People & Publishing Roundup, May 2022
Horror author JOHN SKIPP, 64, has announced his retirement from writing and publishing fiction; his final title is collection Don’t Push the Button (Clash Books). Going forward he will focus on music and film. He has two new albums, The Antidote to Fear and Cry Me a Rainbow, out via his own Fungasm Records label. He also wrote, produced, directed, and scored short film Doppelbanger, which premiered in March at the Toronto Short Film Festival.
KIJ JOHNSON is joining the Ad Astra Center for Science Fiction & the Speculative Imagination as associate director.
P. DJÈLÍ CLARK’s A Master of Djinn (Tordotcom) won the 2022 Compton Crook/Stephen Tall Award for the ‘‘best debut novel in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror genres.’’ The $1,000 award will be presented at Balticon 56, to be held May 27-30, 2022 at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore MD. Selection was by vote of the BSFS membership.
HIROSHI HAYAKAWA won the London Book Fair’s Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring him as ‘‘a vocal advocate for science fiction, mysteries and non-fiction titles.’’ Hayakawa is the chairman of Hayakawa Publishing in Japan, which also produces magazine Hayakawa SF.
AKWAEKE EMEZI’s The Death of Vivek Oji (Riverhead) is one of six finalists for the €100,000 International Dublin Literary Award. The winner will be announced by the mayor of Dublin, Ireland on May 19, 2022 as part of the International Literature Festival Dublin.
GENE WOLFE’s estate sold ‘‘a chronological retrospective collection of horror stories,’’ The Dead Man and Other Horror Stories, to Bill Schafer at Subterranean Press via Vaughne Hansen of the Virginia Kidd Agency.
J. MICHAEL STRACZY
NSKI sold The Glass Box, ‘‘a dystopian One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,’’ to Daniel Ehrenhaft at Blackstone Publishing via Emma Parry of Janklow & Nesbit. He will co-edit HARLAN ELLISON’s long-awaited anthology Last Dangerous Visions for Blackstone, also via Parry. Blackstone also acquired rights to republish prior installments Dangerous Visions and Again, Dangerous Visions.
TOM REAMY’s estate sold Under the Hollywood Sign: The Complete Stories of Tom Reamy to Bill Schafer at Subterranean Press via Vaughne Hansen of the Virginia Kidd Agency.
SHARON SOCHIL WASHINGTON sold Afro-magical realism novel The Blue Is Where God Lives to Chelsea Cutchens at Overlook via Mary Krienke of Sterling Lord Literistic.
TYLER JONES sold Midas to Paul Miller at Earthling via Elizabeth Copps of Copps Literary Services.
MAX PORTER’s Shy went to Ethan Nosowsky at Graywolf via Lisa Baker of Aitken Alexander. Jordan Ginsberg at Strange Light acquired Canadian rights.
SARAH BROOKS sold speculative historical novel The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands to Caroline Bleeke at Flatiron Books in a pre-empt via Nelle Andrew at Rachel Mills Literary. UK rights sold to Federico Andornino at Weidenfeld & Nicolson at auction for six figures.
MEGAN KAKIMOTO sold novel Bloodsick and collection Every Drop Is a Man’s Nightmare to Callie Garnett at Bloomsbury at auction via Iwalani Kim of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.
TARAN MATHARU sold fantasy Dragon Rider and two more books to David Pomerico at Voyager in a pre-empt via Jenny Bent of The Bent Agency. UK rights sold to Vicky Leech at Voyager UK in a pre-empt via Juliet Mushens of Mushens Entertainment.
STACEY THOMAS sold historical fantasy The Revels and a second title to Katie Seaman at HQ at auction via Liza DeBlock of Mushens Entertainment.
RACHEL HARRISON sold horror collection Bad Dolls to Jessica Wade and Laura Wilson at Berkley via Lucy Carson of Friedrich Agency.
MOLLY HARPER’s Witches Get Stuff Done and two more in the paranormal romantic comedy Starfall Point trilogy went to Rose Hilliard at Audible Originals via Natanya Wheeler of Nancy Yost Literary Agency.
ALICE BELL sold The Dead Woke and a sequel to Knopf in the US and to Atlantic Books in the UK in a pre-empt via Stevie Finegan of Zeno Agency.
JAMILA AHMED sold Every Rising Sun, inspired by A Thousand and One Nights, to Retha Powers at Holt via Stephanie Cabot of Susanna Lea Associates.
BRADLEY SOMER sold near-future novel Extinction to Vikki Warner at Blackstone Publishing via Andrea Blatt at William Morris Endeavor. Voyager UK will publish in the UK.
EWHAN KIM’s The Black Orb, translated by SEAN LIN HILBERT, ‘‘reminiscent of The Disaster Tourist and Harlan Ellison’s ‘I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream’,’’ sold to Leonora Craig Cohen at Profile in a pre-empt via Barbara Zitwer of Barbara Zitwer Agency.
MARCUS PERKINS sold horror novel Antedia House to Janae Mitchell at Nightshade Publishing.
