Ballantine Preempts 'Juliet' In Major Deal

By Rachel Deahl -- Publishers Weekly, 9/25/2008 2:27:00 PM

Ballantine has laid out seven figures in a preempt for U.S. rights to the novel that some think may be the talk of Frankfurt, Juliet. The book, which is the English language debut of the Danish-born Anne Fortier (who wrote one previous novel), was sold by Daniel Lazar at Writers House to Ballantine publisher Libby McGuire and Random House Group executive editor Susanna Porter. The novel has been drawing comparisons to books like The Thirteenth Tale and The Birth of Venus. Working off of Shakespeare's beloved tragedy, the book swings from medieval Siena to the present day in a story about a woman who discovers she may be descended from the people who inspired the bard's Romeo & Juliet. Ballantine plans to publish in 2010.

Lazar told PW the deal closed Thursday morning after McGuire and Porter called, just minutes before the auction was set to start, and "forbade" him from moving ahead. Speaking to why the book is drawing such interest, Lazar said it "shares elements in common with books like [The Thirteenth Tale and Birth of Venus] which were acquired in a big way and worked in a big way." Lazar added that Juliet is that "rare combination of commercial and literary."

The book was also just acquired in Canada, where it went to HarperCollins after what Lazar called a "lively auction." Though Lazar wouldn't offer information on the size of the deal in Canada, he said it was an "aggressive offer." 

Fortier is a native of Denmark who moved to the U. S. in 2002 and splits her time between Washington, DC, where she works for the Institute for Humane Studies, and Canada. The subject of the novel was inspired by her mother, who helped Fortier with research in Siena as her daughter wrote the novel at home in Arlington, Vir.