Author Tony Eldridge Represented by The Literary Group International

Frank Weimann, founder and president of The Literary Group International, now represents all literary rights for Dallas, TX author Tony Eldridge.

Tony is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first class thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." The novel has already garnered Editor's Choice and Publisher's Choice honors. The Samson Effect follows the pursuit of two scholars who are close to discovering a secret of biblical proportions. However, two opposing forces will do anything to stop them.

A major Los Angeles based producer is currently in negotiations with the author to acquire the movie rights to The Samson Effect.

"I am excited to represent this book," Frank Weimann said. "I believe the mix of action and historical references will appeal to the mass of action/adventure readers."

Founded in 1986 by Frank Weimann, The Literary Group International is one of the premier literary agencies in the book publishing industry. The company represents more than 200 authors worldwide. Its formidable client list ranges from novelists, celebrities and public figures, to Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winning authors.

Known as the "home of bestselling authors," the agency has represented more than fifty bestsellers during the last six years. Among the agency's current popular titles are The Alchemyst by Michael Scott; Red Helmet by Homer Hickam; Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley; and Dog and Bear by Laura Vaccaro Seeger.

Eldridge grew up in Westfield, IN., and now resides in Forney, TX., just east of Dallas. For more information on The Samson Effect, visit http://www.samsoneffect.com/

Simon & Schuster Names Priscilla Painton Editor in Chief

Priscilla Painton has been named Editor in Chief of the Simon & Schuster adult trade imprint. Ms. Painton, who was most recently Deputy Managing Editor of Time Magazine, will begin her new position on March 3rd. Her appointment was announced by David Rosenthal, Executive Vice President and Publisher of the Simon & Schuster imprint.

Ms. Painton joined Time in 1989 as a reporter and went on to edit every section of the magazine. She served longest as Time's Nation editor responsible for all political and domestic news. In that role she oversaw Time's investigation of the campaign finance scandals, which won a prestigious Goldsmith Investigative Journalism Prize. She also served as Time's executive editor before being appointed deputy managing editor, which made her the highest ranking woman editor ever in the history of the magazine.

Prior to joining Time, Ms. Painton worked for the Atlanta Journal & Constitution, where she was a political and projects reporter. She has also worked at The Washington Post and The Berkshire Eagle, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Ms. Painton has a B.A. in history from Mount Holyoke College. Born in Rome and raised in Paris -- she is fluent in French -- she now lives in New York and has two teenagers.

Macmillan Acquires Hayden-McNeil Publishing

Macmillan (www.macmillan.com), a leading publisher of books, textbooks, magazines, and digital media, has acquired Hayden-McNeil Publishing (www.hmpublishing.com), the leading publisher of custom textbooks and lab manuals for the higher education market based in Plymouth, Michigan. The acquisition adds to Macmillan’s portfolio of leading higher education publishers which includes Bedford St. Martin’s, W.H. Freeman, Worth Publishers, and i
Hayden-McNeil, founded by Patrick Olson, publishes textbooks, lab manuals, and curriculum supplements across a range of subject areas for colleges and universities nationwide.

The merger with Macmillan is expected to provide Hayden-McNeil with a platform for future growth by delivering the added reach and resources through access to Macmillan’s content, educational technology, and distribution assets.

IDW Publishing Launches New Children's Imprint

IDW Publishing, an established leader in the comic book and graphic novel arena, is launching a children's division called Jonas Publishing and a new imprint, Worthwhile Books. The move will allow IDW Publishing to expand its library of successful print titles, which to date has been particularly focused in the horror, action, and sci-fi genres, such as 30 Days of Night and The Transformers. To launch the imprint, IDW Publishing has inked a significant agreement with a renowned UK children's publisher and is striking deals with top Hollywood writers to create children's books.

Worthwhile Books has finalized a first-look arrangement with UK children's publisher Meadowside Books (http://www.meadowsidebooks.com/), known for its unique character-driven picture books for young readers. Worthwhile will be the exclusive U.S. publisher of selected Meadowside titles and will retain domestic film and television rights on those properties. The first Meadowside Books title in the deal, Michael Recycle, by Ellie Bethel, follows the escapades of a "green-caped" environmental hero and will be released in March by Worthwhile Books. Worthwhile expects to issue approximately 10 Meadowside titles over the course of the first year, including William's Dinosaurs, by Alan Baker, which tells the tale of a little boy who finds more than trees in the dark woods near his home.

