People & Publishing Roundup, June 2021
TOBIAS S. BUCKELL has joined Bluffton University in Bluffton OH as a full-time member of the creative writing faculty. He will be teaching writing and American Literature classes, and directing literary magazines Shalith and The Bridge. “I’ve ordered a jacket with leather patches, and expect your mental image of me to be updated accordingly!”
DAVID CRAIG is now represented by the John Jarrold Literary Agency.
LOUISE ERDRICH‘s The Night Watchman (Harper) won the $35,000 Aspen Words Literary Prize, awarded to “an influential work of fiction focused on vital contemporary issues,” announced in an online ceremony on April 21, 2021.
GARTH NIX‘s The Left-Handed Booksellers of London (Allen & Unwin) won the Australian Book Industry Award in the Book of the Year for Older Children category, announced April 28, 2021 in an online ceremony.
JULIAN BARNES won the $10,000 Jerusalem Prize, given “to a writer whose work best expresses and promotes the idea of ‘freedom of the individual in society,”‘ announced May 3, 2021 during the online Jerusalem International Book Forum.
MOLLY GLOSS received the C.E.S. Wood Distinguished Writer Award, and JENN REESE‘s A Game of Fox and Squirrels (Henry Holt) won the Eloise Jarvis McGraw Award for Children’s Literature, in the 2021 Oregon Book Awards, announced by Literary Arts on May 2, 2021. For more information, see the Literary Arts website.
SUSANNA CLARKE‘s Piranesi (Bloomsbury) is one of six titles on the £30,000 Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist, for “excellence, originality and accessibility in writing by women throughout the world.” The winner will be announced on July 7, 2021 and will also receive a bronze “Bessie” trophy. Piranesi and JENNIFER NANSUBUGA MAKUMBI‘s The First Woman (One World) are on the five-title shortlist for the Encore Award, given by the Royal Society of Literature to the best second novel of the year. The winner receives £10,000, and other finalists £500, with results announced in late May 2021.
ALAN MOORE sold collection Illuminations and all five books in the Long London Series “about a timeless, shadow version of London” to Daniel Loedel at Bloomsbury in a pre-empt and Paul Baggaley at Bloomsbury UK at auction, both via James Wills of Watson Little.
MARTHA WELLS sold six books to Lee Harris at Tordotcom Publishing via Jennifer Jackson of the Donald Maass Literary Agency. This deal, the biggest yet from the imprint, includes three new books in the Murderbot Diaries series and three unrelated novels, beginning with fantasy Witch King.
R.F. KUANG sold Babel, or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators’ Revolution, an alternate historical fantasy described as “a decolonial response to The Secret History and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell,” plus a second book to David Pomerico at Voyager in the US and Natasha Bardon at Voyager UK via Hannah Bowman at Liza Dawson Associates.
NGHI VO sold three books, beginning with Into the Riverlands, a collection of linked stories in the Singing Hills Cycle, to Ruoxi Chen at Tordotcom Publishing via Diana Fox of Fox Literary.
HUGH HOWEY sold SF novel Across the Sand, sequel to Sand, to Jaime Levine at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt via Kristin Nelson at Nelson Literary Agency. TV rights were optioned by Aaron Baiers at CBS Television Studios via Kristin Nelson and Angela Cheng Caplan and lawyer Wayne Alexander. Howey will executive produce with Alex Kurtzman and Heather Kadin of Secret Hideout.
JONATHAN MABERRY & WESTON OCHSE sold three books in the Sleepers space opera series to Rhett Bruno at Aethon via Sara Crowe of Pippin Properties.
KAMERON HURLEY sold collection Future Artifacts: Stories to Jason Sizemore at Apex via Hannah Bowman of Liza Dawson Associates.
GENEVIEVE COGMAN sold Scarlet, Elusive, and Damned, a trilogy “that reinvents the tale of The Scarlet Pimpernel with the addition of magic and even more mayhem,” to Bella Pagan at Pan Macmillan via Lucienne Diver of the Knight Agency.
GWENDA BOND‘s fantasy rom-com Mr. and Mrs. Witch sold to Jennie Conway at St. Martin’s via Kate McKean of Howard Morhaim Literary Agency.
P.C. CAST sold Into the Mist – Practical Magic meets Mad Max: Fury Road – and a second book to Tara Gavin at Crooked Lane via Ginger Clark of Curtis Brown.
MARIEKE NIJKAMP‘s When the Night Comes sold to Eliza Swift at Sourcebooks Fire via Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary & Media.
ROWENNA MILLER sold fantasy The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill to Nivia Evans at Redhook via Jessica Sinsheimer of Context Literary Agency.
MAX SEECK sold two novels about “a Finnish police detective who is haunted by the occult forces that have shaped her dark past,” to Michelle Vega at Berkley in the US and Jon Elek at Welbeck in the UK via Rhea Lyons at HG Literary on behalf of Elina Ahlback of Elina Ahlback Literary Agency.
