Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Big Selection of Up-coming Films & Books....

From Publishers Lunch Weekly:

FICTION/DEBUT:

A.D. Scott's FAULTLINES, about a young Scottish boy who is found dead in a canal lock, the 1950s Highlands newspaper staff -- including the female typist embroiled in an abusive marriage and her boss, a seasoned journalist determined to revamp the paper -- who uncover the crime, and their small town, which harbors deep and troubling secrets underneath a polished veneer, to Sarah Durand at Atria, in a two-book deal, by Peter McGuigan at Foundry Literary + Media, on behalf of Sheila Drummond of The Drummond Agency (NA).Foreign: sheilad@ozemail.com.au

Immigrants' rights attorney and first-generation American Ghita Schwarz's DISPLACED PERSONS, exploring the definition of family, its malleability, in an exquisitely crafted story about two Jewish couples amid a community of survivors settled in the US just after WWII, to Jennifer Brehl at William Morrow, by Lisa Bankoff at ICM (NA).

Kirk Farber's POSTCARDS FROM A DEAD GIRL, a surreal love story about a lost soul who is getting postcards from his missing girlfriend; it reads like a Wes Anderson movie, to Carl Lennertz at Harper Perennial, for publication in Winter 2010, by Sandra Bond at Bond Literary Agency (NA).

Founder of the literary journal Murdaland and energy trader Cortright McMeel's SHORT, a tour through the down-and-dirty, scandal-ridden world of bigtime energy traders, pitched as Wall Street meets Glengarry Glen Ross, to John Schoenfelder at Thomas Dunne Books, by Alex Glass at Trident Media Group (NA).

MYSTERY/CRIME:

Nora McFarland's SHOOTER, a debut mystery series featuring a young Central California localTV news photographer, to Trish Lande Grader for Touchstone Fireside, for publication in spring 2010, in a three-book deal, by Molly Friedrich at Friedrich Agency (NA).

GENERAL/OTHER:

David Wroblewski's prequel to The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, the next in what will become a trilogy, focused on the life of John Sawtelle, the patriarch of the Sawtelle clan, the origins of his extraordinary fictional breed of dog, and the fraught, ultimately fatal relationship between his sons, Gar and Claude, Edgar Sawtelle's father and uncle, again to Lee Boudreaux and Daniel Halpern at Ecco, by Eleanor Jackson at the Elaine Markson Agency (US).

2008 Goncourt Prize winner Atiq Rahimi's SYNGUE SABOUR, the story of a woman whose husband suffers brain damage from a bullet wound; she cares for him and talks to him, but is angry about his sacrifices, to Judith Gurewich of Other Press, in a nice deal, by Alice Tassel on behalf of the French Publishers' Agency (NA).

FILM:

Ursula Le Guin's THE LEFT HAND OF DARKNESS, a classic from 1969 takes us to the world of Winter, introducing us to its inhabitants, the Gethenians-whose society is not based on gender roles, optioned for feature film to screenwriter/director Will Phillips, by Bill Contardi, on behalf of the Virginia Kidd Agency.

NON-FICTION:
BIOGRAPHY:

Lynne Cheney's FOUNDING GENIUS: A Biography of James Madison, moving to Wendy Wolf at Viking, at auction, for publication in 2011, by Robert Barnett at Williams & Connolly.

Herman Obermayer's REHNQUIST: The Man Behind the Robe, the historical portrait of Supreme Court Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist through personal observations and recollections of one of the bench's most remarkable men; as the leader of the court that decided the presidential election in 2000, and as the presiding officer of a senate that decided not to impeach an elected president (Clinton), he led a fascinating life, to Anthony Ziccardi at Pocket, for publication in November 2009, by Sam Fleishman of Literary Artists Representatives (world).

BUSINESS/INVESTING/FINANCE:

Reporter for the NYT business section and Portfolio magazine Paul Sullivan's CLUTCH, an examination of who is clutch in sports and business and what we can learn from them, to Adrienne Schultz at Portfolio, for publication in 2010, by Erika Storella at The Gernert Company (World).

Investigative journalist Andrew Kirtzman's book about Bernard Madoff, piecing together the story of Madoff's extraordinary alleged $50 billion fraud and tracing, the steps which led to his downfall, to Claire Wachtel at Harper, for publication in 2010, by Flip Brophy at Sterling Lord Literistic (world).

Veteran investigative reporter Richard Behar's book on Bernard Madoff's rise and fall, Susan Mercandetti at Random House, for publication in 2010, Richard Abate at Endeavor (world English).

HISTORY/POLITICS/WORLD AFFAIRS:

Garrett Graff's THE BUREAU'S WAR, examining the evolution of the FBI from an interstate crime-fighting organization to an international counter-terrorism power deeply engaged in the war against terrorists, as well as its own battles with the CIA and the White House -- told through the lives of its agents and Director Robert Mueller, to Geoff Shandler at Little, Brown, for publication in Spring 2011, by Tim Seldes at Russell & Volkening.

New Yorker editor David Remnick's book on Barack Obama, race and politics in America, an extension of his lengthy magazine that ran after the election, The Joshua Generation, to Sonny Mehta at Knopf, with no planned pub date yet according to Politico, by Kathy Robbins at The Robbins Office .

CBS News reporter Scott Conroy and Fox News reporter Shushannah Walshe's SARAH FROM ALASKA, embedded reporters in Sarah Palin's vice presidential campaign draw upon interviews with the Alaska governor, campaign staff, Republican politicos, and others to explore the impact of her candidacy and the issues it has raised both for the country and for the Republican Party, to Clive Priddle and Lisa Kaufman at Public Affairs, by Alice Martell at Alice Martell Agency (World).

MEMOIR:

Alysia Sofios's INTO THE SUN, memoir of the author's investigation of the 2004 Wesson Murders in Fresno, California in which she risked her reporting career and safety to help free the remaining members of the Wesson family from the psychological clutches of their murderous father and husband, to Abby Zidle at Pocket, for publication in September 2009, by Janet Reid at FinePrint Literary Management (world).

NARRATIVE:

Bringing Down the House author Ben Mezrich's book about entrepreneurship at Harvard, the school's Final Clubs, and student Mark Zuckerberg and the founding of Facebook, to Doubleday, for publication in fall 2009.
Aaron Sorkin is adapting the book for film, with Kevin Spacey's Trigger Street Productions producing.

Pulitzer Prize winner and NYT bestselling author of After the Fire Robin Gaby Fisher's narrative exploration by of the alleged beatings, sexual abuse, and unmarked mass graves at a Florida boys' reform school, addressing the larger 360-degree story of the victims, the accused, and the Nuremberg-style community that has allegedly lived with this open secret for more than 50 years, pitched as Erin Brockovich meets Sleepers, to Yaniv Soha at St. Martin's, by Yfat Reiss Gendell at Foundry Literary + Media (NA).
Foreign: sabou@foundrymedia.com
Film: candace@lakeliterary.com

Wrap....

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