Songwriter Paul Williams and screenwriter Tracey Jackson landed a book deal with Blue Rider Press, writing about recovery and addiction. Gratitude and Trust: Recovery Is Not Just for Addicts will come out in fall 2014.

According to the release, the book will include “the knowledge Paul has gained in the two decades he has spent working in the recovery movement, healing both himself and helping others to heal, and Tracey’s lifelong quest for peace and a daily routine to get her through the ups and downs of life.” William Morris Endeavor agent Eric Simonoff negotiated the deal with publisher David Rosenthal. Williams had this statement:

I’m an alcoholic, sober twenty-three years. It’s become clear to me that the gifts of recovery are endless. Not only in overcoming our addictions but in finding a whole new way of living. The idea for the book was born when Tracey asked a magical question. ‘If the principles of the recovery movement work so well for people with life threatening’ addictions why wouldn’t they work for people with life ‘limiting’ habits?’

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Pulitzer Prize winning Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten picked the subject for his next book out of a hat. Literally.

Blue Rider Pres will publish One Day in 2015, “a non-fiction account of the events of a single day, chosen at random, in American History.” The book will focus on the randomly selected date of December 28, 1986. Gail Ross of The Ross Yoon Agency negotiated the deal with publisher David Rosenthal. Here’s more from the release:

Weingarten, best known for his long-form pieces for The Washington Post and books such as The Fiddler on the Subway, promises an in-depth look at one day in the life of the people of the United States as it happened, “but from high above, covering matters great and small – wide-angled, panoramic, with the added illuminating dimension of time.” The date, chosen at random by a waitress and two children at an oyster lunch (each drew a number from a hat: one for date, month and year), is the starting point for a book that will study “the universal power of humble truths,” says the author.

(Photo credit: Bill O’Leary)

Jeff Bridges and Zen Peacemakers founder Bernie Glassman have landed a book deal for a book with the tentative title, The Dude and the Zen Master. In part inspired by the actor’s The Big Lebowski character, the book comes out in November.

The book will reveal “dharma talks” between the actor and the spiritual leader (pictured, via)–you can read some of their “Dude Koans” here. It will focus on “the meaning of life, laughter, the movies and trying to do good in a difficult world.” The Schiff Company agent David Schiff (in association with CAA) negotiated the deal with publisher David Rosenthal.

Bridges had this comment in the release: “Making movies and life have a lot in common. When you’re making a movie you’ve got a finite amount of time to do what you’re going to do. It’s a communal art form, collaborative. You work together with other artists to come up with something groovy, something beautiful … On a movie set I do my best to keep my head and heart open. My favorite part of the whole deal is jamming with the other artists, getting to know them, sharing the excitement of what we’re up to, and inspiring each other. That means intimacy. I look for that in life as well. That’s why I hooked up with Bernie, to make the most of this wonderful experience called Life.”

Rock legend Neil Young has inked a deal to publish his memoir with Penguin’s Blue Rider Press imprint. Tentatively titled Waging Heavy Peace, publication is set for fall 2012.

Lookout Management manager Elliot Roberts negotiated the deal with Blue Rider publisher David Rosenthal. The publisher launched his new imprint last year.

Young (pictured, in 1970) had this quote in the release: “I felt like writing books fit me like a glove; I started and I just kept going. That’s the way my Daddy used to do it on his old Underwood up in the attic. He said, ‘Just keep writing, you never know what will turn up.’”

Publisher David Rosenthal has named his imprint Blue Rider Press. Rosenthal joined Penguin in November 2010, but his imprint remained unnamed.

He explained the significance of the name to The New York Times: “The Blue Rider name historically represents individuality and quality in the arts. And that same intent will be reflected in the eclectic fiction and nonfiction books Blue Rider Press will publish.”

