Short Takes

Yaacov Lozowick, director of the Vad Yashem Holocaust Archive in Jerusalem, has written a history of his often-changing views of his country and its struggles over the past 30 years, and agent Jimmy Vines sold it, U.S. and Canadian rights, to Adam Bellow at Doubleday.... At Public Affairs, executive editor Paul Golob bought a book called JFK the Politician by Helen O'Donnell, daughter of Kenny O'Donnell, the late president's chief aide throughout his political life; it's based on many hours of previously unreleased taped interviews, and Golob, who bought it directly from the author, will publish in fall of 2003.... A bestselling book that was a Newbery Honor title last year, Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo, published by Candlewick, was optioned for the movies by producer Joan Singleton.... Lolita Files, a bestseller in the African-American market, has sold her latest novel, Tastes Like Chicken, to Amanda Murray at Simon & Schuster for North American rights in a low-six-figure deal orchestrated by agent Elaine Koster.... There's a new deal for "visionary fiction" author Kit Reed at Tor Books, where Melissa Singer signed for a new book of stories and a novel with agent Andrew Blauner.... Yet another significant children's movie sale was The Three Pigs by David Wiesner, optioned to Disney Feature Animation by AMG/Renaissance, one of its last deals before becoming part of The Firm in Los Angeles; the Clarion title was a Caldecott Medal winner for its innovative visual style.