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Stephanie Danler was working as a waitress in New York City when she encountered Penguin Random House senior vice president and editor-at-large Peter Gethers. While she was serving him, she told him she was writing a novel.

After this meeting, Melissa Flashman, Danler’s literary agent, sent the manuscript to Gethers and he immediately recommended it for acquisition to editor Claudia Herr. Danler signed a pre-emptive, six-figure, two-book deal.

The New York Times reports that the first book, entitled Sweetbitter, “is both a coming-of-age and coming-to-New York story, and a novel about the seductive pleasures of food and wine. The story unfolds inside the glamorous, cutthroat and sometimes seedy world of elite Manhattan restaurants.” The Alfred A. Knopf imprint has scheduled a release date for 2016.

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Author J. Randy Taraborrelli has landed a deal to write a biography about Beyoncé Knowles. This project will be the the first comprehensive biographical profile on the Grammy Award-winning singer (pictured, via).

Grand Central Publishing, a division of the Hachette Book Group, will publish the not-yet-titled book in Fall 2015. President Jamie Raab negotiated the terms of the agreement with literary agent Mitch Douglas.

According to the press release, Taraborrelli conducted exclusive interviews with people who share important personal and professional relationships with the diva. In the past, he has written biographies on music icons including Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, and Madonna.

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Writer Patrick Ness (pictured, via) has signed a two-book deal with HarperCollins Children’s Books.

Editorial director Rosemary Brosnan negotiated the deal with literary agent David McMillan. According to the press release, the first book, entitled The Rest of Us Just Live Here, will be released in Fall 2015.

This novel examines “what it would be like to live in a world that’s a lot like a YA novel, where some kids in school are battling forces of evil, and some kids just want to go to prom and graduate before someone goes and blows up the high school again.” The second book which will also feature a stand-along story; no other details have been announced.

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Cartoonist and author Bob Eckstein has landed a book deal with the Potter Style imprint at Random House.

The new project, entitled Footnotes From the World’s Greatest Bookstores, was inspired by Eckstein’s “Bookstores of New York” series. The New Yorker published “part 1” in June and “part 2” earlier this week.

With this work, Eckstein will illustrate and write about the unusual histories behind several beloved independent bookstores. Senior editor Jay Sacher negotiated the deal with Joy Tutela of the David Black Literary Agency.

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Actor John Leguizamo has landed a deal to create a graphic novel adaptation of his hit one-man Broadway show, Ghetto Klown. ComicArts, an imprint at ABRAMS, has scheduled a release date for Spring 2015.

Cartoonist Christa Cassano has signed on to create the artwork. Executive editor David Cashion negotiated the deal with Foundry Media literary agent Anthony Mattero.

Leguizamo had this statement in the press release: “Ghetto Klown is the history that I probably never should have told anyone but my therapist, but it’s a real lesson that even if you suffer a certain amount (a lot) of self-doubt and anxiety, you can still accomplish great things. It’s a lesson I’m really excited to impart to a whole new audience and in a whole new way with the help of artist Christa Cassano and Abrams Books. My life’s work took me my whole life to figure out, but, hey, better late than never”

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TED curator Chris Anderson (pictured, via) has inked a deal with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for Talk This Way! The Official TED Guide to Public Speaking.

Senior executive editor Rick Wolff handled this acquisition. This project will be the first in Wolff’s new line of business books.

Anderson gave this statement in the press release: “Many people have something important to say, but are terrified by public speaking. Yet the skills to deliver a compelling talk are teachable. Over the last 10 years, my team and I have had access to the preparation process of many of the world’s best speakers. It’s thrilling to have this opportunity to share what we’ve learned with a broader public, and I look forward to working with Rick and his colleagues at HMH.”

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Mara Wilson, a former child star best known for starring in the Mrs. Doubtfire and Matilda film adaptations, has landed a deal with Penguin Books.

Wilson (pictured, via) plans to pen a book of personal essays entitled (K) for Kid. According to the press release, the pieces will share Wilson’s ideas on “being young, female, and a little out of place—as the only child on a film set full of adults, the first daughter in a house full of boys, a New Yorker in California and a Californian in New York, and more.”

Editor Lindsey Schwoeri negotiated the deal with Paradigm literary agent Alyssa Reuben. The Penguin Random House imprint will publish the book as its lead nonfiction title sometime in 2016.

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Thriller writer Daniel Silva has signed a foreign language publishing agreement with HarperCollins. Four of Silva’s novels will be published in sixteen different countries.

The first Silva title, The Heist, will come out in Germany in Fall 2015. From there, the book will reach readers in Brazil, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Hungary, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. Subsequent publications will be released in those markets as well as Denmark, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, and Spain.