GEMMA AMOR sold Full Immersion to Eleanor Teasdale at Angry Robot via Mark Falkin of Falkin Literary.
B.L. BLANCHARD‘s near-future SF novel The Peacekeeper went to Melissa Valentine at 47North via Sara Megibow of kt literary.
ANYA OW‘s space opera The Ion Curtain went to Jim Killen at Solaris via Jennie Goloboy of the Donald Maass Literary Agency.
KHAN WONG sold queer space fantasy The Circus Infinite to Gemma Creffield at Angry Robot via Amy A. Collins of Talcott Notch Literary Services.
AVA MORGYN‘s Bone Hill and a second title went to Monique Patterson at Griffin via Thao Le of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.
RHETT C. BRUNO & JAIME CASTLE sold three novels in the Black Badge fantasy Western series to Naomi Hynes at Blackstone Publishing for six figures via Ethan Ellenberg at Ethan Ellenberg Agency.
ISABEL CAÑAS sold historical dark fantasy The Hacienda – “Mexican Gothic meets Rebecca” – and a second book to Jen Monroe at Berkley via Kari Sutherland of Bradford Literary Agency.
LEOPOLDO GOUT sold horror novel Piñata and another book to Kelly Lonesome at Nightfire in a pre-empt via Lisa Gallagher of DeFiore and Company.
TOM BECKERLEGGE sold his first adult novel, literary fantasy The Carnival of Ash, to Michael Rowley at Solaris via Sam Copeland at Rogers, Coleridge & White Ltd Literary Agency. The author writes for children as Tom Becker.
JOSH WINNING sold modern fantasy The Shadow Glass, about evil puppets, to Craig Leyenaar at Titan Books via Kristina Pérez of Zeno Agency.
FRANCESCA MAY‘s historical fantasy Wild and Wicked Things and a second book sold to Nivia Evans at Redhook via Diana Beaumont of Marjacq Scripts.
NASEEM JAMNIA‘s fantasy The Bruising of Qilwa went to Jacob Weisman at Tachyon Publications via Erica Bauman of Aevitas Creative Management. Jaymee Goh will edit.
RAJNAR VAJRA sold Doctor Alien to Kevin J. Anderson at WordFire Press via Christine Cohen of the Virginia Kidd Literary Agency.
MAGGIE ROBINSON sold ghost mystery Farewell Blues, the final book in the Lady Adelaide Mystery series, to Anna Michels at Poisoned Pen Press via Laura Bradford of Bradford Literary Agency.
LUKE DANI BLUE sold collection Pretend It’s My Body, “exploring dysphorias of gender and reality,” to Lauren Hook at Feminist Press via Adam Schear of DeFiore and Company.
R.M. ROMERO‘s “magical realism verse novel” The Ghosts of Rose Hill sold to Ashley Hearn at Peachtree via Rena Rossner of Deborah Harris Agency.
LISA KING sold SF novel Blue Haven to Lou Aronica at The Story Plant via Travis Pennington of the Knight Agency.
ANDREW F. SULLIVAN sold Marigold II to Jennifer Albert at ECW Press via Stephanie Sinclair of CookeMcDermid.
STACIE MURPHY sold historical fantasy The Unquiet Dead, sequel to A Deadly Fortune, to Victoria Wenzel at Pegasus Crime via Jill Marr of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.
MICHAEL KOZLOWSKY‘s SF novel The Memory Palace sold to Mark Sedenquist at Imbrifex.
JODI MEADOWS sold fantasy duology Nightrender and Dawnbreaker to Mora Couch at Holiday House via Lauren MacLeod of the Strothman Agency.
PAUL DESTEFANO sold Unlawful Possession – “AA for the possessed” – to Valerie Mathews at The Wild Rose Press via Bonnie Swanson of the Purcell Agency.
MOLLY LYNCH sold literary fantasy The Forbidden Territory of a Terrifying Woman to Leigh Newman at Catapult via Jim Rutman of Sterling Lord Literistic.
ABBIGAIL N. ROSEWOOD sold Constellations of Eve, a love story about the transmigration of souls, to Travis Snyder at Texas Tech University Press via Stacy Testa of Writers House.
AAMNA QURESHI sold a sequel to fantasy The Lady or the Lion to Sue Arroyo at CamCat Books. Helga Schier will edit.
DOMAGOJ KURMAIC ‘s Mother of Learning, described as “Harry Potter meets Groundhog Day,” and two more books sold to Bryce O’Connor at Wraithmarked Creative via Drew Gilmour of Achilles Literary Agency.
BRYAN PROSEK sold The Darker the Skies, sequel to The Brighter the Stars, to Sue Arroyo at CamCat Books. Helga Schier will edit.
