Deals

Helen Atsma at Holt has acquired two new novels by Catherine O'Flynn via Lucy Luck, who sold U.S. rights on option. The first is Evergreen, which follows a Birmingham, Ala., television news presenter who is “haunted by disappearances” involving his father and his predecessor. O'Flynn's What Was Lost, shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award and longlisted for the Booker, was a bestseller for Holt in 2008. Holt will publish Evergreen in summer 2010; no details on the second book.

Liz Darhansoff at Darhansoff, Verrill, Feldman recently concluded a new deal for David Liss, with Jennifer Hershey at Random taking North American rights to two historical thrillers for mid six figures. Liss is most recently the author of The Whiskey Rebels, a bestseller for Random, and the soon-to-be published The Devil's Company. No details or titles on the new books yet.

Darhansoff also represented Lisa Grunwald in negotiations for The Marriage Book, in which Grunwald and Stephen Adler will follow up their bestselling Letters of the Century with a compendium on the subject of marriage. Priscilla Painton at S&S bought North American rights for six figures, with Kathy Robbins representing Adler in the sale.

Karen Murgolo at Springboard outlasted multiple bidders in an auction for an untitled book by Cristina Carlino; Andrew Stuart of the Stuart Agency sold world rights. This beauty book by Carlino, founder of and spokesperson for Philosophy, the top-selling skincare line at Sephora and the #1 beauty brand on QVC, is described as “revolutionary and rule-breaking.” Tentative pub date is spring 2011.

Elsewhere at Grand Central, Celia Johnson acquired two novels by George A. Romero; Romero's manager, Chris Roe, sold world rights. Romero, director of the cult classic Night of the Living Dead and authority on the modern-day zombie, will depict the origin of the zombie epidemic in his debut novel, and Grand Central will publish in summer 2010.

Susan Ferber at Oxford University Press has acquired world rights to Erika Lee and Judy Yung's Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America via Sandra Dijkstra. This narrative history of the immigrants who entered the country through the West Coast's “Ellis Island” in San Francisco will pub to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the immigration station.

Brian Hurley at Oxford bought Jonathon Keats's Signal to Noise: The Language of Technology via Elise Capron at the Dijkstra Agency, who sold world rights. This is a collection of short essays on the origins and effects of “state-of-the-art” terminology, a topic Keats covers for Wired. Keats's collection of stories, The Book of the Unknown, was just published by Random House.

James Levine at Levine Greenberg Literary Agency has accepted several preempts for Richard Florida's Reset: How the Economic Crisis Will Forever Change Our Economy, Society, and the Way We Live. Hollis Heimbouch took the title in the U.S. for HarperCollins. Preemptive offers were also accepted in Canada from Random House Canada, with Anne Collins editing; and in Brazil from Caroline Rothmuller at Campus/Elsevier via International Editors, Inc. Florida's The Rise of the Creative Class was a bestseller for Basic.

David Rogers at Picador has acquired world rights to a new book by Jeff Chang for the imprint's Big Ideas/Small Books series; the topic is youth. Victoria Sanders made the sale; Picador published the paperback of Chang's Can't Stop Won't Stop.