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Deal of the Week Putnam Wins U.K. Editor’s Debut For Putnam, Sally Kim won the debut novel by Ore Agbaje-Williams, an editor at the Borough Press imprint of HarperCollins UK, after what the publisher described as a “competitive auction.” Putnam said The Three of Us is “part suburban millennial comedy of manners, part domestic noir,” unfolding over the course of a single day. It traces the effects of a “startling discovery” that rocks a British Nigerian man, his wife, and his wife’s best friend. The Penguin Random House imprint added that the novel explores “questions about cultural expectations, the fine line between compromise and betrayal, and the nature of truth.” Nicola Chang at David Higham Associates handled the North American rights agreement. The Three of Us is set for a 2023 release. Atria Buys Griffin’s NFL Memoir Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III sold a memoir, Surviving Washington, to Amar Deol at Atria Books. Deol took U.S., Canadian, and open market rights from Susan Canavan of the Waxman Literary Agency. In the book, Atria said, Griffin recounts his experiences as a member of the Washington Football Team, focusing on the playoff game that changed the course of his career—when he was put back into action despite clearly having injured himself. Griffin went from “franchise savior to needing to be saved.” He writes, with NFL reporter Gary Myers, about “the medical mismanagement he suffered, the toxic environment and sexual harassment he witnessed, and the power struggles within—cementing the Washington Football Team’s status as the most dysfunctional organization in professional sports.” Griffin won the Heisman Trophy in 2011 when he played for Baylor University, and was a second-round draft pick by Washington. Atria added that in the book he “plans to hold himself and his former coaches, physicians, and team owner to full account.” Surviving Washington is slated for August 2022. Holt Is Swayed by Hasan’s ‘Argument’ MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan sold How to Win Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public Speaking to Henry Holt. Tim Duggan took North American rights from Pilar Queen and Meredith Miller at United Talent Agency. Holt said the book, set to be published in 2023, “will provide words of wisdom and examples of rhetoric” to “help anyone win any argument.” Miles Sells Bio of Dueling Abolitionists National Book Award winner Tiya Miles (All That She Carried) sold Harriet’s Mirror to Molly Turpin at Random House. The book, RH said, is “a dual literary biography of Harriet Jacobs and Harriet Beecher Stowe that examines both the surprising parallels and stark contrasts in their private lives.” Jacobs was an African American writer, and Stowe, a white writer and fellow abolitionist, was one of her contemporaries. The book will also detail the tensions between them “that foreshadowed contemporary conflicts between white and Black feminists,” as well as “the ways in which Jacobs laid the groundwork for Black feminism today.” Tanya McKinnon at McKinnon Literary handled the world rights agreement for Miles. Children's/YA Deals Roundup New projects this week include debut author Sher Lee's (pictured) Fake Dates and Mooncakes, a contemporary YA rom-com pitched as Crazy Rich Asians meets What If It's Us, in which an aspiring teen chef enters a mooncake-making contest to bring publicity to his aunt’s struggling Chinese restaurant; The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera, a prequel to his bestselling They Both Die at the End; and An Improbable Season by Rosalyn Eves, a YA historical romance inspired by Georgette Heyer's Regency romances with appeal for Bridgerton fans. S&S Nabs Memoir by Surgeon LaSharah Bunting at Simon & Schuster preempted North American rights to a memoir by Ala Stanford, a pediatric surgeon who founded the Black Doctors Covid-19 Consortium. S&S said that in Take Care of Them Like My Own, Stanford recounts “her experiences from an urban Philadelphia childhood to working in the hallowed halls of the top medical institutions, as well as caring for celebrities and the underserved.” The book will also “offer a road map for fixing health inequities and healing her community, from the inside out.” Stanford was represented by Jennifer Weis at the Ross Yoon Agency. 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, 49 West 23rd Street Ninth Floor New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2021, PWxyz LLC

 

Deal of the Week Little, Brown Plucks Harris’s ‘Rose’ Ben George at Little, Brown bought world rights to Nathan Harris’s sophomore novel, The Rose of Jericho. Harris published his debut, The Sweetness of Water, with LB in June, and it went on to become longlisted for the Booker Prize, an Oprah Book Club pick, and a New York Times bestseller. The publisher said the new novel is “a sweeping saga following siblings Coleman and June three years after they have been freed from slavery.” It opens in 1868, a few years after The Sweetness of Water concludes, as the siblings’ former owner has fled Louisiana for Mexico, with June in tow, “on a quixotic mission to form a colony with other Confederate rebels intent on re- creating the antebellum lifestyle to which they were accustomed.” The Rose of Jericho is based loosely on historical records, and the fact that some Confederate supporters fled to Mexico after the Civil War. Emily Forland of Brandt & Hochman represented Harris. Morrow Goes Big on Moning Trilogy Morrow’s May Chen acquired U.S., Canadian, and open market rights to three books by bestselling romance and urban fantasy author Karen Marie Moning in a seven-figure deal. Stacy Testa at Writers House represented Moning. The books will make up a new trilogy, the Watch Hill, that the publisher said is “Lives of the Mayfair Witches meets Mexican Gothic, with a dash of True Blood for good measure.” Book one, scheduled for winter 2023, follows a 24-year-old woman who, in order to receive an unexpected inheritance from a distant relative, must live alone in a large, ominous Louisiana manor. Morrow noted that Moning’s Highlander and Fever series have combined to sell roughly nine million English-language copies. Rowley Does Double at Putnam Steven Rowley (Lily and the Octopus) sold two novels to Sally Kim at Putnam in a North American rights agreement. The first, The Celebrants, is set for 2023 and, Putnam said, “follows a group of close college friends who, after the suicide of one of their own, form a pact to periodically reunite to throw ‘living funerals’ for each other to remind themselves life is worth living.” However, when a member of the group receives bracing medical news, the friends are forced to “confront secrets from the past and weigh their now-middle-aged lives against the idealistic dreams of their youth.” Rob Weisbach at Rob Weisbach Creative Management represented Rowley. Viking Buys George Floyd Bio Washington Post reporters Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa sold North American rights to a biography of George Floyd to Viking executive editor Ibrahim Ahmad. My Name Is George Floyd, set for May 2022, was acquired from Karen Brailsford and Todd Shuster at Aevitas Creative Management. Viking said the book will “reveal how systemic racism shaped George Floyd’s life and legacy—from his family’s roots in the tobacco fields of North Carolina to ongoing inequality in housing, education, healthcare, criminal justice, and policing—telling the singular story of how one man’s tragic experience brought about a global movement of change.” Samuels is a national political reporter and Olorunnipa is a political and investigative reporter at the Post. Children's/YA Deals Roundup New projects this week include Third Daughter and The Second Son, a sapphic YA fantasy duology by Adrienne Tooley (pictured), pitched in the tradition of Three Dark Crowns and Girl, Serpent, Thorn, featuring a crown under siege, an enchanted well of sadness, a ruthless antiheroine, and a slow-burning romance; Control Freaks by J.E. Thomas, a debut contemporary middle grade novel that follows a diverse group of preteens on a quest for their school's inaugural Hunger Games-esque STEAM competition; and Out of Character by debut author Jenna Miller, a queer, fat-positive contemporary YA romance that explores online and offline relationships in all their messiness. Castillo Sells Two to HarperOne For HarperOne, Tara Parsons preempted North American rights to two books, in English and Spanish, by Ana Castillo. (The English-language editions will be published by the HarperVia imprint, while the Spanish-language titles will be published by HarperCollins Español.) The first is a story collection, Doña Cleanwell Leaves Home, and the second is a dystopian novel titled Isabel 2121. The collection, Parsons explained, is about “the secrets that are kept within households, the behaviors born of patriarchal privilege, and the women they impact the most.” The novel is “loosely based on string theory” and recounts the tale of a woman “who exists simultaneously” in the time of the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century and in the year 2121. Castillo (So Far from God) was represented by Johanna Castillo at Writers House. Knopf Nabs Swedish Award Winner John Freeman at Knopf bought world English rights to Linnea Axelsson’s novel Aednan. The novel in verse won the prestigious August Prize in Axelsson’s native Sweden in 2018. Set for a U.S. release in fall 2022, Aednan, Knopf said, follows “two Indigenous Sámi families in northern Sweden, whose fate mirrors Sámi history from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day.” Bonnier rights agent Johanna Lindborg handled the sale. Tyson Gets ‘Cosmic’ at Holt Holt’s Tim Duggan bought North American rights to Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization. Tyson, a bestselling author and director of the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium, was represented by Betsy Lerner at Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. He said Starry Messenger is about how “a cosmic perspective in our collective thinking can save us from ourselves.” Holt added that in the book, which is set for fall 2022, Tyson “reveals how nearly every thought, opinion, and outlook we have on world affairs can be enriched by knowledge of our place on Earth and in the universe.” Berkley Lights Feehan’s ‘Fire’ Brian Feehan, son of the bestselling author Christine Feehan, sold world rights to two books to Cindy Hwang at Berkley. The publisher said the first, Harmony of Fire, will launch a paranormal romance series about “ancient beings filled with powerful magic, and the Etherealists, rare humans born with magic and a target for the otherworldly beings who wish to take it.” Steve Axelrod at the Axelrod Agency represented Feehan. Harmony of Fire is slated for summer 2022. Plantinga Takes It ‘Easy’ at Grand Central For Grand Central Publishing, Wes Miller preempted world rights to Adam Plantinga’s debut thriller, Nothing Like Easy. Plantinga, a sergeant in the San Francisco Police Department, was represented by Caitlin Blasdell at Liza Dawson Associates. The publisher said the book, set for 2024, is “about a Detroit cop forced into early retirement who crosses paths with a corrupt small-town sheriff and finds the system he once represented turned against him.” 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, 49 West 23rd Street Ninth Floor New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2021, PWxyz LLC

