Penguin Young Readers Group to Publish Nick Hornby's Slam

Nick Hornby, New York Times-bestselling author of such internationally acclaimed books as High Fidelity, About a Boy, How To Be Good and A Long Way Down, will publish his first novel for young adults with Penguin Young Readers Group. Entitled Slam, the book tells the moving story of a boy on the cusp of adulthood whose world is turned upside down in a life-altering teenage moment. Penguin Young Readers Group acquired North American rights to the book from literary agent Caroline Dawnay of Peters Fraser & Dunlop and plans to publish the book in hardcover in October 2007. Simultaneous paperback editions of the novel will follow from Riverhead and Penguin Young Readers in 2008. Slam, a novel for readers of many ages, revolves around Sam who -- after falling hard for a very pretty girl -- ultimately finds his way through conversations with a larger-than-life poster of his idol, champion skater Tony Hawk.