Author of National Book Award-finalist THE KIDNAPPING OF EDGARDO MORTARA, which Stephen Spielberg and Tony Kushner are adapting into a feature, Brown University professor David Kertzer's THE POPE AND MUSSOLINI, based on more than five years of research in the Vatican Archives, portraying the co-dependent relationship between Pius XI and Mussolini from 1922 and 1939, revealing for the first time how each man relied on the other to consolidate his power and pursue his political goals, to David Ebershoff at Random House, by Wendy Strothman of The Strothman Agency (World English).

 James Barilla's BACKYARD JUNGLE: Our 21st Century Urge to Invite Nature Back to Our Cities and Suburbs, which asks if humans and the natural world ever really peacefully coexist side by side, to Jean Thomson Black at Yale University Press, by Wendy Strothman atThe Strothman Agency (World English).

Mating chirps, fighting sperm, hero ants - it's sex and society in the insect world

 Italian rights to the first two books in Jodi Meadows's THE NEWSOUL TRILOGY, beginning with INCARNATE, to Mondadori, by Berla & Griffini, on behalf of Lauren MacLeod at The Strothman Agency. 

How Far Will Dolphins Go to Relate to Humans?

By ERIK OLSEN, New York Times, Published: September 19, 2011

"OFF THE BAHAMAS — In a remote patch of turquoise sea, Denise L. Herzing splashes into the water with a pod of 15 Atlantic spotted dolphins. For the next 45 minutes, she engages the curious creatures in a game of keep-away, using a piece of Sargassum seaweed like a dog’s chew toy.

Dr. Herzing is no tourist cavorting with marine mammals. As the world’s leading authority on the species, she has been studying the dolphins for 25 years as part of the Wild Dolphin Project, the longest-running underwater study of its kind.

“I’m kind of an old-school naturalist,” she said. “I really believe in immersing yourself in the environment of the animal.”

Immerse herself she has. Based in Jupiter, Fla., she has tracked three...

'Sex On Six Legs': When Insects Go Wild

August 15, 2011

"Everything you wanted to know about bug sex (but didn't bother to ask) is explained in a new book by insect expert Marlene Zuk. Sex on Six Legs: Lessons on Life, Love and Language from the Insect World, describes a world of small — but surprisingly sophisticated — insect behavior.

Insects are not mindless robots; they can learn just like other animals, says Zuk, a biologist at University of California, Riverside. "An ant who finds a food source will come back to recruit others to go to the same food source," she tellsFresh Air's Dave Davies. The ant that knows where to go will show the others what to do....

 From the judges: Shell Games is a wonderful combination of solid reporting, good historical research and fine writing. In it, Seattle Times environment reporter Craig Welch tackles the issue of geoduck clam poaching and smuggling. It is an issue that could easily be reported as a local story, but Welch expands it into an international one, making clear to readers who live outside the Pacific Northwest why the issue matters. The original investigative reporting on the black market for these aquatic creatures makes it a terrific work of journalism; the strong narrative as the author follows undercover agents keeps the reader engaged from start to finish.

For more information on the award, click here.

 Author of 1688: THE FIRST MODERN REVOLUTION, Steve Pincus's ORIGINS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE, to Chris Rogers at Yale University Press, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, by Wendy Strothman of The Strothman Agency (World English).

Author of 1688: THE FIRST MODERN REVOLUTION, Steve Pincus's ORIGINS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE, to Chris Rogers at Yale University Press, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, by Wendy Strothman of The Strothman Agency (World English).