Selection of Very Different Books...

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

FICTION...

DEBUT:

Richard Harvell's THE BELLS, the confession of a thief, kidnapper, and unlikely lover, a boy with the voice of an angel whose exquisite sense of hearing became his life's greatest blessing and curse -- he escapes his murderous father and finds refuge in a church choir, only to endure becoming one of the world's most famous castrati -- to Sarah Knight at Shaye Areheart Books, in a pre-empt, by Daniel Lazar at Writers House, for publication in Fall 2010 (world).
Canadian rights to Anne Collins at Random House Canada, at auction, by Daniel Lazar.

Helen Simonson's MAJOR PETTIGREW'S LAST STAND, set in the English countryside, about a retired British Major and a Pakistani shopkeeper whose shared love for Kipling draws them together, but whose romance scandalizes the small village they live in, to Susan Kamil at Random House, in a pre-empt, for publication in 2010, by Julie Barer at Barer Literary (NA).

Gin Phillips' Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award-winning debut novel THE WELL AND THE MINE, set in a small Alabama coal-mining town during the Depression, exploring the value of community, charity, family, and hope during a time of hardship, to Geoff Kloske at Riverhead, for republication in trade paperback in April 2009, by Hawthorne Books & Literary Arts (world).

SCI-FI/FANTASY:

Tad Williams's SLEEPING LATE ON JUDGMENT DAY, HAPPY HOUR IN HELL, and ANGELS RUSH IN, a new urban fantasy series about an afterline investigator, who searches for a missing soul and finds himself caught in a battle much larger than he could have imagined, to Betsy Wollheim at Daw, by Matt Bialer at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates (NA).

THRILLER:

Author of CITY OF THE SUN and the forthcoming WHERE THE DEAD LAY David Levien's next two thrillers, to Jason Kaufman at Doubleday, by David Gernert at The Gernert Company.

GENERAL/OTHER:

Lola Shoneyin's THE SECRET LIFE OF BABA SEGI'S WIVES, a Nigerian Big Love, about the unexpected consequences that result when a polygamist brings home a fourth wife who is not only younger, but a college graduate, to Carrie Feron at William Morrow, in a pre-empt, by Ayesha Pande at Collins Literary.
UK: Jessica Woollard at The Marsh Agency

Monica McInerney's AT HOME WITH THE ARKWRIGHTS, following four adult siblings as the compete for their family inheritance, to Laura Ford at Ballantine, in a very nice deal, for publication in 2011, by Grainne Fox at Fletcher & Company, on behalf of Jonathan Lloyd at Curtis Brown UK (US.)

CHILDREN'S/PICTURE BOOK:

NFL stars and brothers Peyton Manning and Eli Manning, along with their father, retired quarterback Archie Manning's FAMILY HUDDLE, about the brothers and their family, to Scholastic, for publication in September 2009.
Peyton and Eli Manning will also serve as the first Scholastic Book Clubs' ClassroomsCare Ambassadors of Reading, and Scholastic will donate up to one million books in the Manning name to children who might not otherwise have access to quality children's books.

High-school teacher and sister of President Obama, Maya Soetoro-Ng's LADDER TO THE MOON, wonders what her four-year-old daughter might have learned from her grandmother had the two ever met, celebrating her mother's enduring legacy of service, to Karen Lotz at Candlewick, by Jennifer Gates at Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency.

BUSINESS/INVESTING/FINANCE:

CONFESSIONS OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN author John Perkins' PERSPECTIVES OF AN ECONOMIC HIT MAN, an insider's perspective on the events that created the current economic crises and the solutions for the future, to Roger Scholl at Broadway, for publication in Fall 2009, by Paul Fedorko at Trident Media Group (World).

HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:

Author of STRAPLESS Deborah Davis's BOOKER T. COMES TO WASHINGTON: The Infamous White House Dinner, the Scandal that Followed, and the Unlikely Partnership that Transformed America, using the story of the first time a black man had dinner in the White House as a window into 1901 America, the backstory of blacks who served in the White House (and occasionally penned the White House tell all), and the remarkable rise and partnership of Booker T. Washington and the host President Theodore Roosevelt, to Peter Borland at Atria, in a pre-empt, in a good deal, by Scott Waxman at Waxman Literary Agency.

MEMOIR:

Emmy award-winning journalist Rita Cosby's HEROES AMONG US, a deeply personal story of courage, humanity, and history, to Anthony Ziccardi at Pocket, with Abby Ziddle editing, for Spring 2010 publication, by Steve Troha and David Vigliano at Vigliano Associates (NA).

Wrap....