Judy Blume Moves 'Fudge'

The popular children's author (who hasn't written a kids' book in 12 years) will do a new one in her bestselling Fudge series, and will move the four previous Fudge titles over to Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers under the terms of a deal worked out between her agent, Owen Laster at William Morris, and Young Readers president Douglas Whiteman. Dell had previously published the books, beginning with Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing in 1972 and ending with Fudge-a-Mania in 1990; the new one will be called Double Fudge and will appear in hardcover in September; the others will be Puffin paperbacks next year. Three of the previous Fudge titles were on our kids' all-time bestseller list, selling nearly 16 million copies collectively in paperback.

Another move to the Penguin Putnam group, from Random, was that of novelist Neil Gordon, signed up by Viking senior editor Molly Stern for a new novel called The Sea of Green. It's set in the near future, featuring a father who must explain to his daughter why he once abandoned her to join the Weather Underground in the '60s, and examines issues of family and political allegiances. Gordon's previous novels, The Sacrifice of Isaac and The Gunrunner's Daughter, were both well received; he is a well-known book reviewer and current literary editor of the Boston Review. The sale, of North American rights, was made by Eric Simonoff at Janklow & Nesbit, and publication is set for next summer.