Booking That Favorite Jewish Author; Nelson Inks Movie Deal; Christian Author Joins GMA Roster
by Jana Riess, Religion BookLine -- Publishers Weekly, 2/27/2008
A free Web source for information on authors of Jewish-themed books worldwide, www.Host-a-Jewish-Book-Author.com, has been launched by Anna Olswanger, a literary agent at Liza Dawson Associates in New York City. The site is searchable by name, location, and genre, and each listing includes the author’s city, book titles, lecture topics, areas of travel and contact information. The Web site is designed to make it easy for bookstores, libraries and organizations to book signings and programs with authors, especially around the Jewish holidays, such as Chanukah and Passover. Authors pay fees ranging from $50-$100 per year to be listed on the site.
Veralux Media and Mark Clayman, executive producer of The Pursuit of Happyness, have optioned Same Kind of Different As Me (Thomas Nelson, 2006) by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. The nonfiction book tells the story of the unlikely friendship between Denver Moore—raised in plantation-style slavery in Louisiana until he escaped in the 1960s—and Ron and Debbie Hall, wealthy art dealers who met him when he was homeless on the streets of Dallas. Clayman is partnering on the project with Ralph Winter, producer of the X-Men series. Same Kind of Different comes out in paperback in March from Nelson.
Christian comedian and author Anita Renfroe (If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Your Mother; Songs in the Key of Solomon) will make regular appearances on Good Morning America, it was revealed in a profile in the New York Times Magazine this past Sunday (Feb. 24). Renfroe posted her Total Momsense version of the William Tell Overture—with lyrics encompassing everything a mother would say to her children in a 24-hour period—on YouTube last Mother’s Day. GMA aired the clip on Sept. 27, 2007, which led to her first appearance on GMA and more major media exposure. By October 19 the YouTube clip had been viewed more than 8 million times.
