People & Publishing Roundup, September 2021
DOMINICA PHETTEPLACE has been chosen for the Bookshop Santa Cruz Writing Residency. She will spend two weeks writing at the Wellstone Center in the Redwoods, working on her novel Robot Country, “a dystopian science fiction novel which imagines robots as the agents of the next wave of American colonization and forced resettlement.” For details see the website.
Writers LAUREN DIXON & DALLAS TAYLOR were married July 31, 2021.
KATHERINE TORAN is now represented by Stevie Finegan of the Zeno Agency.
D.G. COMPTON won the 2021 Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award, created to bring attention to lesser-known SF and fantasy authors. The jury cited Compton’s 1974 novel The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe as particularly noteworthy. The award was presented by judges Rich Horton, Steven H Silver, and Grant Thiessen during Readercon 31, held online August 13-16, 2021.
RAMSEY CAMPBELL sold horror novel Fellstones to Don D’Auria at Flame Tree Press via John Jarrold.
TIM POWERS sold My Brother’s Keeper, “a magical biography of Emily Brontë,” to Toni Weisskopf at Baen Books via Russell Galen of Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency. Tony Daniel will edit.
PAOLO BACIGALUPI sold epic fantasy Navola, “Game of Thrones meets The Godfather,” and a second book to Tim O’Connell at Knopf via Russell Galen of Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency.
TAMSYN MUIR sold Nona the Ninth in the Locked Tomb series to Carl Engle-Laird at Tordotcom Publishing for six figures via Jennifer Jackson of the Donald Maass Literary Agency. It will publish in Fall 2022, with previously acquired volume Alecto the Ninth to follow in Fall 2023.
JULIE E. CZERNEDA sold SF novel To Each This World to Sheila E. Gilbert at DAW via Sara Megibow of kt literary.
EMILY ST. JOHN MANDEL sold Sea of Tranquility , “blending historical fiction, science fiction, and autofiction,” to Jennifer Jackson at Knopf via Katherine Fausset of Curtis Brown. Ca nadian rights went to Jennifer Lambert at Harper Canada via Fausset, and UK rights to Sophie Jonathan at Picador via Anna Webber of United Agents.
LYDIA MILLET’s Dinosaurs sold to Tom Mayer at Norton via Maria Massie of Massie & McQuilkin.
ALMA KATSU’s historical horror novel The Fervor, set in a Japanese-American internment camp during WWII, sold to Sally Kim at Putnam via Stephen Barbara, Richard Pine, and Eliza Rothstein of Inkwell Management, in association with Glasstown Entertainment.
RIN CHUPECO sold queer Gothic fantasy Silver Under Nightfall and another book to Amara Hoshijo at Saga in a pre-empt via Rebecca Podos at Rees Literary Agency.
CASTRO sold horror novel The Generational Curse of La Llorona and another book to Tricia Narwani at Del Rey via Beth Marshea of Ladderbird Literary Agency.
JO HARKIN sold Tell Me an Ending, about memory deletion technology, to Scribner in a pre-empt via Hillary Jacobson at ICM on behalf of Felicity Blunt of Curtis Brown UK. Kara Watson will edit.
ANNELISE RYAN sold A Monster at Death’s Door and a second book to Michelle Vega & Jenn Snyder at Berkley via Adam Chromy of Movable Type Management.
HESTER FOX sold fantasy The Library of Death Eternal, to Brittany Lavery at Graydon House via Jane Dystel of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.
AUDREY BURGES sold The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Malone and a second book to Cindy Hwang at Berkley via Maria Whelan of Inkwell Management.
ERIN ADAMS sold “upmarket horror-tinged mystery” Jackal and another book to Jenny Chen at Bantam Dell in a pre-empt via Kerry D’Agostino of Curtis Brown.
TORREY PETERS sold novella collection Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones to Caitlin McKenna at Random House via Leonora Craig Cohen of Serpent’s Tail and Caspian Dennis of Abner Stein on behalf of Kent Wolf at Neon Literary.
SARAH JACKSON’s postapocalyptic novel Not Alone went to Carolyn Williams at Doubleday in a pre-empt via Helen Edwards of Helen Edwards Rights Agency. UK rights went to Gillian Fitzgerald-Kelly at Picador via Harry Illingworth of DHH Literary.