Worthwhile's Hollywood outreach is tapping into the top ranks of movie and television writing talent to bring original literary stories to the young reading audience. The collective credits of the entertainment writers include some of the industry's most successful television series and movies. These writers include:

-- David N. Weiss, whose writing credits include Shrek 2, Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and both Rugrats movies

-- David Sacks, a writer/producer on The Simpsons, producer on Malcolm in the Middle, and writer on 3rd Rock from the Sun

-- Dava Savel, an Emmy Award- winning comedy writer with credits on shows such as Grace Under Fire and Will & Grace, in addition to being an executive producer on the children's program That's So Raven

-- David Steinberg, whose producing credits include Meet the Robinsons, Home on the Range and Cats Don't Dance

-- Robert Kurtz, who wrote for the movie Everyone's Hero and has written for such shows as Boy Meets World and Grace Under Fire

Simon & Schuster to Create Virtual Author Series

Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing and Ball State University have partnered to bring S&S authors and illustrators into more than 30,000 schools nationwide through live, interactive Web broadcasts. Too few students today have had the opportunity to engage with authors and artists on a firsthand level, but Electronic Author Visits (EAV) utilize the BSU's groundbreaking Electronic Field Trips program to allow students and teachers to interact directly with authors and illustrators through live video, discussion forums, and downloadable learning activities.

S&S has formed an exclusive three-year agreement with Ball State University and plans to host three EAVs each year. Andrew Clements, the bestselling author of classroom favorites FRINDLE and NO TALKING, will kick off the program as the first EAV author on March 18. D. J. MacHale, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Pendragon series and Margaret Peterson Haddix, national bestselling author of the Shadow Children series, have signed on to participate as well.

An Electronic Author Visit is a unique experience that makes the rich content of S&S's bestselling and award-winning authors accessible to children and teachers. Each visit is a combination of several components. First, a website is created specifically for each EAV and serves two purposes: to provide teachers with background information that can be used to help students prepare for the author's visit and to offer interactive material that relates to the subject discussed in the author's or artist's book. In preparation for the EAV, the program also offers a series of classroom activities and curriculum binders. Simon & Schuster and BSU provide the author's books to a select group of teachers who then develop grade-appropriate activities for other teachers to use before the live broadcast. Booksource has signed on to be the sponsoring book supplier. To facilitate preparation for the EAV, Booksource will assist participating teachers with book orders through a convenient link to their site and ordering information.

The live Web broadcast is the culmination of the EAV experience. As a live broadcast, it has the potential to be much more interactive than a static television program and much more far-reaching than a typical Webinar. This 45- minute segment includes a presentation from the author, a reading or excerpt from the book, and a question-and-answer session in which the author fields questions from the students. Teachers can sign up for the first EAV with Andrew Clements by visiting the MyVisit website: http://www.bsu.edu/myvisit/

Little, Brown and Company Acquires New Tom Wolfe Novel

Little, Brown and Company, a division of Hachette Book Group USA, has acquired rights to publish the new novel by Tom Wolfe, the celebrated bestselling novelist and journalist, author of such American classics as The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, The Right Stuff, The Bonfire of the Vanities, and most recently I Am Charlotte Simmons.

Titled Back to Blood, the novel will consider class, family, wealth, race, crime, sex, corruption, and ambition in Miami, the city where America's future has arrived first. Characters include a young nurse of Cuban ancestry married to a famous French-emigre sex doctor, a freshman journalist on the trail of a Russian-mob-comes-to-Miami story, his wary editor, a second-generation Cuban police officer, a woman of Haitian background who passes for Anglo, and dozens more.

Mr. Wolfe was represented in the negotiation by his longtime agent, Lynn Nesbit of Janklow & Nesbit. The book will be edited by Little, Brown senior editor Pat Strachan. Ms. Strachan was formerly Mr. Wolfe's editor at Farrar, Straus and Giroux, where she worked with him on The Right Stuff, The Bonfire of the Vanities, and four other books. Little, Brown acquired North American rights, and publication is planned for 2009.