Michelle Obama's brother (who coaches men's basketball at Oregon State University) Craig Robinson's A GAME OF CHARACTER, part tribute to his family and part inspirational guide, to Gotham.

Author of SLEEPING WITH WARD CLEAVER Jenny Gardiner's PARROTHOOD, pitched as "Marley & Me with parrots," about a disgruntled African Gray parrot and the owner who loves her despite the bird's best efforts to quite literally bite the hand that feeds her, to Simon Spotlight Entertainment.

PGA superstar Phil Mickelson's first instructional book, PHIL MICKELSON'S SHORT GAME MAGIC, focusing on the aspect of the game for which he is best-known and admired but which gives amateurs the most headaches, to Collins.

Golf teacher Mark Steinbauer's LESSONS FROM THE MASTERS, in the tradition of Harvey Penick's LITTLE RED BOOK, in which the author pays tribute to the numerous golf icons he's learned from over decades in the game, including from his mentor Penick himself, written with Hunki Yun, to Stewart, Tabori & Chang.

Dog trainer Kevin Behan's YOUR DOG IS YOUR MIRROR, which posits a revolutionary understanding about what governs our relationships with dogs and which will give readers a new sense not only of what makes dogs tick but how dog behavior tells us about ourselves, to New World Library.

Julian Smith's CHASING THE LEOPARD: A Journey of Love and Adventure into the Heart of Africa, the story of how the author sought to prove his love for his fiancee by retracing the steps of the famous British explorer Ewart Grogan, who successfully earned the hand of the woman he loved by crossing Africa on foot in 1898, to Harper Perennial.

Addison Fox's debut WARRIOR ASCENDED, first in a series featuring the Warriors of the Zodiac, granted the powers of their astrological signs and charged with protecting humanity, to NAL.

Skyler White's AND FALLING, FLY, the story of a fallen angel of desire looking for oblivion and a neuroscientist seeking a cure to paranormal conditions who come together in a subterranean steampunk Hell, to Berkley.

Explosm.net writer Matt Melvin's DRACULA IS A RACIST: A Totally Factual Guide to Vampires, the first book to cover little known vampires such as Richard Nixon and Count Chocula, every word will be undisputed fact, culled from centuries of research, scientific experimentation, first-hand accounts, documentary evidence, and a wide collection of fictional works on the subject, to Kensington.

Seamus McGraw's PIPE DREAMS: How the Frantic Hunt For Natural Gas Is Transforming Small Town America, going inside the world of the Marcellus Play, the largest and most competitive gas field in the country, and using the key role players -- the farmers, the landmen, the gas barons, and the lobbyists -- to tell the story of the mining of his mother's farm in northeastern Pennsylvania, to Random House.

Authors of HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN TEN DAYS Michele Alexander and Jeannie Long's 365 REASONS WHY I'M STILL SINGLE, providing an excuse for your grandmother, your trainer, your boss, or any other nosy person who thinks they've got a stake in the status of your left ring finger, to Running Press.

Author of THE FIRE INSIDE and TALKING IRISH Steve Delsohn's look back at the 1985 Chicago Bears, considered by many the greatest team in NFL history, capturing the explosive nature of McMahon, Ditka, Singletary, Ryan, The Fridge and all the rest of the 'Super Bowl Shuffle' crew both on and off the field, featuring interviews with the players, coaches and other key individuals, to Crown.

CNBC anchor and correspondent David Faber's HOUSE OF CARDS: The Origins of the Crash, a clear and readable explanation of how the crisis in the housing market developed and why it crippled the world economy, spanning the years from the fall 2001 when cheap money flowed after 9/11 through the current crisis, based on his forthcoming documentary for CNBC of the same name, to Wiley.

Sara Bennett-Wealer's debut RIVAL, in which two high school seniors compete for a prestigious singing scholarship, set against a backdrop of the events that turned them from best friends to rivals, to Harper Teen.

The author of THE EXECUTION OF WILLIE FRANCIS, Gilbert King's untitled book on Thurgood Marshall, exploring the fascinating but lesser known era in this hard-charging and charismatic lawyer's life before Brown vs. Board of Education, to Harper Studio.

