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Deal of the Week
 Hill Takes ‘Nothing’ to HMH
Fiona Hill, former deputy assistant to the president and senior
director for European and Russian affairs on the National Security Council,
sold There Is Nothing for You Here to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Alex
Littlefield nabbed North American rights to the book, subtitled Opportunity
in an Age of Decline, from Andrew Nurnberg Associates. HMH said the title,
set for fall 2021, will “explain how our current, polarized moment is the
result of long historical trends... that have long afflicted Russia and the
United Kingdom, and which now are beginning to affect the United States.”
 Loves Tackle Love in ‘Redemption’
In a second deal at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Rakia Clark bought a
memoir by a couple featured in Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York social
media accounts. Clark acquired world rights to The Redemption of Bobby
Love: A Story of Faith, Family and Justice from Brian DeFiore at
DeFiore and Co. Husband-and-wife authors Bobby and Cheryl Love,
who are writing with Lori L. Tharps, chronicle their relationship in
the book—for more than 30 years, she didn’t know he was an escaped convict
from the Jim Crow South. Clark said Redemption, which is set for fall
2021, grapples with “marriage, forgiveness, and larger themes about Blackness
in America.”
 Scribner Looks ‘Upwards’ with Barr
With a six-figure preempt, Colin Harrison at Scribner bought Jason
M. Barr’s Ever Upwards: The Global Quest to Build Skyscrapers and
Skylines in the 21st Century. Chris Kepner at the Kepner Agency,
who sold world rights to the book, said it “chronicles the social, political,
and economic forces behind the global rise of today’s skyscrapers and
skylines, which is happening at a historic pace.” The author, a professor of
economics at Rutgers University–Newark, is, Kepner noted, “one of the world’s
foremost experts on the economics of skyscrapers.”
 Children's/YA Deals Roundup
New projects this week include The Book of Radical Answers (That I Know
You Already Know) by author, educator, and activist Sonya Renee Taylor
(pictured), a middle grade nonfiction book from the author of The Body Is
Not an Apology; a middle-grade series from former NBA All-Star Caron
Butler and author Justin A. Reynolds, beginning with Shot Clock,
about a boy trying to find his place on an AAU basketball team coached by a
former All-Star who has returned to his hometown; and Spare Parts: Young
Readers' Edition by Reyna Grande, a middle-grade adaptation of the
bestselling adult nonfiction book by Joshua Davis.
 ESPN Journo Talks ‘Sex’ for SMP
Alice Pfeifer, at St. Martin’s Press, took world English rights, for
six figures, to The Determination of Sex by Katie Barnes. The
author, who was represented by Kiele Raymond at Thompson Literary
Agency, is an ESPN journalist, and the book, per Raymond, is “an explosive
investigation into the outsized impact of American sports on our cultural
understanding of sex and gender.” The agent elaborated that the book “will
bring readers to the front lines of the battle for equal rights in our
country’s athletic institutions and prove once and for all that sex exists on
a spectrum.”
 Nagorski Gets Freudian at S&S
Hitlerland author and former Newsweek journalist Andrew
Nagorski sold To Die in Freedom: Sigmund Freud’s Unlikely Rescue Squad
to Bob Bender at Simon & Schuster. Robert Gottlieb at
Trident Media Group represented Nagorski, selling North American rights to
the book; Gottlieb said it is an account “focusing on the unlikely mix of
personalities who worked together to convince Freud to escape Vienna after
the Nazi occupation.”
 Threshold Weighs ‘The Cost’
Threshold Editions acquired Maria Bartiromo and James Freeman’s
The Cost: Trump, China, and American Revival. Natasha Simons
bought world rights to the book, which Threshold said will detail the
economic recovery the U.S. needs following the coronavirus pandemic.
Bartiromo and Freeman were represented by CAA. Cost is set for October.
