Author-illustrator

Danny Gregory taught himself to draw to help him cope after his wife, a young mother, was paralyzed in a subway accident. The illustrated diary that resulted, Everyday Matters, was published last fall by Princeton Architectural Press, and struck such a chord with readers, including Hyperion publisher

Bob Miller, that when his agent, P.J. Mark of Collins McCormick, had a new book proposal by Gregory, the house was a natural first choice. Hyperion's

Kelly Notaras rapidly preempted Gregory's

The Creative License, in which he offers a handbook encouraging people to express their creativity, for world rights. Meanwhile, the house also picked up paperback rights to the first book; both will appear in 2006.