People & Publishing Roundup, October 2020
HOWARD V. HENDRIX‘s home near Shaver Lake CA was destroyed in the Creek Fire in September 2020, shortly after the area received an evacuation order. He and his wife are “displaced persons staying in a motel in Fresno.” He wrote about the experience for the San Francisco Chronicle: <www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/Disaster-hits-home-for-volunteer-firefighter-in-15567282.php>.
FRAN WILDE is the Fall 2020 Pearl S. Buck Writer in (remote) Residence at Randolph College, beginning in October.
DAVE BARA is now represented by Paul Stevens of the Donald Maass Literary Agency.
WALTER MOSLEY will receive the National Book Foundation’s 2020 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, to be presented by author Edwidge Danticat. The award includes a $10,000 prize and a solid brass medal.
MARGARET ATWOOD won the 2020 Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award, given by the Dayton Literary Peace Prize to “writers whose work uses the power of literature to foster peace, social justice, and global understanding.”
BRYAN WASHINGTON‘s Lot (Atlantic) won the $10,000 Young Lions Fiction Award for 2020, presented by the New York Public Library “each year to a writer age 35 or younger for a novel or a collection of short stories.”
MAURICE BROADDUS‘s Pimp My Airship (Apex) won the 2020 Indiana Authors Award in the Genre category. Each winner receives $5,000, a trophy made of Indiana limestone, and the opportunity to give a $500 gift to an Indiana public library.
LIZ HYDER‘s Bearmouth (Pushkin Children’s) is the winner of the 2020 Branford Boase Award “for an outstanding first novel to a first-time writer of a book for young people,” presented September 9, 2020 in an online ceremony; Bearmouth editor SARAH ODEDINA was also honored.
SIOBHAN CARROLL‘s “For He Can Creep” (Tor.com 7/19) is the winner of the 2020 Eugie Foster Memorial Award for Short Fiction, announced at Dragon Con, held online September 3-7, 2020. Carroll will receive a plaque and a $1,000 prize. The award celebrates “the best in innovative fiction” and honors writer and editor Eugie Foster, who died in 2014.
DIANE COOK‘s The New Wilderness (Oneworld) is one of six titles shortlisted for the £50,000 2020 Booker Prize, “open to writers of any nationality, writing in English and published in the UK or Ireland.” Shortlisted authors receive £2,500 and a “specially bound edition of their book.” Winners will be announced November 17, 2020.
SARAH HALL‘s Sudden Traveller (Faber) is one of five titles shortlisted for the £10,000 2020 Edge Hill Prize for Short Story for “a single-authored collection of short stories” by writers born or residing in the UK or Ireland. Winners will be announced in November.
BRIAN HERBERT & KEVIN J. ANDERSON sold a new Dune trilogy, beginning with The Duke of Caladan, to Tor Books via John Silbersack of Trident Media Group. Justin Ratcliffe at Random House will publish in Australia/New Zealand via Nora Rawn of Trident Media Group on behalf of Robert Gottlieb and Silbersack. WordFire Press will publish in the UK.
DAVID DALGLISH sold the Bladed Faith trilogy to Brit Hvide at Orbit via Michael Carr of Veritas.
EDWARD WILLETT sold space opera The Tangled Stars to Sheila E. Gilbert at DAW via Ethan Ellenberg.
JENNIFER FAWCETT‘s horror novel The Octagon House went to Loan Le at Atria in a pre-empt via Victoria Marini of Irene Goodman Agency.
NA’AMEN GOBERT TILAHUN sold fantasy Survivors of Belnij and a second book to Adrienne Procaccini at 47North.
USMAN MALIK‘s debut story collection Midnight Doorways sold to Kitaab Press in Pakistan.
KIRA JANE BUXTON‘s Feral Creatures sold to Karen Kosztolnyik at Grand Central via Bill Clegg of the Clegg Agency.
CATRIONA WARD sold The Last House On Needless Street and a second novel, and resold Little Eve, to Kelly Lonesome at Nightfire in a pre-empt via Robin Straus of Robin Straus Agency in conjunction with Andrew Nurnberg Associates.
TERRY MILES sold Rabbits, set in the world of his eponymous podcast, about a deadly alternate reality game, to Anne Groell at Del Rey via Marc Gerald at Europa Content. Pan Macmillan will publish in the UK.
ZABE ELLOR‘s science fantasy Silk Fire sold to Kate Coeat Rebellion via Kaitlyn Johnson of Belcastro Agency.
CALIX LEIGH-REIGN‘s Specular sold to Candace Thomas at Surge.
J.P. SMITH‘s The Summoning went to Anna Michels at Sourcebooks via Claire Roberts of Claire Roberts Global Literary Management.
SILAS HOUSE‘s near-future novel Lark Ascending went to Kathy Pories at Algonquin via Joy Harris of Joy Harris Agency.
CELESTINE MARTIN sold three paranormal romance books in the Elemental Lovers series to Madeleine Colavita at Forever via Lauren Bieker of FinePrint Literary Management.
GINA LINKO sold fantasy romance Nothing Else Is Love to Sheri Williams at TouchPoint Press.
ROSHANI CHOKSHI, SANDHYA MENON, and EVELYN SKYE sold magical Halloween romance Three Kisses, One Midnight to Eileen Rothschild at Wednesday Books at auction via Thao Le of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.