JULIA VEE & KEN BEBELLE sold modern Asian fantasy trilogy Ebony Gate, Blood Jade, and Tiger Eye to Claire Eddy at Tor in a pre-empt via Laurie McLean of Fuse Literary.
ETHAN CHATAGNIER sold SF novel Singer Distance to Elizabeth DeMeo at Tin House Books via Kerry D’Agostino of Curtis Brown.
KATEE ROBERT sold the fourth Dark Olympus novel to Mary Altman at Sourcebooks Casablanca via Laura Bradford of Bradford Literary Agency.
BLAISE CORVIN sold Apocalypse Cultivation and three more book to Rhett Bruno at Aethon.
JOSEPH TURKOT sold apocalyptic novel The Rain to Daniel Ehrenhaft at Blackstone Publishing in a pre-empt via Jenny Bent of the Bent Agency.
LAUREN YERO’s debut The Vines in the Wall, near-future SF, went to Sophia Jimenez at Atheneum via Andrea Somberg of Harvey Klinger.
DOUGLAS BURGESS sold The House of the Bone Feast to Diane Dibiase at Poisoned Pen Press via Kimberley Cameron of Kimberley Cameron & Associates.
MISHA POPP sold Magic, Lies, and Murder Pies and another title to Faith Black Ross at Crooked Lane via Rebecca Podos of Rees Literary Agency.
Italian filmmaker PIETRO ALBI sold historical fantasy Farfariel: The Book of Micu to Nathan Rostron at Restless Books via Anna Mioni of AC2 Literary Agency on behalf of UovoNero.
JOE CHIANAKAS sold horror novel Darkness Calls and a second book to Casey Cowan at Oghma Creative Media via Amy Brewer of Metamorphosis Literary Agency.
S.L. CHOI’s Bad Girls Drink Blood went to Heather McCorkle at City Owl Press via Julie Gwinn of the Seymour Agency.
SYDNEY ASHCROFT’s superhero novel Masks went to Tee Tate at City Owl Press.
MARCIA MAIDANA sold ghost novel All Hallows to Lisa Green at City Owl Press. Heather McCorkle will edit.
MINDI BRIAR sold Adrift in Starlight to Lisa Green at City Owl Press.
ROSE SZABO sold YA We All Fall Down and a sequel in the River City duology to Trisha de Guzman at Farrar, Straus Children’s via Jennifer Azantian of Azantian Literary Agency.
TRANG THANH TRAN’s YA ghost story She Is a Haunting and another title sold to Mary Kate Castellani at Bloomsbury Children’s at auction via Katelyn Detweiler of Jill Grinberg Literary Management.
NILAH MAGRUDER’s YA fantasy Hex and Havoc, with illustrations by SONIA LIAO, sold to Stephanie Guerdan at Harper Children’s, along with a second book, via Tricia Lawrence of Erin Murphy Literary Agency for the author.
ASHLEY SHUTTLEWORTH sold books three and four in the Hollow Star Saga to Sarah McCabe at Margaret K. McElderry Books via Mandy Hubbard of Emerald City Literary Agency.
MARGIE FUSTON sold vampire YA novel Cruel Illusions to Sarah McCabe at Margaret K. McElderry Books via Rebecca Podos of Rees Literary Agency.
BRIGID KEMMERER sold Forging Silver Into Stars, first in a new fantasy series set in the world of the Cursebreaker Trilogy, and two more books to Mary Kate Castellani at Bloomsbury Children’s via Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary & Media.
LILI WILKINSON’s YA fantasy A Hunger of Thorns and another title sold to Krista Marino at Delacorte via Katelyn Detweiler of Jill Grinberg Literary Management.
JENNIFER LYNN BARNES sold The Final Gambit, third in the YA Inheritance Games series, to Lisa Yoskowitz at Little, Brown Children’s via Elizabeth Harding of Curtis Brown.
F.T. LUKENS sold YA fantasy Spell Bound and another title to Kate Prosswimmer at Margaret K. McElderry Books via Eva Scalzo of Speilburg Literary Agency.
KEVIN CRAIG’s YA fantasy Book of Dreams and Where Is Ethan Sinclair sold to Annie Harper at Duet.
ANGELA CROCKER sold YA fantasy The Finding of Poppy Paquin and another book to Candace Thomas at Cayélle via Stephanie Hansen of Metamorphosis Literary Agency.