Silva gave this statement in the press release: “I’ve had a great partnership with HarperCollins over the last four years. Now, their increased foreign language footprint provides the opportunity to collaborate in an even more comprehensive, global fashion. It’s a tremendous opportunity to reach more readers in more languages in both digital and print. I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunity.”

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Kate DiCamillo (pictured, via) has landed a deal with Candlewick Press for a new middle grade novel.

President Karen Lotz negotiated the terms of this agreement with Pippin Properties literary agent Holly McGhee. Editor Andrea Tompa will edit the manuscript.

The publisher plans to release the book in Spring 2016. According to the press release, the story “features three girls over one tumultuous summer, discovering a friendship that changes their lives.”

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Susan Cain (pictured, via) will pen a children’s book edition of her hit nonfiction title, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in A World That Can’t Stop Talking. Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group, will release Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts, in May 2015.

Here’s more from the press release: “The original book focused on the workplace and on advice for parents, and Susan realized that a version for kids was also badly needed. In this book, kids will be able to read about their own sphere—school, extracurriculars, family life, and friendship. They’ll read about actual kids who have tackled the challenges of not being extroverted and who have made a mark in their own quiet way.”

Publisher Lauri Hornik negotiated the deal with Inkwell Management literary agent Richard Pine. The new project will feature comic-style illustrations from artist Grant Snider. Snider drew inspiration from Cain’s popular TED talk, “ The Power of Introverts“, to create his own web comic, “We Are The Introverts.”

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Children’s books creators Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers will reunite to collaborate on a sequel to The Day The Crayons Quit.

Publisher Michael Green negotiated the deal with Steven Malk of Writers House and Paul Moreton of Bell, Lomax, Moreton Agency. Philomel Books, an imprint at Penguin Young Readers Group, will publish the new picture book in August 2015.

Green had this statement in the press release: “It’s gratifying to see the Crayons finally getting their due, yet many revealing tales remain untold. I have a feeling every child, crayon, and crayon activist will be inspired by this latest tale of artistic heroism.”

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Cartoonist Alison Bechdel has become well-known for her graphic novel memoirs. Her first, Fun Home, came out in 2006 and her second, Are You My Mother?, followed in 2012.

Bechdel plans to create a third entitled The Secret to Superhuman Strength. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will release the finished book in 2017.

According to The New York Times, this project “chronicles her decades long obsession with various fitness and exercise fads, including downhill skiing, uphill skiing, rollerblading, martial arts, running, hiking, weight lifting and home workout videos and currently, yoga. The book will also explore the history of American fitness fads, and Ms. Bechdel’s efforts to rekindle her creativity through exercise, and it is shot through with her signature darkness.”

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Actress Mary Louise-Parker (pictured, via) has landed a deal for an autobiographical nonfiction book. According to the press release, this title will contain a series of letters addressed to the significant men who have touched Louise-Parker’s life.

Scribner, an imprint at Simon & Schuster, will publish Dear Mr. You in Fall 2015. Editor-in-chief Colin Harrison negotiated the deal with William Morris Endeavor literary agent Eric Simonoff.

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Actor Nathan Lane (pictured, via) and his life partner Devlin Elliott will team up as writers for a picture book series. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers will release the first installment, Naughty Mabel, in Fall 2015.

According to the press release, the story follows “a fabulous French bulldog based on Lane and Elliott’s very own naughty (but adorable) pup. Mabel is the queen of the Hamptons and has a penchant for getting her perfectly pedicured paws into trouble.”

Publisher Justin Chanda negotiated the deal with Brenda Bowen of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates (representing Lane and Elliott) and Abigail Samoun of Red Fox Literary (representing Krall). Chanda will edit the manuscripts. Animator Dan Krall has been brought on to create the illustrations.

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James Dashner (pictured, via) will pen a new prequel novel for The Maze Runner series.

Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, has scheduled The Fever Code for publication in 2016. According to the press release, this new story “delves into the time before the Maze, and will tell the story of how Thomas, Teresa, and the Gladers found themselves in the Maze, and how the Maze itself was created.”

Publisher Beverly Horowitz negotiated the deal with Michael Bourret, vice president of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. Executive editor Krista Marino will edit the manuscript.

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Shopaholic series author Sophie Kinsella (pictured, via) has landed a deal for her first young adult novel. Finding Audrey will  be released in Summer 2015 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

Annie Eaton, the fiction publisher at Random House Children’s Publishers, negotiated with Philippa Milnes-Smith and Araminta Whitley at the LAW literary agency. Eaton secured acquired United Kingdom and Commonwealth rights.

Here’s more from The Bookseller: “Finding Audrey, described as a mix of ‘family comedy, romance and personal discovery,’ is about a teenage girl recovering from social anxiety. Along the way she is helped, and sometimes hindered, by her chaotic family.”

