With a very strong week of deal reports, our updated counts of pre-Frankfurt dealmaking activity now show 2014 surpassing what was a strong 2013 by a good margin. For October 1 through October 7 we logged 192 US deals, compared to 118 in the same period a year ago. So our totals which were up less than 2 percent for the month of September now have domestic deal report up almost 12 percent for September 1 through October 7, with 795 transactions (compared to 711 a year ago). Children’s and YA sales continued to show the biggest increase year over […]
Deals
Dealmaking Is Strong and Steady Heading Into Frankfurt
Ahead of the Frankfurt Book Fair next week, it’s time for our annual look at pre-fair dealmaking trends. As usual, this version covers domestic (US) deal reports for September 1 through September 30, and we’ll append a short update next week to factor in October 1 through October 7. A year ago deal volume was up considerably over prior years, but that has leveled off and this September is in line with 2013, up by less 2 percent: We reported 603 US deals during the month, compared to 593 deals the same month a year ago. US September Deal Volume […]
Suge Knight’s Book Due from Dey Street In 2015
Following Page Six’s insinuation connecting Suge Knight’s shooting with his long-in-gestation book, we can confirm the manuscript is alive and well. Harper director of publicity Shelby Meizlik confirms to PL that the book, now tentatively titled YOUR PAIN IS MY JOY: 100 Rounds with Suge Knight, is scheduled for publication by their Dey Street imprint in summer 2015, with Carrie Thornton editing. Neil Strauss, who collaborated with Marilyn Manson, Dave Navarro and Jenna Jameson on their books, is co-authoring the book. Originally sold to Riverhead back in 2002, the project was resold to HarperCollins last year with Riverhead recouping first proceeds. In […]
Agreements: Curtis Brown UK Unit Pairs with BBC, and More
Cuba Pictures, the film and tv development arm of Curtis Brown UK, has a first-look deal with BBC Worldwide, which will “provide investment, co-production expertise, access to their market research and development initiatives in addition to their global marketing reach.” Cuba Pictures ceo Nick Marston says, “Our aim is to bring together writers, directors and literary material in unique collaborations to create some first-class television. This partnership with BBC Worldwide will hopefully ensure that our work will get the best global support and we look forward to working together on future upcoming projects.” The two have already been working together on a […]
People, Etc.
Jon Klassen‘s This is Not My Hat has won the UK’s Kate Greenaway medal, and Kevin Brooks’ The Bunker Diary was awarded the Carnegie medal. (The latter is not available in the US, which may present an opportunity — though it took a decade to publish this book about a kidnapped boy held hostage in a bunker, which the Telegraph calls an “unremittingly bleak account.”) Pat Strachan is no longer an editor at Little, Brown, where she worked since 2002, following the layoffs earlier this month. She can be reached at phstrachan@gmail.com. Kelly Rudolph has joined Harper as a publicity director, reporting to […]
Coming Soon: Jane Fonda’s Debut Novel
After two bestselling memoirs, most recently Prime Time in 2011, Jane Fonda has been writing her debut novel, AMANDA’S SECRETS. She mentioned the book inadvertently in a recent Hollywood Reporter interview at the Cannes Film Festival. Bob Levine at Levine, Plotknin & Menin tells us he plans to submit the project to publishers next month. “About 60 percent of the manuscript is done,” Levine says, along with an outline for the balance of the novel. Fonda told THR, “Writing a novel scares me,” adding, “I’ve never done it, so I thought, ‘Well, I’m going to do it.'” They are not describing the […]