HOA 2013 London Rights List

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2013 Rights List London Book Fair

Harold Ober Associates Incorporated

General Fiction THE BASTARD PLEASURE by Seán McGrady May 2013 (UK)/August 2013 (US) Dzanc Books (World English) Editor: Steve Gillis 350 pages •

McGrady’s first novel, The Backslider, was published in 2012

The child raised in violence will rise to kill his oppressor ... or will he? Children in Belfast play dangerous games. A young boy works the overnight shift in a Belfast City bakery, with a co-worker who has a predatory sexual interest in him. It is 1972. Terrorist saboteurs invade the premises, throwing the factory into darkness. A night of violence follows, in which the hostage-takers put in motion a sadistic act of revenge. The story is recounted by the boy, now grown, to an interlocutor not unfamiliar with the events, and the personal history of a man scarred inside and out is revealed, with references that whipsaw from moral philosophy to sport and classic film. A tale of innocence lost, told with dark humor and dizzying erudition, as if A Clockwork Orange exploded In the Night Kitchen. Seán McGrady, a former university lecturer in philosophy, was raised in Belfast. This is his second novel. “The Bastard Pleasure is Belfast noir at its mad, lyrical, metaphysical best.” — TOM WHALEN PRAISE FOR The Backslider “A demanding and hugely enjoyable novel” — RODDY DOYLE “Hilarious ... disturbing ... a genre-breaking offering which will mesmerize from start to finish” Ulster Tatler magazine LBF 2013 2


General Fiction CABOT WRIGHT BEGINS by James Purdy July 2013 Liveright Publishing/W.W. Norton (US & Canada) Editor: Robert Weil 224 pages • • •

Fall 2012 issue of Tin House featured a Lost & Found rediscovery of Purdy James Purdy was profiled in the 2012 Fiction Issue of Vice magazine New author website: www.jamespurdy.org

Rights Sold: • Baldini Castoldi Dalai (Italian) • Escalera (Spanish)

Cabot Wright Begins, first published in 1964, may be one of the most neglected masterpieces in post–World War II American literature. It tells the story of Chicago car salesman Bernie Gladhart who, spurred on by his ambitious wife, decides to write a novel about a recently paroled serial rapist, Cabot Wright. As Bernie tries to track down Wright in Brooklyn, he encounters a series of bizarre and Dickensian characters and sets in motion an extraordinary chain of events. Unsparing yet prophetic in its portrayal of everything from television to Wall Street, race, urban poverty, and especially sex, Purdy’s comic fiction evokes “an American psychic landscape of deluded innocence, sexual obsession, violence and isolation” (New York Times). "It might be loosely described as a bravura work of satire -- a satire on pornographic fantasy, a satire on New York literary life, a satire on affluent eccentric mid-century America. Except that satire is perhaps too narrow a term to convey the kind of comedy that Purdy writes, comedy in the tradition that included both Candide and The Goon Show." —SUSAN SONTAG

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General Fiction THE COMPLETE SHORT STORIES OF JAMES PURDY by James Purdy with an Introduction by John Waters July 2013 Liveright Publishing/W.W. Norton (US & Canada) Editor: Robert Weil • • •

Fall 2012 issue of Tin House featured a Lost & Found rediscovery of Purdy James Purdy was profiled in the 2012 Fiction Issue of Vice magazine www.jamespurdy.org

Option publishers: • Baldini Castoldi Dalai (Italian) • Escalera (Spanish) • Nota Bene (Turkish)

Collected for the first time in one volume are all of James Purdy’s stories, from his first published works (“Color of Darkness” and the acclaimed “63:Dream Palace”) right through to seven never-before-published stories. In W.W. Norton’s esteemed literary imprint Liveright & Co., Purdy will be published alongside T.S. Eliot, Hart Crane, e.e. cummings, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and Dorothy Parker. A new edition of the novel CABOT WRIGHT BEGINS will be released simultaneously. “James Purdy … should be placed alongside William Faulkner in the somber Gothic corner of … American literature” – GORE VIDAL “What constitutes in extremis for most of us is the daily bread of Mr. Purdy’s world. He lets you try on desperation, and you find that it fits you better than you expected. His most bizarre freaks don’t feel freakish. They feel, peculiarly, like me.” – JONATHAN FRANZEN LBF 2013 4


Mystery & Suspense THE COCKTAIL WAITRESS by James M. Cain September 2012 Hard Case Crime (World English) Editor: Charles Ardai 272 pages Selected by The Evening Standard (UK) as one of the Top Books of 2012 Rights sold: • • • •

