People & Publishing Roundup, December 2021
Author BRADLEY P. BEAULIEU suffered a stroke on November 10, 2021, and was admitted for observation and testing. “Knock wood, it seems light so far…. It’s affecting my left hand (fingers, mostly) and the left side of my face a bit. Some slurred speech but not too bad.”
MERCEDES LACKEY is the 38th recipient of the Damon Knight Memorial SFWA Grand Master Award. Her award will be presented during the SFWA Nebula Conference, to be held May 19-22, 2022 in Los Angeles CA and online.
STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES’s The Only Good Indians (Saga) won the 2021 Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award, presented December 1, 2021 at The Mark Twain Museum Center in Hartford CT.
Writer MATT HAIG is one of three recipients of CILIP’s 2021 Honorary Fellowships, “the highest recognition that CILIP can offer as a professional body.” Haig was selected for “his services to literacy, mental health and wellbeing.” CILIP is the UK library and information association.
Author RENEE GLADMAN is one of eight winners of the Windham-Campbell Prize and will receive “an unrestricted grant” of $165,000. The Donald Windham- Sandy M. Campbell Literature Prize was established “to call attention to literary achievement and provide writers with the opportunity to focus on their work independent of financial concerns.” The prize is administered by Yale University.
ISABEL WAIDNER’s Sterling Karat Gold (Peninsula) won the £10,000 Goldsmiths Prize, given for a book by a British or Irish author “that is deemed genuinely novel and which embodies the spirit of invention that characterizes the genre at its best.”
LINDSEY DRAGER’s The Archive of Alternate Endings (Dzanc) won the $30,000 Bard Fiction Prize, awarded annually by Bard College “to a promising emerging writer who is an American citizen aged 39 years or younger at the time of application.” Drager will also serve a one-semester residency at the college.
TOBIAS S. BUCKELL sold collection Zen and the Art of Starship Maintenance and Other Stories and resold the four-book Xenowealth series (Crystal Rain, Ragamuffin, Sly Mongoose, and The Apocalypse Ocean) to Jason Sizemore at Apex.
S.B. DIVYA’s Meru and a sequel, described as “The Culture series meets A Memory Called Empire,” went to Adrienne Procaccini at 47North via Cameron McClure of Donald Maass Literary Agency.
BRIAN KEENE sold The Rising: More Collected Scenes, latest in the Rising universe, plus seven more books to Jarod Barbee and Patrick Harrison at Death’s Head Press.
CASSANDRA KHAW sold mermaid hor ror novel The Salt Grows Heavy to Kristin Temple at Nightfire via Michael Curry of Donald Maass Literary Agency. Ellen Datlow will edit.
CATRIONA WARD sold horror novel Looking Glass Sound and a second book to Kel ly Lonesome at Nightfire via Robin Straus of Robin Straus Agency in association with Andrew Nurnberg Associates.
EMMA STRAUB sold This Time Tomorrow, about a 40-year-old-woman who wakes up in her own body at age 16, to Riverhead Books. Michael Joseph will publish in the UK.
HEATHER FAWCETT’s first book for adults, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, set in an alternate 1900s Iceland, sold to Tricia Narwani at Del Rey in a pre-empt via Brianne Johnson of HG Literary. That book and two more sold to Nadia Saward at Orbit UK in a pre-empt via Rachel Clements of Abner Stein.
JOSIAH BANCROFT sold The Hexologists and two more books to Bradley Englert at Orbit via Ian Drury of Sheil Land Associates.
HANNAH KANER’s fantasy Godkiller and two more books went to Natasha Bardon at Voyager UK in a pre-empt via Juliet Mushens of Mushens Entertainment.
JUSTIN LEE ANDERSON sold epic fantasy The Lost War and three more books in the series to Bradley Englert at Orbit at auction via Ian Drury of Sheil Land Associates.
Pseudonymous South Korean SF writer DJUNA sold Counterweight, translated by ANTON HUR, to Todd Portnowitz at Pantheon via Jinhee Park of Greenbook Literary Agency.
STEPHEN KEARSE sold SF Liquid Snakes to Mensah Demary at Soft Skull in a pre-empt via Danielle Bukowski of Sterling Lord Literistic.
Argentinian writer MARINA YUSZCZUK sold queer Gothic vampire novel Thirst to Pilar Garcia-Brown at Dutton via Elianna Kan of Regal Hoffmann & Associates.
GRETA KELLY sold standalone epic fantasy The Queen of Days to David Pomerico at Voyager via Stephanie Kim of New Leaf Literary & Media.
ANNE TIBBETS sold Beyond the Void, sequel to SF horror Screams from the Void, to Don D’Aur ia at Flame Tree Press via Lane Heymont of the Tobias Literary Agency.