Photographer and author of MY LAST SUPPER, Melanie Dunea's MY COUNTRY AMERICA, featuring portraits and profiles of Country and Western Musicians with descriptions of their craft and their country, to Rodale.

NYT bestselling author of WAITER RANT Steve Dublanica's AT YOUR SERVICE, going undercover to investigate the dynamics of tipping across the service industry, interviewing and at times working alongside the men and women whose livelihoods depend on this cash economy, to Ecco.

Debut author Rachel Hawkins' paranormal YA trilogy starting with DEMONGLASS, about a sixteen-year-old witch shipped off to a boarding school for witches, shapeshifters, and faeries, where the traumas of mortal high school are nothing compared to the goings on at "Freak High," for publication in winter 2010, to Hyperion.

Golf Digest's Ultimate Drill Book author Jim McLean's THE SLOT SWING, illustrated by Phil Franke, to Wiley.

2008 Golden Heart winner Kay Cassidy's THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY, about a secret girl-empowering society where makeover dreams become reality, and the Cindys must face off against the Wickeds for high school supremacy and more, to Egmont.

Edward Ugel's I'M WITH FATTY: Losing Fifty Pounds in Fifty Miserable Weeks, chronicling 36-year-old food obsessed Ugel and his attempt to follow his doctor's ultimatum to shed one-fifth of the weight of his 253-pound frame, or risk serious health consequences; as his doctor pointed out, this is not about cosmetics or feeling good at the beach: this is about crisis and death, to Weinstein Books.

Diann Ducharme's THE OUTER BANKS HOUSE, which tells the story of a young and fiery girl and the love she must find and save amidst the dark secrets hidden on the barren shores of post-Civil War North Carolina, to Crown.

NYT bestselling author Stephan Talty's FLIGHT OF THE GOD-KING, part Himalayan adventure, part political and spiritual quest, detailing the Dalai Lama's perilous 14-day escape across the Himalayas from Tibet to India in 1959, during which he had to evade Chinese patrols, climb ice-covered 16,000-foot slopes and survive a near-fatal bout of dysentery, called "the Story of the Century" by the world's press at the time, taking in the Chinese invasion and occupation and the Dalai Lama's evolution from a cloistered teenager to the leader of the Tibetan government in exile, to Crown.

Author of JOHN JAY: Founding Father Walter Stahr's NOBLE PURPOSES: The Life of William Henry Seward, a biography of Lincoln's most trusted advisor, considered among the most significant Secretaries of State in American history and responsible for the acquisition of Alaska, drawing on long-neglected sources, to Simon & Schuster.

Mary Kennedy's cozy mystery DEATH IS BAD KARMA, pitched as Frasier meets Murder She Wrote, in which a Florida radio psychologist finds herself wrapped up in the murder of a self-help guru whose final publicity stop was her show, to NAL.

LA Times journalist Jill Leovy's THE HOMICIDE REPORT: Black Men, Murder and America's Unseen Catastrophe - based in part on her groundbreaking "Homicide Report" project, reporting all 845 LA County murders last year - weaving together a kaleidoscopic narrative about a murder-wracked community in South Los Angeles with a new theory about race and America's homicide epidemic, to Spiegel & Grau.

Hedge fund marketer, financial columnist and money coach Marianna Olszewski's RICH, HAPPY & FABULOUS: 9 Easy and Effective Tools for Women To Create Abundance, Power and Joy, to Portfolio.

Ben Thompson's BADASS, an onslaught of warlords, vikings, samurai, pirates, and military commanders, based on his website www.badassoftheweek.com which gives the warriors of history a pulp fiction-style makeover, to Collins.

Bob Powers and Ritch Duncan's LIVING WITH LYCANTHROPY: A Lifestyle Guide for the Modern Werewolf, which provides newly infected werewolves with a workable road map for living an ethical, fulfilling, and near-violence free life through chapters such as How to Tell When the Moon is Full, Avoiding Detection, and So You've Attacked Someone, to Broadway.