 

Deal of the Week Grand Central Lands Mustill’s ‘Whale’ After a six-way auction, Grand Central’s Colin Dickerman won North American rights to Tom Mustill’s How to Speak Whale for six figures. The book was sold by Susanna Lea, who has an eponymous shingle, on behalf of her colleague Kerry Glencourse in London. Lea said How to Speak Whale is “a thrilling investigation into whale science and animal communication” that asks what would happen if animals and humans could meaningfully interact. Mustill is a biologist and Emmy-winning producer who’s worked with, among others, David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg. Winger Goes ‘Old Fashioned’ at Park Row At auction, Margaret Marbury and Erika Imranyi at Park Row Books won Jill Winger’s Old Fashioned on Purpose in a mid-six-figure North American and open rights deal. Winger (The Prairie Homestead Cookbook) was represented by Anna Petkovich and Sarah Passick at Park & Fine Literary and Media and is the creator of the Prairie Homestead digital brand (which encompasses a podcast, newsletter, and blog that, per Park Row, averages a million monthly page views). The publisher said the book is “a collection of personal stories and lessons learned from life on the homestead, encouraging readers to embrace the joys of old-fashioned living—such as growing your own food and logging offline.” Bloomsbury Nabs Hunt Collection National Book Award finalist Laird Hunt sold a currently untitled short story collection to Callie Garnett at Bloomsbury. The book, Bloomsbury said, is “a lapidary portrait of Reagan-era rural life that tracks a group of achingly real and restless characters through one summer day in an Indiana farming town in 1982.” Anna Stein at ICM Partners brokered the North American rights agreement. Scribner Wins Cotman’s Debut Novel Elwin Cotman’s The Age of Ignorance was acquired by Kathy Belden at Scribner for six figures after a multi-house auction. The debut novel, Scribner said, is “a dramedy about the friendship between two Black transient punks seeking to find themselves in the San Francisco Bay Area while dealing with the anger and protest following a racially motivated murder at the hands of the police.” Cotman, who’s written three short story collections (including Dance on a Saturday, which was named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2020), was represented in the North American rights agreement by Mark Gottlieb at Trident Media Group. Children's/YA Deals Roundup New projects this week include Throwback by Maurene Goo (pictured), the story of what happens when second-generation teen Sam Kang finds herself transported to the 1990s, and has to face an analog world, regressive attitudes, and—worst of all—her teenaged mother, pitched as Back to the Future meets Ladybird; Artifice by Sharon Cameron (The Light in Hidden Places), set in 1940s Amsterdam about a girl who sells art forgeries to the Nazis in order to fund the rescue of Jewish babies through the Dutch resistance; and Artifacts of an Ex by Jennifer Chen, a debut YA novel in which Chloe receives a shoebox of memories from her ex-boyfriend and decides to host a break-up box art show, only to meet Daniel, a boy who she can't help but start to fall for. Mollen Gets Satirical at Nacelle The debut novel City of Like by Jenny Mollen was acquired by the recently created NacelleBooks division at Nacelle Company, which produces and distributes scripted and unscripted films and TV shows, including the Netflix series Down to Earth with Zac Efron. Mollen, an actor and bestselling author (Live Fast and Die Hot), was represented by Haley Heidemann at William Morris Endeavor. The publisher called the book a satire about “the seductive allure of social media, as well as an unsettling portrait of female relationships, motherhood, and our ‘pics or it didn’t happen’ culture.” Scribner Wins Cotman’s Debut Novel Elwin Cotman’s The Age of Ignorance was acquired by Kathy Belden at Scribner for six figures after a multi-house auction. The debut novel, Scribner said, is “a dramedy about the friendship between two Black transient punks seeking to find themselves in the San Francisco Bay Area while dealing with the anger and protest following a racially motivated murder at the hands of the police.” Cotman, who’s written three short story collections (including Dance on a Saturday, which was named one of NPR’s Best Books of 2020), was represented in the North American rights agreement by Mark Gottlieb at Trident Media Group. Stephens Comes ‘Clean’ for St. Martin’s Bestseller Gin Stephens (Fast, Feast, Repeat) inked a world English rights, two-book deal with Elizabeth Beier at St. Martin’s Griffin. The first title under contract, Clean(ish): Eat (Mostly) Clean, Live (Mainly) Clean, and Unlock Your Body’s Natural Ability to Self-Clean, is set for January 2022 and, Griffin said, strives to help readers “focus on real foods and a healthier home environment free of obvious toxins.” The second book in the deal is currently untitled. Jaidree Braddix at Park & Fine Literary and Media represented Stephens. 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, 49 West 23rd Street Ninth Floor New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2021, PWxyz LLC

 

Deal of the Week Balibrera’s ‘Daughters’ Go to Pantheon After an auction, Naomi Gibbs at Pantheon won The Volcano Daughters by Gina María Balibrera for six figures. The debut novel is Gibbs’s first purchase at the Penguin Random House imprint. It follows two sisters who flee El Salvador during the 1930s, escaping La Matanza (the Massacre)—mass killings perpetrated by the government in response to a peasant uprising. The girls make stops in California and Paris, Pantheon explained, and are “each watched over by a chorus of furies, the ghosts of their childhood friends who were killed in La Matanza but are not done telling their own stories.” Balibrera, a former independent bookseller with an MFA from the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan, was represented by Stephanie Delman at Trellis Literary Management. Dorman Likes Baszile’s ‘People’ In a world rights agreement, Pamela Dorman, who has an eponymous imprint at Penguin Random House, bought Good People, the sophomore novel by Natalie Baszile. Baszile, whose 2014 debut Queen Sugar was adapted into an OWN series of the same name, was represented by Kimberly Witherspoon at Inkwell Management. Good People spins around an incident in an upscale San Francisco neighborhood in which the police are called about the adopted Black son of a white family. The publisher elaborated that the book is a “what-would-you-do” tale about “the nuances of class, race, wealth, and education, centering on two best friends, one Black and one white.” Good People is slated for summer 2023. Reynolds Re-ups at Avery Gretchen Reynolds (The First 20 Minutes) sold her second book, Quick: The New Science of How Little Exercise We Can, Maybe, Get Away With, to Avery’s Caroline Sutton. The book, Avery said, is derived from Reynolds’s work as a wellness reporter for the New York Times and offers “a deeper understanding of how and why movement affects the human body” and “how much exercise we really need.” Sam Stoloff at the Francis Goldin Literary Agency sold world English rights to Quick, which is tentatively scheduled for spring 2024. Children's/YA Deals Roundup New projects this week include The Encanto's Daughter by Blue Bloods author Melissa de la Cruz (pictured), a YA fantasy duology inspired by Filipino folklore; The Only Girl in Town by bestselling YA novelist Ally Condie, about a teen who wakes up to discover that everyone she knows and loves has disappeared; and The Rules of Us by Jennifer Nissley, pitched as the intersection between Becky Albertalli and Nina LaCour in a queer YA love story about longtime couple and best friends Jillian and Henry, who have dated throughout high school only to come out to each other on prom night. Sutanto Sells Five to Berkley Bestselling author Jesse Q. Sutanto (Dial A for Aunties) inked a five-book, North American rights agreement with Berkley. Cindy Hwang bought the novels from Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management. The first book under contract, I’m Not Done with You Yet, is slated for fall 2022 and is, Berkley said, “about the complex and twisted friendship between two women writers—one successful and the other not—and the obsession one has with the other.” The publisher compared the novel to The Woman in the Window, adding that it “serves as a powerful discussion on racial stereotypes, classism, and social status.” The other books in the deal include another standalone thriller, the third and fourth entries in the author’s Meddelin Chan series, and a standalone romantic comedy. Lee’s ‘Shot’ Lands at Dell Dell’s Shauna Summers won North American rights to Victoria Lee’s adult debut, A Shot in the Dark. The contemporary queer romance, sold in a two-book agreement by Holly Root and Taylor Haggerty at Root Literary, is about a young artist who returns to New York City to study under a famous photographer, who is “now sober and ready to face the ghosts of the past.” 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, 49 West 23rd Street Ninth Floor New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2021, PWxyz LLC