A.J. HACKWITH sold Hollow Road Home and a sequel – “a queer, millennial American Gods” – to Miranda Hill at Ace via Caitlin McDonald of Donald Maass Literary Agency.
TOM ROB SMITH’s postapocalypse novel Cold People went to Scribner and Simon & Schuster UK in a pre-empt via Mitch Hoffman of the Aaron Priest Literary Agency.
LAURA SHEPPERSON sold feminist novel The Heroines: Phaedra, exploring characters from Greek mythology, to Tara Gavin at Alcove Press via Nelle Andrew of Rachel Mills Literary. Sphere will publish in the UK.
KATEE ROBERT sold books five, six, and seven in the Dark Olympus series to Mary Altman at Sourcebooks Casablanca via Laura Bradford of Bradford Literary Agency.
SARAH HOGLE sold holiday fantasy romance Just Like Magic to Kate Dresser at Putnam via Taylor Haggerty of Root Literary.
LYNN CAHOON sold three t it les in the fantasy Kitchen Witch Mystery ser ies to Esi Sogah at Kensington via Jil l Marsal of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.
Korean author/illustrator DOLKI MIN sold Walking Practice, “reminiscent of David Bowie’s The Man Who Fell to Earth,” to Tara Parsons at HarperVia in a pre-empt via Barbara Zitwer of Barbara Zitwer Agency.
DAVID BECKLER sold three books in the A Long Shadow series, set in a dystopian alternate London, to Victoria Haslam at Thomas & Mercer via Clare Coombes of The Liverpool Literary Agency.
K.L. CERRA’s queer Southern Gothic horror Such Pretty Flowers, and a second book about a coven secretly working in the wedding industry, sold to Jenny Chen at Bantam Dell in a pre-empt via Chelsey Emmelhainz of Copps Literary Services.
RITA WOODS sold fantasy The Last Dreamwalker and another title to Lindsey Hall at Forge via Joanna Volpe of New Leaf Literary & Media.
COLIN MCADAM sold literary fantasy Black Dove to MarkDoten at Soho Press via Bill Clegg of the Clegg Agency. Nicole Winstanley at Hamish Hamilton acquired Canadian rights.
BARBARA BOURLAND’s The Force of Such Beauty and Fields and Waves sold to Lindsey Rose at Dutton via Victoria Sanders of Victoria Sanders & Associates.
CRAIG RUSSELL sold a historical novel about “the most terrifying horror movie ever made” to Jason Kaufman at Doubleday via Esmond Harmsworth of Aevitas Creative Management on behalf of Andrew Gordon of David Higham Associates.
SEAN ADAMS sold The Thing in the Snow – “The Shining meets Office Space” – to Nate Lanman at William Morrow via Kent Wolf of Neon Literary.
AIMEE GIBBS sold Victorian fantasy The Carnivale of Curiosities to Karen Kosztolnyik at Grand Central in a pre-empt, via Julie Barer of the Book Group.
TYRIEK WHITE’s fantasy The Killing Fields sold to Danny Vazquez at Astra House at auction via PJ Mark of Janklow & Nesbit.
CHAD MUSICK sold fantasy From the Lighthouse to Kisstopher Musick at Cinnabar Moth.
J.C. EATON sold Laid Out to Rest, beginning the fantasy Charcuterie Shop Mysteries, and two more books to Shawn Reilly Simmons at Level Best via Dawn Dowdle of Blue Ridge Literary Agency.
JOANNA MORGAN’s Burn, launching the Elemental Warriors series, went to Theresa Cole at Mystic Owl.
KIRSTYN PETRAS sold SF novel The Next Witness to Kisstopher Musick at Cinnabar Moth.
KAT TURNER’s fantasy Fallen Angel, plus the last two books in the Coven Daughters series, sold to Tee Tate at City Owl Press.
LINDY RYAN & CHRISTOPHER BROOKS sold werewolf novel Throw Me to the Wolves and two more books to LK Griffie at Black Spot.
ERIC LAROCCA’s horror novel Everything the Darkness Eats went to Christoph Paul at Clash. Horror novella collection I Wait for You in the Dark, which includes “Starving Ghosts In Every Thread” and “Devilment”, sold to Jeremy Wagner and Jarod Barbee at Stygian Sky Media.
AMBER PAYTON’s fantasy Hellfire & Honey went to Heather McCorkle at City Owl Press.
SOPHIE BURNHAM’s queer speculative novel Sargassa sold to Joshua Demarest at CatStone via Maria Napolitano of Bookcase Literary Agency.
CHRISTIE CLAYTON sold vampire novel Bond Bitten to Melinda Collins at Mystic Owl.
