S I M O N & S C H U S T E R CHILDREN'S PUBLISHING DIVISION
1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 Fax: 212-698-4350
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR JODI PICOULT TEAMS UP WITH HER DAUGHTER SAMANTHA VAN LEER TO PUBLISH TEEN NOVEL
New York, NY, August 4, 2011—International bestselling author Jodi Picoult and her daughter, Samantha van Leer, have teamed up to write Between the Lines, a young adult novel which will be published on June 26, 2012. Jodi Picoult is the author of eighteen novels, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers House Rules, Handle With Care, Change of Heart, Nineteen Minutes, and My Sister’s Keeper, and Between the Lines is her first teen novel and the first book she has co-written with her daughter.
Between the Lines will be jointly published by Simon Pulse and Emily Bestler Books, who have acquired world rights. The deal was negotiated by Emily Bestler, Senior Vice President and, Editor-In-Chief, Emily Bestler Books, and Laura Gross of The Laura Gross Literary Agency.
―Several years ago, my daughter called me and said, ‗I think I have a really good idea for a book.‘ As it turned out – she did! It has been a delight and an adventure to co-write this story with Sammy. For years, I‘ve been amazed by her imagination and creativity; it‘s exciting for me to be able to introduce those talents of hers to a wide audience. And I love knowing that parents who‘ve enjoyed my adult fiction will be able to share an age-appropriate story of mine with their kids,‖ Jodi Picoult said.
Between the Lines is a clever, funny, romantic teen novel about a fairy tale prince who wants to break free of the constraints of his storybook existence, and the girl who falls in love with him. In this story-within-a-story, Delilah, a loner who feels happiest with her head in a book, is obsessed with a fairy tale about Prince Oliver at her library. And then one day, Oliver actually speaks to her. It turns out that Oliver is more than a one-dimensional storybook prince and is in fact a restless teen who feels trapped by his literary existence. Once Delilah and Oliver connect, she decides to help him break out of the book and they begin to fall head over heels for each other.
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Aladdin Paperbacks • Simon Pulse • Atheneum Books for Young Readers • Little Simon • Simon Spotlight Margaret K. McElderry Books • Simon Scribbles • Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
―Jodi has long been a staple for Atria Books and a marquee name for our adult publishing colleagues at Simon & Schuster. And when an author with her considerable talents and record of success has the ambition and spark to expand her creative expressions in a book aimed expressly at a teen audience, we are thrilled for the opportunity to bring her work to a new audience,‖ said Jon Anderson, Executive Vice President & Publisher Simon & Schuster Children‘s Publishing.
―I am delighted that with Between the Lines Jodi is expanding her audience and challenging herself while at the same time having fun and sharing this unique experience with her daughter,‖ said Emily Bestler.
JODI PICOULT is the author of eighteen novels, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers House Rules, Handle With Care, Change of Heart, Nineteen Minutes, and My Sister’s Keeper. Her most recent world wide bestseller, Sing You Home, was released in March. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three children. Visit her website at www.jodipicoult.com.
SAMANTHA VAN LEER is a junior in high school, who conceived the idea for this book and pitched it to her mom while she was in the middle of a book tour. In her spare time, she can be found playing softball, doing contemporary dance, acting and singing in musicals, and cuddling on the ground with her two dogs, Dudley and Oliver--for whom the prince in this fairytale was named.
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CONTACT: Nicole Russo Simon & Schuster Children‘s Publishing 212/698-7087 /[email protected]
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