Hot Deals: St. Martin's Press Springs for Jerry
Judy Quinn -- 6/29/98
Like it or not, his rabble-rousing talk show toppled Oprah in the ratings (the first to do so in 10 years), and now Jerry Springer is going for media-celeb author status. Springer's Ringmaster!, which will glance at the former Cincinnati councilman and mayor's life but primarily will look behind the scenes of his number-one-rated fake-fight-fest, will be rushed by St. Martin's for a November 10 laydown.William Morris agent Dan Strone had shopped this book to a variety of interested publishers in recent weeks, but it was SMP executive editor Jennifer Weis's rumored seven-figure bid that clinched the deal. Springer and cowriter Laura Morton, who co-authored Marilu Henner's Total Health Makeover and Joan Lunden's Healthy Cooking, now have to scramble to flesh out the proposal. The speedy publication-for what is for SMP a significant and rare seven-figure celebrity book investment -- will time the book to coincide with November TV sweeps and, believe it or not, to precede a movie Springer is shooting about his show, which is currently in the works. St. Martin's plans an ambitious 250,000-copy first printing -- a mere quarter of the number already sold of Springer's Too Hot for TV video. SMP has also just sold British rights (to Boxtree), and other foreign deals, particularly in countries where Springer's show is broadcast, are expected to follow. Back To News---> |
