News & Reviews

WORD: Stephanie Klein breaks into six-figure club on Regan Books deal

Artists Literary Group said it has sold Stephanie Klein's STRAIGHT UP AND DIRTY: The Life of a Young New York Divorcee -- described as a humorous tell-all following the author's return to single life as a twenty-something -- to the flamboyant Judith Regan at Regan Books, in a two-book transaction. Meanwhile, ALG has churned out deals since it was founded five months ago like Page Six whips out gossip.

ALG agents Diane Bartoli and Joe Veltre closed the sale, believed to be worth about $500,000, in a pre-empt that includes television and film rights. Klein’s second book will be a memoir based on the her childhood experience at a “Fat Camp.”

While Klein’s debut is yet another case of a young, attractive New Yorker getting a major deal for a sassy book, don’t expect echoes of a Paris Hilton cover design. Klein says on her blog that when Regan asked about her book’s cover, she replied, “Please, for the love of God, it cannot be pink. Pink makes me want to vomit. And no loopy letters or caricatures of pointy shoes or shopping bags.”

ALG has made a hefty splash on the book scene since Veltre, a former Mirimax Films executive, launched the New York agency on Sept. 15, 2004. The firm already has a boatload of literary talent, some of whom crossed over from Veltre’s stay at literary agency Carlisle & Company. Among his clients with 2005 book releases are Steve Amick’s The Lake, the River & the other Lake (Knopf/Pantheon) and If Andy Warhol Had a Girlfriend by Alison Pace (Berkley).

Separately, ALG client Bob Morris's Bahamarama (St. Martin’s), about a guy just out of prison after serving two years who wants to see his girlfriend in the Bahamas, is up for an Edgar Award. A former Olrlando Sun columnist, Morris reportedly self-published three books of his columns prior to getting a three-book deal under Veltre’s guidance.

 

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