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Deal of the Week Plume Stuffs Ballot for ‘Queens’ In a four-book deal with Plume, Brenda Jones and Krishan Trotman sold a series of books profiling four notable female Democrats. The titles—about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Nancy Pelosi, Elizabeth Warren, and Maxine Waters—will form a series called Queens of the Resistance and will be released in summer 2020, timed to the Democratic National Convention. The world English rights deal was brokered between Johanna Castillo at Writers House and Marya Pasciuto at Plume. Jones worked for Rep. John Lewis, as his communications director, for over 15 years. Trotman is an executive editor at Hachette Books. Plume said the series will fuse “narrative, photos, and beautiful illustrations” to “appeal to a broad, diverse, intergenerational audience—transcending political and generational divides along the way.” Morrow Falls for ‘Farwell’ In a rumored six-figure acquisition, Kate Nintzel at William Morrow preempted world rights to Emily Gray Tedrowe’s The Talented Miss Farwell. The novel was sold by Alice Tasman at the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency and is inspired by the story of Rita Crundwell, who, while working as controller and treasurer for her Illinois town, embezzled over $50 million in a period spanning more than 20 years. Elaborating on the novel, which is slated for fall 2020, Tasman said it’s “an electrifying page-turner that explores greed and obsession, survival and self-invention, and the brilliant cunning of a female con.” MCD Spins Kun’s ‘Beats’ Josh Kun, a cultural historian and the director of the Annenberg School of Communication at USC, sold a book called Beats Across Borders to Farrar, Straus and Giroux in a six-figure deal. Sean McDonald preempted world rights from Zoë Pagnamenta at the Zoë Pagnamenta Agency for his MCD imprint. Describing the work, which is subtitled A Migrant Songbook, Pagnamenta said it examines “how mass migration is changing the way the world sounds.” The book documents how music travels with migrants—it features, for example, tales about bands formed in detention camps—and is, the agent explained, “a blend of cultural history, music journalism and memoir.” Bregman Re-ups with LB for ‘Humankind’ Rutger Bregman, author of the 2017 bestseller Utopia for Realists, sold his follow-up to that title, Humankind, to Ben George at Little, Brown. (The publisher had the option on this book, after releasing Utopia.) Bregman is a Dutch historian and the book is already out in the Netherlands, where it is currently a bestseller. George nabbed North American rights from Emma Parry at Janklow & Nesbit, explaining that the title “challenges the age-old view of humanity as governed by self-preservation and personal gain, and offers instead a unified and revolutionary argument that we are hardwired to be kind.” Children's Deals Roundup New projects this week include a nonfiction picture book by three-time Caldecott Honor artist Peter Sís (pictured), about the evacuation of more than 600 Jewish children from Prague to the U.K. on the eve of World War II; a YA debut called Once Upon a Quinceañera by Monica Gomez-Hira, pitched as Jane the Virgin meets Jenny Han, and sold in a six-figure, two-book auction; and a middle-grade graphic novel adaptation of Tamora Pierce's fantasy classic First Test. Paris Agreement Engineers to Knopf Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac, the presiding forces behind the Paris climate agreement of 2015, sold a book that they’re cowriting titled The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis. Knopf’s Erroll McDonald took North American rights to the book, which, the publisher said, outlines two possible futures. The first shows “what life on Earth will be like by 2050 if we fail to meet the Paris climate targets”; the second imagines “what it will be like to live in a carbon neutral, regenerative world.” The publisher added that the book is “a cautionary but optimistic” one. Figueres and Rivett-Carnac are the cofounders of Global Optimism, an organization which aims to combat climate change. Cole Gets ‘Displaced’ at Morrow For William Morrow, Erika Tsang bought world rights to a thriller being touted as “Rear Window meets Get Out.” Alyssa Cole’s tentatively titled Displaced, which has already been optioned by Temple Hill Entertainment, is, Morrow said, a new take on gentrification set in a Brooklyn neighborhood. In the novel “a local resident and an outsider discover their disappearing neighbors may not have been just moving to the suburbs after all.” Lucienne Diver at the Knight Agency brokered the deal for Cole. HC Goes South (Way South) with Brown At HarperCollins’s Custom House imprint, Geoff Shandler nabbed world rights to a currently untitled book by journalist David W. Brown about an effort to create a map of Antarctica. Brown, a correspondent for the Atlantic, is joining a group of scientists—their trip is slated for early 2020—who are, Brown’s agent, Stacia Decker at Dunow, Carlson & Lerner, said, “racing to complete a geophysical map of Antarctica—allowing us to predict when the continent’s glaciers will collapse.” An Army veteran and former paratrooper, Brown will, Decker elaborated, “serve as a research assistant... during the several months journey by foot, snowmobile, and helicopter to parts of Antarctica never before seen by human eyes.” The book is slated for 2022. Behind the Deal Summer is usually a dead zone in publishing and a notoriously bad time to try to sell a book. Not so for Nelson Literary Agency’s Joanna MacKenzie, who, this summer, found herself at the center of a near bidding war for, of all things, a poetry collection. Another Bird Entirely, which wound up selling to Harper Perennial for high five figures, almost went to auction. According to MacKenzie, Kate Baer, the author, started to gain attention for her work, which she shares on social media, early in the year. Describing Baer’s poetry as “Rupi Kaur meets Mary Oliver,” MacKenzie said that Baer “really started to catch a wave” in June, after being featured on platforms such as Cup of Jo (a women’s lifestyle website). “There was this groundswell happening that indicated to us that a submission couldn’t wait.” With that in mind, but still banking on a slow reaction because of the summer doldrums, MacKenzie went on vacation just as she submitted the proposal. She said she was “expecting summertime in publishing to take its time.” It did not. “We submitted at eight in the morning and had our first offer by close of that same day.” The book, which Mary Gaile closed on late last month, is set for fall 2020. International The Finnish thriller Faithful Reader, published by Tammi in August, has been acquired in Germany by Bastei Lübbe. Max Seeck’s novel, according to the Elina Ahlback Agency, which handled the sale, is a psychological thriller in which “a strong female detective chases a serial killer.” Canadian author Shani Mootoo’s Polar Vortex was acquired by Canadian publisher Book*hug Press. The novel was sold by the Transatlantic Agency, which described it as “a seductive and tension-filled [tale] about a lesbian couple receiving an unexpected visit from an old male friend that throws questions of true intentions into the mix of their previously monogamous commitment.” The novel’s set for early 2020. Page to Screen Chuck Palahniuk’s backlist novel Invisible Monsters (released in 1999 by his longstanding publisher, W.W. Norton) has been optioned by Fabrik Entertainment, the production company behind the TV series Bosch. Invisible Monsters is in the works as a series. Freeform, the Disney-owned cable TV channel, has optioned Taylor Jenkins Reid’s 2017 novel The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (Atria) for series adaptation. Reid is attached to write the adaptation, with Ilene Chaiken and Jennifer Beals executive producing. Send editorial inquiries about this e-newsletter to: internationaldeals@publishersweekly.com Send advertising questions about this e-newsletter to: cbryerman@publishersweekly.com Follow PW on Facebook and Twitter. For additional assistance, contact us by email or at the address below. Publishers Weekly, 71 West 23 St. #1608 New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2019, PWxyz LLC

