Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Big Bunch of Coming Books...

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

FICTION/DEBUT:

Rhodes scholar Chaya Bhuvaneswar's JACKSON HEIGHTS, about two Indian-American girls' gritty coming of age journey one summer, as they discover the stark realities of sex trafficking from South Asia into New York's immigrant Indian community and investigate the mysterious death of a girl their age, to Cindy Spiegel at Spiegel & Grau, by Emma Sweeney at Emma Sweeney Agency (NA).

THRILLER:

Former FBI agent Noah Boyd's THE BRICKLAYER, featuring an ex-FBI agent who's brought back in by the Bureau to solve a brilliant and deadly extortion plot -- pitched as reminiscent of John Sandford's and Lee Child's bestsellers, to David Highfill at William Morrow, in a pre-empt, for publication in January 2010, by Esther Newberg at ICM (NA).

UK rights to Wayne Brookes at Harper UK, in a pre-empt, by Jonny Geller.

GENERAL/OTHER:

Jim Powell's THE BREAKING OF EGGS, the tale of a 60-something, left-leaning misanthrope who has made his living publishing a yearly tourist guide to Eastern Europe; after a rapacious American publishing conglomerate offers to buy out his travel guide, he journeys out into the world to discover that many of his conceptions about people and politics may be incorrect and that the story of his family may be very different from what he imagined to Arzu Tahsin at Weidenfeld & Nicolson (world), in a pre-empt, by Conville & Walsh, and to Stephen Morrison at Penguin, in a pre-empt (world).

Foreign rights to Einaudi in Italy and HR Ferdinand in Denmark, by Susan Howe at Orion.

NONFICTION...
HISTORY/POLITICS/CURRENT AFFAIRS:

Investigative journalist Misha Glenny's THE WORM, explore the new frontiers of crime and politics in an increasingly networked world, to Dan Frank at Pantheon, in a significant deal; to Will Sulkin at the Bodley Head (UK); and to Sarah Maclachlan at House of Anansi, in a very nice deal (Canada); by Clare Conville at Conville & Walsh.

Israeli rights to Ilai Melzer at Books in the Attic, Dutch rights to Haye Koningsfeld at Ambo Anthos, Brazilian rights to Luis Schwartz at Companhia das Letras, German rights to Julia Hoffman at DVA, and Spanish rights to Ramon Perello at Destino.

HUMOR:

Actor, producer, and standup comic Jay Mohr's humorous stories of modern fatherhood, including his adventures in test-tube baby conception, as waxes poetic about dirty diapers, spins theories on to spank or not to spank, and ponders questions like "why do kids all wake up so damn early? It's as if they are all preparing for life as longshoremen," to David Rosenthal and Kerri Kolen at Simon & Schusterr, for publication in 2010, by Lydia Wills at Paradigm.

LIFESTYLE:

Style writer and children's book author Lesley Blume's first adult book, based on her popular Huffington Post column Let's Bring Back..., offering an amusing and illuminating illustrated encyclopedia of objects, rituals, and ideas from the past that can (and should) be used to better modern life, from fainting couches and courting candles to powder puffs, limericks, and sealing wax, to Emily Haynes at Chronicle, in a very nice deal, for publication in Fall 2010, by Kate Lee at ICM (World English).

MEMOIR:

Barbara Sinatra's MY LIFE WITH FRANK, an honest but loving portrait of life with her late husband, Frank Sinatra, whom she was married to from 1976 until his death in 1998, co-written by Wendy Holden, to Shaye Areheart at Harmony, for publication in 2010, by Alan Nevins at Renaissance (world).

Real Simple marketing executive Sarah Ellis and guitarist for the rock band Antigone Rising Kristen Henderson's TIMES TWO, the sweet, humorous, inspiring story of two women in love who want to have a family together, try for years to get pregnant, and then finally do -- both of them, at the exact same time -- revealing the human side of the gay marriage controversy and the changing face of modern families, to Wylie O'Sullivan at Free Press, for publication in Spring 2011, by Larry Weissman of Larry Weissman Literary (NA).

NARRATIVE:

Andrew Blackwell's VISIT SUNNY CHERNOBYL (and Other Adventures in the World's Worst Environments), an adventurous, thought-provoking romp through the world's most polluted places; equal parts travelogue, expose, environmental meditation, and faux-guidebook, careening through a rogue's gallery of environmental disaster areas in search of the worst the world has to offer -- and our part in it, to Colin Dickerman at Rodale, at auction, by Michelle Tessler at Tessler Literary Agency (NA).

SPORTS:

NYT columnist Harvey Araton's WHEN THE GARDEN WAS PARADISE, a Boys of Summer-like account of the New York Knicks championship teams of the early 70's which featured Willis Reed, Walt Frazier, Bill Bradley, Dave DeBusschere and Earl Monroe and how they presaged the future of the NBA, to David Hirshey at Harper, by Andrew Blauner of the Blauner Books Literary Agency.

Wrap...

2 comments:

Philip O'Mara said...

Read a great new sporting comedy, entitled Classes Apart.
This is an adult sporting comedy that follows the fortunes of Paul Marriot, the secretary of the Barnstorm Village Sunday soccer team and coach of a school cricket team in Yorkshire, England. The story describes the remarkable camaraderie between the players and supporters of this little club and their desire to achieve success. The team had previously been known more for its antics off the field, rather than their performances on it.

During his time at the club he meets and becomes involved with Emma Potter, who is the sister of James Potter, a major player for their bitter rivals Moortown Inn. Thus, begins an entangled web of romance and conflict. He also begins working at Derry High School, a school with a poor reputation of academic success, where he becomes coach of the school cricket team. Here he develops an amazing relationship with the children and they embark on an epic journey.
www.eloquentbooks.com/ClassesApart.html

Watch 'n Wait said...

Hi Philip! Always super to hear about good new books. Thanks so much for telling us about this one.