Publishers Marketplace reports that Crown has decided to cancel their plans to publish Melissa Dumas‘ LIVE TO TELL: My Life as Madonna’s Nanny, which had been pre-empted by Lindsey Moore in a major deal. The house simply says “it will not be publishing the memoir to be authored by Madonna’s former nanny, Melissa Dumas. The rights to the book have been released to the author, who is represented by Martin Literary Management.” Which, of course, leaves us to wonder why a) Crown keeps making book deals they have to cancel b) what really happened. A Crown spokeswoman had not as yet returned contact attempts.

Not two days after Entertainment Weekly reported on a proposal by Madonna’s former nanny, Melissa Dumas, making the rounds, Publishers Marketplace reports that a deal’s been struck for LIVE TO TELL: My Life as Madonna’s Nanny by Lindsey Moore at Crown. The September 2007 release went for “major deal” (aka $500,000 and up) money, and Sharlene Martin is the agent of record for the book, pitched as “an account of working in all four of the pop star’s homes and the details of her home life, including such matters as house rules (no noise-even running water — while Madonna is sleeping, and a ban on television, newspapers or magazines)”. In other word, a tabloid’s wet dream just sold for big bucks.