TREVAUGHN MALIK ROACH-CARTER sold queer Afrocentric YA The Aziza Chronicles to Craig Gibb at Deep Hearts.
Sisters ERIN DULIN & BRITTANY COOPER’s sold YA Queen of Shadows, “a reimagined fairytale mash-up in which Cinderella is Robin Hood,” to Jamie Rose at Finch via Amy Brewer of Metamorphosis Literary Agency.
VANESSA LANANG sold YA fantasy Fireheart and a second title to Michael Dolan at Winding Road Stories in a pre-empt.
CATHERINE YU sold debut Direwood to Tamara Grasty at Page Street via Erin Clyburn of Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency.
First novelist MEGAN CARNES sold medieval fantasy The Room at the Bottom of the World to Tracy Crow at Family of Light.
Debut writer Z.W. TAYLOR sold The Bite, “a fractured, supernatural fairy tale,” to Deanna McFadden at W by Wattpad.
CHAD BISHOP sold SF humor novel Intergalactic Exterminators, Inc to Sue Arroyo at CamCat Books via Caitlin Blasdell of Liza Dawson Associates. Helga Schier will edit.
SARA HOSEY sold first novel Imagining Elsewhere to Sue Arroyo at CamCat Books. Bridget McFadden will edit.
KELLY ANDREW sold debut YA The Whispering Dark to Mallory Kass at Scholastic via Josh Adams of Adams Literary. Orion will publish in the UK.
ELLEN DATLOW sold and delivered original anthology Screams from the Dark: Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous to Kristin Temple at Nightfire via Merrilee Heifetz of Writers House.
SHANE HAWK & THEODORE VAN ALST, JR. will edit Never Whistle at Night, “an anthology by Indigenous writers featuring stories of horror, dark fantasy, dark science fiction, and gritty crime,” with stories by CHERIE DIMALINE and REBECCA ROANHORSE, among others, and an introduction by STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES, for Anna Kaufman at Vintage, Sue Kuruvilla & Sarah Jackson at Random House Canada, and Jared Bland & Joe Lee at McClelland & Stewart, for six figures via Rachel Letofsky of CookeMcDermid.
First novelist AINSLIE HOGARTH resold domestic horror novel Motherthing and a second title to Jordan Ginsberg at Strange Light in Canada via Rach Crawford of Wolf Literary Services. Vintage will publish in the US.
KEVIN J. ANDERSON turned in Clockwork Destiny, developed with late Rush drummer and songwriter NEIL PEART, to ECW Press.
PORSCHA BURKE has taken the new role of director, strategic projects at Random House, reporting to CEO Gina Centrello. Her duties include “helping our Group realize and advance our divisional and departmental initiatives, priorities, and goals,” and she will take the lead on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. She was an editor at Clarkson Potter, and will remain contributing senior editor-at-large there.
TONY LUTKUS has been hired as president of Diamond Book Distributors; he was a senior director of sales and marketing at Penguin Random House.
COLLEEN LINDSAY has joined Insight Editions as a senior publicity and marketing strategist, working remotely.
Film rights to OCTAVIA E. BUTLER’s Parable of the Sower went to A24 via Anonymous Content on behalf of Merrilee Heifetz at Writers House. Garrett Bradley will direct and Paul Mezey will produce.
GRADY HENDRIX’s The Final Girl Support Group is being adapted as a TV series for HBO Max via Joshua Bilmews of JABberwocky and lawyers Danny Passman and Harold A. Brown. Producers are Denver & Delilah Films, Double Dream, and Aperture Entertainment.
SARAH REES BRENNAN sold Lighting the Fire, a prequel novel set in the world of TV series Fate: The Winx Saga, to Beth Dunfey at Scholastic via Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary & Media.
ELSA SJUNNESON will write Sword of the White Horse, set in the world of video game Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, for Aconoyte.
RACHAEL ALLEN sold Harley Quinn: Reckoning and two more in a YA trilogy about the DC Comics character to Sasha Henriques at Random House Children’s via Susan Hawk of Upstart Crow Literary.
JACK MITCHELL sold The Odyssey of Star Wars: An Epic Poem to Jamison Stoltz at Abrams Image via Hilary McMahon of Westwood Creative Artists.
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