Co-founder of BoingBoing.net and editor-and-chief of Make magazine Mark Frauenfelder's THE WORLD IN YOUR HANDS: The Resurgence of Do-It-Yourself and How It's Changing the Way We Live, exploring the thriving communities of "DIYers," profiling the "alpha makers" that are leading the way, and trying to become one himself while attempting to figure out what it all means, to Portfolio.

Gavin McInnes's STREET BONERS, from his new venture, StreetCarnage.com, full of the same biting street fashion critique that made him famous at Vice, with contributions from Johnny Knoxville, Sarah Silverman, and Jimmy Kimmel, to Grand Central.

Podcaster and Iowa Writers Workshop grad Seth Harwood's JACK WAKES UP, about a washed-up action movie star who finds himself playing for real in a Bay Area drug war, to Three Rivers Press.

Stars and creators of the popular podcast Keith and the Girl, Keith Malley and Chemda Khalili's WHAT DO WE DO NOW? Smart Answers to Your Stupid Relationship Questions, advice on relationship issues, from alternating male and female perspectives, on a variety of topics from revenge sex to hateful in-laws to finding ways to save socially awkward husbands, to Three Rivers Press.

All-Pro Dallas Cowboy and NY Giant Everson Walls's FOURTH AND FOREVER: Football, Friendship and a Gift for Life, a chronicle of Everson's friendship with teammate Ron Springs who was saved from the ravaging effects of diabetes by a kidney donation from Walls, written with journalist Kevin Blackistone, to Lyons Press.

Lisa Patton's WHISTLIN' DIXIE IN A NOR'EASTER, in which a Southern belle, her ancient Yorkie, and her two young daughters leave their Memphis home to run an inn in Vermont, only to discover that there's a truckload of things nobody told these Dixie girls about life up North, to Thomas Dunne Books.

DIXIELAND DELIGHT author and CBSSports.com columnist Clay Travis's ON ROCKY TOP, in which the author follows every stop of the 2008 University of Tennessee football season to create an in-depth look at one of college football's most storied programs, to Harper Entertainment.

Member of the Memphis Mafia and DJ George Klein's ELVIS: MY BEST MAN, an intimate portrait of Elvis Presley, who stood as best man at Klein's wedding, chronicling decades of friendship that began in the 8th grade, candidly sharing the many highs and lows, culminating in Presley's comeback album from American Studios in which Klein was instrumental, to Crown.

CONQUISTADOR author Buddy Levy's RIVER OF DARKNESS: Francisco Orellana's Historic Descent of the Amazon, chronicling the extraordinary navigation of the world's largest river, from its origins in the Andes foothills to its mouth at the Atlantic Ocean, considered among the greatest expeditions of exploration, adventure, and discovery in history, to Bantam Dell.

This American Life contributor Rosie Schaap's collection DRINKING WITH MEN, an honest and irreverent account of a woman's experiences forging her identity in an an almost exclusively male world: her favorite bars, where she has enjoyed the company of artists and ironworkers, tugboat captains and taxi drivers, poets and businessmen, lawyers and soccer hooligans, to Riverhead.

Alexandra Cousteau's THE BLUE BOOK, honoring the legacy of her grandfather, Jacques Cousteau, an exploration of water ecosystems around the world and how they are interconnected and interdependent, as well as a poetic meditation on what it means to live on a beautiful, but threatened, blue planet, to Dutton.

Contributor to Ladies' Home Journal's Can This Marriage Be Saved? Stephen Betchen's MAGNETIC PARTNERS: Revealing the Master Conflicts That Draw Us Together and Pull Us Apart, a guide to healing difficult relationships by recognizing that people seek out partners who share their core master conflict and therefore must identify and manage this mutual master conflict to find happiness, to Free Press.

Lori Devoti's AMAZON INK, about a modern-day family of Amazon women who've left their tribe to live among normal humans and run a tattoo parlor, until a murdered teenage Amazon left on their doorstep forces them to once again make contact with the Amazon tribe they left behind, to Juno.

