Domingo Draws Int'l Buyers; Hosseini's Second Announced

by Rachel Deahl, PW Daily -- Publishers Weekly, 10/19/2006

Placido Domingo has a song everyone wants to hear. Before Frankfurt, we reported that Norton bought his memoir, The Joy of Opera, for a mid-six figure sum (PW Daily, Oct 2). The book, which is set for a 2009 release, wound up being the house's hot title at the fair and now, according to foreign rights manager and v-p Elizabeth Kerr, Norton has closed deals in six countries, with more to come. Thus far the book has sold to Faber & Faber in the U.K.; Mondadori in Italy; Companhia das Letras in Brazil (Portuguese-language); Exmo in Russia; Sejong in Korea; and Global Rhythm Press in Spain. Kerr said there are also pending offers on the book in Germany, France, Taiwan, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

While Norton expected the title to generate significant interest at the fair, Kerr said she was nonetheless "incredibly amazed" at the response it drew. She added that she thinks the book, which focuses on Domingo's passion for opera, is of special interest since it will have a wide appeal for the singer/composer's fans as well as opera lovers. "We see it as something that will be in print for decades," Kerr said.

We now have more details on the second effort by runaway bestseller Khaled Hosseini, author of Riverhead's 2003 smash The Kite Runner. While news that Hosseini had signed with Riverhead for his second book was circulating as far back as April '05, specifics on the title had yet to come into focus. A Thousand Splendid Suns—at one point it was called Dreaming in Titanic City—now has a May 22, 2007, pub date and is being edited by v-p and executive editor Sarah McGrath. Aside from that, Riverhead’s announcement doesn’t offer much, other than a promise that the book is very much in the vein of The Kite Runner. Like Hosseini's debut, this novel is set in his native Afghanistan and, like that book, it is "a deeply moving story of family, friendship, faith and the salvation to be found in love."