Book Deals: The Round-Up

Here are a few more book deals that have caught my eye, I think the Meryl Streep inspired book sounds amazing!

Simon & Schuster acquire novel inspired by Meryl Streep
"Simon & Schuster has acquired a novel called The Meryl Streep Movie Club, in which four women at pivotal moments in their lives are brought together by their love of the Oscar-winner’s films.

The book, by Mia March, is in the spirit of The Friday Night Knitting Club and The Jane Austen Book Club and the deal for UK and Commonwealth rights was struck with Kate McLennan at Abner Stein representing Alexis Hurley at Inkwell Management.

Max Hitchcock, fiction editorial director at Simon & Schuster, said: “Hot on the heels of Sunday's Oscars, I'm thrilled to announce a highly topical acquisition, The Meryl Streep Movie Club by Mia March. It's a heartwarming tale uniting the generations with Meryl in one of her best roles yet—that of a fairy godmother.”

The book will be published as a paperback original this summer."

Simon & Schuster signs two-book deal with 'Picoult' novelist
"Simon & Schuster has acquired two books from debut novelist Kimberly McCreight in a "hotly contested" auction for a "significant" but undisclosed sum.

S&S has world rights to Reconstructing Amelia, which tells the story of a mother searching for the truth about her teenage daughter’s apparent suicide after she receives a note saying "Amelia didn’t jump".

S&S editorial director Maxine Hitchcock acquired the rights from Lizzy Kremer at David Higham Associates acting on behalf of Marly Rusoff with the first book to be published in summer 2013. The second is currently untitled.

Hitchcock said: "This is such a breath of fresh air from an original and talented young author who will find a wide audience amongst fans of Jodi Picoult and Susan Lewis as well as young adult readers. It’s inventive, original, controversial and brave."

Sittenfeld to re-imagine Austen for HarperCollins
"American author Curtis Sittenfeld has been announced as the latest author to re-create a Jane Austen novel as part of a series re-imagining the eighteenth century novelist's work.

Sittenfeld, who has penned Prep, The Man of My Dreams and American Wife, will write her own contemporary version of Pride & Prejudice as part of a series of six novels teaming up authors of global literary significance with Jane Austen's six complete works.

HarperCollins publishing director Louisa Joyner acquired the UK & Commonwealth rights to the book from Cathryn Summerhayes on behalf of Jennifer Rudolph Walsh at WME and the book has a planned publication date of Autumn 2014.

Kate Elton, publisher of HarperFiction, said: "It's thrilling to be announcing Curtis Sittenfeld as the second confirmed novelist in this hugely exciting project. The idea of the Bennet girls as seen through Curtis' eyes is a real literary coup with huge commercial potential, and I'm delighted we're developing the series in such an original way."

Sittenfeld said she "fell in love" with Jane Austen and Lizzy Bennet as a 16-year-old, and added: "Although I plan to pay tribute to the humour, romance, and incisive class commentary of her work, I promise that I won't try to sound like her any more than I'll now adopt a British accent!"

Joanna Trollope is to publish Sense & Sensibility in Autumn 2013 to launch the series. Conversations are ongoing as to the other literary pairings and further announcements will follow."
  
All articles are taken from The Bookseller.