Wendy Wolf at Viking has bought world rights to an untitled book on the 2008 presidential campaign by Haynes Johnson and Dan Balz via Flip Brophy at Sterling Lord. Veteran Washington Post reporter Balz and Pulitzer Prize—winner Johnson, who has covered every president since World War II, intend to write the definitive book on what they see as the defining election of our time. Pub date is fall 2009.
Fiction Wins
Brenda Copeland at Hyperion has bought world English rights to the tentatively titled Taboo: A Manhattan Tutor Talks by Anna Taggart via agent Jeanne Forte Dube. This is a roman à clef that exposes the secrets of the Manhattan tutoring industry and how talented, able educators give up the classroom to make $200 an hour or more to help students with their homework. Taggart is a pseudonym for a first-time author and Manhattan tutor who will reveal her identity closer to publication date, which is summer 2008.
Allison McCabe at Crown bought North American rights to a new novel by Marek Halter titled Mary of Nazareth via agent Susanna Lea. Halter, the author of the New Canaan trilogy, has written an account of the life of the mother of Jesus before she embraced her extraordinary destiny; the book is already a bestseller in France, and Crown's planned pub date is spring 2008.
Nonfiction Preempts
David Patterson at Holt has preempted Forecast by Atlantic Monthly and Fortune journalist Stephan Farisvia Trident's Elisabeth Weed, who sold world rights. This will be a surprising investigation into the varied ways—political, strategic and economic—that climate change will affect the world in the near future.
Rob Kirkpatrick at Lyons has preempted Lou Sahadi'sOne Sunday in December: The 1958 NFL Championship and the Birth of Modern Football. The contest between the New York Giants and the Baltimore Colts is often called the greatest game ever played, as well as the one most instrumental in popularizing football for a national television audience. Sahadi, who represented himself, sold world rights. Publication is scheduled for the 50th anniversary season in fall 2008.
Jacque Murphy at Harvard Business School Press has preempted a new Forrester Research book, Groundswell, to be written by Forrester pros Josh Bernoff and Charlene Li.John Taylor “Ike” Williams at Kneerim & Williams sold world rights. The book will discuss the transfer of consumer authority from companies to consumers, driven by consumer blogs and Web sites critiquing products and services. Pub date: spring 2008.
Rick Russell at the Naval Institute Press has preempted The Sheriff of Ramadi by former SEAL and CIA officer Dick Couch; Bob Mecoy at Creative Book Services sold world rights. Couch will draw on his direct access to a navy SEAL unit in Iraq to reveal how it took control of Ramadi's streets by discarding standard tactics and beating the insurgents at their own game. Pub date is September 2008.
The Briefing
Sarah Rainone at Doubleday/Currency has acquired North American rights to Newsweek correspondent Daniel McGinn'sHouse Lust: America's Obsession with Our Homes via agent Andrew Blauner. The book, to pub December 2007, will explore the social and psychological forces driving this obsession.... Crown's Heather Jackson bought world rights to Taking Care of Your Girls, a comprehensive guide to breast health for girls, by mother and daughter team Marisa C. Weiss, M.D., and Isabel Friedman, via Linda Loewenthal at David Black. Weiss is the founder and president of breastcancer.org; pub date is fall 2008.
