PAGE TUNERS
Acclaimed Elvis chronicler Peter Guralnick has
chosen his next subject: R&B legend Sam Cooke. ''It'll be the
story of [the music scene in] Chicago, L.A., and Atlanta and the
growth of gospel into rock & roll,'' says Little, Brown editor in
chief Michael Pietsch, who plans to publish in 2003.... Nick
Hornby meets Helen Fielding: That's the pitch for Louise Voss'
To Be Someone, a novel about a female British DJ that Crown's
Kristin Kiser has just snapped up for a low six-figure sum.
Crown editorial director Steve Ross says the company would like
to package the novel with a CD of the rock & roll tracks that
help drive the narrative.
IT'S A SNAP
Looks like Brad Pitt is as comfortable behind the
camera as he is in front of it: The star is contributing a photo
essay to Greene & Greene: The Blacker House, an
architecture-interior design book due from Utah publisher Gibbs
Smith next month. The restoration of the Pasadena, Calif.,
estate is the latest project of coauthor Randell L. Makinson
(who also happens to be Pitt's architect) and
scholar/photographer Thomas A. Heinz. But since Pitt decided to
participate (he's even agreed to do promotional appearances for
the book), Gibbs Smith has redesigned the cover to bill the
actor's involvement. ''We think it will really help the book
sell,'' says Gibbs Smith's Melinda Rhodes. Got that right.