JENN REESE sold middle-grade fantasy Every Bird a Prince to Tiffany Liao at Holt Children’s via Holly Root of Root Literary. Mark Podesta will edit.
KRYSTAL SUTHERLAND’s YA fantasy The Invocations sold to Stacey Barney at Nancy Paulsen Books, and to Laura Harris at Penguin Random House Australia, via Catherine Drayton of Inkwell Management.
AMANDA QUAIN’s paranormal YA The Ghosts Are a Metaphor sold to Sarah Grill at Wednesday Books via Moe Ferrara of BookEnds.
KATY ROSE POOL’s YA fantasy Cursebreaker duology sold to Brian Geffen at Holt Children’s via Alexandra Machinist and Hillary Jacobson of ICM.
MARGARET OWEN sold Painted Devils, sequel to Little Thieves, to Tiffany Liao at Holt Children’s via Victoria Marini of Irene Goodman Agency. Jess Harold will edit.
SARAH UNDERWOOD sold YA Lies We Sing to the Sea, “a sapphic, feminist reclamation of the story of the hanged maids in The Odyssey,” and a second book to Stephanie Stein at Harper Teen in a pre-empt via Catherine Cho at Paper Literary. UK rights went to Lindsey Heaven and Sarah Levison at Farshore in a six-figure pre-empt.
AMBELIN KWAYMULLINA sold YA fantasy Liar’s Test to Nancy Siscoe at Knopf Children’s via Katelyn Detweiler of Jill Grinberg Literary Management.
KYLIE LEE BAKER sold YA dark historical fantasy duology The Scarlet Alchemist to Claire Stetzer at Inkyard Press via Mary C. Moore of Kimberley Cameron & Associates.
SARAH ARTHUR’s YA fantasy Once a Queen and two more in a new YA fantasy series sold to Sarah Rubio at WaterBrook Multnomah via Alice Fugate of Joy Harris Agency.
JOEL SUTHERLAND sold YA House of Ash and Bone and a second title to Peter Phillips at Tundra Books.
LAURI STARLING’s YA fantasy Poison Forest went to MaryBeth Dalto-McCarthy at Sword and Silk.
SASHA ALSBERG sold fantasy YA Breaking Time and a second title to Bess Braswell at Inkyard Press via Joanna Volpe and Jordan Hill of New Leaf Literary & Media.
ABIGAIL OWEN sold The Queen Is Dead, a YA fantasy trilogy, to Heather Howland at Entangled Teen in a pre-empt via Evan Marshall at Evan Marshall Agency.
Philip K. Dick Award-nominated short fiction author ELWIN COTMAN sold debut novel The Age of Ignorance to Kathy Belden at Scribner at auction via Mark Gottlieb of Trident Media Group.
LAUREN BEAR sold first novel Medusa’s Sisters to Anne Sowards at Berkley at auction via Jane Dystel of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.
KHALIA MOREAU sold debut fantasy The Princess of 106 Thornwood Drive to Leah Hultenschmidt at Forever.
STEPHANIE COTTA’s debut novel The Conjurer’s Curse sold to Jennifer Lowry at Monarch.
First novelist ANDREA ELLICKSON sold debut YA The Vanishing Station, about an underground magic train system, and a second title to Maggie Lehr-man at Abrams Children’s at auction via Kerry Sparks and Rebecca Rodd of Levine Greenberg Rostan.
AMANDA LINSMEIER sold first novel Starlings, YA feminist horror described as “Midsommar set in Stars Hollow,” to Krista Marino at Delacorte via Juliana McBride of Rebecca Friedman Literary.
MANISH MELWANI sold space opera novelette The Dominion of Leviathan to Carl Engle-Laird at Tordotcom via Lisa Rodgers of JABberwocky Literary Agency.
CADWELL TURNBULL resold No Gods, No Monsters, first in the Convergence Saga, to Cath Trechman at Titan Books via Stephanie Koven at Blackstone Publishing.
MITZI ANGEL has been promoted to president of Farrar, Straus, Giroux, effective January 1, 2022. She is the first woman to hold the role, and replaces JONATHAN GALASSI, who has been promoted to chairman and executive editor.
SARAH GUAN has been promoted to senior editor at Erewhon Books.
SUE LANDERS stepped down as executive director of Lambda Literary on December 1, 2021 after almost four years in the role. MAXWELL SCALES and CLEOPATRA ACQUAYE-REYNOLDS have joined the organization as co-interim executive directors while the board searches for a new permanent hire. Lambda promotes and supports LGBTQ books and authors, and runs the Lambda Literary Awards, or “Lammys.”
Read the full interview in the December 2021 issue of Locus.
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