Audio (HarperCollins Audio) German (Metrolit/Aufbau) French (Editions de l’Archipel) Italian (ISBN)

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World Spanish (RBA Libros) Brazil (Companhia das Letras) Japanese (Shinchosha) Russian (AST) Slovene (UMCO)

A beautiful young widow whose husband died under suspicious circumstances takes a job as a waitress in a cocktail lounge, where she meets two new men: a handsome young schemer she falls in love with, and a wealthy older man she marries. This recently rediscovered novel was published for the very first time in 2012. “THE COCKTAIL WAITRESS … will shock you with an ending you’ll never forget. This is a true rarity: a reader’s novel that’s also a literary event." —STEPHEN KING "Swift and absorbing…pulses with more authentic primal energy than the work of any number of Cain imitators from the 1930s to the present.” —Wall Street Journal “Cain saves his best twist for his very last book … so carefully finessed and camouflaged through the book as to bring a tear to a glass eye — another writer’s jealous acknowledgment.” —Michael Connelly in The New York Times Book Review

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Mystery & Suspense THE BURN PALACE by Stephen Dobyns February 2013 Penguin/Blue Rider (World English) Editor: David Rosenthal 480 pages • •

Featured Alternate Selection for the Mystery Guild and Quality Paperback Book clubs A film adaptation of Stephen Dobyns’ BLACK DOG RED DOG is currently in production under the direction of James Franco

Rights sold: • Audio (Dreamscape) • Dutch (Ambo-Anthos) • German (C. Bertelsmann) From bestseller Stephen Dobyns (THE CHURCH OF DEAD GIRLS, BOY IN THE WATER) comes a long-awaited new literary thriller set in a small Rhode Island town, where a newborn baby is replaced by a snake in its hospital bassinet, a mysterious stranger is shot dead and scalped, and large, ornery coyotes are roaming the streets. State Trooper Woody Potter and a group of local investigators and reporters gradually uncover secrets leading to a dark and bloody denouement. “Dobyns has always been good, but this book is authentically great. If ever there was a novel that demonstrates why this mode of entertainment remains healthy and vital more than 150 years after Charles Dickens did his thing, The Burn Palace is that book.” —STEPHEN KING “Dobyns’ tone, shifting from amused to sinister and back again…buttress[es] the horror with pitch black humor. A tour de force genre buster that could be a breakout.”

“Atmospheric New England supernaturalism from…a latter-day disciple [of Stephen King] who deservedly earns the master’s praise.” —Kirkus Reviews "Elegantly effortless ... lyrically cool ... reminiscent of Ray Bradbury at his best." —Providence Journal “An exquisitely unexpected, delightfully believable exploration of what normal looks like…through the (evil) looking glass.” —Oprah.com

—Publishers Weekly (starred review) LBF 2013 6

Mystery & Suspense THE SNOWFLY by Joseph Heywood Spring 2013 Lyons Press (U.S./Canada) Editor: Keith Wallman 464 pages • •

A new edition of Heywood’s critically acclaimed, classic novel of suspense, international intrigue, and fly-fishing The Snowfly has drawn comparisons to “A River Runs Through It” and “Legends of the Fall”

One legendary insect – enormous, white, and exceedingly rare – attracts trout of such size that they couldn’t possibly exist in the world as we know it. Bowie Rhodes, UPU reporter and expert fly fisherman leaned of the snowfly early in his childhood. The snowfly is the sacred quest of the most obsessed trout hunters, existing (it seems) only in myth and a lost manuscript. Rhodes’ reporting (quest?) takes him to the jungles of Vietnam, the labyrinth of Brezhnev’s Soviet Union, and a poisoned Canadian wasteland of uranium mines – while his hunt for the manuscript take him deep into his own heart of darkness. “If The Snowfly becomes a move, it will blast A River Runs Through It out of the water.” —Fly Angler’s Online Book Review “Fly-fishing legend meets global adventure in Heywood’s sparkling, ambitious novel …. An engrossing bildungsroman … part Tom Robbins, part David Copperfield” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)


Mystery & Suspense FALSE NEGATIVE by Joseph Koenig June 2012 Hard Case Crime (World English) Editor: Charles Ardai 253 pages • • •

Among Crime Fiction Lover website’s Top Five Books of 2012 Joseph Koenig is the author of the Edgar-nominated FLOATER and New York Times Book Review Notable BRIDES OF BLOOD. Koenig got his start as a writer working in the pulp true-crime magazines

Rights sold: • Audio (Audible) • Spanish (RBA)

