Bill Russell reveals the 11 essential steps to attaining success in RUSSELL RULES
He has been hailed as the greatest team player of the 20th century. In Russell Rules published by Penguin USA, the star center of the Boston Celtics and five-time recipient of the NBA Most Valuable Player award reveals the way to thrive in your professional and personal lives.
Leadership and teamwork are the hallmarks of becoming a champion, and in this book Bill Russell shares the insights, the memories, and most importantly, the enduring philosophy that made him a star.
Russell talks about what leadership means to him, and how living by 11 important rules has influenced him in every aspect of his life -- from being a single father to becoming a successful coach and mentor to others. (Agent: Frank Weimann)
Pocket Books to publish first-time author William Casey Moreton's THE GREATER GOOD
William Casey Moreton works in the computer department of the original Wal-Mart store in Bentonville, Arkansas. A few years ago, he began to jot down a story on index cards in between stocking shelves late at night.
The result of that effort is the gripping novel, The Greater Good, a political thriller which tells a story of greed, corruption, power and deceit, as well as hope and love.
Hours before a renowned assassin's bullet rips through his bedroom window, Vice President James Ettinger makes a confession on a videotape that could bring the current White House administration to its knees. Suddenly, the race is on to find the video tape, and those responsible for his death will stop at nothing to make sure Ettinger's final words are never heard.
"The Greater Good is one of the finest first novels I have read in 15 years of agenting," said Casey's agent Frank Weimann. Weimann found a kindred spirit in Pocket Books Associate Publisher Emily Bestler, who promptly made a preemptive offer and signed Casey to a two-book deal (Agent: Frank Weimann)
DARWIN AWARDS II hits the New York Times bestseller list
Repeating the success of the first installment, The Darwin Awards II by Wendy Northcutt hit the New York Times bestseller list barely two weeks after publication. Inspired by Northcutt's website, www.darwinawards.com, both books bring together humorous collections of magnificent misadventures, honoring those who continue to improve our gene pool by removing themselves from it in a sublimely idotic fashion. (Agent: Andrew Stuart)
"Delightfully funny... if you are not yet aware of The Darwin Awards, you should probably be pitched out of the breeding population... Taken together they constitute a delicious sermon in support of common sense."
-- The Baltimore Sun
Paramount Pictures options THE WAR MAGICIAN by David Fisher
Paramount Pictures has acquired the feature film rights to The War Magician, David Fisher's 1983 book based on a true World War II story. The film is slotted to be a starring vehicle for Tom Cruise.
The story revolves around Jasper Maskelyne, a handsome and famous British stage magician who believed he could adapt the basic principles of stage magic to tactics used to fight the Germans. During World War II, he went on to create one of the most bizarre but effective units in the British Army.
Maskelyne's accomplishments were astounding. He made the Suez Canal disappear, moved the Alexandria Harbor, helped create a phantom army before the battle of El Alamein, and elevated camouflage to a major weapon.
David Fisher is represented by Frank Weimann and Mickey Freiberg at ACME Talent.
Shelley Stewart's stirring memoir, THE ROAD SOUTH, to be published by Warner Books
The Road South by Shelley Stewart is the remarkable story of one man's rise from hardscrabble poverty, horrifying abuse and crippling racism to success as a communications executive, radio personality, civil rights activist and community leader.
As a 5-year old in Homewood, Alabama, Shelley Stewart watched his father kill his mother with an axe. Two years later, Stewart escaped the care of abusive relatives who fed him fried rat and called it chicken.
Eking out a living as a stable hand, the 7-year-old boy survived by dint of a will that proved to be indomitable. He went on to graduate with honors from high school, traveled to New York and joined the army, only to be subjected to electroshock treatments for trying to integrate whites-only based dances.
But throughout the numerous setbacks in his life, Stewart never ceded his will to succeed. Odd jobs at radio stations laid the foundation for what would become a 50-year career in broadcasting.
Stewart, now a successful businessman and community leader, spins a personal story of courage that bears witness to the remarkable strength of the human spirit. (Agent: Frank Weimann)
Putnam to publish MONEY TO BURN, a taut caper by Judge James Zagel
Federal District Judge James Zagel's first novel, Money to Burn, brims with twists of plot and turns of mind.
Zagel's likeable and highly principled alter ego, the Honorable Judge Paulie Devine, finds himself in a unique situtation -- orchestrating a robbery of Chicago's Federal Reserve Bank. Zagel takes the reader through his plans with an eye for detail that would do any officer of the court, or criminal, proud. Anyway you put it, the verdict on this one is: a must-read. Hillary Borton is the editor. (Agent: Frank Weimann)
Dafina to publish CRY ME A RIVER by Ernest Hill
Critically acclaimed author Ernest Hill has signed a two-book deal with Karen Thomas, executive editor at Dafina. The first book, Cry Me a River is a story of love, family, redemption and the triumph of the spirit against the most overwhelming odds. Hill's first two novels, Satisfied With Nothin' and A Life for A Life were published by Simon and Schuster. (Agent: Frank Weimann)
"Hill's brutal honesty... makes [Satisfied with Nothin'] an exceptional literary piece that some readers will compare to Richard Wright's Native Son."
-- Booklist
Warner Brothers options film rights to WHITE OUT, the gripping story of sheriff Jerry Speziale's battle with the infamous Cali drug cartel
The rights to Bergen County, N.J. Sheriff Jerry Speziale's book White Out has been optioned by Warner Brothers based Gaylord Films. David Permut (Double Take) is producing the film with Gaylord.
