Bantam Preempts Debut Thriller; Deval Patrick Signs With B'way Books

by Matthew Thornton & Rachel Deahl -- Publishers Weekly, 3/28/2008 2:21:00 PM

Bantam v-p Kate Miciak just acquired a debut novel by Warren Fahy, Fragment, with a substantial six-figure preemptive offer to Peter McGuigan at Foundry. This environmental thriller is about a reality television show that lands on an unexplored island only to discover that the first cataclysmic invasion of Earth may not come from outside our planet, but within. Bantam holds North American rights to Fragment and a second Fahy book. 

Hollywood native Fahy is currently lead writer for Wowwee, generating creative content for their line of advanced robotic toys. Fahy is also the author of a well-known article titled “Ancient History of the Mullet” that appeared in the Beastie Boys’ magazine, Grand Royal, on the hairstyle now known as the mullet, in the issue credited by the OED as the source of the word’s new definition. Fahy was also lead writer for Rock Star Games’ $300 million-grossing game “Red Dead Revolver.” 

Tentative Bantam pub dates are summer 2009 for Fragment and summer 2010 for the followup.

And, over at Broadway Books, Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick has inked a deal to do a nonfiction book about his rise in politics, slated for a 2010 publication. William Thomas, editor-in-chief of Broadway, acquired world, first serial, audio, and electronic rights from Todd Shuster and Lane Zachary of Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary Agency. The book will, according to Broadway, offer "a series of lessons and insights on life and leadership."