Hachette

Susanna White (the director of Nanny McPhee Returns) will adapt Stephenie Meyer‘s adult novel, The Host.

Here’s more from Variety: “Nick Wechsler will produce the indie through his eponymous banner, along with Chockstone Pictures’ Steve Schwartz and Paula Mae Schwartz. Given the B.O. muscle of the Twilight franchise, the marketability of Meyer’s name is expected to draw interest from distributors.”

In 2009, Meyer’s website named Andrew Niccol as both director and screenwriter for the production, but Row Three recently reported that Niccol will only serve as a writer. Meyer published The Host in 2008. She has discussed the idea of following up The Host with two sequels, The Soul and The Seeker.

The Brady Bunch star and Dancing with the Stars contestant Florence Henderson has inked a book deal with Hachette Book Group’s Center Street division.  Publication is set for September.

In the 1970s, Henderson (pictured, via) played Carol Brady, head of The Brady Bunch household. David Brokaw of The Brokaw Company negotiated the deal with  Christina Boys.

Here’s more about the book: “She writes with candor about the challenges she has faced and overcome, including a Dickensian childhood in rural Indiana as the last born of ten children; struggles with religious faith; nightmarish post-partum depression, the collapse of her marriage and infidelity, and the death of her soul mate. In the end, she reveals the valuable lessons both the triumphs and adversities have taught her about enjoying life to its fullest.”

Little Brown Books for Young Readers will publish a novel alongside director Catherine Hardwicke‘s upcoming film, Red Riding Hood.

The film (the trailer is embedded above) won’t be released until March, but the print book and enhanced eBook version will come out on January 25th. Hardwicke wrote an introduction to the novel and fans can download a bonus chapter on March 14th.

Here’s more from the release: “Debut author Sarah Blakley-Cartwright has crafted a lyrical thriller, adapting the movie’s story into a stunning stand-alone work that will have readers eagerly anticipating the film’s opening. Blakley-Cartwright wrote Red Riding Hood from a unique and coveted vantage point — she was on set every day with Hardwicke weaving in details from the world created for the film.”

Bestselling memoirist and TV host Chelsea Handler will launch a new imprint at Hachette’s Grand Central Publishing division. It will be called Borderline Amazing/A Chelsea Handler Book, opening with three books.

The comedian’s production company, Borderline Amazing Productions, will oversee the imprint. Lies that Chelsea Handler Told Me will be the imprint’s first release and it’s due out in May 2011. Another title will feature “the byline of her long-suffering dog, Chunk.”

DeadlineNY offered this quote from Handler: “I’ll be editing and overseeing, while my family and friends make money off me and get something back from the torture I’ve put them through. I’ve got a couple other ideas and people I want to see write books.”

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A Slate article created a fictional voice for Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger to respond to Keith Richards‘ memoir, Life.

Jagger’s imaginary manuscript includes the following observations: “Why did he write it? Or, rather, having decided to write it all down, why did he devote so much of it to carping about me? Well, he’s not talking about me, really. He’s just trying to get my attention, I think, in the end. The remaining part of the rancor comes from the fact that he knows he lost me, many years ago.”

The Jagger highlights Richards’ unprofessional behavior throughout the years and talk about the band’s long history.  Would you read Jagger’s real memoir? Leave your response in the comments section.

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Hachette Book Group (HBG) has joined with NetGalley to organize the distribution of HBG information and products. Through this deal, select reviewers, press, and booksellers will be given access to digital press kits and digital galleys.

Several enhancements will be included with the galleys such as video, audio, tour schedules, author Q&As and photos. The galleys will be readable on Kindle, Nook, Sony eReader, Kobo or a desktop.

Here’s more from the release: “The Hachette Book Group titles in NetGalley will expand in the coming months, but you can browse current Hachette Book Group galleys right now, from these imprints: Center Street (enriching & life-affirming fiction & non-fiction) FaithWords (inspirational, faith-building fiction & non-fiction) Grand Central Publishing (mainstream fiction & non-fiction) Little, Brown and Company (mainstream fiction & non-fiction) Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (fiction & non-fiction for children & young adults) Mulholland Books (mystery & suspense) Orbit (science fiction & fantasy).”

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Christian lecturer John Eldredge has signed a multi-book deal contract with FaithWords, Hachette’s Christian book imprint.

The first book, Loving Jesus, is set for publication in September 2011. Here’s more from the release: “In this new major work, Eldredge describes Jesus as the most misrepresented figure in world history. This book will explore the compelling personality of Christ, together with how individuals can experience his intimate presence today.”

Eldredge earned his Masters degree in biblical counseling from Colorado Christian University. His first book, The Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart of God was released in 1997.

Stephenie Meyer‘s bestselling Twilight novels have been buoying the revenue of Lagardere (the parent company of Hachette Book Group) for years now. But as sales start to decline, the French conglomerate is beginning to see the other side of the hill.

Sarah Weinman, in an article on DailyFinance today, notes that sales this quarter dropped 6.5 percent since last year, per the company’s first quarter report. According to the report, sales of the Twilight novels this quarter “were only one-quarter of the 2009 first-quarter level.”

Of course, Meyer is not the only bestseller in Hachette’s stable. Weinman points out the silver lining: “These ‘bouyant” figures will no doubt increase in the second quarter, and the company is already celebrating that four of the top eight bestsellers on the iPad are published by Hachette divisions: David Baldacci, Scott Turow, James Patterson and Malcolm Gladwell.” Hachette will be fine. But if we ever have to write this post about Gladwell, we’ll know there’s trouble.

Today Hachette Book Group officially transitioned to an agency model for digital book sales, writing a letter to authors and agents explaining the change. As of this writing, buy buttons for many Hachette eBooks are not available on Amazon.

UPDATE: A previous version of this post linked to an out-of-print book. You can follow the new link to check the availability of the Kindle editon. You can check availability of Hachette eBooks on Amazon by clicking on this link to Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer. GalleyCat has obtained a copy of the email, including a reference to possible “some short-term interruption in the availability of our eBooks” as the transition begins.

The email explained: “As we announced in February, starting on April 1, 2010, all eBook titles published by Hachette Book Group will be sold directly to consumers by means of third party agents. This agency model allows us to make more titles available to more consumers on more platforms. We are pleased to let you know that we have made arrangements with most of our eBook distributors to operate under this model.”

More after the jump…

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Enhanced eBooks have been the talk of the town this week–from SXSW to bestselling novelists. Over at Daily Finance, Hachette revealed a few new projects to create digital books with fancy new features, including a “NASCAR-oriented app” and “a synchronized text/audio edition” of Echo Park by Michael Connelly.

Even better, they plan to offer “standalone app” version of David Foster Wallace‘s sprawling novel, Infinite Jest. Out of all the writers slated for an enhanced edition, Wallace’s work could be perfect–with plenty of footnotes, inter-textual references, and endless cultural allusions.

What would you like to see in this app? Here’s more from Maja Thomas, senior VP of Hachette digital–quoted in the article: “We thought, wouldn’t it be great if, when a footnote appears, there’s a symbol in the e-version of the text, and if you tap on it, you can go right to the footnote, and then tap back into the text at any time.”