TODAY'S NEWS

Imagine Nation Books Buys BAF
by Jim Milliot
Reader’s Digest put its often troubled participation in the display marketing business behind it yesterday with the announcement that it is selling certain assets of Books Are Fun to Imagine Nation Books in a deal expected to close in December. Imagine Nation, started by BAF founder Earl Kaplan, is paying $17.5 million over the next three years to RD for rights to BAF’s intellectual property and product inventory. RD acquired BAF from Kaplan for $380 million. "I'm glad to have the opportunity to work with many of the Books Are Fun people again," said Kaplan. Read on »

Food Network and Morrow Enter Co-Publishing Deal
By Lynn Andriani
William Morrow and Food Network have entered into a first-look deal to publish co-branded books by FN’s talent and based on FN’s shows. The co-branded books will feature both new and existing Food Network stars; the first book, Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives by Guy Fieri, pubbed October 28 and landed on the New York Times’ paperback advice bestseller list last week. Read on »

Biden Gets a Bio
By Matthew Thornton
On the heels of several Obama-related book deals this week comes a title to focus on the second in command's point of view. Henry Ferris at William Morrow has signed up Jules Witcover to write a biography of Joseph Biden. Veteran political reporter Witcover, one of the original "boys on the bus," has covered Biden for decades; he'll draw on his numerous sources in a look at Biden's life, his role in the Senate and his first year as Vice President. The North American rights deal was negotiated by David Black.

Witcover, who penned a Baltimore Sun column for almost 25 years, is the author of numerous books, both solo and with Jack Germond. His most recent, on the relationship between Nixon and Agnew, was published last year by PublicAffairs. Likely Morrow pub date for the yet-to-be-titled Biden bio is fall 2010.

Amazon and Penguin to Sponsor Second Breakthrough Novel Award
Amazon and Penguin will sponsor a second annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. The competition will launch on February 2, 2009. Between then and February 8, writers with an unpublished English-language novel manuscript can submit their work at www.amazon.com/abna. As they did last year, PW reviewers will participate in the review process. Last year’s competition awarded Bill Loehfelm with the grand prize, from a pool of 5,000 entrants. Putnam published Loehfelm’s novel, Fresh Kills, in August 2008.

The winner of the contest will be announced on May 22, 2009, and will receive a publishing contract with Penguin, which includes a $25,000 advance.

Reed on Track, Though RBI Sale Uncertain
Reed Elsevier remains “on track” to hit is financial targets, but the sale of Reed Business Information remains up in the air. Reed said that while the sale of RBI (home to PW) is in an “advanced stage,” the present economic and credit environment makes a satisfactory outcome uncertain. A consortium of banks are in discussions with a “small number of prospective buyers to provide financing,” Reed said. The financial performance of RBI has “held up well” during the year in a difficult market with online revenue offsetting declines in print, although the company said it is seeing a more challenging advertising market following the recent deterioration of the economy.

Blogs

MORE STORIES

Page to Screen: A New Conroy & More Meg Cabot
One thing the scouts are buzzing about this week is the latest from Pat Conroy. The Prince of Tides author's new one, South of Broad, is being shopped for film by Lynn Pleshette (and is due out from the author's longtime publisher, Doubleday, in August 2009). The book, which is set in Charleston and follows an 18-year-old named Leopold Bloom King, has good film lineage, Conroy's lit agent, Marly Rusoff, points out. All of the author's novels (excluding one, The Boo, which he wrote when he was still a cadet at The Citadel) have been made into movies.

On the sales side, Bill Contardi has just closed a deal for film rights on Meg Cabot's All-American Girl series. (There are two books in the series, American Girl and Ready or Not, about a 15-year-old middle child named Samantha who lives in Washington, D.C.; Harper published and Laura Langlie is Cabot's lit agent.) Contardi sold rights to producers Joan Singleton (Because of Winn-Dixie) and Harry Winer (House Arrest) and the deal, it happens, is one of many on the film side for the prolific Cabot. With Girl, Cabot now has seven titles in various stages of production: How to Be Popular is at MTV; Avalon High is at the Disney Channel; The Mediator is with producer Julia Pistor; The Heather Wells Mysteries is at ABC Family, as is Jinx; and the Queen of Babble is with producer Jeff Sharp of Sharp Independent. Read on »

AUTHORS ON THE AIR

Authors on the Air: Quincy Jones; Francine du Plessix Gray; Congresswoman Barbara Lee
Today, Good Morning America hosted Quincy Jones, whose The Complete Quincy Jones: My Journey & Passions: Photos, Letters, Memories & More from Q’s Personal Collection (Insight Editions, 978-1933784670, $45) is just out this week. Tomorrow, he’s on Live with Regis and Kelly. After the jump: Don Rickles, Bill O'Reilly and others. Read on »

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Once Upon a Time Turns 42
Once Upon a Time in Montrose, Calif., celebrating 42 years in business as the country's oldest children's bookstore, recently hosted a visit from Jon Scieszka, the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature. In honor of Scieszka's Trucktown series, owner Maureen Palacios hung a tire from an 18-wheeler in a display window, and here, Once Upon a Time staffers pose with the authors. Submit your pictures here »

JOB OF THE DAY

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