Words cannot describe my excitement…

…but here are some anyway:

My friend Jane Berentson sold her debut novel yesterday to Viking, to be published in hardcover next year and then in paperback. Jane is the sweetest, most deserving person of good things, and now she is on her way to literary stardom. *Way to go, Jane! Please imagine being carried aloft our shoulders right now with a glass of champagne in your hand!*

Jane now joins the likes of John Steinbeck, James Joyce, Graham Greene, Saul Bellow, Iris Murdoch, Jack Kerouac, Kingsley Amis, Robert Coover, Thomas Pynchon, Paul Auster, T. Coraghessan Boyle, Bruce Chatwin, Don DeLillo, and Salman Rushdie—all of whom were published by Viking. Call me biased, because Viking is a Penguin imprint, but I can’t imagine her at a better house.

Endless celebrations will ensue from this news, but for now, Jane, please accept my very, very heartfelt congratulations on the beginning of a brilliant career as a published novelist.

About Viking

Photo 1, above: Here's Jane already knowing she’s destined for celebrity.
Photo 2, at left: Here’s a tiny glimpse of how happy Jane must have been when she got the news yesterday.
Real, live photos (i.e. less than two years old) to come soon!