[hear the deal from the esteemed John Strausbaugh]
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For Immediate Release
For
Immediate ReleaseContact:
Hilary Bass
212-625-5129
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Miramax Books Signs Two Book Deal with
Teen Cult Writer Ned Vizzini
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New York, NY – Miramax Books has
acquired North American rights to Be More
Chill, a first novel from Ned Vizzini, author of Teen Angst? Naaah…,
a critically acclaimed memoir of the author’s high school days which became
a cult phenomenon nationwide.The first
novel and a second book will be published by Miramax Books in conjunction with
Hyperion Books for Children.The
announcement was made today by Jonathan Burnham, president
Miramax Books.
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Jonathan Burnham commented: “Ned Vizzini's first novel is a hilarious and pitch-perfect
fantasy for readers of 12 years and up: it's the novel you wish you'd read in
high-school, a cautionary tale for our times about the pleasures and risks of
being cool. And Ned is clearly a major talent who has a remarkable career in
front of him.”
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Be More Chill is both a classic young
adult morality play and a hyper-hip, up to the minute novel.The young protagonist, Jeremy Heere, is a particular brand of dork, smart and savvy, but lacking the must-have quality: Cool. When he gets his hands on and ingests an underground
digital gadget called The Squip, he has swallowed the
ultimate lifesaver----a cool coach in the form of an inner voice telling you
what to say, how to get the hot date, who to know and who to ditch.Jeremy’s swift rise in popularity is not all he
expected and it is the lessons learned that will make Be More Chill a novel for generations to come.
Ned
Vizzini began writing for New York Press at 15, had his first essay published in The New York Times Magazine at 17, parlayed that into Teen
Angst? Naaah… at 19 and is now 21.He is currently a student at Hunter College
and continues to write for The New York
Press.
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“Miramax Books and Jonathan Burnham are letting me stay
true to my dork nature,” says Vizzini.“Smart, strange kids across America brought
me to where I am today and this one is for them…if I can be the guy who doles
out their absurdist high school humor, that’s rocking.”
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The
partnership between Miramax Books and Hyperion Books for Children has already
produced the hugely successful Artemis
Fowl series (over 1 million books in print), Summerland,The New York Times best-seller from Pulitzer Prize winner Michael
Chabon and will soon publish Adam Gopnik’s
first children’s book, The King in the
Window as well as the first book in a highly anticipated Bartimaeus Trilogy.
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Alessandra Balzer, executive
editor, Hyperion Books for Children, who acquired the book plans for a spring
2004 publication.
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Devereux Chatillon, evp business and legal affairs, negotiated the deal on
behalf of Miramax Books.Jay Mandel of
the WilliamMorrisAgency negotiated the deal on
behalf of Ned Vizzini.