires (a disproportionate number of whom apparently live with their mothers) to statistical trends, all the while experiencing, with his dad and his buddy, a contest that will decide each team's season, to Will Balliett at Hyperion, for publication on Father's Day 2010, by David Gernert at The Gernert Company (NA).

Wrap...