For more information:
Frank R. Scatoni
619-807-1887
frank at ventureliterary.com

"No Kill Date"

Venture Literary Sells Award-Winning Sports Journalist’s Complete Illustrated History of the New England Patriots to MVP Books

On April 30, 2009, Frank R. Scatoni of Venture Literary sold the North American rights to Christopher Price’s New England Patriots: The Complete Illustrated History to Josh Leventhal at MVP Books, an imprint of MBI Publishing and the Quayside Publishing Group.

In New England Patriots: The Complete Illustrated History, award-winning New England sportswriter Christopher Price takes readers on a journey through one of the craziest franchises in all of American professional sports. For most of their existence, the Patriots were the very example of how not to run a team. Their gonzo history includes an alcoholic coach who was perilously close to a mental breakdown, a ramshackle stadium built on the cheap, inept management that came perilously close to drafting a dead guy, drug scandals, front-office feuding, and a sexual harassment suit.

But they have also provided football fans with the very template as to how to run a franchise. Since the arrival of Bill Belichick in 2000, and the drafting of quarterback Tom Brady that same year, New England has enjoyed an unparalleled run of success. On the field, there have been four Super Bowl appearances and three Super Bowl victories. In addition, the 2007 Patriots were the first team in NFL history to finish the regular season at 16-0. Off the field, that success has paid dividends—the team has become one of the most lucrative sports franchises in the world. The Forbes 2005 National Football League team value-rankings put New England at $1 billion.

CHRISTOPHER PRICE has covered the Boston sports scene for the last dozen years, bringing insightful game stories and in-depth features to a variety of local and national media outlets. An award-winning sportswriter who has been honored by Northeastern University, New England Press Association, and the North Carolina Press Association for his work, Price has served as a contributor to ESPN.com, SI.com, Sportsticker, and Baseball America, as well as The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, The Miami Herald, Boston Metro, and The Cape Cod Times. He has covered the Patriots since 2001, and currently works for WEEI.com. He is also the author of two critically acclaimed sports books, The Blueprint: How the New England Patriots Beat the System to Create the Last Great NFL Superpower—one of the Top 5 Sports Books of 2007 by Sports Illustrated—and Baseball by the Beach: A History of America’s National Pastime on Cape Cod.



To learn more about Venture Literary, visit: www.ventureliterary.com.
To learn more about MVP Books, visit: http://www.mvpbooks.com.