Deal of the Week Einhorn Breaks the Bank, Again, for Cummins Jeanine Cummins, whose forthcoming novel American Dirt was bought last year in a competitive auction for seven figures, sold a new book, for a rumored seven-figure sum, to her standing publisher, Flatiron Books. Flatiron’s Amy Einhorn nabbed the currently untitled novel from Doug Stewart at Sterling Lord Literistic; Einhorn took rights in the U.S., Canada, the Philippines, and the nonexclusive open market. The new novel does not yet have a publication date. American Dirt, championed as an of-the-moment work of fiction because of its focus on immigration and the migrant experience, chronicles a mother fleeing the violence in her Mexican city and attempting to cross the border with her young son. Among the most talked-about books at this year’s BookExpo, where Cummins did a signing, the novel was also optioned by Imperative Entertainment, the production company behind the Clint Eastwood vehicle The Mule. S&S Editor Turns Novelist for PRH Rising editor Daniel Loedel, who works at Scribner, sold his debut novel, Hades, Argentina, to Rebecca Saletan at Riverhead. Loedel’s authors include Virginia Reeves (who’s been longlisted for the Booker Prize) and Aravind Adiga (who’s won the Booker); he was also named one of PW’s 2017 Star Watch finalists. The novel, Riverhead explained, “is about a man who returns to Argentina a decade after fleeing the political violence of the Dirty War, and discovers he must grapple with the ghosts of his past.” Marya Spence at Janklow & Nesbit brokered the world English rights agreement for Loedel. Traveling ‘Quixote’ Goes to HarperOne For HarperOne, Judith Curr and Juan Milá bought world English and Spanish rights to Stephen Haff’s Kid Quixotes: A Group of Students, Their Teacher, and the One-Room School Where Everything Is Possible. The book, which Johanna Castillo at Writers House sold, is about an after-school program Haff ran in Brooklyn for undocumented immigrants. Through the program, called Still Waters in a Storm, kids between the ages of five and 17 translated sections of Don Quixote and then wrote a modern musical based on the classic. In their take, which they performed on tour, the title character is a young, undocumented Mexican immigrant living in New York City. In a concurrent deal, a children’s edition by Haff and Sarah Sierra (the nine-year-old who played Quixote in the musical) was acquired by Nancy Inteli and Jill Davis. The book, titled Kid Quixote: A True Story of Belonging in America, “tells the story from Sarah’s point of view,” Castillo said, and is geared toward middle grade readers. Sourcebooks Backs Blooms’s ‘Bone’ In a North American rights acquisition, Shana Drehs at Sourcebooks bought Ashley Blooms’s debut novel, Every Bone a Prayer. Sold by Writers House’s Alexandra Levick, the novel is being touted as a cross between The Lovely Bones and Where the Crawdads Sing; it follows a 10-year-old, Sourcebooks said, “who, in trying to learn more about her secret empathic ability, becomes entangled with her Appalachian community’s dark past in order to break generational cycles of abuse.” Noting that it is particularly excited about the novel, Sourcebooks said it gave away unusually early ARC editions at last week’s SIBA Discovery Show in an effort to draw support from indie booksellers. Levick, explaining what made the novel stand out, said she regularly sees books about experiencing trauma but more rarely reads works about “the long, winding, often bumpy road of healing from trauma—of hope in the darkness.” Children's Deals Roundup New projects this week include a picture book by poet Nikki Giovanni (pictured), illustrated by Erin Robinson, called A Library; a YA novel, Sanctuary, by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, author of the forthcoming Undocumented America; and two middle grade novels by Ben Guterson, Edgar-nominated creator of the Winterhouse trilogy. CRP Buys Ephron Bio Touted by its publisher as “the first thoroughly researched biography” of its subject, Nora Ephron: A Life was acquired by Chicago Review Press. Kara Rota took world rights to the book by Kristin Marguerite Doidge from Betsy Amster at Betsy Amster Literary Enterprises. The indie press said the book will “take readers beyond the ‘rom-com queen’ persona of Ephron to find a far more complex and intelligent artist with many layers beneath the glossy surface.” Doidge is a film scholar and lecturer at Loyola Marymount University. Scholastic Nabs Yang’s ‘Front Desk’ Sequel In a two-book deal, Scholastic’s Amanda Maciel bought the sequel to Kelly Yang’s Front Desk. The latter, a 2018 middle grade novel that won the Asian/Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature, follows an Asian-American girl who lives and works in the motel where her immigrant parents are on the cleaning staff. The sequel, Three Keys, focuses again on Mia and what happens when, Scholastic explained, “immigration laws rattle the Calivista motel, school life, and what it means to be ‘American.’ ” Tina Dubois at ICM Partners handled the North American rights agreement. Candlewick Collects Klassen’s ‘Rock’ Jon Klassen sold world rights to The Rock from the Sky to Liz Bicknell at Candlewick. The publisher called the book, which marks Klassen’s fourth as author-illustrator, “a hilarious meditation on friendship, fate, and that funny feeling you get when there’s something off but you just can’t put your finger on it.” The two-time Caldecott Medalist has worked on numerous titles as an illustrator, and Candlewick estimated there are four million copies of his books in print. Steven Malk at Writers House brokered the sale for Rock, which is slated for March 2021. International Waiting for a Star to Fall by Kerry Clare sold, in a North American rights deal, to Doubleday Canada. Samantha Haywood at the Transatlantic Agency, who handled the sale, said the novel is reminiscent of work by authors such as Emily Giffin; it follows “a young woman whose on-again/off-again boyfriend, a political superstar, is brought down by decades-old allegations of sexual misconduct.” Ben Miller inked a three-book deal with Simon & Schuster Children’s UK. Per a report in the Bookseller, the publisher said Miller is now set to become “a major force in children’s publishing.” His debut picture book, The Night I Met Father Christmas, was published by S&S Children’s UK last year. Page to Screen Paramount Pictures optioned Marcus Sakey’s novel Brilliance (Thomas & Mercer), the first in a same-titled trilogy. Set in an X-Men-like world where a small group of people born with special powers are demonized for the threat they pose to the “normal” population, book one follows a federal agent, to be played by Will Smith, who tracks and kills so-called Brilliants. The project will be produced by James Lassiter and Shane Salerno. Stephen King’s just-published novel The Institute (Scribner) has been optioned for limited series by Spyglass Media, with David E. Kelley attached to adapt. Send editorial inquiries about this e-newsletter to: internationaldeals@publishersweekly.com Send advertising questions about this e-newsletter to: cbryerman@publishersweekly.com Follow PW on Facebook and Twitter. For additional assistance, contact us by email or at the address below. Publishers Weekly, 71 West 23 St. #1608 New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2019, PWxyz LLC Deal of the Week HC Nabs Book on Epstein Case In a world rights acquisition, Alessandra Bastagli at Dey Street bought reporter Julie K. Brown’s currently untitled book about the Jeffrey Epstein case. Brown, a reporter for the Miami Herald, wrote an award-winning series of articles on Epstein, a wealthy financier whose decades as a sex offender became a national story earlier this year, resulting in his incarceration and subsequent suicide. The series, titled Perversion of Justice, involved years of reporting and, per Dey Street, “is universally acknowledged as the determining factor in Epstein’s July 2019 arrest on sex trafficking charges.” Dey Street elaborated that the book, which Laurie Liss at Sterling Lord Literistic sold in an exclusive submission, will go deeper into Epstein’s dealings and “expose the inner workings of the sexual pyramid scheme he forced girls into, and will implicate powerful, wealthy, and influential politicians, academics, businessmen, and public figures.” ‘Race’ Runs to Tor Lucinda Roy, who’s published two works of literary fiction (Lady Moses and Hotel Alleluia), sold her first work of speculative fiction in a three-book deal. Freedom Race, according to Roy’s agent Jennifer Weltz at JVNLA, features “echoes of The Underground Railroad and The Handmaid’s Tale” and is set in “an alternate future where slavery has returned and one young woman challenges the boundaries of race and redefines what it means to live free.” Jen Gunnels at Tor nabbed world English rights in the agreement, with Freedom Race set for release in 2021. Weltz said the deal is “flexible” but that the title will launch what’s expected to be, at least, a two-book series. Trump’s Former Press Sec Speaks at SMP Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders sold world rights to her memoir to St. Martin’s Press. George Witte brokered the deal for the currently untitled book with David Limbaugh, a conservative commentator and author (and brother of conservative pundit Rush Limbaugh); he handled the sale in his capacity as a lawyer. SMP said that in the book, set for fall 2020, Sanders, who is only the third woman to hold the position of White House press secretary, will discuss “subjects including the media, family, faith, and performing an all-consuming and highly visible job while raising her young family.” Oseman’s Webcomic Headed to Scholastic’s Graphix At auction, Graphix’s David Saylor and Cassandra Pelham Fulton bought North American rights to four books in Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper