Deals

Joe Veltre at Artists Literary just accepted a preemptive offer for 21-year-old Amanda Kerlin's Secrets of the Model Dorm, Atria's Suzanne O'Neill acquired world English rights. The novel details a year in the life of an aspiring model, new to New York and living in a "model dorm," a small apartment rented by a modeling agency, where she must navigate close quarters among strangers as well as a cutthroat atmosphere fueled by alcohol, drugs and obsessive dieting habits. Kerlin herself was a successful model who has appeared in Elle, Marie Claire, Glamour and Teen Vogue, she has since left the business and is now a sophomore at Hunter College.

What do Bob Dylan, James Brown and Muhammad Ali have in common? They were all profoundly influenced, even inspired, by a hulking, platinum-blond, cross-dressing professional wrestler known as Gorgeous George. Doug Grad at Regan Books has acquired world rights, as well as television and film rights, to former Newsweek and New York Times editor John Capouya's Gorgeous George: The Sensation of the Nationfrom agent Paul Bresnick. The book will tell the quintessentially American, rags-to-riches tale of George Wagner, set against the backdrop of television's infancy and the culture of pro wrestling. Publication is set for 2008.

New Crown executive editor Heather Jackson has preempted world rights to Dr. Richard M. Lerner's Positive Adolescence: Rescuing Our Teens from the Myths of the Storm and Stress Years, from Judy Linden at the Stonesong Press, which will be producing the book. Lerner, the director of the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts, challenges readers to view typical teenage actions through a positive lens and presents a call to action through which parents can help teens. The book is based on his 30 years of research. Al Gore will write a foreword, and the book will be published in fall 2007.

Norton's Jill Bialosky preempted (reportedly just 14 minutes after receiving it) an anthology titled Bad Girls from agent Sally Wofford-Girand, the editor is novelist Ellen Sussman, author of On a Night Like This (Warner). The book is a collection of true tales by and about women being "bad" in any and all ways one might think of, confirmed contributors include Mary Roach, Lolly Winston, Kate Moses, Maggie Estrep, Pam Houston, Joyce Maynard, Julie Salamon, Amy Bloom and Elissa Schappell.

Embracing a slightly more prim theme, Crown's Caroline Sincerbeaux bought North American rights to Blindsided by a Diaper from Catherine Fowler at the Redwood Agency. This anthology of original essays from contributors such as Susan Cheever, Greg Behrendt and Molly Jong-Fast explores the ups and downs in a couple's relationship after the arrival of a baby, offering insights on how to keep the partnership on track. The editor is Dana Bedford Hilmer.

Wiley's Tom Miller persevered in an auction for The Reverse Diet by Tricia Cunninghamand Heidi Skolnik, who first met on Good Morning America. Their plan for improving health by changing calorie intake resulted in a 150-lb. loss for Cunningham, Skolnik is a nutritionist for the New York Giants. Miller bought North American rights from Michael Psaltis at the Culinary Cooperative/Regal Literary.