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Pan Macmillan has acquired a book described as a cross between Marley and Me and Tuesdays with Morrie, called A Dog's Purpose by W Bruce Cameron, already a bestseller in the US.
Fiction publisher Jeremy Trevathan bought UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Australia, for the title from Chris Scheina at Tor, the book's US publishers, after a brief auction. Pan Macmillan plans to publish it in July 2012, if not before.
The book is narrated by a dog called Toby, a mutt born to a stray mother and rescued by a lady called Senora. However, his life is cut short and he is reborn as Bailey, another dog who becomes best friends to 8-year-old Ethan. After a long-life, Bailey is ready to rest and assumes he has fulfilled a dog's most supreme task. However, he wakes up as a new puppy again, and wonders if he will ever find his purpose.
Trevathan said: "I'm a sucker for dog books, being a dog lover. But normally I know that it's not an enthusiasm that might necessarily sell books in the UK. I did bid for The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein and this is the first book since then that I've felt able to reveal my weakness for this sort of fiction. I'm delighted to have converted my colleagues here and to have this much enthusiasm."