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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Fresh from winning a gold medal at London 2012, Olympian Alex Morgan has landed a 3-book deal with Simon & Schuster’s Books for Young Readers (SBYR). The American soccer star will be penning her debut middle-grade series, The Kicks.

The not-yet-titled first book will be released in Summer 2013. SBYR editor Kristin Ostby negotiated the deal with William Morris Endeavor Entertainment literary agent Eric Simonoff. Ostby, who will edit the manuscript, secured both world English and audio rights.

Morgan (pictured, via) had this statement in the release: “It seems like only yesterday, I was a kid myself, getting my first taste of the joys of teamwork, good sportsmanship, acceptance. Playing team sports is one of the best ways I can think of to develop strong values, good work ethics, and a health-focused lifestyle. This series will no doubt widen the appeal of soccer and bring an appreciation of the sport to readers who might not otherwise have that opportunity.”

The O’Reilly Factor anchor Bill O’Reilly has landed a book deal to co-write Killing Kennedy: The
End of Camelot with Martin Dugard. It will be the second book in his series about presidential history, following up on the success of Killing Lincoln.

William Morris Endeavor agent Eric Simonoff negotiated the deal with Henry Holt and Company publisher Stephen Rubin. Henry Holt EIC Gillian Blake will edit.

O’Reilly had this statement in the release: “As with most baby boomers, the murder of JFK was a signature moment in my life … Killing Kennedy will answer many questions about the president and why his life was cut short.”

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Based on the “meteoric sales” of his latest book, Henry Holt and Company has inked a two-book deal with Fox New anchor Bill O’Reilly. According to the publisher, O’Reilly (pictured, via) has sold 950,000 copies of his most recent book, Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever.

Here’s more about the deal: “Holt now owns the next three books by O’Reilly including Bolder and Fresher: The Factor Years, his next memoir, which Holt signed in the spring. Of the two new books, one will be another presidential history. Publication dates are yet to be announced.”

Eric Simonoff at William Morris Endeavor negotiated the deal with Holt publisher Stephen Rubin. Holt editor-in-chief and Killing Lincoln editor Gillian Blake will handle all three books. Rubin added in the release: “The fantastic sales velocity of ‘Killing Lincoln’ is every publisher’s dream,”

Simon & Schuster editor Karen Thompson Walker has sold her first novel to the Random House Publishing Group division. The Age of Miracles will be published in 2012.

Random House executive editorial director Kate Medina acquired the book in a preempt and WME agent Eric Simonoff represented the debut author. According to the release, Thompson Walker wrote the book before work every morning for the last three years.

Here’s more about the novel, from the release: “The novel centers on an eleven-year-old girl and her family who wake one morning in their modest suburban home in California, to discover, along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth has suddenly begun to slow. Set against this mysterious looming global disaster, THE AGE OF MIRACLES unfolds a suspenseful family drama, a moving story of the lows and highs of a girl’s adolescence, and a poignant story of first love, beautifully mapping the effects of catastrophes big and small on the lives of ordinary people.”

Publishers Lunch reports that Tina Bennett and Eric Simonoff have been promoted to directors of Janklow & Nesbit Associates. Bennett joined the literary agency in 1994 and Simonoff has been there since 1991. Senior partner Morton Janklow noted in announcing the news, “Tina and Eric have established themselves as leading figures in the publishing industry and we are pleased to have this younger generation of agents integrated into the operations of the agency, assuring seamless continuity in the future.”

Wow, I’m sure the entire world needed the New York Times business section to tell them that the publishing industry doesn’t work like every other business because oops, they can’t really predict bestsellers and big advances don’t always correlate to big sales and small advances can break wide and all the other tropes and cliches associated with this wonderfully amorphous world we exist in. Or as Janklow & Nesbit‘s Eric Simonoff said that whenever he discusses the book industry with people in other industries, “they’re stunned because it’s so unpredictable, because the profit margins are so small, the cycles are so incredibly long, and because of the almost total lack of market research.”

Really, about the only new thing I learned was that Curtis Sittenfeld got $40K for the two book deal that would result in PREP and MAN OF MY DREAMS, which a) was more than I expected b) a pretty good investment by Random House.