Venture Literary-News-November 3, 2004

November 1, 2004

For more information:
Frank R. Scatoni
619-807-1887
agents@ventureliterary.com

"No Kill Date"

Venture Literary Sells Former New Yorker Staff Writer’s Novel about Horse Racing to Eclipse Press

On November 1, 2004, Frank R. Scatoni of Venture Literary, representing former New Yorker staff writer William Murray, sold the World rights to his novel Dead Heat to Jackie Duke at Eclipse Press.

Dead Heat, Murray’s first horse racing novel since 1996, is a story of obsessions—of people driven to pursue their dreams and their desires wherever they may lead them and at whatever cost. The haunted young woman who shows up one day outside the horse trainer Jake Fontana’s tack room at the Santa Anita racetrack is not merely looking for work, but has an agenda: she wants to become a great race rider. She is also fleeing from a bad childhood and a series of damaging relationships with men. She finds a refuge in her vocation and in her talent, but her past refuses to release its grip on her and will not allow her the freedom she needs to find fulfillment. Sal "Bones" Righetti, ex–mob enforcer, jock’s agent, and wily horseplayer, becomes her friend and ally, determined to help her break free of her past, as he did himself. And at the heart of their personal drama is the potentially great horse that Jake Fontana trains, Tumultuous, who may one day carry all of them to what Bones thinks of as "rainbow’s end."

William Murray—America’s answer to Dick Francis—is a novelist, journalist, and playwright who was for thirty years a staff writer for The New Yorker, a contributor mainly of "Letters from Italy." His two books on Italy—Italy: The Fatal Gift and The Last Italian: Portrait of a People—were selected by The New York Times and the American Library Association as Notable Books of the Year. His translations of the plays of Luigi Pirandello continue to be produced all over the country. He has written three nonfiction books and nine novels about the world of horse racing, among them Tip on a Dead Crab, When the Fat Man Sings, The King of the Nightcap, The Getaway Blues, and A Fine Italian Hand. Several of these were also Notable Books of the Year. Two novels, The Sweet Ride and Malibu, were produced for a feature film and a TV miniseries respectively. Several of his articles have been chosen for best-of-the-year collections and he was awarded the LOLA (Local Author Lifetime Achievement) award in 2002 by the San Diego Library Association.

In addition to publishing Dead Heat, Eclipse Press will be reissuing Murray’s nine pervious racetrack novels, featuring the inimitable "Shifty" Lou Anderson—magician, horseplayer, and amateur sleuth.

To learn more about Venture Literary, visit: www.ventureliterary.com.
To learn more about Eclipse Press, visit: http://www.eclipsepress.com/



		November 1, 2004 For more information: Frank R. Scatoni 619-807-1887 agents@ventureliterary.com "No Kill Date" Venture Literary Sells Former New Yorker Staff Writer’s Novel about Horse Racing to Eclipse Press On November 1, 2004, Frank R. Scatoni of Venture Literary, representing former New Yorker staff writer William Murray, sold the World rights to his novel Dead Heat to Jackie Duke at Eclipse Press. Dead Heat, Murray’s first horse racing novel since 1996, is a story of obsessions—of people driven to pursue their dreams and their desires wherever they may lead them and at whatever cost. The haunted young woman who shows up one day outside the horse trainer Jake Fontana’s tack room at the Santa Anita racetrack is not merely looking for work, but has an agenda: she wants to become a great race rider. She is also fleeing from a bad childhood and a series of damaging relationships with men. She finds a refuge in her vocation and in her talent, but her past refuses to release its grip on her and will not allow her the freedom she needs to find fulfillment. Sal "Bones" Righetti, ex–mob enforcer, jock’s agent, and wily horseplayer, becomes her friend and ally, determined to help her break free of her past, as he did himself. And at the heart of their personal drama is the potentially great horse that Jake Fontana trains, Tumultuous, who may one day carry all of them to what Bones thinks of as "rainbow’s end." William Murray—America’s answer to Dick Francis—is a novelist, journalist, and playwright who was for thirty years a staff writer for The New Yorker, a contributor mainly of "Letters from Italy." His two books on Italy—Italy: The Fatal Gift and The Last Italian: Portrait of a People—were selected by The New York Times and the American Library Association as Notable Books of the Year. His translations of the plays of Luigi Pirandello continue to be produced all over the country. He has written three nonfiction books and nine novels about the world of horse racing, among them Tip on a Dead Crab, When the Fat Man Sings, The King of the Nightcap, The Getaway Blues, and A Fine Italian Hand. Several of these were also Notable Books of the Year. Two novels, The Sweet Ride and Malibu, were produced for a feature film and a TV miniseries respectively. Several of his articles have been chosen for best-of-the-year collections and he was awarded the LOLA (Local Author Lifetime Achievement) award in 2002 by the San Diego Library Association. In addition to publishing Dead Heat, Eclipse Press will be reissuing Murray’s nine pervious racetrack novels, featuring the inimitable "Shifty" Lou Anderson—magician, horseplayer, and amateur sleuth. To learn more about Venture Literary, visit: www.ventureliterary.com. To learn more about Eclipse Press, visit: http://www.eclipsepress.com/
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