 

Deal of the Week Knopf Unveils Newman’s Lost Memoir Reagan Arthur at Knopf bought world rights at auction to a currently untitled memoir by Paul Newman from Beth Davey at Davey Literary & Media. The actor, who died in 2008, began working on the book in the 1980s but never finished it; transcripts of recordings he made for it were recently discovered in the Connecticut home of Newman’s wife Joanne Woodward. The publisher said the memoir will include “Newman’s thoughts on acting, directing, boyhood, family, fame, Hollywood, Broadway, love, his first marriage, his 50-year marriage to Woodward, drinking, politics, racing, his ultimate ride to stardom, and aging gracefully.” Peter Gethers will edit the book, which is slated for fall 2022. Hoffman’s ‘Love Myth’ Uplifts Seal At auction, Seal Press’s Kyle Gipson won world English rights to Damona Hoffman’s The Modern Love Myth. Hoffman, who was represented by Stephanie Kim and Joanna Volpe at New Leaf Literary & Media, writes the “Dear Damona” column for the Los Angeles Times and also starred in the A&E reality dating series #BlackLove. Seal said the book is “a sociological deep dive that targets and breaks down the outdated relationship ideals—including religion, race, gender, and more—that hinder people’s ability to find love.” Putnam Takes On an Agent’s Debut Jennifer Herrera’s debut novel, The Hunter, was preempted in a world rights agreement by Putnam’s Danielle Dietrich. Herrera, a literary agent at the David Black Agency, was represented by Heather Jackson at the Heather Jackson Agency. Putnam said the book follows a former NYPD detective “who returns to uncover the rotten secrets at the heart of her beautiful Midwestern hometown, and along the way must face the truths she has hidden from herself.” The Hunter is set for winter 2023. Children's/YA Deals Roundup New projects this week include a duology by YA author Joan He (pictured), author of The Ones We’re Meant to Find, beginning with Strike the Zither, a reimagining of the Chinese military epic "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"; Finders & Seekers by Natasha Tarpley (I Love My Hair!), a supernatural middle grade series featuring five students living on the South Side of Chicago; and Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood, a sapphic fantasy YA debut that reimagines the fate of Penelope's hanged maids in The Odyssey. Sherman Cooks for Clarkson Potter Sean Sherman, owner of the Minneapolis restaurant Owamni, sold Turtle Island: The Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America to Clarkson Potter. Francis Lam took world English rights (excluding Canada) to the book at auction from Jonah Straus at Straus Literary. The book features roughly 200 recipes and offers, the publisher said, “a continent-spanning look at the foodways and history of the numerous tribes and first peoples of what is now the United States, Mexico, and Canada.” It also tells the stories of “the cooks, farmers, seed savers, and artisans that have kept these traditions alive.” Writing the book with Sherman is food scholar Elizabeth Hoover and food writer Kristin Donnelly. Astra Navigates Oliva’s ‘Rivermouth’ Danny Vazquez at Astra House preempted world rights to Rivermouth, the debut by Alejandra Oliva, a translator for asylum seekers. The publisher said the narrative nonfiction book examines “the humanitarian crisis we call the American immigration system.” It “orbits around a physical space in which Oliva has worked and a unifying metaphor: the river as the waterway that separates the United States and Mexico, as well as the river of meaning that translators are responsible for forging.” Oliva was represented by Dana Murphy at the Book Group; Rivermouth is set for spring 2023. Hanover Prays to Dorfman’s ‘Priestess’ John Glynn at Hanover Square Press preempted world rights to The High Priestess, a memoir by 13 Reasons Why actor and LGBTQ activist Tommy Dorfman. Dorfman was represented by Andy McNicol at AMstudio. The publisher said the book is structured around a tarot card reading and “chronicles Dorfman’s early childhood, her struggles with addiction, her relationships, and her journey to self-acceptance.” 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, 49 West 23rd Street Ninth Floor New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2021, PWxyz LLC

 

Deal of the Week Gurnah’s ‘Afterlives’ Endure at Riverhead Abdulrazak Gurnah, winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature, sold U.S. rights to his newest novel Afterlives to Rebecca Saletan at Riverhead. The publisher said Afterlives is set in East Africa and follows three characters swept up in the “brutal colonization” of the region in the early to mid-20th century. It called the novel a “sweeping, multigenerational saga of displacement, loss, and love.” The England-based and Zanzibar-born author was represented by Peter Straus at RCW Literary. Also included in the deal are two backlist titles, By the Sea and Desertion. Afterlives is set for August 2022. S&S Goes on Mann’s ‘Mission’ After a 10-publisher auction, The Last Mission by retired Special Forces Lt. Col. Scott Mann and ABC News investigative reporter James Gordon sold to Robert Messenger at Simon & Schuster. Howard Yoon at the Ross Yoon Agency handled the North American rights agreement. The book follows, S&S said, a group of experts and civilians led by Mann who oversaw an operation, dubbed the Pineapple Express, that smuggled roughly 600 Afghans out of their country, pulling them from Kabul’s “Taliban-encircled airport in the final days of America’s longest war.” Grand Central Buys RH Staffer’s Debut Karen Kosztolnyik at Grand Central acquired North American rights to The Carnivale of Curiosities by Amiee Gibbs. The Victorian-set speculative debut was sold by Julie Barer at the Book Group. The publisher said it follows a traveling circus run by a magician with the power to make dreams come true. The magician is “drawn into an insidious contract” by a wealthy Londoner. Grand Central described the novel as “in the vein of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Johannes Cabal the Necromancer, and The Night Circus by way of Bleak House.” Gibbs is a sales manager at Penguin Random House who works with independent bookstores. The Carnivale of Curiosities is set for summer 2023. Children's/YA Deals Roundup New projects this week include Aleema Omotoni's (pictured) Everyone's Thinking It, a debut YA novel pitched as a loose reimagining of A Midsummer Night's Dream if Shakespeare grew up watching Mean Girls and Dear White People, in which Nigerian cousins Iyanu and Kitan are thrown into the middle of a schoolwide conspiracy at an elite British boarding school; The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker, a dark YA fantasy duology set in an alternate Tang Dynasty China, where alchemy has led to income inequality as the rich eat gold to achieve eternal youth; and Picture Perfect Boyfriend by Becky Dean, in which an aspiring photographer is forced to play along when, after lying about having the ideal boyfriend, the fictional guy shows up during her family vacation to Maui. Knopf Cradles Blair’s ‘Baby’ Selma Blair sold Mean Baby to Knopf. In the memoir, the Cruel Intentions actor and model describes her career, her struggles with drugs, and her life with multiple sclerosis. Reagan Arthur bought North American rights from Brettne Bloom at the Book Group, and Jennifer Jackson will edit. Subtitled A Memoir of Growing Up, the book, Knopf said, delves into Blair’s “adolescence of love and pain, her destructive ways of coping with an illness she did not know she had, her struggles and successes in Hollywood, and her battle with depression as a young mother.” Mean Baby is slated for April 2022. Bourland Does Double at Dutton Lindsey Rose at Dutton bought world rights to two books by Edgar Award finalist Barbara Bourland. The Force of Beauty, set for July 2022, follows a princess who “begins to reevaluate her life after a failed attempt to escape” from her kingdom, Dutton said, and explores how power structures “rest on the subjugation of women’s bodies.” Fields and Waves, set for 2024, follows a woman who can hear other people’s thoughts and is sent on “a remarkable journey into the peculiar and fascinating world of electromagnetism and neuroscience.” R&L Wins Kliegman’s ‘Game’ World rights to Mind Game by Julie Kliegman were acquired by Christen Karniski at Rowman & Littlefield. Kliegman is the copy chief at Sports Illustrated and was represented by Iris Blasi at the Carol Mann Agency. Subtitled An Inside Look at the Mental Health Playbook of Elite Athletes, the book examines, Blasi said, “how elite athletes ranging from Simone Biles to LeBron James have struggled with and persevered through mental illness and other mental health issues.” 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, 49 West 23rd Street Ninth Floor New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2021, PWxyz LLC