series. The series, about two high school boys whose friendship unexpectedly blossoms into romance, originally appeared as a webcomic. After gaining traction, the series was formally published in the U.K. by Hodder Children’s Books. Under this deal, the first two titles are set to be released in 2020. Susannah Palfrey at Hachette Children’s Group (which is the parent of Hodder Children’s) negotiated the agreement with Saylor and Fulton. (Claire Wilson at RCW previously sold world rights to the series to Hodder Children’s.) Children's Deals Roundup New projects this week include debut author Graci Kim's middle grade fantasy about a Korean witch family, for Disney’s Rick Riordan Presents imprint, and adult fantasy writer Robert Repino's debut venture into middle grade, in a two-book deal. Lit Agent Sells First Picture Book Literary agent Stephen Barr sold his debut picture book, at auction, to Chronicle. Taylor Norman bought world rights, in a two-book deal, to The Upside Down Hat. The book, to be illustrated by Gracey Zhang, is set for spring 2022. Chronicle said the book follows a boy who discovers that all of his things are gone save his hat, “which accompanies him on his search for everything else.” Barr was represented by Elena Giovinazzo at Pippin Properties, while Zhang was represented by Hannah Mann at Writers House. Stegner Fellow Sells Debut to LB Little, Brown’s Ben George won North American rights to Stephanie Soileau’s debut novel, Terre Bonne, at auction. The two-book deal also includes a Louisiana-set short story collection, Last One out Shut Off the Lights. George described the novel, about the fictional Terrebonne clan, as “an epic, fierce-hearted family saga in the vein of Philipp Meyer’s The Son.” The collection is set to publish first, in summer 2020. Soileau, who was represented by Rebecca Gradinger at Fletcher & Company, is a former Stegner fellow and an Iowa Writers Workshop graduate. Grushin’s ‘Wife’ Goes to Putnam For Putnam, Gabriella Mongelli took world rights to Olga Grushin’s novel The Charmed Wife. The literary work, which Warren Frazier at John Hawkins & Associates sold, reimagines the fairy tale “Cinderella.” The novel picks up 13 years after Cinderella has married Prince Charming, at which point Cinderella is contemplating divorce. Putnam said the book is “reminiscent of Madeline Miller’s Circe” and is “a darkly complex exploration of romantic expectation and the very nature of storytelling.” Grushin earned a place on Granta’s Best Young American Novelists list for her 2006 debut, The Dream Life of Sukhanov (also published by Putnam). Behind the Deal History buffs and dedicated listeners of Slow Burn can probably tell you all about Martha Mitchell. The wife of the attorney general under President Nixon, Mitchell is the subject of the first episode of the popular Slate-produced podcast about Watergate. And now, thanks to Slow Burn, a backlist book about her will likely be made into a movie. Winzola McLendon’s 1979 Martha: The Life of Martha Mitchell has been optioned after interest in Mitchell flared. Stephen Moore at the Kohner Agency handled the sale, working on behalf of Penguin Random House. (Random House originally published the title.) Moore, who is not yet able to disclose the buyer, said that the podcast generated interest in Mithcell which led to a “sudden flurry of interest in this old book.” Moore added that there were three bidders vying for the title, which is now the foundation of a film project “at one of the big three agencies.” The serendipitous nature of the deal, Moore joked, got him thinking about going into podcasting; he said he lightheartedly suggested to the agent he sold the project to, “We should produce a podcast about great backlist titles and spur some interest in our lists.” International My Friend Natalia by Laura Lindstedt has been acquired by Gallimard. The Finnish novel (which Norton will publish in the U.S.) has now sold in 11 territories. The Elina Ahlback Literary Agency, which handled the sale, called the novel “a thrilling exploration of gender, sexuality, and power following an ambitious therapist and a patient with a unique psychological obsession.” Simon & Schuster UK nabbed a book that the publisher called “a filthier, more candid The Devil Wears Prada,” according to the Bookseller. The publisher bought world rights to Sara-Ella Ozbek’s The High Moments; the author, who lives in London, is a former Vogue intern who also worked at a modeling agency. Page to Screen Daniel Schulman’s 2014 book about the Koch brothers, Sons of Wichita (Grand Central), has been optioned by the production companies Oberservatroy and Cavendish Pictures. According to Deadline, the nonfiction title is set to serve as the basis of “both fiction and nonfiction projects,” with a likely “limited series as well as a documentary” resulting from the acquisition. After what Deadline called “a competitive situation,” David Ignatius’s the Quantum Spy series was optioned by the Boies/Schiller Film Group. The books, published by Norton, are set for series development. Send editorial inquiries about this e-newsletter to: internationaldeals@publishersweekly.com Send advertising questions about this e-newsletter to: cbryerman@publishersweekly.com Follow PW on Facebook and Twitter. For additional assistance, contact us by email or at the address below. Publishers Weekly, 71 West 23 St. #1608 New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2019, PWxyz LLC Deal of the Week Brooks’s ‘Devolution’ to Del Rey Max Brooks, author of the smash hit World War Z, will release a new novel in spring 2020 about the Bigfoot legend. Devolution, originally acquired a few years ago by then-Crown publisher Molly Stern, has just been announced as a forthcoming Del Rey title. (Stern left Del Rey parent Penguin Random House in December 2018, after the Crown and Random House divisions were merged.) PRH said Julian Pavia worked with Stern on the deal, and now he and Sarah Peed will be editing the title together. Jonny Geller at Curtis Brown Ltd. brokered the North American rights acquisition on behalf of Brooks. Del Rey described the novel as a “found-document” work that “chronicles a horrific Sasquatch attack on an isolated Pacific Northwest eco-community.” When asked why the announcement is coming well after the acquisition, PRH said the news was held until “a cover, excerpt, and publication date were ready to release.” Lit Prof Sells Romance Trilogy After a three-house auction, Kate Seaver at Berkley won world rights, for six figures, to a historical romance trilogy by Joanna Ruocco. The author, represented by Tara Gelsomino at One Track Literary Agency, is a writing professor at Wake Forest University and a Pushcart Prize winner. Gelsomino said Ruocco, who’s writing the series under the pen name Joanna Lowell, is “somewhat renowned in the experimental literary fiction world” and will mix her literary instincts with “commercial tropes” for the books. The series is set in Victorian-era London and follows an art student who, Gelsomino explained, “paints a scandalous nude portrait of a stranger only to discover her muse is actually the Duke of Weston.” The first book in the trilogy is set for spring 2021. McKinney Closes Treble at Imprint For Macmillan’s Imprint, Weslie Turner nabbed world rights to three books by L.L. McKinney. Under the deal, McKinney will write two young adult titles and a middle grade title; the latter will mark the author’s middle grade debut. Macmillan said the MG novel “follows a black girl gamer who discovers that she’s the reincarnated King Arthur and must find her knights before she can face off against the evil Morgana.” The two YA novels will be part of McKinney’s Nightmare-Verse series; A Crown So Cursed, set for fall 2020, will be the third entry in the series. The other YA title will be a series prequel. Victoria Marini at the Irene Goodman Agency represented McKinney. NBA Winner Fights Racism at Kokila Kokila’s Namrata Tripathi bought world rights to two books by National Book Award–winner Ibram X. Kendi. The first title, the board book Antiracist Baby, will be illustrated by Ashley Lukashevsky. (Kendi’s recently released How to Be an Antiracist is a current bestseller.) Kokila said the book will “empower parents and the youngest children to discuss and uproot racism in our society and in ourselves”; it’s scheduled for summer 2020. The second title, Goodnight Racism, does not yet have a publication date. Ayesha Pande at Pande Literary represented Kendi, while Wendi Gu at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates represented Lukashevsky. Candlewick Buys Pride Picture Book In a world rights deal, Katie Cunningham at Candlewick Press bought a picture book titled ‘Twas the Night Before Pride. Clelia Gore at Martin Literary & Media Management represented author Joanna McClintick, saying the book, set the night before the Pride March, follows “a queer family preparing for the next day’s festivities, remembering the technicolor revelry of years past... and reaffirming just what it means to have pride.” Set for spring 2022, the book will be illustrated by Juana Medina; she was represented by Gillian MacKenzie at MacKenzie Wolf. Children's Deals Roundup New projects this week include two books in a new series by YA author Kerri Maniscalco; a middle-grade novel by Kate Klise, conceived as Rear Window for young readers who love mysteries; and a new picture book from author-illustrator Chris Gall, called Big Rig Rescue. International Page to Screen Send editorial inquiries about this e-newsletter to: internationaldeals@publishersweekly.com Send advertising questions about this e-newsletter to: cbryerman@publishersweekly.com Follow PW on Facebook and Twitter. For additional assistance, contact us by email or at the address below. Publishers Weekly, 71 West 23 St. #1608 New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2019, PWxyz LLC