When Atlantic City reporter Adam Jordan loses his newspaper job he takes a job at the pulp true-crime weekly Real Detective magazine, where he’s drawn into the mess of two Jersey Shore murders, and the attractive arms of a “colored” prostitute with a connection to one of the victims. A vivid snapshot of the “pulp” magazines of the Fifties. “The best crime novel I read all year”. – Crime Fiction Lover website “By the time I finished False Negative one word lingered in my mind: Edgar.” — ED GORMAN “Razor-sharp prose, and a fast-moving plot. With any luck, readers won’t have to wait another 20 years for Koenig’s next book” — Publishers Weekly “Brilliant noirish dialogue … a must for readers who like their crime fiction old school.” — Booklist “First-rate … absorbing” — TLS

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Mystery & Suspense THEY DON’T DANCE MUCH by James Ross with an Introduction by Daniel Woodrell April 2013 eMysterious Press (World English) Editor: Otto Penzler •

Woodrell is the author of WINTER’S BONE and THE DEATH OF SWEET MISTER

Rights sold: • Russian (AST) • World Spanish (Sajalín Editores)

Originally published in 1940, this tough, realistic novel exemplifies Depression-era literature in the United States. The setting of is a sleazy North Carolina roadhouse, complete with dance floor, restaurant, gambling room, and cabins rented by the hour. Smut Milligan, the proprietor, seeks money to keep operating and in the process commits a brutal murder. “Establishes Ross’s kinship with all true storytellers since Homer, his understanding that all classes – that is, the whole human race – are essentially unimprovable, an eternal mix of meanness and nobility, violence and compassion, horror and humor.” —The Millions

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Historical Fiction HOSTILE SHORES by Dewey Lambdin February 2013 Thomas Dunne (World English) Editor: Peter Joseph 368 pages • •

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This is the 19th book in Lambdin’s popular series. St. Martin’s Press has just signed up three more novels, and plan an extensive new push for the series Earlier books in the series translated into German and Spanish

In 1805, with news of Admiral Nelson's death fresh on his mind, Captain Lewrie's HMS Reliant joins up in the voyage that will culminate in the Battle of Cape Town, in which the British wrested control of South Africa from the Dutch. In the wake of that victory, Lewrie heads west to South America, where Britain's attacks on Buenos Aires and other Spanish colonies have not been faring as well. But the worst is yet to come, and soon Lewrie will be facing a battle at sea that will put his naval career and life at risk. “ …an immersive level of detail on everything from the minutia of life aboard ship to the nuances of period speech … Lewrie is a compelling blend of duty-bound naval officer and incorrigible scamp … the battle of the Reliant is absolutely thrilling.” — Kirkus (starred review) “Lambdin … [is] in good company with Julian Stockwin and Seth Hunter as worthy successors to … Forester, Kent, and Pope.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) “A joy to read … Lewrie is easily Napoleon’s greatest naval antagonist after Horatio Nelson.” — Historical Novel Society

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Other recent translation sales for fiction… “Lew Archer” mystery series by Ross Macdonald – French (Gallmeister), Spanish (RBA); Italian (Marco Polillo) Hungarian (Europa); Japanese (Hayakawa); Russian (AST); Turkish (Bilge Kultur); Chinese (New Star, Solo Press); UK (Penguin Modern Classics) Considered by many to be the defining hero of the hardboiled detective genre, Macdonald’s protagonist is a divorced former cop turned “private eye” in postwar Los Angeles. • THE GALTON CASE, from this series, has been optioned for film by Warner Bros. and Joel Silver (“Sherlock Holmes”, etc.) COMPANY K by William March – French (Gallmeister), Spanish (Libros del Silencio), Italian (Castelvecchi), Dutch (Dulce et Decorum) Originally published in 1933, this book depicts the fictional”Company K “through 113 sketches that stem from the author’s experiences with the U.S. Marines in France during WWI. Extending beyond the boundaries of the war itself, it bravely traces an unflinching emotional history of men in battle. THE TENANTS OF MOONBLOOM and THE PAWNBROKER by Edward Lewis Wallant – Spanish (Libros del Asteroide), German (Berlin Verlag), Italian (Baldini Castoldi Dalai), Czech (Albatros) Making his rounds from apartment to apartment collecting rent for his slumlord brother, Norman Moonbloom confronts a wildly varied assortment of brilliantly described urban characters. Edward Lewis Wallant's astonishing comic tour de force is a neglected masterpiece of 1960s America. • Reissued in 2003 by NYRB Classics with an introduction by Dave Eggers • Recently featured on the Swiss radio program 52 Beste Bücher (Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen) • Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2013 Sol Nazerman survived the Holocaust. His wife and children did not - he witnessed their murder in a concentration camp. He is now a Harlem pawnbroker, emotionally dead and indifferent to the desperation around him, running his shop as a front for a racketeer. • Made into the 1964 film starring Academy Award winner Rod Steiger • Selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being ”culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.