According to the article, Blue Rider Press will launch its inaugural list with The New New Rules and Goodnight iPad this fall. The imprint also has projects in the works with Valerie Plame Wilson, Delia Ephron, and R. A. Dickey. (via Publishers Weekly)

David Rosenthal will lead a new imprint at Penguin. In June,  Jonathan Karp replaced Rosenthal as the publisher at the  Simon & Schuster trade imprint.

The New York Times had the scoop. The unnamed imprint will publish between 24 and 36 books a year.

Rosenthal had this quote: “I’m going to make lots of trouble … They’re going to let me go after the kind of — I wouldn’t say quirky — but the peculiar stuff that I sometimes like. What they want very much is for me to be able to indulge my passions, indulge my taste.”

Kidnapping victim Jaycee Dugard signed a deal with Simon & Schuster to pen her memoir. At the moment, the book has no title but will be released in 2011.

Publisher Jonathan Karp acquired the book. Mort Janklow of Janklow & Nesbit Associates negotiated the deal and Nancy Seltzer represented the Dugard family.

Dugard spent 18 years of her life imprisoned by Phillip Craig Garrido. He kept her in a tent behind his family home. Dugard bore him two daughters and was finally freed in 2006.

Senior Editor Kerri Kolen commented: “Not only does Jaycee Dugard have a truly important story to tell, but she writes with such honesty and intimacy, that as I read her narrative, I felt like was in the room with her.

In a series of memos today, Simon & Schuster publisher Jonathan Karp announced some changes at the trade imprint–dividing publicity and marketing responsibilities among “fluid” and “less centralized” teams of publishing professionals.

Along with this new strategy, executive director of publicity, Victoria Meyer, will be leaving the company. Karp explained: “it became clear that we could not maintain the role of an executive director of publicity within this new structure.”

Karp said the new team structure will take effect in 2011. Generally, the teams will consist of two editors, two publicists, and one marketing specialist. These teams will “propose, develop, and execute their own publicity and marketing plans, from the moment of acquisition through paperback publication.”

These teams will consult with associate publisher Aileen Boyle and Karp. Director of publicity Tracey Guest will serve as the primary media contact for the imprint. Karp called this new structure the “publishing environment most conducive to focused concentration on our authors.”

On Twitter, a few publishing folk started analyzing the reorganization at the #simonreorg hashtag. Karp assumed his position in June, taking over for David Rosenthal.

Jonathan Karp has been picked as the new publisher of the Simon & Schuster trade imprint, replacing David Rosenthal.

UPDATE: Simon & Schuster, Inc. CEO Carolyn Reidy has confirmed the news. Her statement: “At every stage of his career [Karp] has shown a true gift for finding and making bestsellers of quality. Having competed against him to acquire books in which we were keenly interested, and then watching as he published them with great flair, I’m delighted that he will now bring his abundant editorial and publishing skills to the Simon & Schuster imprint.”

Karp (pictured, via) currently serves as publisher at Hachette’s Twelve imprint. Reidy also praised Karp’s predecessor: “For nearly 13 years David has led our eponymous imprint, furthering its storied history and tradition of excellence by publishing hundreds of bestsellers and countless critically acclaimed, award-winning books … A truly original thinker, he brought a wealth of creative and inspired ideas to the entire publishing process.”

The Simon & Schuster imprint has published some major books, with authors that include Hillary Rodham Clinton, Larry McMurtry, Mary Higgins Clark, and Bob Dylan. Last year GalleyCat reported on Karp’s remarks at a Publishers Advertising and Marketing Association luncheon. Moby Lives has some helpful context to the news.

AP’s Hillel Italie reports that former President Jimmy Carter, who already has a book coming out this fall about his post-White House years, is working on a memoir about his mother, Lillian, to be published next spring by Simon & Schuster. “Jimmy Carter has inspired millions. Its a great opportunity to meet the woman who inspired him,” David Rosenthal, executive vice president and publisher of Simon & Schuster, said Thursday in a statement. “Jimmy Carter’s mother emerges from this portrait as redoubtable, generous, and forward-looking. He ascribes to her the inspiration for his own lifes work of commitment and faith.”