Make 'em laugh girls

If recent deals are any indication, women are very, very funny.

Comedian Sarah Silverman, who has her own show on Comedy Central, sold a collection of humorous essays to Harper for $2.5 million.

Susie Essman, the actress and comedian who plays the wife of Larry's agent on "Curb Your Enthusiasm," gives hilarious advice in What Would Susie Say?, to be published by Simon & Schuster.

And Tina Fey, former star of "SNL" who currently lights up Thursday nights on "30 Rock" got more than $5 million from Little, Brown for what's reported to be a Nora Ephron-like nonfiction title.

Gossip boy?

A new memoir from the half-brother of Gossip Girl author Cecily von Zeigesar should shed some light on their unusual upbringing in a house filled with 13 siblings, stepsiblings and cousins. Though Peter von Zeigesar downplays the role his half sister has in the book, we're sure that won't stop Gossip Girl fans from looking for juicy tidbits.

Conroy ahoy

We know readers have been waiting for this one: Pat Conroy, of Prince of Tides fame, has finished a new novel. Conroy had mentioned his work in progress several times over the last year or two, but his publisher, Doubleday, stayed close-mouthed on the project until recently, when they announced that South of Broad will be published this fall. Like Conroy's other works, the book has Southern flavor: it follows a group of high school friends from Charleston through the next 20 years of their lives.

Fun fact: all of Conroy's published novels have been turned into films. Perhaps we'll see South of Broad, the movie, in 2011?

Alexie's on fire

He might have won the National Book Award for his young adult novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, but Sherman Alexie hasn't forgotton his adult audience. The author just signed a deal with Little, Brown to publish a novel called Fire with Fire sometime in 2010. The new novel, Alexies' fourth, will feature a character from his very first short-story collection, published in 1993.

'Galaxy' moves on

Author Douglas Adams, whose playful Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy novels captured the imagination of millions, died suddenly in 2001, leaving the sixth novel in the series unfinished.

Recently it was revealed that acclaimed children's author Eoin Colfer would finish the book and continue the series with And Another Thing . . . to be published by Hyperion in October.

Adams' widow, Jane Belson, approves of the choice, saying that Colfer has her "full support." We think Colfer's wild imagination, on display in the best-selling Artemis Fowl books, is a good match for the series—and the fact that the Irish author is "bloody determined that this will be the best thing I have ever written" doesn't hurt, either.

Child 45

Several of us at BookPage enjoyed Tom Rob Smith's debut novel, Child 44, when it was published last summer. The fast-paced thriller, which put an MGB agent on the trail of a serial killer in Stalinist Russia, went on to rack up big summer sales, and Grand Central is publishing the sequel, The Secret Speech, in May. The new book finds Leo and his family amid the 1956 Hungarian revolution.

Vice squad

Fans of reclusive novelist Thomas Pynchon have something to look forward to: a new novel this August, less than three years after the release of the sprawling Against the Day.

Inherent Vice (Penguin Press) follows private eye Doc Sportello through the waning days of free love in 1960s L.A. The publishers promise plenty of psychedelia and trademark Pynchon touches. But what we really want to know is, can we look forward to another "Simpsons" appearance?

Auth-anon

Wiliam Morrow recently won rights to publish a coming-of-age story set in the 1980s. The catch? They didn't know who'd written it. Speculation abounded—was it an author looking for a new start? A politician? Hot young actor-turned-MFA-candidate James Franco? None of the above: the manuscript was by writer Joyce Maynard, who is neither a man nor a celebrity. But Morrow probably isn't experiencing buyer's remorse; a new work from Maynard, who published a memoir that drew the attention of the literati—including novelist J.D. Salinger—when she was just 18, is sure to get noticed.

Ch-ch-changes

Yes, after 20 years, Burning Questions is no more. But the good news is, Buzz Girl is here to answer your questions before you even know you have them!

Still got something you want to share, or seeking the very latest news on books and publishing? Starting next month, the new and improved BookPage.com is the place to find all that and more. With three blogs, daily features and reviews and interviews you won't find in the print edition—not to mention our fabulous archives—BookPage.com is where booklovers will want to be.

Is Buzz Girl still online?

Yes, but not in the same place. When the new site launches in February, Buzz Girl will be one of the contributors to our new blog, along with other editors and columnists, so make sure to head to BookPage.com for more news about future bestsellers!