Wednesday, March 23, 2011

ZOVA Books signs Academy Award Winner and #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Michael Blake

ZOVA Books announces the signing of Michael Blake, Academy Award winning writer best known for his screenplay and novel, Dances With Wolves.

Los Angeles, CA, March 21, 2011 – ZOVA Books, a boutique publishing firm in Los Angeles, announces the signing of Michael Blake, #1 New York Times bestselling author and Academy Award winning writer of Dances With Wolves. ZOVA Books has released the digital edition of the novel Dances With Wolves, and will be reissuing its sequel The Holy Road in print and digital form, as well as the new historical novel, Into the Stars. The agreement includes the entirety of Mr. Blake’s available catalog of fiction and non-fiction novels, which ZOVA Books will rerelease along with new works by the author.

Mr. Blake's first novel, Dances With Wolves, spent seventeen weeks at number one on the New York Times bestseller list before becoming the Academy Award winning film. Followed by The Holy Road, in 2001, the sequel received a starred review by Publishers Weekly, which acknowledged the book as being “a more powerful novel [than Dances With Wolves] with a much wider scope.” Mr. Blake's novels have been bestsellers around the world, including his inspiring work Marching to Valhalla (1997) and the compelling narrative Airman Mortensen (1991). His non-fiction works, Like a Running Dog (2002), Indian Yell (2006), and Twelve the King (2009), have also received wide acclaim.

In addition to the Academy Award, Mr. Blake's writing has garnered such prestigious acknowledgments as the Golden Globe Award, the WGA Award, the Silver Spur Award, and the Golden Quill Award.

With the 20th Anniversary Blu-ray release of Dances With Wolves earlier this year, the film has been acknowledged as one of the most enduring classic cinematic works. The novel has endured along with its film adaptation, having been incorporated into school curriculum across America and inspiring numerous imitations, both in literature and on screen. ZOVA has the honor of releasing the first eBook of the iconic novel, with a new preface from Mr. Blake. The preface describes a previously unwritten story about the author and Kevin Costner.

The release of Into the Stars later this year will mark Mr. Blake's first fiction publication in ten years. The book tells the story of a young World War I officer who finds solace from the horrors of war in an unlikely friendship with a horse while stranded behind enemy lines. Though fictional, Into the Stars draws on Blake's passion for history, his love of horses, and his fascination with the process of self-discovery as it plays out in narrative.

“We are honored to be working with legendary author and screenwriter Michael Blake,” says ZOVA's CEO, Matthew Pizzo. “Mr. Blake's writing has incredible power. It reflects the author himself – in its clarity of purpose, its breadth of vision, and its integrity. Mr. Blake’s catalog gives us a preeminent place in the literary market.”

About ZOVA Books:

ZOVA Books is an independent publisher of genre and literary fiction based in Los Angeles, California. Established in 2010, they are one of the fastest growing small publishers in the nation, representing such notable authors as #1 New York Times Bestseller Michael Blake, author of Dances With Wolves, #1 New York Times Bestseller Anna Lee Waldo, author of Sacajawea, and acclaimed bestseller Michele Scott.

ZOVA Books has entered into a groundbreaking partnership with Hollywood production and management company Circle of Confusion to represent its catalog for film, television and foreign rights.

Established as a creative organization focused on the success of individual authors and the development of multi-platform creative projects, ZOVA has developed the next generation publishing company that reconciles the best practices of traditional publishing firms with the innovations of small and specialized firms, embracing the opportunities of both print and digital distribution in its commitment to providing the best possible literary works to readers around the world.

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