Short Takes

Anita Diggs, who heads the One World imprint at Ballantine, has just sold her own first novel, a story of urban angst and courage called A Mighty Love, to executive editor Karen Thomas at Kensington. The world rights deal was done by agent Tanya McKinnon at the Mary Evans agency.... Hyperion president Bob Miller rapidly preempted Lone Wolf by Karen Larsen, an account of an epic, solo cross-country motorbike odyssey, after meeting the author. The sale, North American and audio, was made by Virginia Barber at William Morris, and Peternelle van Arsdale will be the editor.... Chicago agent Joe Durepos made two six-figure world rights sales that continued two authors' careers with their present publishers: Eric Major at Doubleday signed Phyllis Tickle to a two-book deal that will include another installment of her memoir, The Shaping of a Life, and Gideon Weil at Harper San Francisco took on a three-book series of historical novels based on characters in the Parables, by Kenny Kemp, whose memoir, Dad Was a Carpenter, has done well for the house.... A children's picture book, Scritch Scratch by Miriam Moss, illustrated by Delphine Durand, was one of the hits of last month's Bologna Book Fair when British publisher Franklin Watts showed it around. Now Judy Wilson at Scholastic's Orchard imprint has bought it, from Watts's Claire Hurst, for a high five figures, and will publish in fall 2002; it's about an epidemic of head lice in a classroom.... Norton's Jill Bialosky paid a "considerable" six figures to win North American rights in an untitled memoir by young award-winning poet Nick Flynn at an auction conducted by agent Bill Clegg at Burnes & Clegg.