Deal of the Week King’s ‘Guardian’ Protects Scribner For mid-six-figures, Colin Harrison at Scribner nabbed Dean King’s nonfiction book about John Muir’s fight to preserve Yosemite, Guardian of the Valley. Harrison bought North American rights to the book from Dorian Karchmar at William Morris Endeavor after what she described as a “heated” auction. The work is subtitled The Story of John Muir and the Friendship That Saved Yosemite and, per the agency, explores how the 19th-century nature writer and explorer teamed up with his editor at Century magazine to “defeat the twin forces of corporate greed and government corruption and save Yosemite Valley from destruction.” The agency added that the effort “changed the face of the rapidly industrializing nation and launched the modern environmentalist movement.” King is the author of, among other books, 2013’s The Feud: The Hatfields and McCoys (Little, Brown). Chee Takes ‘Free’ to HMH After an auction, Catherine Onder at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt won world rights to Traci Chee’s We Are Not Free. Chee, the author of the bestselling series The Reader, presents here, HMH said, a YA “novel-in-stories” that examines the mass incarcerations of Japanese-Americans in the U.S. during WWII. Told from the perspective of, as HMH explained, “a tight-knit group of young Nisei, second-generation Japanese-American citizens,” the novel offers 14 perspectives on the internment camps, giving “a deep, multifaceted look into the ways the currents of history both fragmented these young people’s relationships as well as brought them closer together.” Barbara Poelle at the Irene Goodman Agency sold the novel, which is slated for June 2020. Grove Preempts Booker Contender For Grove Atlantic, Peter Blackstock preempted North American rights to the Booker-longlisted novel Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo. The book, sold by Emma Paterson at Aitken Alexander, is being rushed by Grove and will be released as a Black Cat paperback original on December 3. (The Booker shortlist will be announced on September 3, with the winner of the literary prize unveiled on October 14.) The novel, Grove said, “follows an interconnected group of Black British women whose very different lives intersect, and whose sexuality, age, class, and other identities both separate and connect them.” Gallery Nabs Medium’s Memoir In a deal for a book by a man the publisher calls “America’s top psychic medium,” Gallery Books bought Matt Fraser’s When Heaven Calls. Jeremie Ruby-Strauss took world rights to the book from Imal Wagner at Phoenix Rising PR. Fraser, S&S said, regularly mounts sold-out shows across the country; he is also set to star in his own reality show, E!’s forthcoming Meet the Frasers. The memoir is set for March 2020 and will, S&S explained, detail how the author “discovered his spiritual gift, what it’s like to connect with souls on the other side [and] what communicating with the dead has taught him about embracing life.” Kentucky DJ Sells McConnell Book The owner, founder, and on-air host of Kentucky Sports Radio (KSR), Matt Jones, sold Mitch, Please! to Simon & Schuster. Jonathan Karp bought world rights, from CAA, to the book, which will be edited by Amar Deol and is set for March 2020. S&S said the title will feature “stories from each of the 120 counties in the state, highlighting how the five-time senator and current Senate Majority Leader has failed Kentuckians, economically and socially, over the last three decades.” Jones has a significant platform for the book, according to S&S, which said that KSR has a “rabid following” among University of Kentucky Wildcats fans. The house added that Jones has used KSR, which is in 37 markets, to “discuss politics as well as sports.” (After this deal was announced, Jones lost his job as the host of “Hey Kentucky!” on WLEX TV.) Harper Buys Lauder Memoir At Harper Business, Hollis Heimbouch took world rights to a memoir by Leonard Lauder. The beauty industry mogul and philanthropist was represented by Robert Barnett at Williams & Connolly, and the book, set for 2020, is currently untitled. Lauder’s mother, Estée Lauder, famously founded her eponymous company in her kitchen in 1946. Now, per Harper, Estee Lauder is one of the world’s leading beauty product manufacturers and a “global empire.” Harper said the memoir will offer “an insider’s account of building a global empire” and stand as “a business book with pragmatic lessons on business, philanthropy, leadership, and life.” Debut YA, ‘Undoing,’ to Philomel Philomel’s Liza Kaplan preempted North American rights to a debut YA novel by Kate Norris. The Art of Undoing was sold by Lara Perkins at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency; she said the book is a work of historical science fiction that follows a 16-year-old who “witnesses a tragedy and is accidentally pulled into another universe­—one that already has another version of herself in it.” Set for fall 2021, the work, Perkins added, was pitched as “Sliding Doors meets Code Name Verity." Children's Deals Roundup New projects this week include Again Again, a new YA novel from We Were Liars author E. Lockhart, about a heroine grappling with family catastrophe and romantic upheaval; a YA nonfiction book, Girl Warriors, from Washington Post contributor Rachel Sarah; and two board books by Ibram X. Kendi, National Book Award-winning author of How to Be an Antiracist. International The Finnish novel My Friend Natalia by Laura Lindstedt has been acquired in the U.S. by Liveright. The W.W. Norton imprint took North American rights to the book in a deal brokered by Rhea Lyons at Hannigan, Salky, Getzler on behalf of Elina Ahlback Literary Agency. Football, ahem, soccer, star Vincent Kompany inked a two-book deal with Simon & Schuster UK. The just-retired Manchester City defender (who is now player-manager at Anderlecht) sold world rights to an autobiography and a book called Treble Triumph. The latter explores Manchester City’s 2018/19 season, in which it won the Premier League title, FA Cup, and League Cup. Page to Screen The Swedish nonfiction book Spotify Untold (Albert Bonniers Förlag) has been optioned for film by Yellow Bird UK, a British-based production company. The book, which chronicles the rise of the music start-up Spotify, was written by Sven Carlsson and Jonas Leijonhufvud; it’s also currently in development as a limited series. Eleonoora Kirk at Bonnier Rights brokered the sale. Bloodleaf (HMH Books for Young Readers, Mar.) by Crystal Smith has been optioned by Cavalry Media (House of Cards) for series development. PW called the YA novel a “rich mythology and affecting love story.” Send editorial inquiries about this e-newsletter to: internationaldeals@publishersweekly.com Send advertising questions about this e-newsletter to: cbryerman@publishersweekly.com Follow PW on Facebook and Twitter. For additional assistance, contact us by email or at the address below. Publishers Weekly, 71 West 23 St. #1608 New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2019, PWxyz LLC

