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1stBooks Author Sells Rights for "Legally Blonde" to Dutton
News Highlights the Entertainment Community’s Acceptance of Print On-Demand Books
1stBooks Library announced that Amanda Brown has sold the print rights for her novel, Legally Blonde to Dutton, a division of Penguin Putnam Publishing. Robert McCormack, Chief Operating Officer of 1stBooks, made the announcement."1stBooks Library offers its deepest congratulations to Amanda on this great accomplishment," said Mr. McCormack. "We are pleased that the quality of Legally Blonde is being recognized throughout the publishing industry. We believe this can further open the door to larger traditional publishing opportunities for many of our other talented authors and is a strong reminder of the power of self-publishing."
Legally Blonde was Ms. Brown's debut novel and basis for the Reese Witherspoon and Luke Wilson starring hit comedy of the same name. After initially publishing Legally Blonde with 1stBooks in 2001, Ms. Brown sold the rights to Dutton, a division of Penguin Putnam Publishing earlier this year. In addition, her representatives have secured a foreign publishing deal for Ms. Brown with Heyne Verlag of Germany.
Authors who choose to publish with 1stBooks retain full ownership and copyright of their books -- enabling them to sell the same work elsewhere, any time and in any format. In this regard, if a traditional or foreign publisher wants to put out an edition or a Hollywood agent wants to sell movie rights, 1stBooks authors are free to exercise these options.
This latest development helps to constitute a growing trend of 1stBooks Library being accepted and embraced by the entertainment community as the sensible publishing alternative. During the last year representatives of Harry Connick, Jr. optioned Loyalty, a 1stBooks novel by Boston-area resident John Curry, for development as a film.
In addition, many noted personalities have chosen 1stBooks to publish their books. Buddy Ebsen came to 1stBooks in early 2001 with his debut romance novel Kelly's Quest, which rose to number three on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller List.
Comedienne Rita Rudner brought her book Naked Beneath My Clothes to be reissued through the company, as did Long March To Freedom author Thomas Hargrove, which was inspiration for the movie Proof of Life. Also, newest members of the 1stBooks family include Bruce Kimmel, story writer of the teen-fave movie The Faculty, Martyn Burke, director/screenwriter of The Pirates of Silicon Valley, and CNN anchor David Goodnow with his book Coping With Your Job.
While the company remains committed to all types of authors, 1stBooks firmly believes that having high profile names aboard bodes well for not only 1stbooks, but the POD/E-book sector as a whole. It seems to be an ongoing sign that the freedom and possibilities of this form of publishing are being accepted by more and more of the mainstream.