Chess champion Garry Kasparov's HOW LIFE
IMITATES CHESS, to Emily Loose at the Penguin
Press, in a significant deal, at auction, by Mark
Reiter at PFD New York (he is the collaborator as
well).
Son of one of Africa's most famous martyrs Ken
Wiwa's LAST TRAIN TO AZANIA: Africa at the End of
History, traveling the content to ask if it has lost
its place in history, to Brendan Cahill at
Gotham, in a very nice deal, by Ashton Westwood
and Natasha Daneman at Westwood Creative Artists
(US).
Freelance journalist Ruth Andrew Ellenson's THE
MODERN JEWISH GIRL'S GUIDE TO GUILT, a humorous
and provocative collection of original essays by young
Jewish women writers (including Aimee Bender,
Daphne Merkin, Dara Horn, Molly Jong-Fast,
Rebecca Walker, Rebecca Goldstein, Tova Mirvis,
Katie Roiphe, and many others) exploring all the
things that their rabbis warned them never to
discuss in public, to Julie Doughty at Dutton, by
Betsy Amster at Betsy Amster Literary Enterprises
(world).
Author of Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional
Lives of Boys Dan Kindlon's ALPHA GIRLS: Understanding
the New American Girl and How She Will Change the
World, about the "unheralded revolution" among
girls, who are "increasingly self-confident
assertive leaders," to Leigh Haber at Rodale, in
a pre-empt, for publication in January 2006, by
Suzanne Gluck at William Morris Agency
Young British economist currently working for the
World Bank Tim Harford's THE UNDERCOVER ECONOMIST,
showing how economics underpin all aspects of
everyday life, to Tim Bartlett at Oxford
University Press, in a nice deal, by Sally
Holloway at Felicity Bryan Agency (NA).
Journalist Chuck Crisafulli and Emmy-nominated
documentary filmmaker Kyra Thompson's GO TO HELL,
a savvy pop cultural exploration of the sinner's
playground, to Patrick Price at Simon Spotlight
Entertainment, for publication in fall 2005, by
Bonnie Solow at Solow Literary Enterprises.
History/Politics/Current Affairs
Noam Chomsky's FAILED STATE, about how
democracy has failed in America and the consequences
of that for this country and for the rest of the
world, to Sara Bershtel and Tom Engelhardt at
Metropolitan Books, for their American Empire
Project, for publication in early 2006, by Anthony
Arnove (world).
Biography
Rodney Bolt's LORENZO DA PONTE, a biography
of da Ponte, poet, priest, lover, libertine,
librettist for three of Mozart's most sublime operas,
friend of Casanova, and a favourite of Emperor
Joseph II, who left Europe in 1805 and opened a
Manhattan grocery shop, later becoming Columbia
University's first Professor of Italian before his
death in New Jersey in 1838, to Bill Swainson at
Bloomsbury, by David Miller at Rogers, Coleridge
& White (world; Bloomsbury USA and Berlin Verlag
will publish in their territories).
James McGrath Morris's biography of Joseph
Pulitzer, telling the life of the newspaper giant,
to Tim Duggan at Harper, by Mark Reiter at PFD New
York (NA).
Cooking
Artist/illustrator, part-time bartender,
and Ernest Hemingway's grandson Edward Hemingway
and recent Emmy nominee and writer Mark Bailey's
LITERARY LIBATIONS: A BARTENDING GUIDE TO GREAT
AMERICAN AUTHORS, a hardcover drinks guide
featuring caricatures of notable hard-drinking
American writers paired with their favorite
cocktails and excerpts from their work about
drinking, to Antonia Fusco at Algonquin, at
auction, by David Kuhn at Kuhn Projects (world).
.
James Beard and IACP Bert Greene Award-winner,
sommelier and wine writer Natalie MacLean's THE
CRUSHED GRAPE CLUB, a wine book told through
behind-the-scenes stories and insider information
about, for example, working at a winery during
the fall harvest; trailing a sommelier at a five-star
restaurant; the young women who ran the great
champagne houses at the turn of the last century;
and the journey a bottle of Beaujolais takes from
a village in southern Burgundy by plane, ship,
train, truck and foot to wine lovers around the world,
to Colin Dickerman at Bloomsbury, by Jackie
Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists (world, excl.
Canada).
