Local book deals from Publishers Lunch

Former Time entertainment reporter Benjamin Nugent sells Elliott Smith and the Big Nothing, the life, career, and dramatic end of the late Silver Lake indie singer-songwriter. To Da Capo Press.

Ken Baker, West Coast editor of US Weekly, sells the film rights to A Man Made, his memoir of surviving a brain tumor. To Sony Pictures.

On the air

Life and Times, KCET 7 p.m.: Miles Corwin continues his media tour for Homicide Special.

Politics of Culture, KCRW 2:30 p.m.: America: A View From Afar. Barry Sanders talks with bureau chiefs of the LA Times in Paris, Newsweek in London and the Wall Street Journal in Berlin about attitudes toward America.

Reprise

Fresh Air ran a short history piece last week on the East L.A. band Thee Midniters, by Ed Ward. Go here and scroll down for the audio link.