A piece of narrative nonfiction set in the Far North, The Ice Master, did well for Hyperion (and will be out in paper in November), so the house is re-signing author Jennifer Niven for another chilly go-round. Editor-in-chief Will Schwalbe bought North American rights to her next from agent John Ware at his own agency, for publication in 2003. The book, untitled, tells the remarkable story of an Alaskan Inuit woman, Ada Blackjack, who was taken on an expedition by four British explorers to colonize a remote Arctic island. They died, and Blackjack, the sole survivor, remained alone on the island for six months. Blackjack's son has given the author his mother's journals.