March 8, 2005 For more information: Frank R. Scatoni 619-807-1887 frank@ventureliterary.com "No Kill Date" Venture Literary Sells Debut Literary Novel to Simon & Schuster On March 8, 2005, Byrd Leavell of Venture Literary, acting on behalf of Lizzy Kremer at David Higham Associates in the UK, sold the North American rights to My Blue Blood, the debut novel by Euny Hong, to Tara Parsons at Simon & Schuster. Protagonist Judith Lee, a direct descendent of Korean aristocracy, finds herself drowning in debt and unable to pay her rent on her small Manhattan apartment. Following the advice of her "20%" more attractive cousin Jung, Judith enters the oldest respectable profession there is as a grandes horizontale, or courtesan, in the service of Russian emigri/dance instructor Madame Tartakoff. Judith quickly finds herself caught between a fiery classical violinist whose company she is paid to keep and a stuttering tousle-haired philosophy student who woos her with Shakespeare, opera tickets, and roasted veal marrow. In a voyage that takes her through the bustling streets of New York, on a dissolute nocturne in Berlin, and a bittersweet homecoming in Seoul, Judith seeks to confront her past, clear up her debts, and finally find a happiness she may or may not deserve. Y. Euny Hong spent her childhood between the U.S. and Seoul, Korea, and has also lived in Frankfurt and Berlin, Germany. She graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Philosophy. While at Yale, she co-founded a campus humor magazine that remains in operation. She has written for The New York Times, The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal Europe, The International Herald Tribune, The New Republic, and The Boston Globe. To learn more about Venture Literary, please visit: www.ventureliterary.com. To learn more about David Higham Associates, please visit: www.davidhigham.co.uk. To learn more about Simon & Schuster, please visit: www.simonsays.com.