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Vanity Fair entertainment reporter Leslie Bennetts has landed a deal with Little, Brown to pen a biography about the late Joan Rivers. Rivers (pictured, via) died in early September 2014.

Prior to her passing, Bennetts met Rivers several times. According to The New York Times, Bennetts explained in a statement that she was drawn to this story because “Rivers’s career was also enormously significant in American cultural history, breaking down barriers for women in television and comedy…”

To write the book, Bennets plans to conduct interviews with friends, other comedians, and business associates The publishing house has scheduled a release date for 2016.

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Tony Robbins, a renowned author and speaker on personal development, has written his first book in almost two decades.

Simon & Schuster will release Money: Master the Game: 7 Simple Steps to Financial Freedom on November 18, 2014. With this project, Robbins (pictured, via) aims to help readers attain financial freedom. He interviewed 50 financial experts to write this book. To learn more about Robbins, check out his TED talk.

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Susan Klebold has landed a memoir deal with Crown Publishers. She is the mother of Dylan Klebold, one of two men who committed the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.

According to The Associated Press, Susan “was compelled to share her story after the murders at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and other schools.” She plans to donate any money she receives from this project to mental health research and various charities.

Crown has not yet established a title or release date for this nonfiction book. In the past, Susan has publicly spoken about her feelings about the Columbine situation in an O magazine essay and in interviews that were later included in Andrew Solomon’s book, Far From the Tree. (via Time)

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Printz Honor-winning writer Kenneth Oppel and Caldecott Medal-winning artist Jon Klassen will partner to create a middle grade novel entitled The Nest.

The story follows a boy named Steve as he and his family navigates through the difficulties of caring for Steve’s sick baby brother. This will be the first time Oppel (pictured, via) and Klassen (pictured, via) collaborate on a book project.

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers publisher Justin Chanda negotiated the deal with Writer’s House literary agent Steve Malk. Chanda will edit the manuscript. A release date has been scheduled for Fall 2015.

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E.R. Frank, an award-winning children’s books author and psychotherapist, will be publishing her first novel in ten years.

Frank’s (pictured, via) new book, entitled Dime, features an intense story about teen prostitution. Atheneum Books for Young Readers has scheduled a release date for summer 2015.

Publisher Justin Chanda negotiated the deal with Compass Talent literary agent Heather Schroder. Chanda will edit the manuscript himself.

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Author Harlan Coben has landed a four-book deal with Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

Ben Sevier, vice president and editor-in-chief at Dutton, will continue to edit Coben’s manuscripts. Lisa Erbach Vance of the Aaron M. Priest Literary Agency negotiated the deal on Coben’s behalf.

Here’s more from the press release: “With more than 60 million books in print in over 40 languages worldwide, Coben’s last seven consecutive novels including his most recent, Missing You, have all debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and on lists around the world…Coben’s third young adult novel featuring Mickey Bolitar, Found, went on sale this week and his next adult stand-alone thriller, The Stranger will come out on March 24th, 2015.” (Photo Credit: Claudio Marinesco)

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Graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang will be writing a middle grade grade comic series entitled Secret Coders. Cartoonist Mike Holmes has signed on to create the illustrations.

The story follows two prep school students named Hopper and Eni who develop a friendship and a passion for computer coding. In an interview with Wired, Yang explained the inspiration behind this project: “I started collecting comics in the fifth grade, and I started coding in the fifth grade. I’ve always wanted to bring them together.”

Yang, a high school computer science teacher, revealed on Twitter that “Secret Coders is a love letter to my favorite programming language of all time: Logo.” First Second Books will release the first installment on September 29, 2015.

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Ray Kelly is writing a memoir.

The former NYC Police Commissioner, known for his work slashing crime in NYC, establishing a counter-terrorism operation post 9/11 and the controversial stop-and-frisk policy, has  signed a book deal with Hachette Books. The untitled memoir is slated for release next fall.

AP has more: According to Hachette, Kelly will cover his decades in law enforcement and offer advice on leadership. He will discuss his relationship with former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other government officials and will take on criticisms he faced, including for the monitoring of Muslims and for the department’s “stop-and-frisk” policy, which a judge ruled last year sometimes discriminated against minorities.

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Journalist Nikki Finke, founder of the entertainment news blog Deadline, has been working on a  nonfiction book about Hollywood.

Alice Martell of The Martell Agency negotiated the deal for Finke’s deal. The New York Times reports that Simon & Schuster publisher Jonathan Karp edited the manuscript.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, “little else is known about the specifics of the project. Simon & Schuster wouldn’t comment on the contents or offer a publication date.”

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