Deals.

Award-winning author Walter Mosley, whose novels Devil in A Blue Dress (Norton, 1990) and Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned (Norton, 1997) have been transformed into feature films, is readying a new slate of film projects. Mosley is developing a screenplay about Langston Hughes and his character Simple for HBO, and he recently finished a screenplay for his novel Walking the Dog (Little, Brown, 1999), also for HBO. Look out for an as yet untitled mystery novel and related screenplay from him next year. Additionally, Oprah Winfrey's company, Harpo Entertainment Group, is developing a screenplay based on Mosley's novel RL's Dream (Norton, 1995).

Rapper/actor Ice T, with Sister Shah Keyah and Yusuf Jah, authors of Uprising: Crips and Bloods Tell the Story of America's Youth in the Crossfire (Simon & Schuster Trade, 1995), team up again to write Getting What You Want, No Matter What. Before he left Random House, for HarperCollins' Amistad Press, editor Manie Barron acquired the book, which features interviews with Eddie Murphy, Quincy Jones, and Shaquille O'Neal. The subjects are asked about the worst mistake they've ever made, and what they learned from it. For September 2000 release, Barron is also preparing Lift Every Voice And Sing: 100 Years, 100 Voices, which boasts 100 celebrity essays on the Negro national hymn. The stellar lineup includes Maya Angelou, Bill and Camille Cosby, Charles Johnson, and Denzel Washington. NAACP chairman Julian Bond edited the lavishly illustrated book, and renowned artist Jacob Lawrence designed the jacket.

Wanda Akin of Akin & Randolph Agency sold Richard Bruce Nugent: Gay Rebel of the Harlem Renaissance to Duke University Press. The book, edited by Nugent's estate executor, is a collection of Nugent's writings and art.

Warner Books Publicity Director Anita Diggs is excited about Jacqueline Powell's first novel, Someone to Catch This Drift, which Warner will publish in 2001. Powell, a 26-year-old secretary from St. Louis, Missouri, once told Eric Jerome Dickey (Milk In My Coffee, Friends and Lovers) that she wanted to be a writer. Dickey gave her his agent's contact information and the rest, Diggs says, is publishing history. Warner is also preparing the short story anthology Black Silk: An Erotica Collection, edited by Quality Paperback Club executive editor Retha Powers. The book is scheduled for a 2001 release.

Journalist Tract Grant (Today's Black Woman, BET Weekend, XXL, Mosaic) is developing a screenplay for his debut novel, Hellified (Visao, 1999), which focuses on the scandals and triumphs of college life.

Tony Rose, African Americans in Publishing Independent Publisher Award winner and publisher of Amber Books, landed a Doubleday Black Experience book club licensing deal for his imprint's The African-American Women's Guide to Successful Make-Up and Skin Care. Written by former director for Revlon Cosmetics, Alfred Fornay, the book will appear for sale in Black Expressions catalogs and on their website at www.blackexpressions.com.