A.W. HILL sold SF novel Ministry to Ashley Carlson at TouchPoint Press via Kimberley Cameron of Kimberley Cameron & Associates.
MICHAEL R. JOHNSTON sold What Rough Beast, the concluding volume of his Remembrance War trilogy, to Don D’Auria at Flame Tree Press.
VIOLET LUMANI‘s Foretold and two more titles sold to Rick Lewis at Uproar Books via Jon Michael Darga of Aevitas Creative Management.
JOHNNY WORTHEN sold Of Kings, Queens, and Colonies in the Coronam series to Don D’Auria at Flame Tree Press via Terri Baranowski of Gateway Literary Agency.
JAMIE THOMAS sold The Forest Kingdom and The Shining City, continuing the Asperfell fantasy series, to Rick Lewis at Uproar Books via Cate Hart of Harvey Klinger.
MELISSA SCOTT sold Water Horse, described as “Elric meets The Fisher King,” with illustrations by ELENI TSAMI, to Athena Andreadis at Candlemark & Gleam.
DAVEY DAVIS sold X, near-future queer literary noir, to Alicia Kroell at Catapult via Julia Kardon of HG Literary.
DESIREE NICCOLI sold fantasy Called to the Deep and another book to Tee Tate at City Owl Press via Kaitlyn Johnson of Belcastro Agency.
AAMNA QURESHI‘s The Lady or the Lion went to Sue Arroyo at CamCat Books. Cassandra Farrin will edit.
SCOTT STEIN‘s The Great American Betrayal, sequel to The Great American Deception, went to Galen Surlak-Ramsey at Tiny Fox Press.
NOAH LEMELSON‘s The Sightless City, first in a steampunk trilogy, went to Galen Surlak-Ramsey at Tiny Fox Press.
A.G. HOWARD sold YA duology Mystiquiel to Cindy Loh at Bloomsbury Children’s via Jenny Bent of the Bent Agency.
AISLINN BROPHY sold YA fantasy How to Succeed in Witchcraft and a second book to Arianne Lewin at Putnam Children’s via Gemma Cooper of the Bent Agency.
SHAUN DAVID HUTCHINSON‘s YA fantasy Before We Disappear went to David Linker at Harper Children’s via Katie Shea Boutillier of Donald Maass Literary Agency.
MAGGIE TOKUDA-HALL sold a sequel to YA The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea to Karen Lotz at Candlewick via Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
LINDSEY DUGA sold YA Storm and two more books to Lydia Sharp at Entangled Teen via Frances Black of the Literary Counsel.
CHRISTIAN KLAVER‘s YA fantasy trilogy House of Thorns went to Sue Arroyo at CamCat Books via Lucienne Diver of the Knight Agency. Cassandra Farrin will edit.
OMER FRIEDLANDER‘s debut collection The Man Who Sold Air in the Holy Land and first novel The Glass Golem sold to Robin Desser at Random House in a pre-empt via Janet Silver of Aevitas Creative Management.
ANNABEL STEADMAN, writing as A.F. STEADMAN, sold three books in debut fantasy series Skandar and the Unicorn Thief to Ali Dougal at Simon & Schuster Children’s UK for seven figures at auction via Sam Copeland of Rogers, Coleridge & White. Film rights went to Sony for seven figures.
New writer ANN FRAISTAT‘s debut YA Quicksilver Harvest and a second book sold to Krista Marino at Delacorte at auction via Christa Heschke of McIntosh & Otis.
FEMI FADUGBA‘s first novel, YA The Upper World, and a second book sold to Stephanie Stein at HarperTeen at auction via Claire Wilson at Rogers, Coleridge & White.
LEANNA RENEE HIEBER, ELIZABETH KERRI MAHON & ANDREA JANES sold A Haunted History of Invisible Women, “an exploration of ghostly tropes, examining haunted places where women’s narratives are centered,” with a foreword by LINDA D. ADDISON, to Elizabeth May at Kensington via Paul Stevens of Donald Maass Literary Agency.
SHANNON MESSENGER resold Keeper of the Lost Cities: Unlocked to Simon & Schuster UK Children’s via Ben Fowler of Abner Stein on behalf of Taryn Fagerness Agency and Laura Rennert of Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
An omnibus of JOHN RUSSELL FEARN‘S first six Golden Amazon novels sold to James Faktor at Lume Books via Phil Harbottle.
JENNIFER ROBERSON delivered Sinners and Saints, second in the Blood & Bone contemporary fantasy series, to Betsy Wollheim at DAW.
RACHEL BASS has been promoted to assistant editor at Tor.
CIXIN LIU‘s The Three-Body Problem is being adapted as a series by Netflix, written and executive produced by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss and Alexander Woo. Other executive producers include Rian Johnson and producing partner Ram Bergman. Cixin Liu and translator Ken Liu are consulting producers.
Film rights to MICHAEL ROWE‘s October were optioned by writer/director Dominic Haxton via Sam Hiyate of the Rights Factory.
TV rights to ROSEANNE A. BROWN‘s fantasy A Song of Wraiths and Ruin were optioned by ABC Studios via Alice Lawson of the Gersh Agency and attorney Wayne Alexander on behalf of Quressa Robinson of Nelson Literary.
This and more like it in the October 2020 issue of Locus.
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