Chakras (Not Yoga!) to St. Martin’s for Six Figures
In a preempt, Daniella Rapp at St. Martin’s paid six figures for world rights from Gareth Esersky of the Carol Mann Agency to Chakra Rituals: Releasing the Wild Woman Within by yoga instructor Christi Christensen—because “it’s not a yoga book,” Rapp says. Rapp believes the yoga category is full and done but that there is tremendous mainstream interest in other areas of the rituals of spirituality such as witchcraft, moonwork, crystals, and the ancient Hindu meditative practice of chakras. “I want to publish the essential book on chakras and how they can empower women,” Rapp says. Planned for release in winter 2021, the illustrated book offers a seven-week program for a contemporary spiritually conscious and curious audience to tap into the ancient science of chakras, according to Esersky.

Scholastic Pays Up for a Graphic Series
Mark Gottlieb at Trident Media sealed a six-figure deal for City of Dragons, a new graphic novel series by Jaimal Yogis and illustrated by Vivian Truong, with David Saylor, v-p and editorial director of Scholastic’s Graphix imprint. The middle grade series is scheduled for publication in 2021. “I was immediately intrigued by the story, which is set in Hong Kong and has contemporary kids interacting with dragons in a high-stakes, brilliantly visual fantasy,” Saylor says. “The story and artwork captivated my imagination, and the creators bring unique perspectives to this exciting adventure series.” Gottlieb described it as “a fantastical coming-of-age adventure that proves monster-size problems can be solved if you have friendship, courage, and compassion.” Yogis lives in San Francisco and is the author of Saltwater Buddha, which became a feature-length documentary film. Truong is a London comics artist who created the interactive comic I Fell in Love with Evil.

