Tattered Essence

Here is some recent book related news…

Film rights for the Ranger’s Apprentice series by Australian author John Flanagan have been optioned by United Artists Films. Director and producer Paul Haggis will adapt and direct a series of movies, in a seven-figure deal.

Virginia Duncan at Greenwillow Books has pre-empted North American rights to a debut YA novel by David Macinnis Gill, called Soul Enchilada, due out in winter 2009. The two-book, six-figure deal was made by Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio.

Lexa Hillyer at Razorbill has bought Heartbreak River from debut author Tricia Mills; in the book, 17-year-old Alex discovers first love and faces the river that took her father’s life. The two-book deal was done by Michelle Grajkowski of Three Seas Literary Agency.

J.K. Rowling answered 10 Harry Potter questions, including whether or not Harry actually died in the final volume.

Libba Bray has to be one of my fave YA authors. So, I was pretty excited when I got this news…

This January, two publishing houses will try to prove that two heads are better than one, by sending two popular YA authors on a joint book tour.

The idea came about over drinks one evening.

About a year ago, Deb Shapiro, director of publicity at Bloomsbury and Walker & Co., and Judith Haut, senior v-p, communications and marketing at Random House, met up one evening and, while comparing notes, hit upon the idea of pairing an author with a forthcoming book from each of their houses.

The authors are Shannon Hale from Bloomsbury and Libba Bray from Delacorte.

The Library of Congress’s Center for the Book, which was created to promote books and reading, marked its 30th birthday in Moscow during the Russian Book Festival.

Note that the biennial festival was inspired by the National Book Festival in Washington, one of the activities for which the Center is best known.

The focus of the Center, which was created by then-Librarian of Congress Daniel J. Boorstin and signed into law by President Jimmy Carter in fall 1977, is to get children reading.

Over the past three decades it has set up individual Centers for the Book in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia and established a national reading and writing program, Letters About Literature, which is cosponsored by Target.

In addition, the Center has developed partnerships with international organizations involved in literacy, like the Pushkin Library Foundation in Russia, which copublished its most recent book, Building Nations of Readers: Experience, Ideas, Examples, a bilingual Russian and English history of promoting reading in Russia, the U.S. and the U.K.

Here is something to get excited about - 39 Clues!

Scholastic has signed Rick Riordan, author of the bestselling Percy Jackson series, for a middle-grade adventure series that will debut next September. It is called 39 Clues.

The 39 Clues will incorporate a book publishing program, collectable cards, an online game and more than $100,000 in prizes.

The program features 10 books about a powerful and mysterious family called the Cahills; the series will be published over the course of two years starting with The Maze of Bones.

The 39 Clues game begins on September 9, 2008; through the cards and the program’s Web site. The website is at www.39clues.com.

Remember who Tom Ridge is? He is the first secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Well, looks like he has signed a deal with Thomas Dunne Books for Need to Know: Beyond Chaos and Fear, A Secure Path for America. Yes, that’s correct, he got a book deal.

Rob Kirkpatrick acquired North American rights from Flip Brophy at Sterling Lord. Ridge’s first book promises a glimpse into the early and challenging years of homeland security, as he looks back at events presently unknown to the public.

Ridge will also assess present policies in the U.S. and abroad, and explain what he thinks must be accomplished if America and its allies are to prevail against international terrorism

BookExpo America is hosting a panel discussion featuring a number of American booksellers and librarians at the upcoming Beijing Book Fair. Eight Americans are being brought to the Fair where they will host the panel on bookselling that deals with, among other topics, conducting business in a digital marketplace. The book fair takes place January 8 - 11, 2008.

There are several booksellers attending. Among the booksellers attending the Fair are: Karl Pohrt, founder and owner of Shaman Drum Bookstore in Ann Arbor; Rick Simonson of Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle; Sarah McNally of McNally Robinson in New York; Alison Hill of Vroman’s in Los Angeles; and Paul Yamazaki of City Lights in San Francisco.