MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
November 1 – 15, 2003 Edition Book/Movie Deals Senior Citizen Gets First
Novel Deal After Self Publishing
LONDON/10/21/03Natasha Fairweather of A P Watt, a Cornish woman in her seventies, will have her first novel, The Reckoning, published this June by Weidenfeld in the UK. Ms. Fairweather originally self published the book, which went on to win the Encore Award.
Her book tells the story of 15-year-old Cate, snatched from a campsite as an infant and then raised by a homeless drifter. The story begins as Cate, who thought her mother dead, is now being returned to her. Ms. Fairweather’s editor is Helen Garnons-Williams, who recently joined Weidenfeld after leaving Hodder.
PublishersLunch.com
Reports Book Deals
for Late October
Look for more deals in our November 15th Authorlink edition
These book deals are reported on Authorlink as a courtesy of PublishersLunch.com. Deals are rated as follows:
“nice deal” $1 – $100,000 “good deal” $101,000 – $250,000 “significant deal” $251,000 – $500,000 “major deal” $501,000 and up NA, amount of the deal not available
October 2003
Nonfiction
Former New Jersey governor and EPA head Christine Todd Whitman’s IT’S MY PARTY TOO: The Education of a Moderate, a critique of the increasing polarization of American politics, arguing for a return to the productive middle, to Emily Loose at Penguin Press.
October 2003
Children’s
Markus Zusak’s THE BOOK THIEF, about a young girl in Nazi Germany who, while others are stealing food, steals books and, as she reads them to Jews being marched to the gas chambers, discovers the power of words to feed the spirit, and THE MESSENGER, the Australian YA Book of the Year about an underage taxi driver who, when he unwittingly stops a bank robbery, begins to receive playing cards inscribed with addresses in his mailbox which he must decipher and, through acts of kindness or violence, change lives, to Erin Clarke at Knopf Books for Young Readers, in a six-figure deal , by Catherine Drayton at Arthur Pine Associates (NA).
October 2003
Nonfiction
Owner of Marin County’s Larner Seeds Judith Larner Lowry’s LANDSCAPING IDEAS, to the University of California Press, in a nice deal, by Andrée Abecassis at the Ann Elmo Agency.
October 2003
Fiction
Canadian rights to Micael Helm’s THE PLACE OF LAST THINGS, a riveting journeyboth geographic and psychologicalcentered around a painful secret set in the Canadian prairies, Montana, Mexico and Toronto, to Ellen Seligman at McClelland & Stewart, in a pre-empt, by Ellen Levine at Trident Media Group, who will sell US and UK rights in November (Canada).
Authorlink News, Success Stories,
And Recognition
Major Publishers
Browse Authorlink
for Manuscripts
Statistical Update
11/1/03Major Publishers Browse Authorlink for Manuscripts Statistical Update DALLAS, TX/10/1/03Literary agents and editors regularly surf Authorlink in search of good writers. Among major houses making requests and/or visiting the site, are: Random House, Knopf, St. Martin’s Press, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Putham and many other smaller publishers. More than 900 writers are currently listed with us. Since tracking began, 1739 requests have been processed for requested manuscripts. Of the 387 editor or agent offers we’ve been able to track, 83 have lead to publication as a direct or indirect result of exposure on Authorlink. Additional sales and agent contracts are pending.
On average, about 45-65 percent of evaluated manuscripts are requested by editors and agents, some receiving multiple requests. Of those we’ve been able to track who have received interest, about 20-25 percent are signed with agents and 10- 15 percent of these have directly sold their works to publishers. Our performance is highly effective, considering that only 2 percent of works coming in over the transom in New York ever make a sale.
The site, which matches literary agents and editors with writers, has received praise from editors at Penguin UK, Avon, Berkley, Random House, Time-Warner, Bantam Doubleday Dell and other major publishers. See “What People Are Saying About Authorlink” See “What People Are Saying About Authorlink”
on Selected Authorlink Successes
This is a partial list of authors who have recently sold work as a result of having been listed with Authorlink (http://www.authorlink.com). See more like these in our full news archives.
FICTION
IT’S HOW YOU PLAY THE GAME, by Jimmy Gleacher, to Brant Rumble at Scribner (Simon & Schuster), as a direct result of Authorlink.
DARK DESIRE, by Elaine Moore, first in a three-book sale to iBooks, Inc. (distributed by Simon & Schuster), a vampire romance to be released in mass market format in March 2004. Books II and III will soon follow. Ms. Moore’s writing has been likened to Anne Rice. The series was sold directly by Authorlink in a publisher-to-publisher deal.
MEMOIR
SLIM TO NONE, by Graydon D. (Dee) Hubbard directly sold from Authorlink to Michele Pezzuti at McGraw-Hilll for release in January 2003. The poignant story of his daughter’s long (and fatal) journey through the wasteland of anorexia treatment is told mostly through her hospital journals. Hubbard’s first agent, signed through Authorlink, terminated for health reasons. His second agent, also found through Authorlink, lost her position when her agency downsized after 9/11. Fortunately, a few months later, McGraw Hill editor Michele Pezzuti spotted the work on Authorlink, made a direct request for the materials, and subsequently offered a contract. First-time author.
NONFICTION
BEYOND ANGER: A GUIDE FOR MEN by Thomas J. Harbin, Ph.D, to Avalon (Marlowe & Company). The book originally sold to John Muir Publications as a direct inquiry to Authorlink from the publisher. Muir later was acquired by Marlowe. First-time author.
PROFITS IN NATURAL RESOURCES by Roland Jansen, to John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Both the agent, Elizabet McHugh, and the publisher made direct requests for this work, ultimately represented by McHugh. First-time author.
SPACE FOR WOMEN, A HISTORY OF WOMEN WITH THE RIGHT STUFF by Pamela Freni, to Seven Locks Press, as a direct result of Authorlink.
PATENTS AND TRADEMARKS PLAIN AND SIMPLE by Michael Jester, to Career Press, as a direct result of Authorlink. Jester became the 83 rd author to sell his work with the help of Authorlink. Release date: Spring 2004. Originally titled PATENTS: A PRACTICAL LEGAL GUIDE FOR INDIVIDUALS AND SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS.
Selected Authorlink Contest Winners
Who Have Won Major Publishing Contracts
Six winners of the annual Authorlink New Author Awards competition have won significant publishing contracts, partly influenced by having been winners in the Authorlink contest, which turns six years old in July 2003. This is a partial list.
FICTION
D’ ANGELOS DESTINY by Ginger Hanson to Ballad (Kensington Publishing Corporation, 2002) in a two-book deal. Ms. Hanson won the Best of Show and Historical Romance awards in the 2001 Authorlink New Author Awards Competition. First-time author.
BEST SERVED COLD by Cynthia G. Alwyn (pen name) to St. Martins Press (2001) by Anne Hawkins, John Hawkins & Associates. Ms. Alwyn placed among the top three in the 1999 Authorlink awards competition for her novel , TALE OF THE SERPENT. First-time author.
SONG OF THE BEAST by Carol Berg to Roc (Penguin Putnam, 2000) in a three-book deal. Berg was the 1999 Authorlink first-place Science Fiction/Fantasy winner. First-time author.
BINGO QUEENS by June London (aka June Park) to Cliff Street (HarperCollins, April 1999) in a two-book, six-figure deal by Robert Tabian of Robert Tabian Literary Agency. Ms. London was the Mainstream Fiction winner in the 1998 New Author Awards competition . First-time author.