Ballantine Bags ‘Fleabag: The Scriptures’ Book
On November 15, Ballantine will publish the complete scripts of the BBC/Amazon hit comedy series Fleabag, which received 11 Emmy nominations for its second season. Executive editor Sara Weiss bought North American rights from United Talent Agency and Independent Talent Group. Sceptre, an imprint of Hodder & Stoughton, will publish simultaneously in the U.K. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the writer, creator, and star of Fleabag, will provide an afterword touching on the process of making the book, and the scripts will be accompanied by stage directions, according to the publisher.

Norton Flys with ‘The Insect Crisis’
Norton’s Qyynh Do jumped on an exclusive submission and bought North American rights to Oliver Milman’s The Insect Crisis: The Fall of the Tiny Empires That Run the World from Zoë Pagnamenta, who has an eponymous agency. According to the agent, Milman, the Guardian’s environmental correspondent for the U.S., imagines a dire world without insects, reports on the man-made causes of the catastrophic decline of insect populations, and presents the surprising global consequences of losing those small things that crawl, scurry, and fly.

Children's Deals Roundup
New projects this week include The Hatmakers, a middle-grade fantasy adventure novel from British actress Tamzin Merchant; Sing Me Forgotten, a gender-bent, magical YA retelling of The Phantom of the Opera by debut author Jessica S. Olson; and Bad Sister, Charise Mericle Harper and Rory Lucey's middle grade graphic novel memoir, in which Harper experiences a crisis of conscience.

David Bell Re-Ups With Berkley
In what the publisher calls a “significant investment,” Berkley editor Danielle Perez snapped up world rights for two more thrillers from David Bell. The deal was brokered by Laney Katz Becker at Massie & McQuilkin. The new deal marks the 11th and 12th novels from Bell, all edited by Perez and all agented by Becker. Perez said, “To see the incredible trajectory of David’s career after I acquired and edited his first suspense novel, Cemetery Girl, in 2011 gives all of us at Berkley an immense amount of pride. We’re so happy and excited to be continuing our partnership with David long into the future.” Cemetery Girl has sold more than 150,000 units in all formats. Bell’s most recent book, Layover, was published by Berkley in July. Speaking to Bell’s success, Perez added, “I think David’s books resonate so strongly with readers because he writes about an everyman/everywoman we can relate to who gets caught up in extraordinary circumstances.”

Little, Brown Preempts a Sweet Debut
Senior editor Ben George snapped up world English rights to 27-year-old Michener Center fellow Nathan Harris’s debut novel, The Sweetness of Water, set in the South during the dwindling days of the Civil War. In the wake of the Emancipation Proclamation, a pair of brothers who are freed slaves seek refuge in the woods of a white landowner, whose subsequent friendship with them inspires a violent reaction from local townsfolk. Emily Forland at Brandt & Hochman brokered the deal.