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Biography / Military History OMAR BRADLEY: General at War by Jim DeFelice November 2011 Regnery (World English) 451 pages

General Omar Bradley was commander of all U.S. ground troops at D-Day, and led the largest body of U.S. soldiers ever to serve under one field commander. Picked by Major General Patton to be his deputy during the War, he eventually rose to become Patton’s commander. Bradley was known as the “soldier’s general” for his compassion toward his troops, and he eventually became the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and an advisor to several presidents. Largely overlooked by biographers, Bradley is finally given a full study by bestselling author Jim DeFelice. “In this vital, triumphant work, Jim DeFelice at long last dispels all the misconceptions with the definitive story of this towering U.S. military figure.” —JEROME PREISLER, New York Times bestselling author

HAP ARNOLD: Father of the U.S. Air Force by Bill Yenne October 2013 Regnery (World English) 304 pages American air power had a profound effect on the outcome of the Second World War. Understanding this fact is essential to understanding the history of the pivotal event of the twentieth century. This book is the first major biography in 30 years of General Henry Harley “Hap” Arnold, the man who was, in every sense, the father of the modern U.S. Air Force. Almost from scratch, he molded a tiny handful of U.S. Army tactical aircraft into an immense war-winning force—yet beyond the statistics there is the singular vision of a man who imagined that air power would be the key, not only tactically, but both strategically and logistically. LBF 2013 12


Sports / Biography / Memoir HEART OF A TIGER: Growing Up With My Grandfather, Ty Cobb by Herschel Cobb April 2013 ECW Press (World English) Editor: Jack David 220 pages

Herschel Cobb’s moving account of his relationship with his legendary grandfather reveals a side of Ty Cobb that few people ever saw: that of loving nurturer. A baseball icon and arguably the best player who ever lived, Ty Cobb’s infamously cold, competitive nature allowed him to excel on the ball field but undermined his relationship with his children. Devastated by the untimely death of two of his sons, Cobb relished the opportunity to reconnect the broken family ties when young Herschel and his siblings visited him during the summers. In the pages of this book, Herschel recounts how his grandfather provided the stability, love and guidance that he desperately needed. Beautifully written and insightful, this memoir describes the healing bond between Cobb and his grandchildren, and constructs a wholly different legacy for the notoriously tough Cobb as gentle and affectionate “Granddaddy.” “A gentle, affecting memoir.” — Kirkus Reviews “Elegantly written and genuinely moving, this heartwarming account is sure to resonate with readers.” —Publishers Weekly LBF 2013 13


Memoir SEX CHANGES: A Memoir of Marriage, Gender, and Moving On by Christine Benvenuto November 2012 St. Martin’s Press (World English) Editor: Nichole Argyres 304 pages • Chris Benvenuto is the author of SHIKSA (2002); she was the 2012 winner of the Brooklyn Nonfiction Prize from the Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival • Serial extracts in The Guardian and Huffington Post generated 1,400 + comments Rights sold: • Audio (Blackstone) • Serial (1st serial: Guardian Weekend Magazine – UK; 2nd serial: The Week – UK; Huffington Post – US) One early summer evening Christine Benvenuto and her husband, having just made love, lay cuddled cozily in bed. In this intimate moment, her husband of 20 years said something that would change Christine’s life, her marriage, and her family forever: he told her he wanted to become a woman. So began an extraordinary chapter in Benvenuto’s personal, and public, life. The story of how Chris and her family handled this crisis is deeply painful, inspiringly cathartic, and surprisingly funny. “Benvenuto, like the best of memoirists, has that clear, true voice that transforms her story into my story – the details are different, but not the emotions. This is the power of story-telling at its best.” —Sally Ryder Brady, author of A Box of Darkness: The Story of a Marriage “Sex Changes is a long overdue book … complex and questioning, and always honest. It suggests how deeply transformative recovering from the loss of a marriage can be.” —Helen Boyd, author of She’s Not the Man I Married “A refreshingly gutsy narrative that offers a compelling view of sexual maturity and a sexual coming-of-age at midlife.” — Kirkus LBF 2013 14


