 |
|||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
News 15 February 2005
Mainstream
is delighted to have acquired the rights to CUT-THROAT,
The Vicious Life of Rod McLean - Mercenary, Drug Baron and MI5 Front Man
for publication in May 2005. Described as one of the most ruthless and
important figures on the UK's drug scene, McLean was sentenced to 28 years
in prison. After only 7 years he was transferred to an open prison which
had seen 82 prisoners escape in 2002 alone and after two months on the
run was found dead in a London flat. In this book, McLean's nephew, Wayne
Thallon follows up the media accusation that the security services helped
him to escape and questions why the Metropolitan Police took 29 days to
make the murder public, failing even to inform their colleagues in Avon
and Somerset who were trying to capture him. Thallon questions who McLean
really was and what made him so important. CUT-THROAT is a riveting account
of Rod McLean's life and death - and the aftermath of both. World rights
are available.
Rights
deals have been going well in the run up to the London Book Fair. We have
just sold NO ONE TAKES MY CHILDREN by Donya al-Nahi to
Alison Urquhart at Harper Collins Australia and our sub agent, Jan Michael,
has also sold Dutch rights to de Kern, who published al-Nahi's previous
book, HEROINE OF THE DESERT.
US
rights for RING OF HATE with the punchy sub title,
The Brown Bomber and Hitler's Hero - Joe Louis v. Max Schmeling and the
Bitter Propaganda War, have just been sold to Cal Barksdale at Arcade.
No sooner had hands been shaken on the deal than Schmeling, who was due
to celebrate his 100th birthday in September, died. UK publication
remains March 28th and US publication will remain September.
 |
|
|
Other rights news includes an offer from a Greek publisher for two football
titles, WHITE STORM and CHELSEA: THE 100 YEAR
HISTORY and an offer from Poland c/o our sub agents Graal for FRIENDLY
FIRE. I hope to be able to confirm all three next week.
There has been an enormous amount of interest in WEEKEND WARRIOR, A Territorial Soldier's War in Iraq by Kevin J Mervin. First serial rights have already been sold to a national tabloid to run at the end of March with numerous broadsheets interested in securing second rights.
New
York Times bestseller, CONFESSIONS OF A SOCIOPATHIC SOCIAL CLIMBER by Adele
Lang (published in the UK and Australia as WHAT KATYA DID NEXT), will finally
be making it to the small screen on March 12th. The movie, starring
Jennifer Love Hewitt, will be screened on 
Oxygen in the US with the possibility
of a two hour sequel.
Pete May, author of RENT BOY, continues to generate good publicity for his book.
In addition to great reviews in TIME OUT, THE INDEPENDENT and THE DAILY MAIL, THE GUARDIAN ran a full page feature on January 12th.
Diane Blood, author of FLESH
AND BLOOD, remains hot property as far as the media is concerned.
Her book made the shortlist and narrowly missed being selected for the
new BBC book club programme. She was interviewed on BBC Radio 2's Good
Morning Sunday at 8.40am on Sunday 6th February and is having
to turn down numerous other requests from magazines and newspapers.
After all the media coverage regarding
a film of THE FERRIS CONSPIRACY starring Robert Carlyle, the book leapt
into the Top Ten of the Ottakar's chart featured in The Herald and No.3
in the True Crime section of www.amazon.co.uk This
was reflected in our own web site sales in which THE FERRIS CONSPIRACY
appears at No.9 in our latest Top Ten knocking out more recently published
titles.
The new Top
Ten has a healthy mix of sport, true crime, Irish, Scottish interest
and history titles and is led by WE ARE TOTTENHAM which had extraordinary
internet sales throughout the Autumn, thanks largely to the authors who
put a huge amount of effort into publicising their book through Tottenham
fan club sites.
And Finally...
Our very best wishes to Elaine Scott and Jamie Watt who get married this weekend. They are honeymooning at the Soho Grand and are well known party people so for any of you based in NYC watch out!