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

"No Kill Date"

Venture Literary Sells an Examination of One Man’s Desire to Compete and Its Consequences to Skyhorse Publishing

On July 30, 2008, Frank R. Scatoni of Venture Literary sold North American rights to David Apostolico’s Compete, Play, Win: An Exploration of Man’s Most Fundamental Desire to Erin Kelley at Skyhorse Publishing.

Every living creature depends on innate competitiveness in order to survive, and man is no different. While we have learned to temper our desire to compete, the need still thrives in subtle and dangerously ambiguous ways. In Compete, Play, Win, David Apostolico examines his own competitive nature and the results and consequences it has brought him. In doing so, he discovers the ways in which competition is necessary, and comes to the conclusion that competition should not be eliminated but rather turned into a productive and healthy desire that propels mankind forward.

Compete, Play, Win is an attempt to discover what the desire to win means for each of us by exploring what drives the author and others to compete—sometimes violently—and the resulting consequences of those desires. Apostolico examines competitions in various arenas from boardrooms to hot dog–eating contests. Woven throughout the narrative are Apostolico’s real-life examples of competing, which help bring to life the issues of competition, analyze its problems, and offer firsthand resolutions. Ultimately, the goal is for Compete, Play, Win to serve as an inspiration for the reader to discover his or her own appropriate level of competition and strike the right balance in his or her desire to win.

David Apostolico is a competition junkie whose desire to win has served him well in some instances and has created conflicts in others. On the plus side, Apostolico’s competitive strength has been an asset in business, poker, and in some aspects of his personal life. He has written numerous books on how to compete and win in various arenas (especially poker and business), and he writes regularly for both Card Player and Poker Pro magazines. He has been interviewed on numerous radio shows, including The Joey Reynolds Show, Larry Grossman’s You Can Bet on It, and the Liz Wilde Show. He has published several short stories, and best-selling author Anthony Holden has said, “David Apostolico is a master [poker player and corporate attorney], as well as the most readable of writers.”


To learn more about Venture Literary, visit: www.ventureliterary.com.
To learn more about Wiley, visit: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/