Stay-at-Home Dads Book to Penguin
Chris Kepner, who has an eponymous agency, sold world rights for The Ultimate Stay-at-Home Dad: Your Essential Manual for Being an Awesome Full-Time Father by Shannon Carpenter to James Jayo at Penguin Books, for publication in fall 2021. According to Kepner, the book is a comprehensive, fun-filled field guide that shows dads how to thrive at home with activity ideas and battle-proven advice on cleaning, meal planning, and making amazing memories.

Behind the Deal

Two years ago, literary agent Stacey Glick of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret stepped out of the New York City subway and into a colorful Munchkin Land landscape—sort of. On her way to work, she noticed what she called an “amazing” mural on 16th Street in Manhattan and felt compelled to track down the artist, Jason Naylor, to see if he was interested in developing a book. The quest took some time, but, Glick said, “we got there, and we’re excited to partner with Cara Bedick at Chronicle Prism [who also, serendipitously was familiar with Naylor’s work] to bring his book to life.” Bedick bought world rights to Live Life Colorfully: 99 Ways to Bring More Joy, Creativity, and Positivity into Your Every Day, to be released in January 2021. Naylor is an artist, designer, and creative director who has worked with Coach, MAC Cosmetics, Joe Malone London, and other major brands. Glick said that he “spreads joy and kindness around the globe using his signature bright colors and even brighter messages in typography, illustration, and large-scale murals.” The book, Glick added, is a quirky mix of upbeat words of wisdom, tips and tricks, challenges, and colorful illustrations that will inspire and motivate everyone who picks it up.

International

• According to The Bookseller, in the U.K., Bloomsbury won a 15-house bidding war for a book about grief by podcaster Cariad Lloyd in what PFD’s Nelle Andrew, the agent who ran the auction, called “one of the fiercest auctions” she has been a part of. Publishing director Alexis Kirschbaum won You Are Not Alone for what Andrew called a “significant” six figures. Lloyd’s Griefcast podcasts have been downloaded more than 3.7 million times since the initial episodes were launched in 2016.

• Piatkus picked up U.K. and Commonwealth rights to journalist Gabrielle Jackson’s Pain and Prejudice: A Call to Arms for Women and Their Bodiesfrom Maggie Thompson at Allen & Unwin. Called a “groundbreaking polemic on the state of women’s health care” by the publisher, it will be released on November 14.

Page to Screen

• Greg Silverman's Stampede and Vertigo Entertainment are teaming up to adapt Australian writer Gabriel Bergmoser's gritty novel Sunburnt Country for a feature film, according to Deadline.

• ABC Signature Studios has acquired television rights to Megan McCafferty’s bestselling Jessica Darling series. Ready Player One producer Dan Farah and author and screenwriter Rebecca Serle secured the book rights. The series spans the life and romances of the title character spanning her teen, college, and postcollege years.

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Deal of the Week

Scribner Wins Eight-Way Auction for Debut
Executive editor Kathryn Belden is the proud victor—with a rumored six-figure offer—in what she described as a very competitive auction for Stories from Our Tenants Downstairs, a debut work of fiction by Sidik Fofana, a graduate of NYU’s MFA program and a high school English teacher in Brooklyn. Belden says the book is “written with flair and a voice resonant of the place it depicts” and that it “will be a major event when Scribner publishes it in 2021.” It is composed of nine narratives about residents of a fictional housing project in Harlem. Excerpts have appeared in the Sewanee Review, and Fofana has attended Bread Loaf and has been a fellow at the Center for Fiction. The deal for North American rights was brokered by Ethan Bassoff at MMQ.

Berkley Takes On More Infamous Women
Kate Seaver at Berkley paid six figures for the next two books from Stephanie Marie Thornton, author of American Princess and six other novels that showcase her self-described “obsession” with infamous women. Up first is Clever Girl, in which a young Vassar graduate is offered the opportunity to interview former Soviet spy turned FBI informer Elizabeth Bentley, and learns that her own life is inextricably connected to Bentley’s. Kevan Lyon at Marsal Lyon negotiated the world rights deal.

Europa brings ‘Shadowplay’ to the U.S.
Michael Reynolds at Europa picked up U.S. rights from Isobel Dixon of Blake Friedmann to Shadowplay, by Irish PEN Award–winning author Joseph O’Connor. The book, described as a “literary highlight of 2019” by the Sunday Times of London upon its June publication in the U.K. and Canada, is centered around London’s Lyceum Theatre in 1878 and follows the interplay of a volcanic leading man, an adored actress, and the theater manager—Bram Stoker. The book will be a “super lead” on the house’s spring list when it pubs in April 2020. Rights have been sold in seven countries.

Boom Stands Up for ‘Attica’
Bryce Carlson, v-p, editorial and creative strategies at Boom! Studios, and Filip Sablik, president, publishing and marketing, have acquired world rights to the graphic novel Big Black: The Stand at Attica, for Boom’s Archaia imprint. Frank “Big Black” Smith, an inmate at Attica Prison during the 1971 uprising there, has teamed up with Jared Reinmuth, an author and actor, and graphic designer Améziane, for the book. Big Black will be released on Feb. 18, 2020. The deal was unagented.

Children's Deals Roundup
New projects this week include a graphic novel adaptation of Jennifer L. Holm's Newbery Honor-winning middle-grade novel Turtle in Paradise; The 57 Bus author Dashka Slater's nonfiction book for teens about hate crimes and free speech, seen through events that unfolded at one high school when a group of students created a racist social media account; and a debut picture book by Gracey Zhang called Lala’s Words, bought in a six-house auction.

International

• The newsletter has been abbreviated this week. We'll be back next week with new Page-to-Screen and International Deals.

