Book News: Ripley TV series, Scalzi deal, and new books

It’s another bookish news roundup! At first I wasn’t sure if I should continue with this feature (I guess it’s a feature now on my blog) since most of the news items listed here are a day or more old. But I do enjoy compiling them and looking back on them later. Plus, writing them is great practice for the news roundup I have to do at my job. Sooo…here’s what has happened:

John Scalzi got a big-ass book deal

John Scalzi, the sci-fi author whose most-recent novel Lock In was published last year, secured a $3.4-million deal — Yes, 3.4 friggin million dollars! — with Tor to write 13 books over the next 10 years. A Washington Post article states that in addition to sequels to several of his novels, Scalzi has pitched “three ideas for young adult novels, a genre he hasn’t worked in before.”

Tor announcement (tor.com)

Cover reveal for Veronica Rossi’s new novel

Veronica Rossi, author of Under the Never Sky series, has written a new book — Riders, first in the Riders series. The book is about an 18-year-old boy who dies and revives as War, one of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. The book is scheduled to be published by Tor Teen on February 2, 2016. [Click the cover for a larger image.]

Announcement on Rossi’s website (veronicarossibooks.blogspot.com)

James Patterson, a children’s book publisher?

James Patterson is launching a children’s book imprint called jimmy patters at Little, Brown & Company that will publish books by him and by other authors. Patterson’s profits from sales at the imprint will fund scholarships for teachers, support school libraries and local bookstores, and help children get books.

James Patterson Debuts New Children’s Imprint (publishersweekly.com)

Coming soon: books

Sabaa Tahir, a young-adult fantasy writer, will write a sequel to her bestselling novel, An Ember in the Ashes. The sequel will be published by Razorbill in April 2016.

Sabaa Tahir Inks Deal With Razorbill (adweek.com)

Gloria Steinem, author and feminist activist, has written a book that will be published by Random House on October 27.

The book is “a candid account of how her early years led her to an on-the-road kind of life traveling, listening to people, learning, and creating change,” says the publisher.

Gloria Steinem to Write ‘Road’ Book (usatoday.com)

Jeff VanderMeer has written a new novel, Borne, which will be published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 2016.

“Borne is set in the future, where a woman named Rachel, scavenging for usable detritus, stumbles upon a creature she calls the Borne, whose origins and composition are mysterious.”

‘Southern Reach’ Author Jeff VanderMeer Sells New Book (hollywoodreporter.com)

Stan Lee will write a graphic memoir, which will be illustrated by comic artist Colleen Doran. The memoir, Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir, will be published by Touchstone on October 6.

 Stan Lee Inks Deal for Graphic Memoir (adweek.com)

Annie Dillard has compiled a book of essays, which will be published by Ecco either later this year or in 2016.

Pulitzer Winner Annie Dillard’s ‘The Abundance’ to be Published by Ecco (ew.com)

Johanna Basford, illustrator of the bestselling adult coloring books The Secret Garden and The Enchanted Forest, has signed with Penguin Random House to publish 2 more books. The first, The Lost Ocean: An Underwater Adventure & Coloring Book, will be out on October 27.

PRH Signs New Adult Coloring Books by Johanna Basford (publishersweekly.com)

A memoir by the late crime novelist Agatha Christie will be republished by HarperCollins on August 27. The memoir, entitled Come, Tell Me How You Live focuses on Christie’s travels with her husband, the archaeologist Max Mallowan, in Syria after World War II.

Agatha Christie’s ‘Forgotten’ Syrian Memoir Gets New Lease of Life (theguardian.com)

Authors Protest at BEA

Book Expo America (BEA) is the most-talked about event in the book industry these days. This year the book fair hosts Chinese publishers as its honored guests. However, several American and Chinese authors gathered on the steps of the New York Public Library on May 27 to protest the presence of the Chinese publishers because of the lack of free of speech and expression prevalent in China. The protest was organized by PEN America.

China’s Publishers Court America as Its Authors Scorn Censorship (nytimes.com)

A TV series for The Talented Mr. Ripley

A team was secured to make a TV series for Patricia Highsmith’s Ripley series. Of the team, Guymon Casady, producer for the Games of Thrones TV series and The Expendables movies, and Ben Forkner, producer for movies Good People and The Killing Room, will be executive producers on the project.

Ripley is a crime fiction series that follows Tom Ripley, a sociopath who’s adept at reinventing himself. The first novel in the series, The Talented Mr. Ripley, was published in 1955. A movie version of it starring Matt Damon was released in 1999. The team for the TV series hope to expand on this movie as well as Purple Noon, another movie adaptation of the novel that was released in 1960.

Patricia Highsmith’s ‘Ripley’ Book Series Headed to TV (hollywoodreporter.com)

Also, The Guardian will be reading The Talented Mr. Ripley for its June Reading group.

June’s Reading group: The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (theguardian.com)

Coming soon: movie/TV adaptations

Steven Spielberg will adapt Aldous Huxley’s classic novel Brave New World for a TV series on NBC. (hollywoodreporter.com)

Lev Grossman’s fantasy trilogy, The Magicians, will be adapted for a TV series on SyFy. (deadline.com)

Caitlin Doughty’s memoir, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, which is about her work as a mortician, will be adapted for a TV series. (bookriot.com)

Elizabeth Gilbert’s novel The Signature of All Things is being optioned for a TV series. (bookriot.com)

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl trailer

A lot of people in the blogosphere are excited about this movie adaptation. Here’s a trailer if you haven’t seen it yet. The trailer actually makes me want to read the book.

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