Diet
Weight loss coach and author Jorge Cruise's
THE 3-HOUR DIET, guaranteeing weight loss 2
pounds per week without being deprived of any type of
food, to Stephen Hanselman at Harper Resource,
the first in a four-book series, by Ben Gage at
Gage Teeple (world).
Health
Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin's SKINNY
b*tch, promoting a vegan lifestyle that relies on
scientifically proven nutrition facts, but reads like
it was written by the offspring of a doctor, a
comedian and a truck driver, to Jennifer Kasius
at Running Press, by Talia Cohen at the Laura
Dail Literary Age
Dr. Lihua Wang's CHINESE HOME REMEDIES:
Harnessing Ancient Wisdom for Self-Healing, presenting
more than 1,000 effective, natural ways of
healing, a distillation of the author's thirty
years of clinical experiences both in China and
the US, to Michael Pye at Career Press, in a nice
deal, by Joanne Wang at Joanne Wang Agency
(world).
How-To
Star of Discovery Channel's "Toolbelt Diva"
Norma Vally's CHIX CAN FIX, a sexy, fun look at
home repair for any woman, to Kristen Jennings at
Viking Studio, in a nice deal, by Maura Teitelbaum at
Abrams Artists Agency.
Arts journalist Lisa Hunter's HOW TO BUY ART, an
insider's guide to navigating the world of
galleries, dealers and auctions, evaluating original
art, and getting it at at a fair price, aimed at
the burgeoning number of
connoisseurs-in-the-making who purchase art costing
between a few hundred dollars and $10,000, to
Katie McHugh at Three Rivers Press, at auction,
by Betsy Amster at Betsy Amster Literary Enterprises
(world).
Sonja Hakala's PATCHWORK PROSE: Quilts, Quilters
and Their Stories, a collection of personal
stories that highlight the laughter, sadness,
friendships, frustrations, triumphs, and
addiction to fabric shared by the millions who
call themselves quilters, to Anne Merrow at Thomas
Dunne/St. Martin's, in a nice deal, by Linda
Roghaar at the Linda Roghaar Literary Agency
(NA).
Humor
Wendy Bagley's SCRAPS: Adventures in
Scrapbooking, a previously self-published collection
of humorous essays about our national obsession
with scrapbooking, to Ellen Archer and Kelly
Notaras at Hyperion, in a good deal, by Jenny
Bent at Trident Media Group (world English).
Illustrated/Art
Guitarist for the indie band the Yeah Yeah
Yeahs Nick Zinner's I hope you are all happy now,
a collection of intimate photographs taken over the
last three years as his band has risen from the
underground Brooklyn rock scene to stardom, to
Becki Heller at St. Martin's, by Evil Twin
Publications.
.
Lifestyle
Globe and Mail columnist Roy MacGregor's
THE WEEKENDER, a celebration of Canadian cottage
living, for publication in summer 2005, and THE
CANADIANS, seeking to define Canada and Canadians
through a mixture of history, anecdotes and
personal observation, for publication in 2007, to
Barbara Berson at Penguin Canada, by Bruce Westwood at
Westwood Creative Artists.
Parenting
Dawna Markova's THE SMART REVOLUTION, a
step-by-step plan for parents who want their
children to live up to their full potential, based on
her SmartWired program, which posits that
children learn to succeed more through emphasis
on their strengths than correction of their
weaknesses, to Caroline Sutton at Random House
(world).
..
From the founder of "Read to Me", a literacy
program for young mothers and their babies, Susan
Straub and K. J. Dell'Antonio's READING BABIES:
Raising a Reader in a TV World, an accessible
guide for parents to reading to and with babies
and toddlers, based on the premise that it's
never too early to start raising a reader, to Bethany
Brown at Sourcebooks, by Joelle Delbourgo at
Joelle Delbourgo Associates (world).
Co-founder of moviesthatsuck.com Michael Crider's
DADA: A GUY'S GUIDE TO SURVIVING PREGNANCY,
CHILDBIRTH, AND THE FIRST YEAR OF FATHERHOOD, an
informative, humorous, yet heartwarming tale,
originally self-published through iUniverse,
reportedly selling over 20,000 copies in two years,
to Marnie Cochran at Da Capo, in a nice deal, for
publication in June 2005, by Frank Weimann at The
Literary Group (world).