Memoir

THE LITTLE BOOKSTORE OF BIG STONE GAP: A Memoir of Friendship, Community, and the Uncommon Pleasure of a Good Book by Wendy Welch October 2012 St. Martin’s Press (World English) Editor: Nichole Argyres 304 pages •

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Featured in the October 2012 issue of Redbook magazine, on NPR’s Weekend Edition, and People magazine; a Bas Bleu selection A story of running-away-to-find-yourself that will appeal to readers of WILD and EAT, PRAY, LOVE Now in its 2nd printing

Rights sold: • Large Print (Center Point) • Portuguese/Portugal (Clube do Autor) • Polish (Wydawnictwo Czarne) • Chinese (Shanghai Joint Publishing) • Korean (Chaeksesang) When Wendy Welch and her husband moved to Big Stone Gap, Virginia their plan was to take a short break to re-evaluate the direction of their professional lives. Jack, an academic and professional storyteller, was nearing retirement; Wendy had a PhD in ethnography. In a small town in Appalachia, they encountered their destiny: to open a bookshop. As the bottom fell out of the U.S. economy, and then the publishing industry, Wendy and Jack obstinately dug in, and achieved something they never expected. Rather than a commercial enterprise, they had created a social and intellectual hub for their community. Their story has ups and downs, a great deal of humor and, of course, the enduring affection for books and the people who love them.

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PRAISE FOR The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap “[B]eguiling … exudes enormous charm and the value of dreams and lives truly lived.” — Publishers Weekly “Amusing, engaging, astute, and perceptive … a fervent affirmation of the power of books to bring people together.” — Booklist “Welch’s memoir manages to be both cozy and witty at the same time and paints a picture of small-town life that we all want to believe is possible. And her belief that books are an essential part of any life worth living is pretty much irresistible as well.” – Christian Science Monitor "In a time when brick and mortar bookstores around the country are literally imperiled, The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap comes along like a cool compress on a nagging wound; with humor, compassion, and a bold leap of spirit, Wendy Welch leads us back to this nearly forgotten truth, that bookstores are not simply distribution hubs for books, they are….the anchors for our hungry, drifting souls. Buy this book, and do it in your local independently owned bookstore!" –ANDRE DUBUS III, New York Times bestselling author of Townie and The House of Sand and Fog “A treasure of a book about books.” — NINA SANKOVITCH, author of Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading “There is hope for books and those who love them: … [Welch’s] prose sparkles with personality in this heartening tale of the perils and rewards of following one’s dream. –THOMAS C. FOSTER, bestselling author of How to Read Literature Like a Professor "Charming, lively, bubbling with anecdote, incident and insight, Wendy Welch’s animated memoir is any reader’s perfect companion...The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap brims with joie de livre." —LAURA KALPAKIAN, author of American Cookery: A Novel; and The Memoir Club “Wendy Welch’s memoir is entertaining, informative, and – best of all – big-hearted and wise. A perfect pick-me-up for people discouraged by talk of the death of the book.” –SAM SAVAGE, international bestselling author of Firmin

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Narrative Nonfiction / Popular Science / Health & Medicine LEONARDO’S FOOT: How 10 Toes, 52 Bones, and 66 Muscles Shaped the Human World by Carol Ann Rinzler Bellevue Literary Press (World English) June 2013 192 pages • •

Rinzler is a former nutrition columnist for the New York Daily News Author of more than twenty books on health and medicine

Leonardo's Foot stretches back to the fossil record and forward to recent discoveries in evolutionary science to demonstrate that it was our feet—rather than our brains—that first distinguished us from other animal species. Taking inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci's statement that "the human foot is a masterpiece of engineering and a work of art," Carol Ann Rinzler leads us on a fascinating stroll through science, medicine, and culture to shed light on the role our feet have played in the evolution of civilization. Whether discussing the ideal human form in classical antiquity, the impressive depth of the arching soles on the figures in Sandro Botticelli's Birth of Venus, an array of foot maladies and how they have affected luminaries from Lord Byron to Benjamin Franklin, or delving into the history of foot fetishism, Rinzler has created a wonderfully diverse catalog of details on our lowest extremities. This is popular science writing at its most entertaining—page after page of fascinating facts, based around the playful notion that appreciating this often overlooked part of our body is essential to understanding what it is to be human. ”Carol Ann Rinzler has written a surprising and delightful book about this 'underwhelming, underreported, and completely indispensable' part of the human body. It's amazing what you'll learn!" —Richard N. Gottfried, Fellow, New York Academy of Medicine

