Journalist Lynn Sherr has landed a book deal for a biography of the late Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.
The book will explore “the unusually private woman beyond the spacesuit,” including recollections from her partner, Tam O’Shaughnessy–Ride’s obituary revealed that the astronaut was a gay woman. ICM Partners agent Esther Newberg negotiated the deal with editorial director Alice Mayhew. Publication is set for 2013.
Here’s more from the release: “Sherr covered the space shuttle program for ABC news for more than 5 years, from the first flight in 1981 through the Challenger explosion and the investigation into what happened. Sherr got to know Sally Ride very well, both as a subject and later as a friend, and she has exclusive access to Ride’s family for this book. This is a story that will be told by the people who knew her best: her family, her friends, her crewmates and commanders at NASA, her colleagues on a series of investigative commissions, and the other pioneering women in her astronaut class.”