Pop Culture
Chicago Sun-Times music critic Jim
DeRogatis's STARING AT SOUND: The True Story of
Oklahoma's Fabulous Flaming Lips, a biography of
the rock band The Flaming Lips, from its
underground indie-rock formation in 1983 to the
present, where its loyal fans include Paul McCartney,
the Rolling Stones, Radiohead, and fellow tour
buddy Beck, written with the band's cooperation,
to Gerald Howard at Broadway, for publication in
fall 2005, by Chris Calhoun at Sterling Lord
Literistic.
Music journalist Marcus Reeves's SOMEBODY SCREAM:
Rap Music's Rise in the Aftershock of Black
Power, exploring whether, and how, rap music became a
tool for political expression in the aftermath of
the black power movement, examining the potent
message of Public Enemy to Eminem and beyond, to
Ayesha Pande for Faber and Faber, by Manie Barron
(NA).
Henry Chancellor and Ian Fleming Publications'
JAMES BOND: the Man and His World, using the Fleming
archive to explore the three dimensional world of
this quintessential master spy, a complete,
authoritative, illustrative and entertaining
journey through the world of the original James Bond,
to Gordon Wise at John Murray, for publication in
September 2005 (world).
Rights: briar.silich@h...
Spin, Salon and Wired writer Greg Milner's
PERFECTING SOUND FOREVER, an historical examination
of how we listen to and understand recorded music,
with a focus on the innovators, musicians, and
producers who changed the way we hear our
favorite songs, from Edison to Les Paul, Phil Spector,
Neil Young, and King Tubby (the inventor of the
Dub remix), to Denise Oswald at Faber and Faber,
at auction, from Daniel Greenberg at Levine
Greenberg Literary Agency (NA).
Reference
Harry Sieber's compilation THE WIT AND
WISDOM OF DON QUIXOTE DE LA MANCHA, a collection
of piquant proverbs, witticisms, and insight from the
classic novel, to Holly McGuire at McGraw-Hill,
in a nice deal, for publication in January 2005.
Religion/Spirituality
Dr. Michael Brewer's STRAIGHT AND TRUE: A
CARPENTER LOOKS AT THE TEACHINGS OF THE MASTER
CARPENTER, examining how Jesus' early life as a
carpenter shaped his ministry and teachings,
offering a fresh perspective for interpreting his
words, to Bruce Nygren at WaterBrook, by Deidre
Knight at The Knight Agency (world).
Radio broadcaster Dick Staub's CHRISTIAN WISDOM
OF THE JEDI MASTERS, identifying spiritual themes
in Star Wars that echo Christian theological truths,
and THE CULTURALLY SAVVY CHRISTIAN: OUR SPIRITUAL
JOURNEY THROUGH POPULAR CULTURE, showing
Christians why thoughtful and critical engagement
with culture is essential in their lives of faith, to
Julianna Gustafson at Jossey-Bass (world).
Science
Mark Pendergrast's BIOWARRIORS, a close-up
look at the little-known investigative enterprise
known as EIS (Epidemic Intelligence Service),
dedicated to identifying and stopping the spread
of epidemics known and hitherto unimagined, to
Andrea Schulz at Harcourt, by Lisa Bankoff at ICM
(NA).
Sports
Golf Digest editor and author of the
bestselling "And Then Jack Said to Arnie..."
series Don Wade's untitled next book, a collection of
the greatest true stories and anecdotes about
gambling on golf, with tales from the
contemporary professional tours to stories about
celebrities to classic hustling stories from the
game's glory days, to Jofie Ferrari-Adler at
Thunder's Mouth, by Tara Mark at RLR Associates
(world English).
TV
A half-hour TV series based on Anthony
Bourdain's KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL, to Fox, with New
Line TV, Darren Star Prods. and 20th Century Fox
Television producing, and Darren Star directing.
UK rights to four books in a new series
created by Dean Koontz, DEAN KOONTZ'S FRANKENSTEIN,
based on a contemporary retelling of the
Frankenstein story and co-written by New York
Times best-selling author Kevin J. Anderson, to
HarperCollins UK, in a major deal, by Kimberly Whalen
at Trident Media Group.
Sean Stewart's FIRECRACKER, recently published in
the US by Small Beer Press as Perfect Circle, the
story of a 32-year-old, Texan, slightly feckless,
divorced father-of-one, who can see dead people
and whose attempts to come to grips with his
ghosts, both actual and metaphorical, to Helen
Garnons-Williams at Orion, by John Parker at MBA, on
behalf of Martha Millard (UK/Commonwealth).
