Zombie Mash-up Lands Author Six-Figure Deal

By Rachel Deahl -- Publishers Weekly, 4/9/2009 8:24:00 AM

Seth Grahame-Smith's surprise hit from Quirk Books, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, may have been launched as something of a lark, but that hasn't stopped its author from landing a major deal. Grand Central Press editor Ben Greenberg has just inked a two-book deal with Grahame-Smith for a rumored $575,000; Grahame-Smith's first book for GCP, which currently has no pub date, will be Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. (A rep from GCP would not comment on the size of the advance.)

Grahame-Smith has, up until this point, written tongue-in-cheek pop culture titles for Quirk such as The Big Book of Porn: A Penetrating Look at the World of Dirty Movies and How to Survive a Horror Movie. But after the unexpected success of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies--which came on assignment from Quirk's editorial director, Jason Rekulak--he has been lifted into another literary stratosphere. (Quirk currently has more than120,000 copies in print of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, after publishing the book on April 1.)

The proposal for Grahame-Smith's new book sold at auction Wednesday and the story is a loose sketch of Lincoln's life with one twist--honest Abe is the world's most skilled vampire hunter. Claudia Ballard at William Morris handled the deal, which was for North American rights. We also hear a film proposal has already started circulating and that William Morris is also handling film rights.