Deals

The real-life hero on whose story last year's acclaimed movie Hotel Rwanda was based will do a book just won at auction by Penguin's Kathryn Court. Paul Rusesabagina, memorably portrayed in the film by Don Cheadle, has been living in exile in Belgium since the massacres from which he saved many Rwandans. In a book to be co-written with Tom Zoellner, he will reveal more about the horrors of that time than the movie was able to show. The North American rights deal, for which eight publishers competed, was made with Jill Kneerim at Kneerim & Williams.

Sid Rosenberg, a regular on Don Imus's radio show (and who also has his own Sid and Joe Show with Joe Benigno on WFAN), has shopped a "self-help book gone wrong" to Gretchen Young at Hyperion. The Consummate Dirtbag (an affectionate name bestowed on Rosenberg), will offer the kind of advice people can well do without: how to get fired, lose a lot of money, alienate friends and loved ones. The deal was made with Rosenberg's agent, Mark Lepselter of Maxximum Marketing, and the book is due a year from now.

That's the title of an Onion-style, oversized paperback just preempted at Warner that promises a lot of sly religious satire. Jason Pinter bought world rights from agent Giles Anderson in the book by Chris Harper, Andrew Bradley and Eric Walker, who will offer much more of the kind of material that appears at their popular Web site, LandoverBaptist.org ("Guaranteeing Salvation Since 1612").

A two-book deal for Dutch human rights activist and parliamentarian Ayaan Hirsi Ali, partner of assassinated Dutch film maker Theo Van Gogh in the making of a documentary about the treatment of Muslim women, was signed at Free Press. Publisher Martha Levin and senior editor Leslie Meredith signed with Paris agent Susanna Lea for North American rights to an essay collection and a memoir.... Princess Diariesauthor Meg Cabot has just racked up two three-book deals, totaling just about $2 million. Three will be YA novels, for Abigail McAden at Harper Children's; and three adult novels, in a series called Blabbermouth, bought by Carrie Feron at Morrow. All this was put together by energetic agent Laura Langlie.