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Social Sciences / Religion / Women’s Studies BEYOND BELIEF: The Secret Lives of Women in Extreme Religions Susan Tive and Cami Ostman, editors April 2013 Seal Press (World English) 224 pages • •

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Worldwide figures for people unaffiliated with any religion are growing – this book examines some of the reasons why. Oprah picked Cami Ostman’s first book, SECOND WIND and two of the contributors to BEYOND BELIEF for their “Memoirs We Love” feature Contributors include Julia Scheeres (Jesus Land) Carolyn Briggs (This Dark World, basis of the film “Higher Ground”), Donna Johnson (Holy Ghost Girl), and Lucia Greenhouse (FatherMotherGod) Publishers Weekly featured a Q&A with Susan Tive and Cami Ostman in their Religion issue

This exploration of women’s religious experience includes the voices of women from Catholic, Evangelical Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Mormon, Christian Science, Jehovah’s Witness, Seventh Day Adventist, and Unification (“Moonie”) backgrounds as they examine what has led them to reject, or embrace, religious communities that challenge women’s autonomy. “With a bold eye for the tragic and ridiculous, these spot-on testimonies by women cast a penetrating light on their pilgrimages to Planet Religion in search of meaning and sanctuary, trudging through the sloughs of inequity and weirdness to reach, with luck, the get-me-thehell-out-of-here exit." —TOVA REICH, author of My Holocaust “These women share the terror they experienced because they dared to read Judy Blume, or disagreed that feminism is Satan’s tool, or had sex outside of marriage, or refused to believe that reciting verses from their holy scripture would solve every one of life’s problems. Their brave, aching stories reveal a new truth.” —LEORA TANENBAUM, author of Taking Back God: American Women Rising Up for Religious Equality LBF 2013 18


Social Sciences / Cultural Studies A COMPREHENSIVE DICTIONARY OF THE MIDDLE EAST by Dilip Hiro March 2013 Olive Branch Press (World English) 700 pages Includes maps

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Dilip Hiro contributes regularly to the Guardian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Observer and is a commentator for CNN and the BBC. Highly readable and up-to-date to reflect the vast changes taking place in the region A must-have reference for anyone genuinely interested in understanding the history and current events of the Middle East.

In this up-to-date, painstakingly researched dictionary, Dilip Hiro brings one of the most tumultuous regions of the world to our fingertips. It offers a wide range of alphabetically arranged information on topics ranging from current affairs, history and politics to religions, literature and tourist destinations. Topics covered include: Arab Spring ∙ Arab-Israeli Wars ∙ Biographies ∙ Christianity & Christian Sects ∙ Civil Wars ∙ Country Profiles ∙ Ethnic Groups ∙ Government ∙ Gulf Wars ∙ Historical Places ∙ History ∙ Hostages ∙ International Agreements & Treaties ∙ Islam and Islamic Sects ∙ Judaism & Jewish Sects ∙ Languages ∙ Literary Personalities ∙ Military & Military Leaders ∙ Nonconventional & Nuclear Weapons ∙ Oil & Gas ∙ Peace Process ∙ Politics ∙ Regional Conflicts ∙ Religion ∙ Terrorism ∙ Tourist Destinations ∙ United Nations, and much more.

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Social Sciences / Religion / Jewish Studies OLD LIVES AND NEW: Soviet Immigrants in Israel and America by Edith Rogovin Frankel May 2012 Hamilton Books (U.S. & Canada) 214 pages •

Edith Frankel is a former teacher at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, now teaching at Hunter College in New York City

This is the moving story of the people who made the difficult and sometimes hazardous decision to leave their home, family, and friends and start new lives in Israel and the United States. Edith Rogovin Frankel interviews them twice: shortly after they leave the Soviet Union in the late 1970s and again, twenty-five years later, when they have long been settled in their new lives. Their experiences—from their formative years in the Soviet Union, to their decisions to leave, to their struggles to receive permission to emigrate—illuminate the complex history of Soviet Jews. The story of their emigration represents the universal tale of anyone who has ever migrated, hoping to find a new and better life elsewhere. Above all, this is the personal story of these men and women, of the desires that inspired them and of the dogged faith that kept them going. “The best history does more than give us facts and figures; it tells us how people lived. Edith Rogovin Frankel’s work does that and more, interweaving the stories … in a way that makes a whole community come to life.” —GAL BECKERMAN, author of When They Come for Us We’ll be Gone: The Epic Struggle to Save Soviet Jewry

