Market Newsby Julie Moffett Here's the latest round-up of deals and sales . . . Former HarperCollins editor Bridie Clark sold her novel, BECAUSE SHE CAN, about a young woman in publishing who juggles 18 hour days, outrageous manuscripts, and a rapidly approaching wedding date, all while slaving under a famously tyrannical female boss, to Jamie Raab at Warner in a pre-empt with Karen Kosztolnyik editing; Johanna Edwards sold her book, HOW TO BE COOL, in which a professional "cool instructor," who's forced to move back in with her parents at age 29, goes to great lengths to hide her dorky lifestyle from her clients and new boyfriend, to Kara Cesare at Berkley in a two-book deal; Elizabeth Noble sold ALPHABET WEEKENDS, about an alphabetical seduction, to Alison Callahan at Harper, for two books; and Heather Waters sold her book DEVIL'S POSSESSION, a paranormal historical to Susan McCarty at Putnam in a two-book deal. (Publisher's Weekly/9-20-05) NYT best-selling author Jennifer Weiner sold her next three books to Judith Curr at Atria with Greer Hendricks editing; and another NYT best-selling author, Jane Feather, sold three historical romance novels to be published as mass-market paperback originals and one historical novel to be published as a trade paperback original to Louise Burke at Pocket to be edited by Maggie Crawford. (Publisher's Weekly/9-27-05) Adele Ashworth sold her historical romances, THE DUKE OF SIN and THE DUKE OF DESIRE, to Lyssa Keursch at Avon; and Maria A. Del Toro, writing as Margo Candela, sold an untitled novel, about a modern Latina who views a trip to Barneys New York as her version of a pilgrimage to the Vatican, to Kate Duffy at Kensington. (Publisher's Weekly/10-4-05) Leisure Books/Dorchester Publishing is actively seeking contemporary romances. The books desired are to be "fun and whimsical," and should be humorous and focus on a modern couple in a "zany situation." Word length is 85,000-90,000 words. Send manuscript to: Dorchester Publishing, 200 Madison Avenue, Suite 2000, New York, NY 10016. No specific editor is named. Avalon Books are seeking short historical romances. These romances should be between 50,000-60,000 words. They are accepting all time periods and setting. They do not, however, accept novels with graphic sex, violence or strong language. Check out the Avalon website (www.avalonbooks.com) for more submission details. Harlequin Enterprises Limited has bought the assets of BET BOOKS, the publishing arm of Black Entertainment Television. The deal is expected to be sealed on November 30, 2005. The purchase is seen by many in the publishing industry as a move to cement Harlequin's role as the key publishers of women's fiction in the world. BET Books is the U.S.'s leading publisher of African-American romance novels under the Arabesque imprint. (Harlequin Press Release)
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