S&S Signs Glenn Beck and Janet Jackson
By Lynn Andriani & Rachel Deahl -- Publishers Weekly, 5/19/2008 1:53:00 PM
Conservative TV and talk-radio host and Inconvenient Book author Glenn Beck has signed a two-book world rights deal with S&S imprint Threshold Editions, while Janet Jackson has inked a deal with the company's Karen Hunter Publishing imprint.
The first book, and Beck's first novel, will be The Christmas Sweater, and will be published in hardcover in fall 2008. It will form the basis for Glenn Beck’s 2008 Christmas Show, which will see Beck on a cross-country tour in December telling the story and promoting the book to his fans nationwide. S&S v-p and senior editor Mitchell Ivers, who collaborated with Beck on his previous two books, will edit The Christmas Sweater. The second book, a return to nonfiction, will be published in 2009. Beck’s longtime agent, George Hiltzik, brokered the deal.
An Inconvenient Book: The Real Story Behind the Biggest Problems in the World! debuted at number one on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list when it was published by Threshold last fall and spent months on national lists.
Also at S&S, Karen Hunter has acquired world English rights to a forthcoming book from Janet Jackson slated for November 2008. Acquired for Hunter's own imprint at Pocket, Karen Hunter Publishing, the book will chronicle Jackson's lifelong struggle with her weight, and the personal issues behind that struggle. Currently untitled, the book will be co-written by David Ritz and incude exercise routines as well as tips on healthy eating from Jackson's nutritionist, David Allen.
The publisher notes in a statement, that the book is "far more than a celebrity manifesto on becoming fit," as Jackson will also discuss her self-esteem and food issues. "Janet offers a searingly honest account of turning to food for comfort during some of the most tumultuous times of her life--from being taunted as a young girl, to her internal battles with her beauty and femininity and her desire to 'fit in.'"