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Deal of the Week
 Scribner Nabs Reynolds’s First Adult Title
Bestselling children’s author and two-time National Book Award–finalist Jason
Reynolds sold his debut adult novel. Kathy Belden at Scribner
(which is part of Simon & Schuster, the parent company of Reynolds’s longtime
children’s imprint, Caitlyn Dlouhy Books) took North American rights to The
Mouthless God and Jesus Number Two. The book is set for 2022 and is,
Scribner said, about “a boy named Mm who is born without a mouth and comes of
age in a carnival town, where the power of storytelling can equally sustain
or harm.” Elena Giovinazzo at Pippin Properties represented Reynolds.
S&S noted that more than 3.5 million copies of the author’s books are in
circulation. Reynolds is also a Newbery Honor recipient and the 2020–2021
National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.
 SMP Goes Big on a ‘Short History’
George Witte at St. Martin’s Press nabbed Henry Gee’s A
(Very) Short History of Life on Earth: 4.6 Billion Years in 12 Pithy Chapters
in a six-figure preempt. Gee was represented by Jill Grinberg at Jill
Grinberg Literary Management. The Nature magazine editor draws, the
agent said, “from his decades of publishing cutting-edge scientific
discoveries to tell a gripping story, a tale of survival and persistence,
illuminating the delicate balance within which life exists.” SMP took North
American rights to the book, which is set for fall 2021.
 Wabuke Sells Memoir to Vintage
In a North American rights deal, Vintage’s Maria Goldverg bought Hope
Wabuke’s memoir, Please Don’t Kill My Black Son, Please. Wabuke is
an assistant professor of English and creative writing at the University of
Nebraska–Lincoln whose writing has appeared in the Guardian and the Paris
Review. Goldverg said Wabuke delivers an “empowering memoir in essays
chronicling how a mother provides care for her family in the wake of
personal, cultural, and historical racial and gendered violence.” Sarah
Bowlin at Aevitas Creative Management represented Wabuke.
 Fink Tackles Covid for Crown
Pulitzer-winning journalist Sheri Fink (Five Days at Memorial)
sold Surge to Amanda Cook at Crown. The book will explore,
Crown said, “the scientific, political, social, and ethical dimensions of the
coronavirus pandemic as it sickened millions and created chaos in countries
around the world.” Joy Harris at the Joy Harris Agency negotiated the
North American rights agreement for Fink.
 Children's/YA Deals Roundup
New projects this week include a debut YA graphic memoir called The Wuhan
I Know by Laura Gao (pictured), based on the Twitter story that
went viral, about growing up in two worlds, Texas and Wuhan; Take Me Home
Tonight by bestselling YA author Morgan Matson, pitched as Adventures
in Babysitting meets Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, about
two best friends who take the train from the Connecticut suburbs into New
York City and find much more than they bargained for; and a STEM-friendly
two-book series of illustrated hybrid graphic novels by Marissa Moss,
who helped pioneer the diary hybrid format with her bestselling Amelia's
Notebook series.
 Atria Does Double with Bola
In a preempt, Atria Books’ Michelle Herrera Mulligan bought two novels
by J.J. Bola (No Place to Call Home), a poet and UN Refugee
Agency ambassador. Bola was represented in the U.S., Canadian, and open
market rights deal by Maria Cardona at the Pontas Literary & Film
Agency. Mulligan said the first book in the agreement, a novel titled The
Selfless Act of Breathing, slated for summer 2021, follows “a young
Londoner who flees to the U.S. to end his life once all of his savings run
out” and that it tackles “important issues such as mental health, police
brutality, and the power of love.” The second book is a currently untitled
work of historical fiction about Ota Benga, a Mbuti man brought to the U.S.
by slave traders and featured in a “human zoo” exhibit at the Bronx Zoo in
1906.
 Macmillan Gets ‘Uncomfortable’ with Acho
Emmanuel Acho, host of a series of viral videos titled Uncomfortable
Conversations with a Black Man, inked a two-book deal with Macmillan. The
first book, also titled Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man,
was bought by Flatiron Books president Bob Miller and will be
published by Macmillan’s An Oprah Book imprint. It’s set for November and
will be edited by Flatiron senior editor Meghan Houser. The second
title, Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Boy, was acquired by Jon
Yaged, president of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, and will be
edited by Roaring Brook Press’s senior v-p and publisher Jennifer Besser
and senior associate editor Mekisha Telfer. Macmillan took world
rights to the books from agents Brandi Bowles and Meredith Miller
at United Talent Agency.
