DEAL OF THE WEEK

Stamos Tells All to Holt

For Henry Holt, James Melia bought If You Would Have Told Me, by actor John Stamos. The memoir, set for fall 2023, was sold by Esther Newberg and Kristyn Keene Benton at CAA. Holt said it’s “the story not only of a life lived in front of the camera but of the surreal highs and devastating lows of a misunderstood heartthrob who has always remained a dorky kid from Orange County, and of his midlife quest to find sobriety and a family of his own.” Stamos added that the book is “my story about Hollywood, fame, fortune, and fuck-ups. It’s also about home, heart, and healing. Redemption then gratitude.”

Limbaugh Goes to Threshold

Natasha Simons at Threshold Editions bought world rights to Radio’s Greatest of All Time by Rush Limbaugh, with Kathryn Adams Limbaugh and David Limbaugh. Threshold called it “a collection of Rush’s most iconic on-air moments, speeches, and personal audio recordings from the earliest days in his radio career.” Curated by the conservative pundit and media personality before he died in 2021 and then finished by his wife and brother, Radio’s Greatest is set for an October release. No agent was involved in the deal.

Tin House Tests Fuller’s ‘Memory’

Tin House’s editorial director, Masie Cochran, took North American rights to Claire Fuller’s The Memory of Animals. Fuller (Swimming Lessons), who’s won, among other awards, the Desmond Elliott Prize and the Costa Novel Award, was represented by David Forer at InkWell Management. The book, set for June 2023, follows Neffy, a 27-year-old marine biologist who registers for a vaccine trial in London as a devastating disease sweeps the globe. She befriends another trial volunteer who has developed a technology that allows people to revisit their childhood memories. “The lines between past, present, and future begin to blur,” Tin House said, “and Neffy is left with defining questions: Who can she trust? Why can’t she forgive herself? How should she live, if she survives?”

Blaise Just Breathes at Adams

Simon & Schuster imprint Adams Media won North American rights to Misha Maynerick Blaise’s Breathe Deep at auction. The publisher said the book, which Brendan O’Neill bought from Jennifer Weltz at the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency, is “an uplifting illustrated guide that inspires a deeper relationship with the power of breath.” It features tips and exercises, and “draws on ancient wisdom and cutting-edge science” to demonstrate “the physical and emotional benefits of conscious breathing.”


Friedman Goes Adulting at Viking

We’re All Adults Here by Ann Friedman was acquired by Andrea Schulz and Emily Wunderlich at Viking. Gail Ross at Ross Yoon handled the world English rights agreement. Viking said the book, slated for summer 2024, reimagines “the defining stages of adulthood in America when many of our expected milestones and phases have been exploded or transformed.” It’s based on “intimate interviews as well as emerging research.”


Croft Takes Debut to Bloomsbury

Jennifer Croft sold her debut novel, Amadou, to Daniel Loedel at Bloomsbury in a North American rights agreement. Croft, a translator and Guggenheim Fiction Fellow, was represented by Katie Grimm at Don Congdon Associates. Bloomsbury said Amadou follows “a group of translators who gather to translate a beloved author’s magnum opus at her villa in a primeval Polish forest and have to navigate the fallout when, several days after their arrival, the author suddenly and mysteriously vanishes.”