 

Deal of the Week Broom Moves to Hogarth In a North American rights agreement, David Ebershoff at Penguin Random House’s Hogarth imprint bought three books by Sarah M. Broom. Broom won the National Book Award for Nonfiction and the NBCC John Leonard Prize for Best First Book for her debut, 2019’s The Yellow House. She was represented by Suzanne Gluck at William Morris Endeavor. Hogarth said the three new titles are connected thematically and will use “personal narrative, reportage, archival research, and cultural criticism” to “take readers on a collective journey.” Broom will explore “what it means to be a Black woman wanderer, mount an architectural survey of teeth and the infrastructure of the body, and finally, in returning home, will explore New Orleans through its history of Black homeownership.” The first book under contract, which is currently untitled, is scheduled for 2025. Elston’s ‘Lie’ Seduces Dorman For her eponymous imprint at Penguin Random House, Pamela Dorman preempted North American rights to Ashley Elston’s debut adult novel, First Lie Wins. The publisher said the book is set for summer 2023 and called it a “stylish cat-and-mouse suspense story for fans of Laura Dave and Liv Constantine.” First Lie Wins follows a woman who works multiple jobs for a mysterious employer under varied aliases. Sarah Landis at Sterling Lord Literistic represented Elston and has also sold the book in the U.K. (to Headline, in a six-figure preempt), Brazil, Germany, Greece and elsewhere. Ko Takes ‘Jackie and Giselle’ to Riverhead Riverhead’s Sarah McGrath bought North American rights to Jackie and Giselle, by National Book Award finalist Lisa Ko (The Leavers). Ayesha Pande at Pande Literary Agency brokered the agreement. The publisher said the novel is “both sweeping and intimate,” beginning in the 1980s and moving through the 2040s. It follows three Asian American women in New York City who “fight expectations to pursue creative and meaningful lives in a future radically different from the one they were promised.” The publisher has not yet announced a pub date. knk Frankfurt Bookfair Special Missed our Frankfurt Bookfair Webinar Program? No problem! Request our webinar recordings to learn more about the latest technology trends for publishers and media companies. Webinars included “Product Lifecycle Management in knkPublishing – From the First Idea to Final Production,” “Handling of Royalties in Times of Distributed Royalties,” and “Finance for Publishers – Advantages of an Integrated System.” (Sponsored) Children's/YA Deals Roundup New projects this week include Rise of the Vicious Princess by C.J. Redwine (pictured), first in a YA fantasy duology that introduces a fierce princess so devoted to defending her nation that she takes on a dual life: perfect princess by day, ruthless assassin by night; This Time It's Real by Ann Liang, a YA rom-com about a teen writer who is thrown in the spotlight after her made-up personal essay about her non-existent boyfriend goes viral; and Grounded by S.K. Ali, Huda Al-Marashi, Aisha Saeed, and Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow, a middle grade novel pitched as The Breakfast Club meets Hello Universe, about four unlikely kids who meet at the airport when their flights get grounded, changing their lives forever. Legacy Lit Buys Hylton’s ‘Madness’ Antonia Hylton sold Madness: Crownsville, the Search for Sanity in a Segregated Asylum, and the Legacy of Race in Mental Health to Krishan Trotman at Hachette’s Legacy Lit imprint. The author, who is a correspondent for both NBC News and MSNBC, was represented by Johanna Castillo at Writers House, Eric Ortner of the Ortner Group, and Ethan Cohan of Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein & Lezcano. Castillo said Madness examines one of America’s only segregated asylums with surviving records and a still-existing campus. The titular Maryland hospital was in operation from 1911 through 2004. In the book, Hylton explores “how the legacy of slavery and racist stereotypes of Black people’s bodies and minds ultimately paved the way to the criminalization and stigmatization of Black patients.” Trotman acquired world rights in the deal, and the book is slated for fall 2023. Grove Nabs Book on 2020 Election Morgan Entrekin bought world rights to Mark Bowden and Mathew Teague’s The Steal: The Attempt to Overturn the 2020 Election and the People Who Stopped It for Grove Atlantic’s Atlantic Monthly Press imprint. Grove said the title, set for January 2022, is a “week-by-week, state-by-state account” of “this historic assault on our democracy.” Bowden, who was represented by attorney Drew Bowden, has written 15 books, including the bestseller Black Hawk Down. Teague contributes to various magazines, including the Atlantic, and was represented by David Black at the David Black Literary Agency. 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, 49 West 23rd Street Ninth Floor New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2021, PWxyz LLC

 

Deal of the Week Morrow Buys Kuang’s ‘Yellowface’ In a mid-six-figure deal, May Chen at William Morrow preempted world English rights (jointly with Ann Bissell at HarperCollins UK imprint Borough Press) to Rebecca F. Kuang’s Yellowface. Morrow, which compared the novel to White Ivy and The Other Black Girl, said it tackles “questions of diversity and racism in publishing and the erasure of Asian American voices and history.” Kuang was represented in the agreement by Hannah Bowman at Liza Dawson Associates. Morrow said Yellowface follows “a white author who steals an unpublished manuscript, written by a more successful Asian American novelist who died in a freak accident, and publishes it as her own.” Kuang is the author of the Poppy War fantasy trilogy (which won, among other awards, a Hugo and a Nebula) and has master’s degrees in Chinese studies from Cambridge and Oxford. She’s currently pursuing her PhD in East Asian languages and literatures at Yale. Chaker Reassesses ‘Beauty’ for Avery Wall Street Journal features writer Anne Marie Chaker sold Beauty and the Beast to Lucia Watson at Avery. The author is also a professional bodybuilder, and the nonfiction book, subtitled Weightlifting and the Fulfillment of Female Strength, is her debut. Beauty and the Beast, Avery said, is “a deeply reported look at the history of the female ideal and origins of ‘skinny.’ ” It “offers a road map for women to build—rather than diminish—themselves.” Todd Shuster at Aevitas Creative Management handled the North American and open market rights deal for Chaker. Beauty and the Beast is slated for spring 2023. McMeel Puts on Vittoria’s ‘Big Girl Pants’ In a world English rights agreement, Stacey Glick at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret sold Amber Vittoria’s These Are My Big Girl Pants to Patty Rice at Andrews McMeel. The illustrated poetry collection is set to be released in book format in 2023, and then as a calendar in 2024. Vittoria’s work, Glick said, “leverages naive artistic approaches, such as simple line and bold swaths of color, to abstractly depict relatable tales of what it is like to be a woman.” She added that Big Girl Pants explores “becoming oneself in a world with the male gaze, and being okay with one’s changing physical and emotional self.” knk Webinar Special 10/20-10/22/2021 Learn more about the latest technology trends for publishers and media companies. Webinars include “Product Lifecycle Management in knkPublishing – From the First Idea to Final Production”, “Handling of Royalties in Times of Distributed Royalties” as well as “Finance for Publishers – Advantages of an Integrated System”. Get Your Appointment or Sign Up for Our Webinar Program. (Sponsored) Children's/YA Deals Roundup New projects this week include Arcadia by debut author Willow Naomi Curry (pictured), an intergenerational mystery that follows one family's attempts to uncover the impact of environmental racism on their historically Black Houston neighborhood; fantasy middle grade novel Hither & Nigh and a sequel by Ellen Potter, about a group of kids uncovering their magical powers as they discover a hidden New York City, where monsters roam Central Park, Finfolk haunt the Hudson River, and the fate of a missing boy is in their hands; and What Happened to Rachel Riley by Claire Swinarski, a middle grade novel pitched as Where'd You Go Bernadette? for tweens and told through a series of texts, emails, and podcast transcriptions, which follows new kid Anna Hunt as she investigates why Rachel Riley, the former golden girl of middle school, is now a pariah. Tor Eyes Ward’s ‘Looking Glass’ For six figures, Kelly Lonesome at Tor Nightlife acquired North American rights to two new novels by Catriona Ward (The Last House on Needless Street). The author was represented by Robin Straus at Robin Straus Agency, in association with Andrew Nurnberg Associates. The first book, Looking Glass Sound, is set for March 2023 and follows a writer who, after a failed marriage, rents a New England cottage where, Tor said, “he intends to pen his final novel based on his now-dead nemesis.” At press time, the publisher hadn’t provided details on the second book in the deal. Ward has won a variety of literary awards, including the British Fantasy Award for Best Horror for her novel Little Eve (which was released in the U.K. in 2018 and is being published by Nightfire in the U.S. in October 2022). Berkley Is Fired Up for Lux’s ‘Sign’ Berkley’s Jen Monroe preempted world rights to Claudia Lux’s debut, Sign Here, in an exclusive-submission two-book deal. Sign Here, Berkley said, is a “genre-bending” tale about a guy working in hell (literally), who, in order to land a promotion, must convince a member of a wealthy family to sell their soul. Monroe said the novel is like “The Good Place if it were a thriller,” and that it explores ideas about “family, memory, morality, and the all-consuming power of love.” Lucy Cleland at Kneerim & Williams represented Lux, whose father was the poet Thomas Lux. Sign Here is set to bow as one of Berkley’s lead titles in fall 2022. The second book in the deal is currently untitled. 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, 49 West 23rd Street Ninth Floor New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2021, PWxyz LLC