 S&S Buys Swisher’s Story
New York Times opinion writer and veteran Silicon Valley journalist Kara
Swisher sold a currently untitled memoir, her first book in nearly 20
years, to Simon & Schuster in a two-book deal. Stephanie Frerich
bought world rights after she approached Swisher and suggested a memoir. The
memoir will, S&S said, delve into the author’s “front row seat covering tech.”
Pilar Queen at the United Talent Agency brokered the agreement.
 Fitton Brings ‘Assault’ to Threshold
At Simon & Schuster’s Threshold Editions, Natasha Simons bought
bestseller Tom Fitton’s A Republic Under Assault. Premiere
Authors’ Frank Breeden sold world rights to the book, which is,
Threshold said, an exposé of “the radical left and deep state’s continued
attempts to undermine the Trump presidency.” The title is set for October.
 Smith Hops to Tyndale
Caleb Smith, a 15-year-old who turned a passion for rescue rabbits
into a nonprofit that oversees a 22-acre animal sanctuary, sold his memoir to
Sarah Atkinson at Tyndale House. Dan Strone at Trident Media
Group represented Smith in the world rights deal. Smith oversees Minnesota’s
Peacebunny Island, which pitches itself as a place where young people can
learn to train rabbits and, in the process, share “hugs, hope, and hoppiness.”
Peacebunny Island: The Extraordinary Journey of a Boy and His Comfort
Rabbits, and How They’re Teaching Us About Hope and Kindness is scheduled
for March 2021 and traces, Atkinson said, “the odyssey of a remarkable young
man committed to doing what he can to make the world more compassionate
toward animals and to each other.”
 HC Wins Obuobi’s ‘Gold’
Clarissa Wong at HarperCollins preempted Laura Obuobi’s picture
book debut Black Gold, illustrated by London Ladd. Obuobi was
represented in the world rights deal by Maria Vicente at P.S.
Literary, and Ladd was represented by Lori Nowicki at Painted Words. Black
Gold is, Vicente said, “a poetic celebration of Black children.” The book
is slated for fall 2022.
For additional assistance, contact us by email or at the address
below.
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Phone 212-377-5500
Copyright 2020, PWxyz LLC
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Deal of the Week
 Hanover Invests in Taylor’s Story
In a mid-six-figure deal, Hanover Square Press’s John Glynn bought a
currently untitled memoir by Goldie Taylor, an editor-at-large at the Daily
Beast. Eve Attermann at William Morris Endeavor brokered the North
American rights agreement. Taylor was five years old when her father was
murdered in St. Louis, and the book, the publisher said, will reveal how the
author survived a childhood “marred by sexual violence and physical abuse” to
go on and create “hope where none existed.” The memoir is slated for winter
2022.
 McCarthy Details Brat Days for GCP
Andrew McCarthy sold his memoir Brat: An ’80s Story to Grand
Central Publishing’s Suzanne O’Neill in a North American rights deal
brokered by David Kuhn at Aevitas Creative Management. McCarthy is an
actor whose films include St. Elmo’s Fire and Pretty in Pink,
and a bestselling author who published a 2012 travel memoir with Free Press
and a 2017 YA novel with Algonquin Young Readers. He is best known as a
member of a 1980s cadre of young Hollywood actors dubbed the Brat Pack. In Brat,
GCP said, McCarthy details his “coming of age in a maelstrom, reckoning with
conflicted ambition, innocence, addiction, and masculinity.” The book is set
for spring 2021.
 S&S Picks Up Norris’s Race Card
Washington Post columnist and former NPR host Michele Norris
closed a two-book, world English rights agreement with Simon & Schuster
for an adult title and a children’s title based on her Race Card Project.
Norris launched the project in 2010, asking people to submit postcards with
six words summarizing their thoughts on the word race. The books, S&S
explained, will chronicle Norris’s experience collecting responses—she’s
received more than 500,000—that distill “how Americans see themselves and
their place in a fractured world.” The adult title was acquired by Dawn
Davis for her 37 Ink imprint. Kendra Levin at S&S Books for
Young Readers bought the children’s title. Gail Ross at the Ross Yoon
Agency represented Norris, and both books are scheduled for 2022.
