Every weekday, Publisher’s Marketplace emails the latest publishing deals in print, digital, audio and foreign sales (over 200 deals/week). Here are some of my favs -- not necessarily the biggest names or the buzziest deal… but the ones that piqued my interest for one reason or another.
LITTLE FLOWER: THE BAKING BOOK by Christine Moore, Cecilia Leung and Staci Valentine
Editor: Colleen Dunn Bates at Prospect Park Books
Description: Recipes for rustically beautiful sweet and savory baked goods
Little Flower is one of those places that I’ve admired from afar: small, focused, well-loved. Until I make it to Pasadena, I’ll be cooking from this cookbook.
THE TRUE TAILS OF BAKER AND TAYLOR: A MEMOIR OF LIFE WITH THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS LIBRARY CATS by Jan Louch
Agent: Scott Mendel at the Mendel Media Group
Editor: Peter Joseph at Thomas Dunne Books
Description: The story of a couple of Scottish fold cats with funny ears who just happened to live in a library, and who not only became the much-loved representatives of a multinational corporation, but also helped bring together a small town in the midst of social change and economic uncertainty and, along the way, helped one not-so-mild-mannered librarian find a new kind of happiness.
Famous cats before the age of famous cats. Baker and Taylor became the official mascots of Baker & Taylor Books in 1988 and were the world’s most famous “library cats”. Bodega cats, sure, but do library cats still exist? Note: must visit more libraries.
A BABYSITTER’S GUIDE TO MONSTERS by Joe Ballarini
Agent: Alyssa Reuben at Paradigm
Editor: Maria Barbo at Katherine Tegen Books
Description: A tween girl who is thrust into a secret society of monster-fighting babysitters after her charge gets kidnapped by the monsters who really do live under his bed.
As a book-loving child of the 90s, I love any book relating to babysitting. Way before Lean In, Ann Martin’s Babysitter’s Club were the first books that taught me about entrepreneurship. (Related: I wish the What Claudia Wore blog was still in action.)
THE ART OF BEING UNMISTAKABLE (1) and 1,000 WORDS A DAY (2) by Srinivas Rao
Agent: Lisa DiMona at Writers House
Editor: Stephanie Frerich at Portfolio
Description: 1) how to take risks and cross lines to create unmistakable work that stands out, and 2) an exploration of creative habits that produce rewards
The Art of Being Unmistakable was initially self-published (get it on Amazon here) and will now (hopefully) reach a much wider audience. If you’re looking for creative motivation, I highly recommend giving it a read. I finished it in one day while reading on the subway, but if you want the super abbreviated version, click here. My favorite quote -- and what I try to live by everyday:
…I believe that it is every person’s birthright to make a dent in the universe….You won’t find it by trying to be better. You only find it by being different…That’s how you reach an unmistakable path.…The system is not designed to encourage this kind of behavior, but it’s only through a bit of intentional chaos we end up letting our imagination guide us to the places we might have never arrived.
Stay weird, stay you. (And happy Monday!)