Investigative reporter Dan Olmsted and science writer Mark Blaxill's MERCURY RISING, the first historical survey of the effects of environmental mercury which reveals previously unacknowledged links between exposure to mercury and the incidence of various disorders; from crippling bouts of syphilis which left sufferers raving mad, to the first children diagnosed with autism in the 1930s, to Karyn Marcus, in her first acquisition to Thomas Dunne Books.

Salon.com contributor Peter Birkenhead's GONVILLE, about the author's tumultuous relationship with his eccentric, charismatic, and sometimes violent father, to Free Press.

Jason Zinoman's SHOCK VALUE, based on his recent Vanity Fair article, offering a definitive look at the golden age of the modern horror movie by examining the infamous directors who revolutionized the business, exploded taboos, and brought a new brand of intellectualism and politics to the genre, to Penguin Press.

Maureen Lipinski's A BUMP IN THE ROAD, the humorous story of a young newlywed couple whose lives are turned upside down by an unplanned pregnancy, to Thomas Dunne Books.

Sports Illustrated editor Mark Bechtel's untitled book on NASCAR in the 1970s -- a seminal time in the history of the sport -- featuring the Allison brothers, the Pettys, Cale Yarborough, Darrell Waltrip, Benny Parsons, and Dale Earnhardt, to Little, Brown.

Author of the award-wining BICYCLE: The History, David Herlihy's THE LOST CYCLIST: The Untold Story of Frank Lenz's Ill-Fated Around the World Journey, the tragic yet inspiring tale of a 19th century adventurer's solo circumnavigation of the globe via bicycle, traveling west from New York City across America, through Asia, and ending in Turkey where he disappears and is presumably murdered, featuring Lenz's stunning photographs which survived the journey, to Houghton Mifflin.

LAT contributor and author of blog Zulkey.com, Claire Zulkey's AN OFF YEAR, about a girl who has always done everything as she was supposed to, until she surprises everyone by arriving at her dorm room for her freshman year of college and turning around, leading her into a humorous year of observed self-doubt and self-discovery, to Dutton.

Visual expert for the PGA Tour Craig Farnsworth's THE PUTTING PRESCRIPTION: The Putt Doctor's Proven Method for a Better Stroke, a step-by-step approach for alignment, green reading and judging distance, to Wiley.

Screenwriter and journalist Heidi Schnakenberg's KID CAROLINA: RJ Reynolds, Jr., A Tobacco Fortune, and the Mysterious Death of a Southern Icon, a look at the privileged, decadent and exclusive world inhabited by one of the 20th century's most conspicuous and influential individuals, to Center Street.

Michelle Maisto's EATING TOGETHER: The Gastronomy of a Marriage, in which the author uses that most revealing of questions within a new relationship, "What should we do about dinner?" to tell the story of the year of her engagement through the meals they made together, to Random House.

Sports Illustrated staff writer and author of Carlisle vs. Army Lars Anderson's THE FIRST STAR: THE IMPROBABLE STORY OF HOW RED GRANGE SAVED THE NFL, a close-up look at how legendary running back Red Grange left college football to join the fledgling NFL and the resulting and unprecedented barnstorming tour that launched pro football, to Random House.

NY Times columnist Pete Bodo’s WHITETAIL NATION: A Year of Deer Hunting in America, delving into this subculture to discover what makes people hunt, while also following the author’s own exciting quest for the big buck, to Houghton Mifflin.

Popular Nation and SLAM Magazine sports columnist Dave Zirin's SPIKE THIS: The Battle for the Soul of American Sports, looking at the way the commercialization and big business domination of contemporary sport results in a raw deal for the fans and shows how far we've come from the days when it really was just a game, to Scribner.

John Eisenberg's THAT FIRST SEASON: How Vince Lombardi Took a Team of Sad Sack Losers and Started them on the Path to Glory, the untold story of Lombardi's first season of 1959 in which he took a 1-10 team, and coaching largely the same players, was able to instill confidence and a passion for winning, planting the seeds for a future dynasty, to Houghton Mifflin.