Deal of the Week Scout Nabs Buzzy Swedish Novel Scout Press’s Alison Callahan preempted North American rights to Swedish journalist Jens Liljestrand’s Even If Everything Ends. The Simon & Schuster imprint touted the novel as “the book of the Frankfurt Book Fair season,” and it has, to date, sold in 18 countries. Everything Ends, Scout said, puts the climate crisis in stark relief by chronicling “how the struggles of ordinary people go on even as the world as we know it is coming to an end.” The novel is Liljestrand’s English-language debut, but his biography of writer Vilhem Moberg was nominated for Sweden’s prestigious August Prize. Liljestrand was represented in the agreement by Astri von Arbin Ahlander at the Ahlander Agency. Metcalfe Emerges from ‘Chrysalis’ at RH In a preempt, Clio Setraphim at Random House bought U.S. rights to Chrysalis by Anna Metcalfe. RH said the debut novel—which has also sold in the U.K., Canada, and Germany—tells the story of “a young woman’s self-actualization through a strange physical metamorphosis,” from the perspectives of three people who know her at different stages of her life. Chrysalis tackles themes of “desire, loneliness, body image, cultural toxicity, and authenticity in the digital age.” Metcalfe, who was born in Germany and now lives in the U.K., was represented by Nicola Chang at David Higham Associates. Qualls’s ‘Fros’ Finds a Home at HC For mid-six figures, Alyson Day at HarperCollins won North American rights to Sean Qualls’s Fros, Waves, Fades & Braids, along with two other books, at auction. Holly McGhee at Pippin Properties represented Qualls. She said Fros, Waves, Fades & Braids, set for fall 2023, is “a tribute to the beauty and history of Black hair” and grew out of the author’s desire “to tell a rich and timely story about Black culture in America via one of its most quintessential qualities.” Norton Listens to Semenya’s ‘Silence’ In a deal for U.S., Canadian, and open market rights, Norton bought Silence All the Noise by South African Olympic gold medalist Caster Semenya. The memoir was acquired by Nneoma Amadi-obi from Peter McGuigan at Ultra Literary, on behalf of Semenya’s manager, Becky Motumo at Afrimogul. Semenya has been at the center of controversy in the world of elite athletics since being barred from competing in the Tokyo Olympics because of her high testosterone levels. Silence All the Noise, Norton said, covers “Caster’s childhood in rural South Africa, her running career, and her experience as an intersex woman in professional sports.” knk Webinar Special 10/20-10/22/2021 Learn more about the latest technology trends for publishers and media companies. Webinars include “Product Lifecycle Management in knkPublishing – From the First Idea to Final Production”, “Handling of Royalties in Times of Distributed Royalties” as well as “Finance for Publishers – Advantages of an Integrated System”. Sign up now. (Sponsored) Children's/YA Deals Roundup New projects this week include Rhythm & Muse by India Hill Brown (pictured), a YA debut pitched as Cinderella meets Cyrano, about a Black teen boy who, after deciding to admire his dream girl from afar, anonymously writes a romantic song for her that becomes the front runner in a theme song contest for her popular podcast; I Kick and I Fly by activist and documentarian Ruchira Gupta, a YA social justice action-adventure inspired by true events, about a girl in India who escapes being sold into the sex trade when a local hostel owner helps her to understand the value of her body through kung fu; and Chili & Spaghetti and Other Dynamic Duos by Jenn Bishop, a, multi-POV contemporary middle grade novel, in which eighth graders Abby and Rory embark on a secret friendship after discovering that their fathers, now rival college basketball coaches, experienced a falling out of their own decades ago. Walters Sells Memoir to Simon Nicole Walters, star of the USA Network show She’s the Boss, sold a currently untitled memoir to Simon Element. Leah Trouwborst took North American rights from Anthony Mattero at CAA. The book, the publisher said, “will tell readers how, despite being the child of immigrants, Walters learned to question the American Dream narrative” and “forged an alternative path to personal fulfillment based on emotional and financial independence.” The memoir is slated for 2023. Duke Buys a Celebrated Scottish Novel Elizabeth Ault at Duke University Press bought U.S. rights to Shola von Reinhold’s Lote. The novel, set for June 2022, has already been published in the U.K., where it won both the James Tait Black Prize and the Republic of Consciousness Prize. It follows, Duke said, a woman who is obsessed with the little-known Black Scottish poet Hermia Duitt and explores “aesthetics, beauty, and the ephemeral realm in which they exist.” Von Reinhold is from Glasgow and was represented by Odom Media Management. 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, 49 West 23rd Street Ninth Floor New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2021, PWxyz LLC

 

