It was a busy and successful fall, as we sold a number of great books for clients. A ground-breaking current affairs book, investigative journalist Nena Baker's Human Pollution: The Body Burden, was acquired by Denise Oswald at Farrar, Straus & Giroux for their North Point Press imprint. Human Pollution is an authoritative look at the toxins that permeate the environment and our bodies. It covers the latest science, the social, political and commercial forces driving research and policy, and what we can do -- individually and politically -- to reduce our chemical load. Nena has won many national and regional awards over the past 22 years for reporting and writing that weaves complicated, technical information into understandable, illuminating stories. While at the Portland Oregonian, she was the first journalist to document the troubling working conditions at Nike's Southeast Asian shoe factories. With a grant from the Pew Center for Civic Journalism, she studied and documented the reasons why Oregon's non-voters opt out of the political process. Most recently she was a senior reporter for The Arizona Republic, where her work included a series of award-winning investigative stories about sexual misconduct by Roman Catholic priests in Arizona. Leading technologist and Microsoft alumnus Ramez Naam's first book, More Than Human: How Biotechnology Is Transforming Us and Why We Should Embrace It, was acquired by Becky Cole at Broadway Books/Random House. Scientific advances in genetic engineering, cloning, life-extension techniques, direct human-computer connections and other technologies are rapidly giving us the power to transform our own minds and bodies. In More Than Human, Ramez offers an exciting, comprehensive tour of these new technologies, taking readers inside the labs to meet the researchers and understand the science behind these advances. He also makes a careful yet provocative case for embracing human enhancement, by demonstrating that these technologies are powerful new tools in humanity's age-long quest to improve ourselves, our offspring, and our world. In a blockbuster deal, beloved TV decorator Kitty Bartholomew's long-awaited first book was acquired by Ellen Phillips at Rodale. Co-written with journalist Kathy Price-Robinson, Kitty Bartholomew's Decorating ABC's: Affordable, Beautiful and Comfortable Decor for Real People Living With Real Budgets instructs and inspires homeowners on how to approach decorating their homes in creative rather than expensive ways. Kitty has been one of the most well-known decorators on TV for more than a decade, as a correspondent for ABC-TV's "The Home Show," host of her own series on Home & Garden TV, and frequent on-air guest of Oprah Winfrey, who says "I know I can always trust Kitty." Off-camera, Kitty has appeared on behalf of a variety of home-related manufacturers, including Rustoleum, S.C. Johnson, Pier One, Home Depot, and Lowe's. She is the national spokesperson for the wallpaper industry, and has been the same for The Carpet and Rug Institute. Kathy has written about homes and remodeling for 14 years, most recently for the Sunday real estate section of the Los Angeles Times. Her seven-year series, "Pardon Our Dust," won an award in the Best Series category from the National Association of Real Estate Editors. Stephen Elliott is a novelist, editor and the weekly poker columnist for McSweeney's.  His dark, compelling novels include Jones Inn, A Life Without Consequences, What it Means to Love You, and the forthcoming Happy Baby. His most recently released book, Politically Inspired, is an anthology of short fiction on political themes, including contributions from Charles Baxter, Anthony Swofford, ZZ Packer and many more.  Josh Kendall at Picador USA/St. Martin's Press acquired Stephen's next book, Looking Forward to It: An Inside Account From the Outside of the 2004 Presidential Election, a bravura, mostly-nonfiction look at the 2004 presidential election, building on his recent article on the Dean campaign for The Believer. Megan Newman and Nick Darrell at HarperResource/HarperCollins acquired Eczema Free: The Complete Guide To Controlling Eczema, the first book by dermatologist Adnan Nasir, M.D., Ph.D. and journalist Priscilla Burgess. Based on the latest research into eczema's underlying genetic causes, Eczema Free contains the latest medical information about the cause, symptoms, and treatments of eczema and is written both for adults with eczema and parents of children with the malady. The authors debunk myths such as the effect of diet and offer new techniques to help sufferers, as well as guidance for home care and how to cope with the psychological impact of eczema. Adnan is a highly regarded clinician and researcher in immune diseases of the skin who teaches dermatology at both Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and practices dermatology in Raleigh, North Carolina. He received his M.D. from the University of Rochester, where he simultaneously earned a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology. Priscilla is a widely-published journalist. Liberation Biology: The Scientific and Moral Case for the Biotech Revolution, by Reason Magazine science correspondent Ron Bailey, was acquired by Steven Mitchell at Prometheus Books. The book makes the forceful, positive case that biogenetic research and the powerful new technologies it engenders should be encouraged and embraced, not feared and resisted, for the future well-being of humanity and our planet. Ron has been reporting on biotechnology over the past 15 years for publications including Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, The Public Interest, Commentary and the Philadelphia Inquirer. No stranger to controversial issues, Ron regularly speaks on bioethics and biotechnology policy and recently debated Francis Fukuyama, author of Our Posthuman Future, at the American Association for the Advancement of Science on the ethics of significantly extending human lifespans. He has written and edited several other books, including Global Warming and Other Eco Myths (Prima Press/Random House) and The True State of the Planet (The Free Press/Simon & Schuster).