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Social Sciences / Religion / Jewish Studies THE ELECTED AND THE CHOSEN by Denis Brian November 2012 Gefen Publishing (World English) 323 pages • •

with an introduction by Alan Dershowitz Denis Brian is the author of EINSTEIN: A LIFE, THE TRUE GEN: AN INTIMATE PORTRAIT OF ERNEST HEMINGWAY BY THOSE WHO KNEW HIM, and GENIUS TALK

The Elected and the Chosen reveals how and why, almost without exception, American presidents sought to protect Jews at home and abroad from their often deadly enemies. It explains why American presidents have admired and befriended Jews, appointed them to powerful positions, and eventually helped them achieve their greatest dream: a return to the country of their forebears and the establishment of a Jewish state in which they were masters of their destiny. Based on once-secret documents and little-known diaries, The Elected and the Chosen discloses, for the first time, the close ties that have bound American presidents and the Jews from the dawn of American history. “I think of myself as quite knowledgeable with regard to Israel and Jewish people, having read quite widely in both fields. I was shocked when I read this book to find out how much I didn’t know …” —from the preface by ALAN DERSHOWITZ

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Humor / Reference THE 2,548 WITTIEST THINGS ANYBODY EVER SAID by Robert Byrne May 2012 Touchstone (U.S. & Canada) Editor: Allegra Ben-Amotz 672 pages

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From the author of the beloved 2,548 BEST THINGS ANYBODY EVER SAID His first new collection in 15 years Now in its 5th printing

A work not only for reference but also for entertainment, and can be read from cover to cover for pure enjoyment. Byrne's wit, research and creativity combine to assemble a go-to reference that is better than Google - no wi-fi required! “There are everybody else’s books of quotations, and then there are Robert Byrne’s.” –The Washington Post “[P]ure gold for any lover of language, but I warn you … once you start, you can't stop” – Knoxville News Sentinel

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Other recent translation sales for nonfiction … EMOTIONAL BULLSHIT by Carl Alasko – Japanese (Subarusya), Spanish (EDHASA/Elipse), Portugal (Bertrand), Brazil (Lafonte/Larousse do Brasil), Croatian (Ljevak) In this breakthrough book Dr. Carl Alasko takes apart the emotional stealth disease that destroys trust and happiness in every area of life: dating, marriage, parenting, friendship and work.

THE CHILDREN OF SÁNCHEZ: Autobiography of a Mexican Family by Oscar Lewis – Polish (Kanonicza Bona), Spanish (Fondo de Cultura Economica), Chinese simplified characters (STPH), Chinese complex characters (Rive Gauche), Korean (Imagine Books) The classic (and controversial) work of anthropology, in a 50th anniversary edition with a new Foreword. Told entirely in the voices of its subjects, this “autobiography” is taken from transcripts of interviews with a family living in the slums of Mexico City in the late 1950s. Lewis won the National Book Award in 1969 for La Vida and his work was instrumental in the study of what came to be known as “the culture of poverty”.

THE EDUCATION OF T.C. MITS: What Modern Mathematics Means to You by Lillian R. Lieber – Chinese complex characters (Athena); Chinese simplified characters (Beijing Mediatime) This delightful illustrated introduction to complex mathematics, designed for “the celebrated ‘man in the street’” (aka T.C. Mits), was first published in 1944 and has been reissued in the U.S. by Paul Dry Books.

THE AGES OF GAIA: A Biography of Our Living Earth by James Lovelock – Chinese simplified characters (The Commercial Press, Ltd.), Italian (Bollati Boringhieri), Japanese (Kosakusha Ltd.), World Spanish (Tusquets) In this classic book from the Commonwealth Book Program series, Lovelock sketches out his theory that the level of oxygen, the formation of clouds, and the saltiness of the oceans may all be controlled by biological processes.

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Children’s / YA Fiction THE POND by Robert Murphy Overlook Press (World English) March 2013 288 pages

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In an era of climate-change debate and animal rights movements, The Pond delivers an important message to readers of all ages Robert Murphy is the author of The Peregrine Falcon and The Stream Winner of the Dutton Animal Book Award

Previously published in French, Danish, and Japanese editions.

This inspiring tale about respecting and preserving animal and plant life, first published in 1964, is perhaps even more relevant in today's climate than when it was first published. Fourteen-year-old Joey spends his childhood visiting a beautiful back-country pond in Virginia. His humorous and heart-warming adventures in and around the pond, with the faithful dog Charley at his side, broaden his understanding of his place in the world and awaken in him a protective instinct towards all nature.