Deal of the Week Brown Exposes the Crown for Crown At Random House’s Crown imprint, Gillian Blake bought U.S. rights to Tina Brown’s The Palace Papers. The publisher said the book, subtitled Inside the House of Windsor—the Truth and the Turmoil, is set to be published Apr. 12, 2022, and will detail how “the monarchy reinvented itself after the traumatic years when Diana’s blazing celebrity ripped through the House of Windsor like a comet.” Continuing the examination that Brown, a founder of the Daily Beast and former editor of the New Yorker, began in 2007’s The Diana Chronicles, The Palace Papers is “full of powerful revelations, nuanced details, and searing insights” and will “irrevocably change the way readers perceive and understand the Royal Family.” Blake is set to coedit the book with Ben Brusey, publishing director at Century, a division of Penguin Random House UK, which will release it simultaneously. Eric Simonoff at William Morris Endeavor represented Brown in the deal. Tor Invests in Self-Published ‘Six’ In a U.S. rights agreement, Tor bought Olivie Blake’s The Atlas Six and two other novels. The planned trilogy was sold by Molly McGhee via Amelia Appel at Triada US Literary Agency. The Atlas Six was self-published in 2020 and went on, Tor said, to become a bestseller at numerous online retailers. The book features “magicians vying to join a secret society” and asks “at what cost does knowledge come?” McGhee compared it to Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. The e-book edition of The Atlas Six is now available from Tor, and a revised edition will become available in both e-book and hardcover in March 2022. Blake is one of the pen names of Alexene Farol Follmuth, who has written a number of SFF projects; her YA book My Mechanical Romance, written under her real name, will be published by Holiday House in May 2022. Carroll’s ‘IRA Plot’ Unravels at Putnam Mark Tavani at Putnam bought North American rights to Rory Carroll’s There Will Be Fire, after what the publisher said was a “competitive auction.” The book, subtitled The IRA Plot to Kill Margaret Thatcher and the Hunt for the Bomber, is set for 2023. Carroll, a reporter for the Guardian, was represented by Will Lippincott at Aevitas Creative Management. According to Putnam, There Will Be Fire is the first in-depth examination of the 1984 IRA bombing in Brighton that threatened the life of then–prime minister Margaret Thatcher and “led to one of the greatest manhunts in British history.” It will detail “how the incident altered the course of two nations.” Foreign rights to the book have sold to publishers in, among other countries, the U.K. and Spain. Children's/YA Deals Roundup New projects this week include This Town Is on Fire by Pamela N. Harris (pictured), a mystery about a Black girl whose best friend becomes the latest "Becky" on the internet, pitched as Little Fires Everywhere meets I'm Not Dying with You Tonight; Danielle Valentine‘s How to Survive Your Murder, in which a 17-year-old is sent back to the night of her sister's murder and has until midnight to figure out who the killer is or risk losing her sister forever, pitched as a YA slasher version of It's a Wonderful Life; and The Black Queen by debut author Jumata Emill, a YA thriller set in the deep South, in which Lovett High School's first Black homecoming queen is murdered the night of her coronation, and her best friend finds an unlikely ally in the search for her killer—her white rival nominee, who is the prime suspect in her death. Medie’s ‘Nightbloom’ Lights Up Algonquin Ghanaian author Peace Adzo Medie sold Nightbloom to Algonquin’s Kathy Pories. The world rights agreement was brokered by Kiele Raymond at Thompson Literary. The novel follows two girls from Ghana who, the publisher said, “grow up to lead very different lives an ocean apart,” until a family crisis reunites them 20 years later. Nightbloom, Algonquin added, “attests to the strength of female bonds.” Medie’s debut novel, His Only Wife, was a Reese Book Club Pick and a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Dial Goes ‘Dark’ with Schuster Glow in the F*cking Dark, a mix of memoir and self-help by Tara Schuster, was acquired in a world rights agreement by Annie Chagnot at the Dial Press. Monika Verma at Levine Greenberg Rostan represented the author. Dial said the title “inspires readers to heal their pasts, get off the ‘good enough’ plateau, and light up their souls so that they can radiate strength and certainty even in the worst of circumstances.” Schuster (Buy Yourself F*cking Lillies) is a former executive at Comedy Central. Atria Visits Hays’s ‘Cloisters’ Atria Books bought world rights to The Cloisters by Katy Hays and said it plans on making the novel its lead title for spring 2023. Natalie Hallak preempted the book, in her first acquisition for the Simon & Schuster imprint, from Sarah Phair at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. The Cloisters follows a woman who joins a group of researchers at the Cloisters (the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s satellite in Upper Manhattan that focuses on medieval art) and is drawn into a mystery after one of her colleagues turns up dead. Atria said the debut was pitched as “The Maidens meets Ninth House” and called it “a propulsive tale of toxic obsession, the lethal effects of unbridled ambition, and the echoing consequences of the choices we make.” Hays was previously a PhD candidate in art history at UC Berkeley. Robin’s ‘Stars’ Shine at Orbit At Orbit, Angeline Rodriguez bought world English rights to Emery Robin’s The Stars Undying from Fox Literary’s Isabel Kaufman. The publisher said the debut novel, which is slated for fall 2022, is “a space opera inspired by the lives of Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, and Mark Antony.” In it, a princess must choose between “an ambitious commander (and his beautiful and volatile lieutenant) and the wishes of the god—or machine—that whispers in her ear.” Robin is a paralegal who lives in New York City. Nat Geo Gets Luxurious with Fitzsimmons In a world rights acquisition, Allyson Johnson at National Geographic Books bought 100 Hotels of a Lifetime by Annie Fitzsimmons. The publisher said the book, subtitled The World’s Ultimate Stays and slated for fall 2025, is an illustrated guide to “the grand histories, one-of-a-kind experiences, and lush hideaways of 100 of the world’s most remarkable hotels.” Fitzsimmons is the luxury travel and advisor editor at Afar Media. She did not use an agent in the deal. 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, 49 West 23rd Street Ninth Floor New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2021, PWxyz LLC

 

Deal of the Week Boylan, Picoult Team Up for Ballantine Mad Honey by bestselling authors Jennifer Boylan and Jodi Picoult was acquired by Ballantine’s Jennifer Hershey in a world rights (excluding British Commonwealth) deal. The publisher said the novel, which grew out of an exchange the authors had on Twitter, is about “what we choose to keep from our past, and what we choose to leave behind.” Mad Honey is slated for October 2022. Boylan was represented in the agreement by Kris Dahl at ICM Partners, and Picoult was represented by Laura Gross of Laura Gross Literary Agency. Atria Nabs Armas’s TikTok Sensation For Atria, Kaitlin Olson won North American rights, at auction, to The Spanish Love Deception and its sequel, The American Roommate Experiment, by Elena Armas. The Spanish Love Deception was self-published in February and went on to become a viral hit, largely through TikTok, according to Atria. The novel follows “enemies-to-lovers coworkers who become entangled when one needs a date to a wedding in Spain.” Jessica Watterson at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency represented Armas, and her firm also closed a number of foreign rights deals for the books, including with houses in Croatia, Hungary, and the U.K. Atria will release a new print edition of The Spanish Love Deception in February 2022. Baker Gets ‘Rooted’ at One World Rooted by Brea Baker was preempted by Nicole Counts at One World. The North American rights agreement for the book, subtitled The American Legacy of Land Theft and the Modern Movement for Black Land Ownership, was brokered by Johanna Castillo at Writers House. Rooted focuses on land theft, which the publisher said is a major contributor to the racial wealth gap and “one of the nation’s first sins.” Baker, a writer and activist, explores her own family history in the book to show the legacy of land theft and “chart a path forward.” Children's/YA Deals Roundup New projects this week include Improbable Magic for Cynical Witches, a romantic coming-of-age YA by Kate Scelsa (pictured), playwright and author of Fans of the Impossible Life, in which Salem’s self-declared biggest Eleanor finds her disbelief tested when a mysterious guide to tarot leads her to a crush-worthy witch named Pix; a debut middle grade duology by Jason Sheehan, about a nearly teenage thief, his best friend, and a 400-year-old robot passing as a 12-year-old girl, which follows the friends through the first three days of summer in a mysterious city as they flee violence, betrayal, and war in their attempt to learn the truth of where they came from; and The Girl That Time Forgot by Victoria Lee, pitched as a sapphic The Umbrella Academy meets A Thousand Pieces of You, in which a teenage girl, one of five adepts training in a mysterious new magic, discovers that her fellow trainees have recently murdered someone and are planning to kill again unless she can stop them. Cain Is ‘Bittersweet’ for Crown Gillian Blake at Random House’s Crown imprint acquired North American rights to Susan Cain’s Bittersweet. The book, subtitled How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole, is scheduled for April 2022 and was sold by Richard Pine at Inkwell Management. Quiet, Cain’s 2012 book about the positives of introversion, sold more than four million copies, according to the publisher. Bittersweet, which Crown said “employs the same skills and sensibility” as Quiet, explores “the powers of a bittersweet, melancholic outlook” and asks why we have historically “been so blind to its value.” Brown Re-ups at Putnam In a world rights deal, bestseller Eleanor Brown (The Weird Sisters) sold a new novel to her long-standing publisher, G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Any Other Family was acquired by Putnam publisher Sally Kim from Elizabeth Winick Rubinstein at McIntosh & Otis. The novel, set for summer 2022, explores “the nuances and intricacies of the relationships among three sets of parents who form a family after adopting biological siblings,” Putnam said. Gabriella Mongelli at Putnam will edit the title. TikTokker Finds ‘Faith’ with Zondervan Zondervan Books’ Carolyn McCready preempted world English rights to Andy Dooley’s Faith, Family, Fitness. The publisher said the author is a fitness coach and TikTok influencer who boasts more than 1.5 million fans on the platform. The book, slated for fall 2022, is a collection of readings intended to “inspire and motivate the whole family to live a healthy Christian life.” Kathleen Ortiz of New Leaf Literary & Media represented Dooley. 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, 49 West 23rd Street Ninth Floor New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2021, PWxyz LLC

 

