TODAY'S NEWS

Ballantine Preempts 'Juliet' In Major Deal
By Rachel Deahl
Ballantine has laid out seven figures in a preempt for U.S. rights to the novel that some think may be the talk of Frankfurt, Juliet. The book, which is the English language debut of the Danish-born Anne Fortier (who wrote one previous novel), was sold by Daniel Lazar at Writers House to Ballantine publisher Libby McGuire and Random House Group executive editor Susanna Porter. The novel has been drawing comparisons to books like The Thirteenth Tale and The Birth of Venus. Working off of Shakespeare's beloved tragedy, the book swings from medieval Siena to the present day in a story about a woman who discovers she may be descended from the people who inspired the bard's Romeo & Juliet. Ballantine plans to publish in 2010.

Lazar told PW the deal closed Thursday morning after McGuire and Porter called, just minutes before the auction was set to start, and "forbade" him from moving ahead. Speaking to why the book is drawing such interest, Lazar said it "shares elements in common with books like [The Thirteenth Tale and Birth of Venus] which were acquired in a big way and worked in a big way." Lazar added that Juliet is that "rare combination of commercial and literary." Read on »

Borders Sale Deadline Approaches
In a story in today's Wall Street Journal, the paper reports that if Borders does not announce a deal to sell the company by the end of the month, the chain must grant Pershing Square Capital 5.15 million warrants to purchase additional shares in the company, a move which will give the hedge fund an even greater stake in the chain.

DC Folds Minx; Virgin Becomes Liquid Comics
by Calvin Reid
The day after former Virgin Comics CEO Sharad Devarajan announced plans to resurrect the now defunct Virgin Comics under a new name, DC Comics said it was shutting down Minx, a line of graphic novels targeting teen girls, a little more than a year after the first book in the line went on sale. Minx will cease publication in January 2009.

Although calls to Devarajan were not returned, in a release, he said that his original management group has completed a buyout of Virgin Comics and will relaunch itself under the name, Liquid Comics. In the release, Devarajan said that under the Liquid Comics name, the company "will continue to proceed with a number of the projects previously announced at Virgin Comics." Devarajan said that there will be announcements "shortly" regarding new launch dates. A high-profile 2006 international joint venture between Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and the India-based comics publisher Gotham Entertainment, Virgin Comics ceased operations in August 2008 and laid off eight workers at its New York City offices. Read on »

Film on Barney Rosset Opens Today
Michael Coffey
If you think the terms "maverick" and "book-banning" were coined just for this political season, then a trip back to the publishing scene in New York City in the 1950s and ’60s might be in order. And that’s just what you get in Obscene, a film about Grove Press publisher Barney Rosset that opens in New York on Sept. 26. Written and directed by former publisher Neil Ortenberg and Daniel O’Connor, and featuring commentary from more than two dozen publishing figures and writers, the film is part bio-pic, part case study of various censorship battles and part a study in how literature can serve as a devastating critique of the status quo. It's also a story of how to have fun and go broke doing it. Read on »

ADV Survives Hurricane Ike
By Kai-Ming Cha
Overshadowed by the financial crisis on Wall Street, Hurricane Ike's touchdown in Texas has had a tremendous effect on companies like the Houston anime and manga producer ADV Films. The company, which translates, produces and distributes Japanese anime and manga titles for the U.S. market, was without power last week and largely cutoff from the rest of the country.

"We're following the news of Lehman Bros. and the rest with a strange detachment," said ADV’s Chriss Oarr. "Our immediate concerns are functional and practical. Ike has really overwhelmed all else." We just got our servers back up Sunday," Oarr said. "Houston is a sprawling city and this section of town only just came back to life. Not all the traffic lights work." While none of ADV's employees were hurt in the storm, Oarr said that in light of a week of "forced vacation," ADV employees have lots of catching up to do. Read on »

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Marmion to Head AAP Trade
Bridget Marmion, senior v-p and director of marketing at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, has been named the successor to Bob Miller as chair of the AAP Trade Publishers Executive Committee. Miller, now president of HarperStudio, oversaw the committee since 2002.

The committee advises the AAP board and works with retailers, reviewers, booksellers and librarians to bring attention to books and authors as well as literacy campaigns. Speaking to the announcement Miller said: "Bridget brings the passion, intellect and commitment needed to keep the Trade Executive Committee on course in the coming days." AAP president and CEO Pat Schroeder said of this changing of the guard: "It's impossible to overstate the debt that we at AAP and the industry as a whole owe Bob for his commitment and leadership in shaping the Trade Publishers Executive Committee over the past six years. We’ve been fortunate to have had him for so long, and we look forward to passing the torch to Bridget Marmion's capable hands."

PW's Review of The Jewel of Medina
After Random House canceled plans to publish The Jewel of Medina, Beaufort Books signed up the title and will release the book October 15. It will be distributed by Beaufort's sister company Midpoint Trade.

The Jewel of Medina

Sherry Jones. Beaufort (Midpoint, dist.), $24.95 (368p) ISBN 978-0-8253-0518-4Jones's controversial novel about A'isha bint Abi Bakr, the "child-bride" and one of the favored wives of Muhammad, comes to light amidst a swirl of debate about free speech. As for the book itself, it's not bad for a first novel. It opens with a 14-year-old A'isha returning to Muhammad in the company of her first love. Fearing she'd been unfaithful, Mohammad sends her back to her parents while he debates her innocence. The novel then backtracks to A'isha's youth, where her strength of character and sharp wit quickly become apparent. When she's betrothed to Muhammad at age six, she's ordered confined to her house (to preserve her virginity) until her marriage three years later. She is forced to leave her beloved Mecca for Medina when it becomes unsafe for Muhammad and his followers, and as Muhammad—here depicted as caring, progressive and politically savvy—marries more women and early followers of Islam face political challenges and devastating battles, A’isha grows from a self-centered child to a worldly woman whose advice and counsel are a source of comfort and strength to Muhammad. The subject matter here is more spectacular than the writing, which tends toward the maudlin and purple. It's a page turner, but not outstanding. (Oct.)

The PW Morning Report
By Dermot McEvoy
Charlotte Kohler Dead; John Milton Is 400; Gibson Square to Publish Palin Bio; The Oprah Book Effect; Turkey to Remain the Guest of Honor at Frankfurt; Buzz Aldrin's Memoir; Hemingway's Cats Saved; and Robert Wagner Thought of Killing Warren Beatty Read on »

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Movies, Movies, Movies; Geoffrey Canada, Unwrapped
Three movies open today: Miracle at St. Anna, by James McBride (Riverhead, $15); there's also Miracle at St. Anna: The Motion Picture with the Complete Script (Rizzoli, $45). Nights in Rodanthe, by Nicholas Sparks (Grand Central, $13.99; HachetteAudio, $17.98). And Choke, based on Chuck Palahniuk's novel (Anchor, $14.95; Random House Audio, $19.99). Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Going 'Long' With the Barbers
On Tuesday Tiki and Ronde Barber were on the Today Show to talk about their new children's book Go Long! (Paula Wiseman / S&S Books for Young Readers). The brothers are shown here, on the set, with the players from the Downtown Giants Youth Football and Cheerleading squad.
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