Page to Screen

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Deal of the Week

Alvarez Reemerges at Algonquin
After almost 15 years without a new book, Julia Alvarez sold North American rights to a novel titled Afterlife to her longtime publisher, Algonquin Books. Alvarez is the author of bestsellers including How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents (1991) and In the Time of Butterflies (1994); the latter, per Algonquin (which published both novels), has sold more than one million copies. Algonquin’s Amy Gash brokered the agreement with Stuart Bernstein at Stuart Bernstein Representation for Artists. Scheduled for April 2020, Afterlife, the publisher said, is “a luminous look inside the mind of a literature professor, an immigrant trying to rediscover who she is after the sudden death of her husband.”

Berman’s ‘Men’ Land at Audible
In an audio-only deal, Jessica Almon Galland at Audible acquired Alice Berman’s I Eat Men Like Air for the company’s Originals program. Stephen Barbara at Inkwell Management, who represented Berman, said the story follows seven 20-somethings gathered in New Hampshire for the impending nuptials of two of their friends. Barbara elaborated that the work, which is told in “dual timelines” in the months leading up to the wedding, “is a riveting look at the unraveling of a friend group punctured by violence, and a chilling look at the rage that festers when it’s kept secret.” Audible will release the audiobook on September 12. Berman, whose novel Lost Boys and Technicolor Girls is in development at cable TV channel Freeform (but has not yet sold to a publisher), won the Gibson Peacock Award for creative nonfiction from her alma mater, University of Pennsylvania.

Mansbach’s ‘Brother’ to One World
Chris Jackson at One World nabbed world rights to Adam Mansbach’s I Had a Brother Once, which the Penguin Random House imprint described as an “epic poem” about the suicide of the author’s brother. Mansbach, author of the 2008 novel The End of the Jews (Random/Spiegel & Grau) and the million-copy-selling 2011 children’s book spoof Go the F**k to Sleep (Akashic), was represented by Richard Abate at 3Arts; Abate sold the book in an exclusive submission. One World, elaborating on Brother, called it “an insightful meditation on the mysteries of grief, loss, mortality, and the inner lives of the people we love the most.”

Zweig’s Branding Book to Sounds True
Diane Ventimiglia at Sounds True won a four-house auction for world rights to Jessica Zweig’s Be: A No Bullsh*t Guide to Increasing Your Self Worth and Net Worth, paying six figures. The spirituality publisher said the book, set for 2021, will espouse the entrepreneur’s expertise in personal branding and explain how to use “personal empowerment to build the ‘right’ business brand—not just the bottom line.” Zweig, who was represented by Marilyn Allen at Allen O’Shea Literary, is the founder of the personal branding agency SimplyBe.

Children's Deals Roundup
New projects this week include Coretta Scott King Honor author Kekla Magoon's nonfiction account of the history and legacy of the Black Panthers; a picture book about two brothers and an improvised trip to the moon by Maggie Pouncey, co-owner of Brooklyn's Stories Bookshop + Storytelling Lab; and three books in a new graphic novel series by DreamWorks TV show creator David Fremont.

Atheneum Wins Namey’s ‘Girl’ at Auction
Atheneum’s Alex Borbolla bought world English rights to A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Sweaters and Stars at auction. The sophomore novel by Laura Taylor Namey (The Library of Lost Things) was sold by Natascha Morris at Bookends. Atheneum said the book follows Lila Flores, who, after her post–high school plans collapse, is shipped off to England to live with family friends. Expecting the experience abroad to be a bust, the heroine is pleasantly surprised when, Atheneum explained, “she falls for tea shop clerk Orion Maxwell and, most surprisingly, England itself.” The YA novel is set for fall 2020.

HMH Lands New Lowry Book
In a world rights deal, Margaret Raymo at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt acquired a new middle grade book by The Giver author Lois Lowry. On the Horizon is a nonfiction work written in verse. The book by the two-time Newbery Medalist, who was represented by Emily van Beek at Folio Literary Management, is, HMH said, drawn from a combination of research and the author’s childhood memories. HMH added that the book “tells the story of soldiers and civilians whose lives were lost or forever altered by the twin tragedies of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima.” The illustrator on the project, Kenard Pak, was represented by Kirsten Hall at the Catbird Agency. Horizon is slated for an April 2020 release.

McHugh’s ‘Royal’ Is Crowned at Morrow
In a preempt, Lucia Macro at William Morrow acquired The Princess Royal by Clare McHugh. The debut novel, explained McHugh’s agent, Laura Dail at the Laura Dail Literary Agency, is historical fiction and focuses on Vicky, the oldest daughter of Queen Victoria. Dail explained that Vicky, after being married to the crown prince of Prussia, saw her “romantic life thwarted by reactionary forces, including her own son, Kaiser Wilhelm.” Dail, elaborating, said the novel is “a story of marriage and motherhood, and of a woman finding her role and voice.” McHugh works in media and was most recently the senior director of editorial operations for Time Inc.’s News and Lifestyle brands.

International

• Greek publisher Skarifima Editions acquired the Spanish debut novel Vozdevieja by Elisa Victoria. The book was originally published by Spain’s Blackie Books in February. Spanish agency SalmaiaLit, which handled the sale, said the novel is about “a girl who sails through the long summer of Seville in 1990.”

• Switzerland-based British journalist Caroline Bishop sold her debut novel to Simon & Schuster UK in a preempt. Hayley Steed at the Madeleine Milburn Agency handled the sale, the Bookseller reported, for The Other Daughter. S&S UK described the book to the Bookseller as having “a dual narrative that brilliantly explores the themes of motherhood and feminism, identity and belonging.”

Page to Screen

• U.K.-based production company Lime Pictures optioned James Gould-Burn’s debut novel, Keeping Mum. The novel is about a father who finds an unconventional way to communicate with his young son, who became mute after his mother died in car crash. It’s being published in June 2020 in the U.K. Scribner has North American rights.

• Disney+, the new streaming service from Disney, optioned Neal Shusterman’s Challenger Deep (HarperTeen). The National Book Award winner is about a 15-year-old’s descent into schizophrenia. Screenwriter Will McCormack is set to adapt the novel.

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