Deal of the Week Jeffers Re-ups at Harper In a high-six-figure, deal, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers sold an essay collection and a short story collection to Erin Wicks at Harper. Jeffers, whose August debut novel, The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois (also published by Harper), is a bestseller and recent Oprah Book Club pick, was represented in the agreement by Sarah Burnes at the Gernert Company. Harper said the essay collection, Misbehaving at the Crossroads, examines “the intersection of feminism and Blackness in America since 1619” and is “infused with history, criticism, and stories from the author’s own life.” The story collection, A Simple, Promised Land, is about “the daily lives and dramas” of a collection of characters from the fictional town of Chicasetta, Ga., which is also the setting of Love Songs. The essay collection will publish first and is set for winter 2024. SMP Nabs Kapelke-Dale’s ‘Prodigy’ For six figures, Sarah Cantin at St. Martin’s Press bought world rights to The Prodigy by Rachel Kapelke-Dale. The publisher said the book, which centers on a pianist prodigy returning home in the wake of her mother’s sudden death, was “pitched as My Dark Vanessa meets The Queen’s Gambit.” The heroine “discovers that a mysterious acquaintance has inherited [her] family estate... forcing her to confront her past, and the dark secret of her adolescent relationship with an older man.” Kapelke-Dale was represented by Sarah Phair at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. The Prodigy is set for December 2022. Scotch Hits ‘Rewind’ for Berkley At auction, Kerry Donovan at Berkley won North American rights to Allison Winn Scotch’s The Rewind in a two-book deal. The romantic comedy was acquired from Elisabeth Weed at the Book Group. Berkley said The Rewind, set for November 2022, follows “two college exes who wake up in bed together on their old campus on the eve of the millennium and have no memory of the night before.” The pair must then “put aside old grievances to figure out what happened, what didn’t happen, and to ask themselves the most troubling question of all: What if they both got it wrong the first time around?” Children's/YA Deals Roundup New projects this week include Love Radio by Ebony LaDelle (pictured), a debut contemporary YA novel told from dual points of view: the clever DJ Prince Jones, who is full of relationship advice on and off his popular teen radio segment; and Dani Ford, who hates love and would rather be writing in her notebook; YA novelist Ryan Graudin’s middle grade debut, The Girl Who Kept the Castle, in which Faye must save the only home she's ever known when a "not-dead" wizard's competition to see who will inherit his estate goes awry; and Midnight Strikes by Zeba Shahnaz, a YA fantasy debut with a Russian Doll-inspired twist that follows lowborn Anaïs, whose attendance at the royal ball is disrupted by an explosion that rips through the palace at the stroke of midnight, killing everyone—again and again and again. Burr’s Debut Goes to Morrow Australian author Shelley Burr sold U.S. rights to her debut crime novel, Wake, in a two-book, six-figure deal with William Morrow. Rachel Kahan at Morrow preempted the book from Sarah Brooks at Hachette Australia. Morrow said Wake, set for summer 2022, centers on a cold case involving a nine-year-old girl who disappeared from her rural Australian town, and a PI with “darker motivations” who investigates nearly 20 years later. The second book under contract is inspired by an infamous series of killings in Australia during the 1990s known as the Snowtown murders. Oates’s ‘Flaw’ Picked Up by Random House For Random House, Andrea Walker preempted North American rights to a debut work of psychological suspense by Nathan Oates. The publisher compared A Flaw in the Design to the works of Patricia Highsmith and Leila Slimani’s The Perfect Nanny; it follows a professor living in a small Vermont town who takes in his “charming” and “wildly dangerous” nephew after the boy’s parents die in a “mysterious car accident.” Anna Stein at ICM Partners represented Oates, whose story collection The Empty House won the 2012 Spokane Prize. Loftus Dogs It to Forge Jamie Loftus sold world rights to a currently untitled book to Ali Fisher at Forge, which described it as a “complete taxonomy of the hot dog.” Loftus writes for the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim and created several podcasts, including My Year in Mensa and Aack Cast. She was represented by Meredith Miller at United Talent Agency. The book, Forge added, is “an amateur-to-expert journey through the history, influence, and cultural impact of a great American culinary icon.” It’s set for release in April 2023. 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, 49 West 23rd Street Ninth Floor New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2021, PWxyz LLC

 

Deal of the Week Armstrong’s ‘Nightbirds’ Fly to Paulsen For a rumored six-figure sum, Stacey Barney at Penguin Random House’s Nancy Paulsen Books preempted North American rights to the YA fantasy debut Nightbirds. Author Kate J. Armstrong was represented by Josh Adams at Adams Literary in the agreement, which also covers the sequel, Fyrebirds. Adams said Nightbirds was pitched as Carnival Row meets The Great Gatsby and is set in “a 1920s-inspired world where magic is illegal.” The book follows a secretive crew of girls who can impart magical gifts with a kiss. Publication is set for summer 2023. Armstrong is a former high school English teacher and book editor from Washington, D.C., who now lives in Melbourne, Australia; she is the creator of the podcast The Exploress, about women in history. Grand Central Explores Oza’s ‘History’ In a U.S. rights deal at auction, Grand Central Publishing’s Seema Mahanian won A History of Burning, the debut novel by Janika Oza. Grand Central said the book, set for May 2023, is a “sweeping” tale about “how one act can reverberate through four generations of a family and their search for home and belonging,” and compared it to work by authors like Min Jin Lee and Yaa Gyasi. A History of Burning unfolds in Canada, India, and Uganda and asks “what it takes to belong to a nation, a land, and a family,” the publisher added. Sarah Bowlin at Aevitas Creative Management represented Oza, whose short fiction and essays have won her a number of awards and plaudits, including the 2020 Kenyon Review Short Fiction Award. Atria Burnishes Vaughan’s ‘Reputation’ In a two-book agreement, Emily Bestler acquired U.S., Canadian, and open market rights to Sarah Vaughan’s new novel, Reputation. The political thriller, to be released by Bestler’s eponymous imprint at Atria, is about an MP embroiled in the death of a tabloid journalist, according to the publisher. “Fighting to protect her reputation, and determined to protect her family at all costs, Emma is pushed to the limits as the worst happens and her life is torn apart in a very public way,” Atria added. Lizzy Kremer at David Higham in the U.K. represented Vaughan (Anatomy of a Scandal), and she has also closed a number of deals with publishers around the world. The novel is set for a March 2022 release in the U.K. and a July 2022 release in the U.S. Children's/YA Deals Roundup Gretchen Durning at Razorbill has acquired Bad Blood by Morgan Rhodes (pictured), author of the bestselling Falling Kingdom series, which launches a YA saga about a wealthy vampire family, their badly behaved heirs, and the long-lost sibling who never even knew she was half-vampire; an untitled debut YA novel by playwright and performing artist Kirya Traber, set on the rural coast of Northern California in the 1990s, about a teen girl who begins to question everything she thinks she knows when a new boy, the only other Black person around for miles, appears in town shortly after the body of a stranger is discovered in the woods; and The Summer I Ate the Rich by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite, a contemporary fantasy YA about a Haitian American teen zombie who uses her skills in the kitchen—and taste for human flesh—to get revenge on the wealthy elite responsible for her family's pain. Hampton Gets ‘Unsettled’ at St. Martin’s Kevin Reilly at St. Martin’s Press acquired world rights to Ryan Hampton’s Unsettled: How the Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Failed the Victims of the American Overdose Crisis. The book, slated for October, is “the inside account of Purdue’s excruciating Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, the company’s eventual restructuring, and the Sackler family’s evasion of any true accountability,” the publisher said. It also tells the story of “how a group of determined ordinary people tried to see justice done against the odds—and in the face of brutal opposition from powerful institutions and even government representatives.” Hampton worked in the Clinton administration and is a specialist in addiction recovery. He was unagented in the deal. Hogarth Buys Jennings’s ‘Island’ Jillian Buckley at Hogarth took North American rights to Karen Jennings’s An Island at auction. The novel, the publisher said, is about a lighthouse keeper and a stranger who find themselves together on a mysterious island. The characters “circle one another—each trapped on the island for different reasons” as the book “examines the extraordinary stakes of companionship and what it means to lose a home.” Jennings is South African and was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2021; An Island marks her U.S. debut. Cecile Barendsma at Cecile B Literary Agency handled the sale on behalf of Agence Deborah Druba and Holland House Books UK. 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, 49 West 23rd Street Ninth Floor New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2021, PWxyz LLC

 

