From: DaveBrett@msn.com   
      
   Woody Allen Seeking Bids on Memoir   
   By David D. Kirkpatrick   
   The New York Times   
   October 10, 2003   
      
   Woody Allen is selling the rights to publish his memoir, promising to   
   discuss the "taboos" he has confronted and the women he has known, two   
   publishing executives briefed on the proposal have said.   
      
   One publisher said bidding for the rights to publish the book in the United   
   States had already climbed to an advance of nearly $2 million, but several   
   publishers expressed doubts about whether Mr. Allen would follow through   
   with the project.   
      
   The publishers said the prominent literary agent Amanda Urban was actively   
   seeking to auction the rights, but a spokeswoman for the agency told Reuters   
   yesterday that Mr. Allen had not yet made up his mind.   
      
   "Woody Allen has expressed an interest in writing an autobiography, but he   
   has not made a decision yet," the spokeswoman said. The equivocation has   
   fueled widespread conjecture that, like other tentative authors, Mr. Allen   
   is waiting to see how large an advance would be before he makes up his mind.   
   Ms. Urban did not return calls seeking comment.   
      
   Ms. Urban is circulating an unusually short proposal of as few as 10 pages,   
   publishers said. Some said that, unlike most Hollywood stars turned authors,   
   Mr. Allen is a skilled writer with several highly regarded books to his   
   credit, including "Side Effects" and "Without Feathers." Sales of his   
   memoirs could benefit from public controversy and curiosity surrounding his   
   successive relationships with the actress Mia Farrow and her adopted   
   daughter, Soon-Yi Previn, Mr. Allen's current wife.   
      
   Other publishers, however, said they were unsure how much Mr. Allen planned   
   to reveal and worried that controversy might alienate readers. One noted   
   that his recent films had not matched his earlier successes at the box   
   office.   
      
   While Ms. Urban is circulating the proposal in New York, one of her   
   associates is seeking to sell it at the Frankfurt Book Fair, where most of   
   the top publishers have convened for the week. Literary agents often seek to   
   introduce notable or sensational projects during the fair to cultivate   
   gossip, discussion and competitive bidding among publishers.   
      
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