COURTNEY MAGUIRE sold fantasy Blood Bound: A Youkai Bloodlines Novel to Heather McCorkle at City Owl Press.
COLLEEN STORY‘s fantasy The Beached Ones sold to Sue Arroyo at CamCat Books. Helga Schier will edit.
LAUREN CONNOLLY sold supernatural rom-com Melting An Ice God to Yelena Casale at City Owl Press via Lesley Sabga of the Seymour Agency.
MEGAN VAN DYKE‘s fantasy Ilya’s Gambit sold to Tee Tate at City Owl Press.
HANNA ALKAF & MARGARET OWEN created multi-author collaborative YA novel project The Grimoire of Grave Fates and sold it to Krista Marino at Delacorte Press via Victoria Marini of the Irene Goodman Literary Agency. Chapters will be written by PREETI CHHIBBER, KAT CHO, MASON DEAVER, NATASHA DÍAZ, HAFSAH FAIZAL, VICTORIA LEE, JESSICA LEWIS, DARCIE LITTLE BADGER, KWAME MBALIA, L.L. MCKINNEY, TEHLOR KAY MEJIA, YAMILE SAIED MÉNDEZ, CAM MONTGOMERY, MARIEKE NIJKAMP, RANDY RIBAY, KARUNA RIAZI, KAYLA WHALEY, and JULIAN WINTERS. Alkaf & Owen will use the proceeds to “establish two initiatives for marginalized authors, in partnership with We Need Diverse Books.” Alkaf’s program will focus on supporting Muslim children’s literature writers, and Owen’s on transgender children’s literature writers.
M.K. LOBB sold Gothic YA fantasy Seven Faceless Saints to Nikki Garcia at Little, Brown Children’s via Claire Friedman of Inkwell Management.
RACHEL LYNN SOLOMON‘s YA time loop novel See You Yesterday and a second book sold to Jennifer Ung at Simon & Schuster Children’s via Laura Bradford of Bradford Literary Agency.
NICKI PAU PRETO sold YA fantasy Bonesmith and a second book to Sarah McCabe at Margaret K. McElderry Books via Penny Moore of Aevitas Creative Management.
ERIN RIHA sold YA Of Wind and Tide, sequel to But for the Mountains, and a second book to Kisa Whipkey at Reuts.
EMMA MIEKO CANDON sold queer SF The Archive Undying and a second book to Carl Engle-Laird at Tordotcom Publishing via Caitlin McDonald of the Donald Maass Literary Agency.
New writer CHRISTOPHER HOOD sold post-apocalyptic novel The Revivalists to Sara Nelson at Harper via Henry Dunow of Dunow, Carlson & Lerner.
Debut author HADEER ELSBAI sold The Daughters of Izdihar and a second book in an Egyptian-inspired fantasy duology to David Pomerico at Voyager at auction via DongWon Song of Howard Morhaim Literary Agency.
BELLA HIGGIN sold first novel YA Belle Morte – first in a paranormal romance series inspired by The Count of Monte Cristo – and two more books to Deanna McFadden at Wattpad.
MARK KELLY‘s debut YA Geist, a paranormal “gay Romeo and Juliet,” sold to Craig Gibb at Deep Hearts via Amy Brewer of Metamorphosis Literary Agency.
FRANK HERBERT‘s estate sold ebook rights to Dune, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, Heretics of Dune, Chapterhouse Dune, and God Emperor of Dune to Marcus Gipps at Orion in the UK via Nora Rawn of Trident Media Group on behalf of Robert Gottlieb and John Silbersack.
TADE THOMPSON resold SF novel Far from the Light of Heaven to Nivia Evans at Orbit via Helena Doree of Little, Brown UK.
ROBERT FREEMAN WEXLER resold The Painting and the City to Visible Spectrum. PS Publishing did the 2009 UK edition.
FREYA MARSKE resold debut A Marvellous Light and two sequels in the Last Binding trilogy, “a murder-mystery, a comedy of manners and a delightful queer romance” set in a magical version of Edwardian England, to Bella Pagan at Pan Macmillan UK via David Grossman of the David Grossman Literary Agency. Tordotcom is publishing in the US.
BRIANNA ROBINSON has been promoted to publicity manager at Wunderkind PR.
SEAN GRIGSBY sold Stars and Stripes, a tie-in to the Watch Dogs game, to Marc Gascoigne of Aconyte via John Jarrold of the John Jarrold Literary Agency.
CHRISTIE GOLDEN sold gaming tie-in Warcraft: Sylvanas to Del Rey via Blizzard Entertainment.
Film rights to LEE GOLDBERG’s post-apocalyptic novel The Walk went to Constantin Film via Mitchel Stein of the Stein Agency; Goldberg will write the adaptation.
This and more like it in the June 2021 issue of Locus.
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