Fiction Buys at SMP
JenniferEnderlin at St. Martin's preempted Still Missing by Chevy Stevens in a North American rights deal with Mel Berger at William Morris. The novel, about a woman who is kidnapped by a psychopath while holding an open house no one comes to, is told partly through sessions with the heroine's psychologist. Stevens, who lives in Vancouver Island, B.C., has worked as a real estate agent. Pub date is spring 2010.
SMP executive editor Kelley Ragland has acquired two more novels by Maggie Barbieri in a North American rights deal with Deborah Schneider at Gelfman Schneider. Barbieri has already published four novels with SMP featuring a teacher at a Catholic college in the Bronx, and these two books will continue with that character. The series has been optioned by Kristin Davis of Sex and the City to produce and possibly star in. Tentative title for book no. 5 is Extra Credit, and SMP pub date is December 2009, with the sixth book to follow in December 2010.
First Titles for Weiland
New Ecco senior editor Matt Weiland has made his first two buys for the house. He bought North American rights to Padgett Powell's The Interrogative Mood, described as a playful, profound meditation on life and language in which every sentence is a question. Cynthia Cannell made the sale.
Weiland also acquired Philip Connors's Lookout: Seasons of Fire in the World's First Wilderness;Jim Rutman at Sterling Lord sold world rights. Connors, one of the last fire lookouts in the American West, was a contributor to Ecco's recent State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America, which Weiland edited with Sean Wilsey. Here, he'll write on wildfires and what to do about them. Pub date is 2011.
McClure Again to Riverhead
Megan Lynch at Riverhead has acquired world rights to Wendy McClure's new book, The Wilder Life, via Erin Hosier at Dunow, Carlson and Lerner. This humorous first-person narrative exploration of the life and work of Laura Ingalls Wilder retraces her real and fictional pioneer journeys, while also reporting on the phenomenon of Wilder's contemporary fandom. Riverhead published New York Times Magazine contributor McClure's I'm Not the New Me in 2005, and will publish the new book in 2010.
Gwyneth Cooks
Natalie Kaire at Grand Central prevailed in a multiple-bidder auction for Gwyneth Paltrow's My Father's Daughter; Luke Janklow at Janklow & Nesbit negotiated the world rights sale. Paltrow's first book is a cookbook that focuses on the importance of togetherness at mealtime, emphasizing that cooking for your family is the ultimate expression of love. The recipes have been conceived with the entire family in mind. Tentative pub date is fall 2010.
YA Duo
Nancy Siscoe at Knopf bought world rights to a debut novel by Christina Diaz Gonzalez titled The Red Umbrella, a coming-of-age tale about a 14-year-old Cuban girl sent to the U.S. in 1961 as part of the largest exodus of unaccompanied minors in the Western hemisphere. It is loosely based on the experience of the author's parents and that of the 14,000 children who were part of Operation Pedro Pan. Gonzalez, an attorney, negotiated her own deal, and Siscoe plans to publish in spring 2010.
Elise Howard at HarperCollins has acquired three books in the new Zombie Hunter series by first-time author John Kloepfer via Josh Bank at Alloy Entertainment. The series will introduce an unlikely 12-year-old hero, his goofy buddy and his older sister's mean-girl best friend as they combat zombies and ultimately save the world. Harper has world English rights, and the first book will pub in 2010.
