FSG Wins Lodato Debut

By Matthew Thornton -- Publishers Weekly, 9/16/2008 10:32:00 AM

The auction for Victor Lodato's first novel, called Mathilda Savitch, is finally over, with Courtney Hodell at Farrar, Straus & Giroux taking North American rights after a week of bidding that began with six publishers. David McCormick at McCormick & Williams negotiated the mid-six-figure deal. The book is written in the voice of the titular character, a thirteen-year-old girl determined to unravel the truth behind her sister's death; her discoveries will mean putting childhood behind her forever. The work was described by one editor who bid on it as The Lovely Bones meets The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.

Lodato, a poet and playwright, was a 2002-2003 Guggenheim fellow. So far, Japanese rights have also been sold, with a deal wrapping up in Italy and negotiations underway in other countries. Tentative FSG pub date is September 2009.