Diamant Duo for Scribner

Anita Diamant, whose biblical novel, The Red Tent, has been a huge paperback hit for Picador, selling over a million copies and still going strong, has signed a two-book deal for nonbiblical works with Scribner editor-in-chief Nan Graham. The first of the two books, for which the house bought world rights, including paperback and audio, is Good Harbor, about a group of contemporary women in Cape Ann, Mass., and will be published in November. Graham described Diamant, who wrote The Red Tent as her first fiction effort after several nonfiction books about Jewish religious practice, as "one of the great natural storytellers." Her first novel was originally bought four years ago by Bob Wyatt for his imprint at St. Martin's, and went on to ever-higher sales as a Picador paperback, where Diane Higgins became its editor. Diamant switched agents, to Amanda Urban at ICM, who was reportedly looking for $2 million, though the amount Scribner paid is unknown.