The film will detail Speziale's younger days an an ambitious New York cop who was recruited by the Drug Enforcement Administration and assigned to an elite drug task force whose main purpose was to infiltrate and dismantle the powerful Cali drug cartel. After learning the ropes, Speziale discovered that his informant was betraying him all along.
Through his experiences, Speziale has become one of the foremost experts on wiretapping, and he often lectures around the country, including the FBI training facility in Quantico, Virginia.
Gaylord production head Casey La Scala said, "The thing that makes this project so unique and engaging is that it is a Pygmalion story based on truth." Added Permut, "When I first heard Jerry's story, I knew it had the potential to be an exciting film set against an international backdrop that takes place in a world we've never seen before."
The deal was agented by Frank Weimann of LGI and Mickey Freiberg of Acme Talent.
WE ARE NOT AFRAID by Homer Hickam is an inspirational guide for these troubled times
Today, fear affects even the strongest of us. Sometimes it's immediate, caused by a sense of imminent danger -- the kind we felt after terrorists destroyed the magnificent World Trade Center, tore a giant wound in the Pentagon and killed thousands of people. But sometimes fear becomes a normal way of life.
Peter Vegso, President of Health Communications Inc. has signed bestselling author Homer Hickam to write We Are Not Afraid, a book that offers a poignant antidote to the fear that threatens to paralyze us.
In his bestselling memoir October Sky Hickam introduced us to the rugged town of his youth, Coalwood, West Virginia, and the people who took on the hazardous and often brutal enterprise of coal mining.
To survive and prosper, these people depended on an approach to living that would get them through hard times with an almost unnatural resilience. The courage and strength that inspired these heroes are captured in this motivational guide which could not be more timely -- or more needed -- than it is today. (Agent: Frank Weimann)
A secret history of Barcelona and the world's first modern submarine
Knopf associate publisher Vicky Wilson has signed up Monturiol's Dream by Matthew Stewart.
This fascinating history revolves around the strange and noble life of Narcis Monturiol, a utopian social revolutionary, political misfit and self-taught engineer who invented the first fully-operational submarine in mid-19th century Barcelona.
Beautifully written and meticulously researched, Monturiol's Dream shines a light on one of the great untold tales of science. It is an improbable but compelling true chapter in the secret history of the world's transition to modernity.
Author Matthew Stewart received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Oxford University. (Agent: Andrew Stuart)
Kensington to publish THE DEAD ROOM, a compelling new thriller by Robert Ellis
The Dead Room is the newest thriller by Robert Ellis, author of Access to Power. A young woman has been found brutally murdered and left on gruesome display the "safety" of her own home. The atrocity kicks off an investigation into a bizarre string of increasingly disturbing murders, all believed to be perpetrated by someone of unprecedented savagery and cunning.
As the city's panic rises, civil attorney Teddy Mack is thrown headlong into the grisly homicide case and into a world of dirty politics and corrupt justice, where deceptions are as deadly as a killer's twisted secrets. Now, another woman is about to meet the same horrific fate as the others. To end a madman's reign, Teddy must enter the killer's maze -- a place of unimaginable terror and shocking revelations. (Agent: Frank Weimann)
"Robert Ellis can hold his own with any of the heavy hitters who write suspense."
Robert K. Tanenbaum, bestselling author of Enemy Within
Booksense recommends THE VOYAGE OF THE CATALPA by Peter Stevens for best new non-fiction
The Voyage of the Catalpa by Peter Stevens recently earned a Booksenserecommendation for the Best in New Non-Fiction. Stevens presents a stirring account of a dramatic episode in the history of the Irish struggle for independence. After the attempted uprisings of the 1860s, many Irish were arrested, including a number of Irishmen serving in the British army. Some of these ex-soldiers were later transported to Australian prisons. One, John Boyle O'Reilly, made a dramatic escape from Fremantle prison in Australia, and, after reaching the United States, worked to secure the freedom of the six compatriots he left behind.
In a splendid example of boldness and daring, O'Reilly and his gang purchased a whaling ship, sailed to the rescue of the "Fremantle Six," and brought them back to the United States. A cause celebre at the time, the rescue was major embarrassment to the British. This first book-length account will be of interest to readers who enjoy both a good story and a good history. (Agent: Frank Weimann)
"It is impossible to describe the joyous magic Judith Lansdowne weaves."
-- Romantic Times
Beloved and much-honored romance writer Judith A. Lansdowne treats readers to a witty, quirky, Regency romance in Shall We Dance?
Judith is the winner of more than 20 awards for her last seven novels, including Romantic Times' Career Achievement Award for Regency Romance.
Kate Duffy, editorial director of Kensington, has signed Judith to three more romances. (Agent: Frank Weimann)
BET Books to publish SURVIVING MR. RIGHT by Teresa McClain-Watson
Surviving Mr. Right by Teresa McClain-Watson is the hip, humorous story of successful but love-starved Victoria Coleman, the various men who confound her daily existence, and the girlfriends who help keep it real.
Victoria Coleman is a hopeless romantic. She believes passionately that the man of her dreams is always one blind date away from discovery. That is why she endures one hapless romance after another, often with hilarious and sometimes tragic consequences. BET publisher Glenda Howard acquired the book. (Agent: Frank Weimann)
The 2001 Alex goes to...
We are very pleased to report that Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley and Ron Powers has been selected by the Young Adult Library Services Association as the winner of a 2001 Alex Award. This award honors the top ten adult books for teenagers published in a calendar year. The winners are widely promoted in libraries and in the academic community, and should enjoy strong sales for years. Formal announcements appeared in the April 1 issue of Booklist and the American Library Association's 2001 Guide to Best Reading. (Agent: Frank Weimann)
New Releases
