SFScope editor Ian Randal Strock sold his first book, The Presidential Book of Lists, to Senior Editor Jill Schwartzman at Random House, via agent Steven Harris of CSG Literary Partners. The book is non-fiction, and its only connection to the sf/f/h genres is the author.
Schwartzman expects to publish the book under the Villard imprint, and the publisher is rushing it into production, in order to have it listed in their fall catalog and in the stores before the upcoming Presidential election.
The book is a collection of presidential facts, trivia, and relationships, arranged in “top five” lists (oldest, youngest, most fertile, etc.). The editor and author are still negotiating the length of the book. Strock is pushing for a longer version, which is curious since he says: “Most of my writing has been 800-word stories. This manuscript was 110,000 words long. It was exciting to realize I’d written something of this length.”
Strock majored in political science at Boston University, and has sold several Presidential articles and puzzles to Games magazine. Further updates on the book will be on Strock’s personal blog, at ianrandalstrock.livejournal.com.