Two Debuts for Nelson

Agent Kristin Nelson just concluded an auction for a debut novel by Jamie Ford titled Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet; Jane von Mehren at Ballantine won North American rights in this six-figure deal. The story is set in Seattle and told in alternating time periods—when a Chinese boy falls in love with a Japanese girl during the Japanese internment in 1942, and later in 1986 when the belongings of Japanese families are discovered in the basement of a condemned hotel and he must confront the choices he made years ago.

Nelson also closed a deal for debut YA author Sarah Rees Brennan, who's written an urban fantasy trilogy; Karen Wojtyla at S&S/Margaret K. McElderry bought world English rights to the three books. The first will be The Demon's Lexicon, about two brothers hunted throughout England by a powerful magician's circle after their mother steals a charm. When the elder boy is marked by a demon, the younger unwittingly uncovers the darkest of secrets in his efforts to save his brother.

Momzillas author Jill Kargman will move to Dutton for two new novels; Trena Keating bought world rights from Jennifer Joel at ICM. The first book is The Ex Mrs. Hedge Fund, about best friends married to brothers who divorce them, and who subsequently are quickly frozen out of the inner circle of Manhattan's financial elite. Momzillas, which was just optioned to NBC/Universal for series development, was published by Broadway in April. Kargman previously coauthored The Right Address and Wolves in Chic Clothing. No pub dates for the new books yet.

Ellen Edwards at NAL bought North American rights to Lesley Kagen's second novel, Land of a Hundred Wonders, from Jeff Kleinman at Folio. Set in a small Kentucky town in 1973, the book follows a brain-injured young newspaperwoman determined to prove that she is capable of solving a murder. NAL published Kagen's first novel, Whistling in the Dark, this past May; following a Sara Gruen endorsement and a Book Sense pick, the book now has more than 100,000 copies in print. NAL will publish Land of a Hundred Wonders in August 2008 as a trade paperback under its Accent line.

Elaine Katzenberger at City Lights acquired U.S. rights to a new book by Hal Niedzviecki titled Peep Culture: How Pop Became Peep and We Learned to Love Spying on Our Neighbors. Niedzviecki, founder and fiction editor of Broken Pencil, a magazine on zine culture, will explore the way pop culture has conditioned us to betray our own secrets and invade the space of strangers. Andrew Blauner made the deal; projected pub date is 2009.

Chris Evans at Stackpole has acquired world rights to Blood Stripes author David Danelo's On the Border, a firsthand account of the U.S.-Mexican border in its natural beauty, lethal reality and political complexity; agent E. J. McCarthy made the deal and pub date is late summer 2008.... Harper's Jeanette Perez bought world rights to the next book by The Hookup Handbook authors Andrea Lavinthal and Jessica Rozler, titled Friend or Frenemy, via agent Adam Chromy. The book will offer a realistic look at the friends women need and those they can do without, and will pub summer 2008.... Justin Schwartz at Wiley bought world rights to James Beard Award–winner James Villas's The Glory of Southern Pig via agent Jane Dystel. Villas will highlight hundreds of traditional pork dishes from all over Dixie, and Wiley will pub in fall 2009. Wiley published Villas's The Glory of Southern Cooking in March.