Deal of the Week Harper Buys Raskin Memoir In a world rights agreement, Congressman Jamie Raskin sold his memoir, Unthinkable, to Lisa Sharkey at Harper. The book, which Matt Harper will edit, is slated for January 4, and will, the publisher said, chronicle the tumultuous start of 2021 for the politician, a 45-day period in which he confronted the loss of his son to suicide, survived the Capitol riot, and went on to introduce an article of impeachment against then president Donald Trump. The book, subtitled Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy, is, Raskin said, “a labor of love written to capture the dazzling life of a brilliant young man in crisis, whom we lost forever, and the struggle to defend a beautiful nation in crisis, a democracy that we still have the chance to save.” Harper added that the book is “at turns a moving story of a father coping with loss, and a vital reminder of the sacrifice, perseverance, and vision that our constitutional democracy demands from all of us.” Raskin did not use an agent in the deal. Brown’s ‘Atlas’ Navigated at RH Bestseller Brené Brown (Daring Greatly) sold Atlas of the Heart to Random House’s Ben Greenberg in a North American rights agreement. William Morris Endeavor’s Suzanne Gluck negotiated the deal with Greenberg for the book, which is subtitled Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience. Random House said that, in the work, set for November, Brown “takes us on a journey through 87 of the emotions and experiences that define what it means to be human,” while outlining “an actionable framework for meaningful connection.” RH added that the author paints “a universe where we can share and steward the stories of our bravest and most heartbreaking moments with one another in a way that builds connection.” LB Visits McKenzie’s ‘Olive Grove’ Little, Brown’s Ben George nabbed Moses McKenzie’s debut novel, An Olive Grove in Ends, in a North American rights agreement from Rebecca Folland at U.K. publisher Headline. The book follows a young man of Jamaican descent, living in Bristol, England, whose attempt to escape his past as a drug dealer is derailed when he’s blackmailed by his girlfriend’s father. Comparing the author, a 23-year-old Bristol native, to Zadie Smith, George said McKenzie recalls her “in the vibrancy and invention of his writing and the vividness with which he brings to life this teeming urban neighborhood.” Olive Grove is slated for a 2022 release. Children's/YA Deals Roundup New projects this week include two books by award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson (pictured): The Year We Learned to Fly, illustrated by Rafael López, a follow-up to their bestselling picture book The Day You Begin; and The World Belonged to Us, illustrated by Leo Espinosa, about celebrating the joy and freedom of summer in the city; The Isles of the Gods, the solo YA debut from Amie Kaufman, a fantasy duology pitched as the magic of Tamora Pierce's Tortall meets the glamour and gangsters' dens of Boardwalk Empire; and Girl on Fire by Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, with co-author Andrew Weiner, illustrated by Brittney Williams, a YA graphic novel based on Keys’s iconic hit single of the same name. Murphy, Simone Team on Plus-Size Series For high six figures, Avon’s May Chen preempted two books in a new romance series by Julie Murphy (Dumplin’) and Sierra Simone (the Priest series). John Cusick at Folio Literary management, who represented the author in the world English rights agreement, called the line a “plus-size romance,” and said the first book, Bee Merry, features a 24-year-old plus-size adult film star named Bee Hobbes. In Bee Merry, the heroine, Cusick said, “finds her chance at love when she’s cast opposite her childhood boy band crush in a squeaky-clean holiday movie.” Coll Sells Final Afghanistan Book Steve Coll sold a new book about Afghanistan that will complete the trilogy he began with his 2004 Pulitzer Prize winner, Ghost Wars. The currently untitled book, which Penguin Press’s Ann Godoff acquired in a world rights agreement brokered with agent Melanie Jackson (who has an eponymous shingle), will, Penguin explained, continue the through line of events woven through Ghost Wars and then Directorate S, the second book in the series. Elaborating, the publisher said: “With the restoration of Taliban rule and the final collapse of American ambition in Afghanistan, Steve Coll’s panoramic and investigative chronicle of the U.S. misadventure in Central Asia requires a final volume.” The new book begins with the election of Donald Trump in 2016, and moves through “the fall of Kabul and beyond.” 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, 49 West 23rd Street Ninth Floor New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2021, PWxyz LLC

 

Deal of the Week Minotaur Goes All In for Hit Spanish Series In a world English rights agreement for a six-figure sum, Keith Kahla at St. Martin’s Press’s Minotaur imprint preempted Juan Gómez-Jurado’s trilogy, The Red Queen. The series has become a runaway hit in Spain, where it was first published over two years ago; SMP said the thrillers that make up the trilogy (in English Red Queen, Black Wolf, and White King) have sold more than 1.5 million copies. The series follows a gifted freelance crime solver named Antonia Scott, known as the Red Queen for her ability to quickly and accurately assess crime scenes, who’s forced out of retirement to solve a series of grisly murders. Rights to the series have also sold in a number of other foreign deals in, among other countries, France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. Thomas Colchie at the Colchie Agency negotiated the agreement with Kahla on behalf of the primary agent, Antonia Kerrigan at the Antonia Kerrigan Literary Agency, and the author. Minotaur will publish The Red Queen in winter 2023. S&S Hits the ‘Road’ with Leahy Patrick Leahy, Democratic senator of Vermont, sold his memoir, The Road Taken, to Simon & Schuster. The book, set for April 2022, was acquired by Stuart Roberts in a world rights agreement from Robert B. Barnett and Emily Alden at Williams & Connolly. S&S said the book, from the Senate’s most senior member, portrays “a life lived on the front lines of American politics.” The publisher elaborated that Leahy takes readers “inside the room” for a series of notable moments in the country’s history, from the post-Watergate reform era to “Congress’s role in greenlighting a disastrous war in Iraq” and both impeachment trials of Donald Trump. B’bury Nabs ‘Miniaturist’ Companion Jonathan Lee, in his first acquisition as editorial director at Bloomsbury, preempted North American rights to Jessie Burton’s historical novel, The House of Fortune. Bloomsbury is calling the novel a “standalone companion” to Burton’s 2014 bestseller The Miniaturist (Ecco), which was adapted into a miniseries by the BBC. (Bloomsbury said The Miniaturist has sold two million copies worldwide.) Fortune shares a setting (17th-century Amsterdam) and characters with its predecessor, following, Bloomsbury said, “what happens to Thea Brandt and her family 18 years later.” (Thea is the niece of the heroine from the first novel, Nella, who, at 18, is sent from her small village to marry Johannes Brandt. The title refers to a person Nella engages with after being given money by her husband to furnish an elaborate dollhouse he’s given her.) Burton was represented by Jenny Bent at the Bent Agency, who brokered the deal with Lee on behalf of London-based agent Juliet Mushens at Mushens Entertainment. Fortune, which Bloomsbury said “will appeal equally to fans of Hilary Mantel and Susanna Clarke,” is slated for 2022. Children's/YA Deals Roundup New projects this week include Salt the Water by National Book Award finalist and Printz Honoree Candice Iloh (pictured), a YA novel-in-verse about a free-spirited genderfluid teen, who drops out of 12th grade after a confrontation with a teacher, but their dreams of living life off the grid with their friends crash into the harsh realities of a world full of roadblocks; Witch's Dice from debut YA author Kaylie Smith, set in a world on the brink of war, in which Calla Rosewood joins a ragtag group of witches who venture into a demonic enchanted forest to find a way to reset their fate; and The Year Without a Summer by author-illustrator Keith Negley, which takes place in 1816, when ash from a volcano in Indonesia covered the sky throughout Europe, causing a chain reaction of events that led to the invention of the bicycle. Amistad Honors Biakolo’s ‘Foremothers’ In a six-figure agreement, Amistad’s Jennifer Baker bought North American rights to Kovie Biakolo’s debut, Foremothers. The former BuzzFeed News editor was represented by Peter Steinberg at Fletcher & Company. The nonfiction work is subtitled 500 Years of Heroines from the African Diaspora, and, according to Steinberg, it “gives a voice to the African and African-descended women who are often excised from history’s narrative.” Biakolo focuses on seven women and links them “chronologically into a greater whole, revealing a remarkable influence on history—and one in which Black women are not seen as other.” Foremothers is slated for 2024. Biakolo, who won a 2021 Lipman Fellowship from Columbia University, is currently a freelance writer. HC 360 to Pub Markson’s Wuhan Exposé For HarperCollins 360, Helen Littleton at HarperCollins Australia bought world rights to investigative journalist Sharri Markson’s What Really Happened in Wuhan. The title, set to be released in the U.S. on September 28, exposes, HC said, China’s early attempts to cover up what happened in the city where Covid-19 was first discovered, and is “part thriller, part exposé.” The author, who did not use an agent in the deal, is a writer at the Australian newspaper, which, like HC, is owned by News Corp. She has been covering Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. Suskind’s ‘Parent’ to Dutton In a world rights acquisition, Dutton’s Stephen Morrow bought Dana Suskind’s Parent Nation. The book, slated for April 2022, was sold by David McCormick at McCormick Literary, and, Dutton said, is about “the neuroscience of early childhood development” and shows “how and why society must come together to help parents meet the developmental needs of their children.” Suskind is the founder and codirector of the TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health at the University of Chicago. 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, 49 West 23rd Street Ninth Floor New York, NY 10010 Phone 212-377-5500 Copyright 2021, PWxyz LLC