Scott Turow is leaving behind his hardcover publisher since 1987 Farrar, Straus for his longtime paperback publisher Grand Central, starting with a sequel to PRESUMED INNOCENT for publication in May 2010. He told the NYT “in an interview that it no longer made sense to have one house publishing his books in hardcover and another releasing them in paperback. Such arrangements were common when he first sold the rights to Presumed Innocent in 1986 but are much rarer now, especially for a bestselling author.” Agent Gail Hochman says, “We’re not unhappy with anything we’ve gotten, but it stretches the boundaries […]
Deals
Partial DFW Novel Emerges
Agent Bonnie Nadell and David Foster Wallace’s widow Karen Green found a partial manuscript of THE PALE KING two months after the writer suicided. This week’s New Yorker carries a brief excerpt, and Little, Brown has what publisher Michael Piestch calls a tentative agreement to publish the work in 2010. “The characters are Internal Revenue Service agents working at an IRS facility in the Midwest. The intense tediousness of their jobs and their attempts to transcend boredom reflect Wallace’s preoccupation with the concept of ‘mindfulness’ — the idea, as he put it in a 2005 commencement speech, that you should […]
Condoleezza Rice to Crown
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has reached a three-book deal with Crown. The first book, for publication in 2011, will be a memoir in which “Rice will combine candid narrative and acute analysis to tell the story of her time in the White House and as America’s top diplomat, and her role in protecting American security and shaping foreign policy during the extraordinary period from 2001-2009,” according to a statement. A memoir about her family is scheduled for 2012 and it will be published at the same time in a separate YA version. The AP cites “two publishing officials […]
Crown Backpedals on Dodd Deal
Crown tells a Connecticut newspaper that an announcement of deal with Senator Chris Dodd to publish 13 DAYS: How the Financial Crisis Changed Washington this summer was “information prematurely sent by the publisher.” Executive director for publicity Katie Wainwright writes that “in fact, Senator Dodd and Crown do not yet have a signed agreement” (not unusual, of course) and adds that “if Crown and Senator Dodd reach agreement, Senator Dodd plans to donate his proceeds from this forthcoming book to charity.”Journal Inquirer
Shopping Obama's Campaign Manager; New Carter Mideast Book
Attorney Bob Barnett is representing Barack Obama’s campaign manager David Plouffe, shopping a proposal for THE AUDACITY TO WIN, “not only an inside look at the Obama run but a guide for how to run an organization,” the AP reports. Barnett promises, “There will be many books about the Obama campaign, but only one from the campaign itself.” It’s intended as a fall 2009 release.AP Separately, Jimmy Carter said yesterday his new book WE CAN BRING PEACE TO THE HOLY LAND will be published in late January.AP
Wiley In Meredith Publishing and Distribution Deal
Meredith’s steady pullback from the book publishing business now appears to be Wiley’s gain: the book publisher has just announced a five-year licensing agreement starting March 1, 2009 that gives Wiley the rights to publish books using all of Meredith’s brand names, including Better Homes and Gardens, as well as marks including Family Circle, American Patchwork and Quilting, and Diabetic Living. Wiley will also take over as the exclusive distributor of Meredith’s backlist of about 200 titles, in all channels worldwide. According to Meredith’s version of the press release, they will “continue to create book content” from their offices in […]