Mosley Revives Socrates at Basic

By Matthew Thornton -- Publishers Weekly, 5/7/2008 7:51:00 AM

Walter Mosley, who recently left Little, Brown for a three-book deal at Riverhead, has now inked a separate deal with Lara Heimert at Basic Civitas for The Right Mistake: The Further Philosophical Reflections of Socrates Fortlow. The book, which is the third in the Socrates Fortlow series after Walkin' the Dog and Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, brings back the streetwise philosopher Mosley hasn't written about in almost 10 years.

The acquisition also represents Basic's efforts to expand the list of its African-American imprint, which historically has published mostly nonfiction, beyond its current parameters, says publicist Michele Jacob. Gloria Loomis sold North American rights, and pub date is this fall, which makes it Mosley's next published work of fiction, as the first book in the Riverhead deal isn't due until spring 2009.