ANA have placed German rights in Sara Grant's debut dystopian YA novel, DARK PARTIES, with Droemer Knaur, in a two book deal.

Timothy Sonderheusken, Sara's editor at Droemer, says:

"Finally! After months and months of reading clever (and mostly not so clever) clones of today's bestsellers, I found this one book that had me mesmerized from the first page. Sara Grant is a unique storyteller who has breathed new life into the dystopian novel. Not only does she create a consistent society nobody would like to live in (even though it sometimes raises the question: are we already?), but she populates it with cleverly constructed characters who will cast a spell on readers even though they are not vampires who sparkle in the sun. DARK PARTIES is one of the books that will linger in the back of the mind for a very long time - and the first ideas for Sara's next novel are even more exciting."

Droemer will publish DARK PARTIES in their PAN imprint in Spring 2011, which is when Little, Brown Books for Young Readers will publish the US edition. Congratulations, Sara!

We congratulate Keren David, whose debut YA novel, WHEN I WAS JOE was published by Frances Lincoln on 7th January.

Maurice Lyon, Keren's editor at FL, says: "Frances Lincoln is thrilled to be publishing such an exciting debut by an author with real star-quality. Keren David is a name that will become prominent on the children's book map in 2010."

German rights to WHEN I WAS JOE and the thrilling sequel, AMOST TRUE, have been acquired pre-emptively by DTV Junior. Find more about Keren here.

We are thrilled to report that Quercus (UK) has just bought Jan-Erik Pettersson's biography of Stieg Larsson, which will be published in Sweden by Telegram Books in May 2010.

So far we have made sales to Aufbau (Germany), Marsilio (Italy), Planeta (Spain), Columna (Catalan), Wydawnictwo Czarna Owca (Poland), Lindhardt & Ringhof (Denmark) and J.M. Meulenhoff (Holland).

Congratulations to Jonathan Littell, Antony Beevor and Meg Rosoff (Felicity Bryan) who have been selected for The Times Top 100 Books of the Decade, for their respective books Les Bienveillantes, Berlin: The Downfall 1945 and How I Live Now.

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_reviews/article6914181.ece

Congratulations to Gyorgy Dragoman and Stewart O'Nan who have been selected for the 2010 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for their respective novels THE WHITE KING and SONGS FOR THE MISSING.

The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is the largest and most international prize of its kind. It involves libraries from all corners of the globe, and is open to books written in any language.

http://www.impacdublinaward.ie/2010/Longlist.htm

UN ROMAN FRANCAIS (Grasset) is topping the best-seller lists and has already received tremendous critical acclaim:

Yann Moix, Le Figaro Littéraire: "Frederic Beigbeder is our own contemporary and one of our best writers."

Victor Pouvhet, Le Magazine Littéraire: "Beigbeder's humorous and skilfully written prose echoes with a human voice."

Marc Lambron, Le Point: "A night-owl delivers his best book to date."

Following D-DAY and before he writes his next battle book for Viking Penguin, Antony Beevor is to write a one-volume history of the Second World War for Weidenfeld & Nicolson, for provisional publication in 2012. Little, Brown and Company is to publish in the United States. All translation rights are with ANA Ltd.

Weidenfeld & Nicolson has published Beevor before, most recently The Battle for Spain, his brilliant account of the 1936-39 Spanish Civil War. Alan Samson, Publisher of Weidenfeld & Nicolson, commented: "This is a thrilling acquisition for Weidenfeld & Nicolson. Antony Beevor combines the narrative ability and insight of a great novelist with a masterly ability to synthesise complex material. A one-volume biography of the Second World War is the book he was born to write".

William Heinemann, an imprint of the Random House Group, has re-issued Michael Jackson's one and only autobiography MOONWALK in the UK.

The new edition of the book was published on 13th October and includes a new introduction from Berry Gordy and an afterword from publisher Shaye Areheart who was, along with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Michael's original editor at Doubleday.

Areheart's Harmony imprint at Random House will reissue the book in the US. Rights have also been sold in France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Spain.

Sony have negotiated an 18-month option for a film of David Peace's RED RIDING QUARTET (Serpent's Tail). Ridley Scott will direct.

Congratulations to Professor of Classics Mary Beard, who has won the Wolfson History Prize 2008 for her book Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town.

The Wolfson History Prizes were established in 1972 and are awarded annually to promote and encourage standards of excellence in the writing of history for the general public.

http://www.wolfson.org.uk/historyprize.htm

Congratulations to Fabrice Humbert, who has been awarded the Orange Prize in France for his extraordinary and compelling novel, L'ORIGINE DE LA VIOLENCE.

http://prix-orange-du-livre.event.orange.fr/

Youssef Ziedan's Azazel has won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in Abu Dhabi.

The novel, set in fifth-century Egypt and Syria and dealing with the early history of Christianity, won the prize despite being the subject of religious attacks in its native country.
Translation rights have been sold to Atlantic Books (World English rights), Neri Pozza (Italy), Random House (Germany), Livanis (Greece), Trei (Romania), Ljevak (Croatia), Ljevak (Bosnia) and Serambi (Indonesia).

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/mar/16/youssef-ziedan-arabic-booker

Richard Stark (Donald Westlake) and Martin Cruz Smith are the first and the second respectively and Donald Westlake has won the German Crime Award (Deutscher Krimi Preis).

http://www.deutscher-krimipreis.de/

Judges: "This book's portrayal of pain makes it a riveting and heartbreaking read - it's rare for a first novel to be this assured."

The Outcast was also shortlisted for the 2009 Galaxy British Book Awards and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jan/05/costabookaward-awardsandprizes

The International Award is an acknowledgement for "lives devoted to literature".

Premio Grinzane Cavour was established in 1982 to encourage young people to read books outside the school curriculum.

The International Prize has previously been awarded Julien Green, Günter Grass, Czeslaw Milosz, Carlos Fuentes, Bohumil Hrabal, Oe Kenzaburo, Yves Bonnefoy, Jean Starobinski, V. S. Naipaul, Manuel Vázquez Montalbán, Doris Lessing and this year to Don DeLillo.

BEFORE I DIE by Jenny Downham (in association with Felicity Bryan Literary Agency) has won this prestigious award for the most promising book for seven year-olds and upwards by a first-time novelist. It is a joint award between the author and her editor, David Fickling.

BEFORE I DIE was also longlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.

http://www.branfordboase.org

Meg Rosoff has won the prestigious prize in the best young adult novel category for her novel JUST IN CASE (in association with Felicity Bryan Ltd).
The German Youth Literature Prizes 2008 were awarded on October 17, 2008, at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

"A superbly designed game with changing identities, an ego maniacally circuiting around the self; with esprit and speed Meg Rosoff shapes a coming-of-age novel. This humorous story is translated into German with skill and originality by Brigitte Jakobeit."

Praise for JUST IN CASE:

"Funny, ironic, magically real; stunning." Kirkus Review

"A highly original and gripping coming-of-age tale" Financial Times Magazine

Profile author Raja Shehadeh has been awarded the prestigious Orwell Prize for political writing for his acclaimed book, PALESTINIAN WALKS: NOTES ON A VANISHING LANDSCAPE (in association with Profile Books).

The book describes over two decades of turmoil and change in the Middle East, steered via the history-soaked landscape of Palestine, and was published to critical acclaim last year:

'Raja Shehadeh's Palestinian Walks provides a rare historical insight into the tragic changes taking place in Palestine.' Jimmy Carter

Andrew Franklin, MD of Profile books, said: 'We are thrilled that the judges of this prize recognised the book's special qualities - which I am sure George Orwell would have admired too.