Hot 'Pigtopia' Won at Miramax

When London's Faber & Faber swiftly preempted a first novel called Pigtopia, it set off a considerable flurry of international interest, including a lively auction here that was just won by Jonathan Burnham at Miramax. The book is the fictional debut of an Irish-born playwright, Kitty Fitzgerald, who has written a good bit for the radio and is also a university lecturer and a small-press editor. Burnham described the book as "a mix of fable, horror and everyday magic that is totally unlike anything else"—though it sounds as if it might bear a slight debt to Animal Farm. The deal was made with Bill Clegg at Burnes & Clegg, who reports that the book has already sold in eight countries, with more coming aboard.