Withdrawn novel about Mohammed finds new publishers

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Publishers in 10 countries have bought the rights to a novel about the Prophet Mohammed's child bride after a U.S. publisher dropped the book fearing it could incite violence, the author's agent said on Wednesday.

Random House, a unit of Bertelsmann AG, had been due to publish "The Jewel of Medina," a first novel by journalist Sherry Jones, 46, on August 12.

Random House pulled out, saying it had received "cautionary advice not only that the publication of this book might be offensive to some in the Muslim community, but also that it could incite acts of violence by a small, radical segment."

Deals have now been reached with another U.S. publisher as well as publishers in Britain, Brazil, Italy, Germany, Russia, Spain and other countries, Jones's literary agent Natasha Kern said.

On Wednesday, Martin Rynja of publishing house Gibson Square who has bought the rights for Britain, called the novel "a meticulously researched love story of the Prophet Mohammad."

Jones told Reuters an announcement would be made about the U.S. publisher next week.

No formal release date has been given, but Kern said the book should be on sale in book stores in most of western Europe and North America in mid-October.

(Reporting by Edith Honan, editing by David Storey)