Kensington's Big Buy: Janet Dailey
By John F. Baker -- Publishers Weekly, 4/23/2001
The bestselling novelist, whose nearly 100 titles have more than 300 million copies in print worldwide, is moving to Kensington in a four-book deal arranged by her longtime agent, Richard Curtis, that rose well into seven figures. It will include two of Dailey's popular titles about the Calder ranching family of Montana and two books on holiday themes. The deal was negotiated for Kensington by editorial director Kate Duffy, who used to be at Silhouette, which published Dailey's romance titles, and was later at Pocket, which did her earlier Calder titles. The first of the new Calder books, Green Calder Grass, will be done as a Kensington hardcover next summer, and the first of the other books, A Capital Holiday, as a Zebra paperback this October. Duffy bought hard/soft North American rights, with nonexclusive open market, plus first serial, electronic, large print and book club. Hailing Dailey's move, Kensington publisher Laurie Parkin called it "a major acquisition and an outstanding opportunity for Kensington."