 Morrow Nabs Nagamatsu’s Debut Novel
With a six-figure preempt, Jessica Williams at William Morrow signed Sequoia
Nagamatsu’s debut novel, How High We Go in the Dark. Annie
Hwang at Ayesha Pande Literary represented the author in the two-book,
North American rights deal. Morrow likened the speculative literary work to
titles such as Station Eleven and Cloud Atlas, saying it
“explores humanity’s struggle to rebuild itself in the aftermath of a climate
plague.” Nagamatsu, who is the managing editor of Psychopomp magazine,
published his short story collection Where We Go When All We Were Is Gone
in 2016.
Children's/YA Deals Roundup
New projects this week include a new series, beginning with Realm Breaker
in summer 2021, by Victoria Aveyard (pictured), author of the
bestselling Red Queen series, which asks the question: when the heroes fall,
who is left to save the world?; We Are Not Broken by author and
activist George M. Johnson, a YA memoir and a love letter to the bonds
within Black families; and author Maile Meloy’s picture book debut, The
Octopus Escapes, about an octopus living in an aquarium that executes a
daring getaway, to be illustrated by Felicita Sala.
 MCD Signs Crosley’s ‘Cult’
Sloane Crosley (The Clasp) sold Cult Classic to Sean
McDonald at MCD, his Farrar, Straus and Giroux imprint. MCD described the
book as a “twisted comedy cum mystery” and said it follows a woman “whose
love life becomes the target of her former mentor’s cultlike psychological
experiment.” Jay Mandel at William Morris Endeavor represented Crosley
in the North American rights deal, and MCD said it plans to publish Cult
Classic in early 2022.
 Hill Calls for ‘Equality’ at Viking
Viking’s Wendy Wolf acquired world rights to Anita Hill’s A
More Perfect Equality at auction. The book, subtitled A 30 Year
Journey to End Gender Violence, was sold by Wes Neff at Leighco
Inc. The publisher said it is Hill’s “personal account of sexual harassment
and assault” and draws “from her own experiences and a wide range of others’
testimony, to show gender violence as a pervasive social malady, with a call
to action based on her decades of advocacy.”
 Gray’s Austen-Christie Mashup Goes to Vintage
After what Vintage described as a “competitive auction,” Anna Kaufman
won two books in a new mystery series by Claudia Gray, the first of
which is titled The Murder of Mr. Wickham, for six figures. Diana
Fox at Fox Literary brokered the world rights agreement. The publisher
described the novel as “a Jane Austen sequel and crossover with an Agatha
Christie twist, in which the Darcys, Knightleys, and all of Austen’s other
beloved couples unite for a house party that takes a dark turn when the
notorious Mr. Wickham makes an unwelcome, and soon fatal, appearance.”
 Portland Activist Lands at Oregon State
Black activist Richard Brown sold a memoir, This Is Not for You: An
Activist’s Journey of Resistance and Resilience, to Kim Hogeland
at Oregon State University Press. David Forrer at InkWell Management
brokered the deal and said that the author chronicles his “struggles with
racism and policing in present-day Portland while recalling his 1940s Harlem
childhood... and his decades of activism in one of America’s whitest big
cities.” The book, which Portland writer Brian Benson collaborated on,
is set for March 2021. Both InkWell and Benson, Forrer noted, plan to
contribute their share of the proceeds to “Black-led organizations fighting
for racial justice.”
 O’Leary Moves to Berkley
Beth O’Leary (The Flatshare) has left Flatiron for Berkley,
selling her third novel, The Road Trip, to Cindy Hwang. The
book, Berkley said, follows exes who reunite after two years by “reluctantly
road-tripping to a friend’s wedding—and confronting the choices that tore
them apart.” Hwang took North American rights from Tanera Simons at
the Darley Anderson Agency, and The Road Trip is set for 2021.
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 2020, PWxyz LLC
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