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Children’s / YA Fiction THE FALSE PRINCESS by Eilis O’Neal Egmont (World English) 336 pages • •

Debut novel A perfect book for fans of Shannon Hale’s Princess Academy series

Rights sold: • •

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Brazil (Edicions DCL) Turkish (Artemis) Indonesian (Serambi Ilmu Semesta)

Princess Nalia has led a privileged life at the court of Thorvaldor. But everything changes when she learns, just after her sixteenth birthday, that she is a false princess, a stand-in for the real Nalia, who has been hidden away for her protection. Cast out with little more than the clothes on her back, the girl now called Sinda must leave behind the city, her best friend, Kiernan, and the only life she’s ever known. Sent to live with her only surviving relative—a cold, scornful woman with little patience for her newfound niece—Sinda proves inept at even the simplest tasks. Then she discovers that magic runs through her veins—long-suppressed, dangerous magic that she must learn to control—and she realizes that she will never learn to be just a simple village girl. Sinda returns to the city to seek answers. Instead, she rediscovers the boy who refused to forsake her, and uncovers a secret that could change the course of Thorvaldor’s history forever. “O'Neal deftly draws a protagonist to root for … Fans of Shannon Hale will enjoy this compelling fantasy, which is filled with magic, political drama, and romance” —Publishers Weekly

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Children’s / YA Fiction

THE SONG OF THE LIONESS series THE IMMORTALS series CIRCLE OF MAGIC series PROTECTOR OF THE SMALL series LEGEND OF BEKA COOPER series by Tamora Pierce •

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Tamora Pierce is the winner of the 2013 Margaret A. Edwards Award for "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature" from the American Library Association Previous winners include Lois Lowry, Judy Blume and Orson Scott Card

Tamora Pierce is the recipient of the 2013 Margaret A. Edwards Award honoring her significant and lasting contribution to writing for teens for Song of the Lioness quartet and The Protector of the Small quartet. The four books in the Song of the Lioness series, “Alanna: The First Adventure”; “In the Hand of the Goddess; The Woman Who Rides Like a Man”; and “Lioness Rampant”, all published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, focus on Alanna’s journey to accept herself both as a woman and a warrior. Also set in Tortall, two decades later, is the Protector of the Small quartet, “First Test”; “Page”; “Squire”; and “Lady Knight”; all published by Laurel Leaf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books. Keladry of Mindelan goes through struggles, from her First Test, then becoming a Page, a Squire and eventually a Lady Knight. While set in a fantasy world, Pierce’s heroines face realistic challenges that resonate with teen readers. The award is named in honor of the late Margaret A. Edwards, a pioneer in providing library services to young adults. Through her work at Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Edwards demonstrated that only through literature would young adults move beyond themselves into a larger world. LBF 2013 26


Recent translation sales for juvenile fiction… “Immortals” series by Tamora Pierce - Indonesian (PT Elex Media Komputindo) The story of the orphaned Daine as she comes to discover her rare, wild magic: the ability to communicate with, and heal, animals. As her powers deepen, she learns that she is also capable of shapeshifting and detecting the presence of immortals. “Song of the Lioness” series by Tamora Pierce - German (Heyne), Italian (Fanucci), Turkish (Epsilon), Indonesian (Ufuk) The bestselling YA fantasy series that introduced Alanna, the girl who dreamed of becoming a warrior. Twenty five years after her last adventure in LIONESS RAMPANT, readers around the world still devour Tamora Pierce’s feminist fantasy literature. “Nate the Great” series by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat – Chinese (Beijing Oak, Hsinex), Korean (Book House), Japanese (Dainippon Tosho), German (Ravensburger), Czech (Modry Peter), Spanish/Latin America (Norma)

The enormously popular series featuring a young detective who loves pancakes. For further information, contact Pamela Malpas ([email protected]) or Michelle Montalbano ([email protected]) Harold Ober Associates Incorporated 425 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10017 Tel: 212-759-8600 ext. 203 Fax: 212-759-9428 We work in partnership with the following agencies: David Higham Associates (London) Agence Hoffman (Paris) Liepman AG (Zürich) Agenzia Letteraria Internazionale (Milano) International Editors’ Co. (Barcelona, Buenos Aires) Karin Schindler (São Paulo) Andrew Nurnberg Associates (London, Moscow, Riga, Sofia, Prague) Ulf Töregård Agency (Karlshamn)

Graal Ltd. (Warszawa) Simona Kessler (Bucuresti) Katai & Bolza (Budapest) Asli Karasuil Agency (Istanbul) JLM (Athens) Big Apple Agency (Shanghai, Taipei) Tuttle-Mori (Tokyo, Bangkok) Eric Yang Agency (Seoul)

(last updated March 12, 2013)

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