The Bookseller.com

20th November 2008

Victoria Gallagher

Victoria Gallagher is junior reporter on The Bookseller.

Frankfurt: hot books 2008

13.10.08

The latest rights deals before, during, and after Frankfurt 2008: please send your deals as they happen to victoria.gallagher@bookseller.co.uk.

Wednesday 15th October

In a hotly contested auction on the eve of the Book Fair, Clara Farmer at Chatto & Windus has acquired a mesmerising literary debut by former prison warden Anna Lawrence Pietroni from Tina Bennett at Janklow & Nesbit. European rights are being handled by Lucie Whitehouse at Janklow UK. US rights are going to Julie Grau at Spiegel & Grau.


Bestselling thriller writer Matthew Reilly has moved to Orion in a "major" deal handled by Eugenie Furniss at William Morris. Orion fiction publishing director Jon Wood has acquired two books from the Australian writer, whose previous books, including this year¹s hit The Six Sacred Stones, have been published by Pan Macmillan. The first Orion novel will appear in spring 2010, and will be accompanied by a UK author tour and what the publisher promises will be ³one of the biggest consumer campaigns of that year."

Charlotte Cole at Ebury has secured a memoir by Bel Mooney about her recovery from the breakdown of her marriage to broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby. Ebury acquired the book at auction, with four other publishers bidding, paying a "very large five-figure sum" for UK and Commonwealth rights in a deal done with Patrick Walsh of Conville and Walsh.

Nick Davies at Canongate has pre-empted a book by a Canadian journalist, John Geiger, about strange near-death experiences. The Third Man Factor was bought for "a high five-figure sum" from Patrick Walsh of Conville and Walsh. The book has also been sold to Text in Australia and Weinstein in the US, with three offers on the table for Germany.

Kerri Sharp of Simon & Schuster has acquired the “extraordinary” memoirs of Anne Watts, a nurse who has worked with children in war zones around the world. Sharp bought UK and Commonwealth (excluding Canada) rights to two books, No Daughter of Mine and From Eskimo Point to Alice Springs, from Isobel Dixon of Blake Friedmann.

Vermilion has acquired a new health book by Arthur De Vany, provisionally titled Evolutionary Fitness. Clare Hulton, publishing director for Vermilion, bought UK and commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from Richard Pine at InkWell Management.  The title is due to be published in 2010 and US rights have been sold to HarperCollins.

Collins has signed a new three book world rights deal with its celebrity chef author Rachel Allen. The publisher released her latest cookbook, Bake, earlier this month. The first of the three titles is expected to be published in 2010. The deal was signed by Jenny Heller, editorial director for Collins Lifestyle, with Limelight for an undisclosed sum.

Collins has signed blogger Mallika Basu to write a handbag-sized Indian cookbook and lifestyle guide. Miss Masala will be published in Spring 2010. Jenny Heller, editorial director for Collins, bought world rights from Janklow & Nesbit in a one book deal for an undisclosed sum.

Fourth Estate has bought world rights to a new book by environmental writer Mark Lynas about a new approach to maintaining life on Earth. Project X will be published in early 2011. Editor Robin Harvie bought world rights from Antony Harwood for an undisclosed sum.
 
Portobello Books’ editor Laura Barber is to write about her drive for self-improvement in a new book deal with Collins. Accomplished will be published in January 2011. The book, for British Commonwealth rights excluding Canada, was bought by Claire Kingston, commissioning editor, from Natasha Fairweather at AP Watt.

 

Friday 10th October

Mainstream has signed a six figure deal for two books by Sir Ian Botham.

Hodder & Stoughton has signed a seven figure deal for three books by British comedian Simon Pegg. The first title will be a self-penned memoir of the comedian’s rise to fame and is tipped for a September 2009 release

Bloomsbury has bought a new book by Kate Summerscale, author of The Suspicions of Mr Whicher. The book will be published by Walker & Co in the US and by Bloomsbury in Germany.

Agent Neil Taylor has sold a “superbly accomplished, involving, début novel” by Kirsten McKenzie to Roland Philipps at John Murray, who has acquired world rights (excluding US) for two novels.

Simon & Schuster has paid a “five-figure sum” for world rights to the story behind the Vladimirka Highway in Russia. Mike Jones, editorial director, bought the rights to The Road of Bones by Jeremy Poolman, from Tim Bates at Pollinger.

Ebury Press has acquired two new novels by bestselling novelist Michelle Richmond. Gillian Green bought UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from Sharon Swados at Bantam Press for an undisclosed sum.

Helen Garnons-Williams at Bloomsbury has acquired a début, Moonlight in Odessa by Jane Skeslien Charles, described as “a tragi-comic look at the flourishing market for Russian mail-order brides.” Garnons-Williams pre-empted world English rights from Laura Longrigg at MBA.

 

Tuesday 14th October

4th Estate has bought world rights to two new books by Nick Cohen, the journalist and author of Pretty Straight Guys and What’s Left? Editor Robin Harvie signed the deal with Natasha Fairweather at AP Watt. The first book, Waiting for the Etonians: Reports from the Sickbed of Liberal England, will be published in February 2009. It will be a collection of Cohen’s writing which Harvie said will “cover Labour’s love-affair with the right over the last 10 years”. The second book, provisionally titled Traitors, will look at the state of Britain at the end of the first decade of a new century. A release date has yet to be confirmed.

Jon Butler at Boxtree has pre-empted rights in a new book by Karl Shaw, Curing Hiccups with Small Fires: A Short History of Great British Eccentrics. Butler bought UK & Commonwealth rights from Laura Susijn at The Susijn Agency. US & translation rights are with The Susijn Agency.

Commisioning editor Vanessa Neuling has bought a trilogy by Australian author Steven Carroll for Cornerstone’s new paperback list, Windmill. Windmill has UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada), bought from Sonia Land at Shiel Land Associates, and the trilogy will be published as paperback originals in August 2009.

Viking publishing director Tony Lacey has bought the latest William Trevor novel. Lacey acquired UK and Commonwealth rights in Love and Summer from Marcella Edwards at PFD, together with a new two-volume collection of Trevor’s short stories. Love and Summer will be published in August 2009.

Kerri Sharp of Simon & Schuster has acquired the “extraordinary” memoirs of Anne Watts, a nurse who has worked with children in war zones around the world. Sharp bought UK and Commonwealth (excluding Canada) rights to two books, No Daughter of Mine and From Eskimo Point to Alice Springs, from Isobel Dixon of Blake Friedmann. Simon & Schuster will publish the first book in 2010, possibly with a different title.Dutch rights for the book have been sold to Unieboek.

Sheila Crowley at Curtis Brown has sold Rock Chicks by Ronni Cooper to Emma Beswetherick, senior editor at Piatkus. Beswetherick bought UK and Commonwealth rights (with exclusive Europe rights) in a two-book deal for a “significant six-figure sum” and will publish on the Sphere list in spring 2010.

Kate Burke at Michael Joseph has acquired Me and Miss M by Jemma Forte in a one-book deal from Eugenie Furniss at William Morris UK for publication in summer 2009 (UK/Commonwealth ex Canada/ inclusive Europe). William Morris UK has just accepted a pre-empt for German rights from Monika Boese at Ullstein.

Kirsty Dunseath, publishing director at Weidenfeld & Nicolson has acquired I Do Not Come to You by Chance, by a young Nigerian author,  Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani. Dunseath bought UK and Commonwealth including Aus/Nz from Angharad Kowal at Writers House, and they hope to publish the title in late spring/summer 2009.

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