ANDREA ROGERS sold horror collection Man-Made Monsters, with illustrations by JEFF EDWARDS, to Nick Thomas at Levine Querido via Emily Sylvan Kim of Prospect Agency.
STEPHEN MARKLEY’s near-future SF novel The Deluge sold to Simon & Schuster via Susan Golomb of Writers House. Stuart Roberts will edit.
AURORA MATTIA sold collection Unsex Me Here to Lizzie Davis at Coffee House Press.
SUE LYNN TAN sold a novel set in the world of Daughter of the Moon Goddess plus a standalone fantasy to David Pomerico at Voyager and Vicky Leech-Mateos at Voyager UK via Naomi Davis of BookEnds.
SHAWNTELLE MADISON sold time-travel novel The Fallen Fruit from Their Orchard to Jennifer Baker at Amistad in a pre-empt, via Jim McCarthy of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.
SHARON MOALEM & DANIEL KRAUS sold SF novel Wrath to Emily Meehan at Union Square & Co via Richard Abate of 3 Arts Entertainment.
IORI KUSANO sold Hybrid Heart, set in near-future Japan, to dave ring at Neon Hemlock via Jennifer Jackson of Donald Maass Literary Agency.
MICHAEL THOMPSON sold speculative novel How to Be Remembered and a second book to Deb Werksman at Sourcebooks via Catherine Drayton of Inkwell Management. MJ Johnston will edit. Australian and New Zealand rights went to Annette Barlow at Allen & Unwin.
SHUBNUM KHAN sold literary fantasy Paper Flowers to Nidhi Pugalia at Viking for six figures at auction via Julia Kardon of HG Literary.
MICHELLE STERLING’s near-future novel Camp Zero sold to Natalie Hallak at Atria, in a pre-empt via Erin Harris of Folio Literary Management. Canadian rights went to Amanda Betts at Knopf Canada in a pre-empt via Harris, and UK rights to Jocasta Hamilton at John Murray at auction via Sophie Lambert of C+W on behalf of Harris.
SARAH PENNER’s ‘‘Gothic whodunit’’ The London Seance Society sold to Erika Imranyi at Park Row Books via Stefanie Lieberman of Janklow & Nesbit.
ISA ARSÉN’s Shoot the Moon, ‘‘The Atomic City Girls meets The Time Traveler’s Wife,’’ went to Kate Dresser at Putnam via Chris Bucci of Aevitas Creative Management.
RR HAYWOOD sold Delio and two more in a trilogy to Audible via John Jarrold Literary Agency.
DAVID BOOP sold The Drowned Horse Chronicle to Jake Bray at Wolfpack Publishing via Vaughne Hansen of the Virginia Kidd Agency.
GRACE CURTIS sold ‘‘queer space Western’’ Frontier to Jim Killen at Solaris via Zoë Plant of the Bent Agency.
STEVEN-ELLIOT ALTMAN’s Deprivers went to Kevin J. Anderson at WordFire Press.
MICHAEL LIBLING sold The Serial Killer’s Son Takes a Wife to Kevin J. Anderson at WordFire Press via Christine Cohen of the Virginia Kidd Agency.
Michael Farfel sold The Reluctant Journey of Manfred Bugsbee to Charlie Franco at Montag Press.
PIPER CJ resold self-published novel The Night and Its Moon and sold epic fantasy series The Sun and Its Shade, The Gloom Between Stars, and The Dawn and Its Light to Christa Desir at Bloom Books.
HYE-YOUNG PYUN sold novel The Owl Cries, translated by SORA KIM RUSSELL, and collection The Breeding Ground to Cal Barksdale at Arcade via Barbara Zitwer of Barbara Zitwer Agency.
LACHI sold speculative novel Burned to Lisa Diane Kastner at RIZE Press via Stephanie Hansen of Metamorphosis Literary Agency.
JENNIFER J. BULL & MARY MORRIS, writing as PHOEBE WALKER, sold Mirror Witch to Lisa Green at City Owl Press.
HOPE BOLINGER & ALYSSA ROAT’s mythic romance Dear Hades sold to Michele Israel Harper at L2L2 via Cyle Young and Tessa Emily Hall of Cyle Young Literary Elite.
HEATHER MCCORKLE’s shapeshifter novel Coyote Calling sold to Yelena Casale at City Owl Press.
MABRY BLACKBURN sold the first book in the Kill Devil Crew fantasy series to Theresa Cole at Mystic Owl.
ALICIA ELLIOTT’s And Then She Fell, described as ‘‘a literary Get Out,’’ sold to Lexy Cassola at Dutton via Stephanie Sinclair of CookeMcDermid.
GREG VAN EEKHOUT sold middle-grade fantasy novel The Ghost Job, described as ‘‘Ocean’s Eleven meets The Graveyard Book,’’ and a second book to Erica Sussman at Harper Children’s via Holly Root of Root Literary.
CLAIRE ANDREWS sold Storm of Olympus, last in the YA epic fantasy Daughter of Sparta series, to Caitlyn Averett at Little, Brown Children’s via Amy Elizabeth Bishop of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.
EUGENE LEE YANG sold queer epic fantasy YA The Unders and a second book to Emily Settle at Feiwel and Friends via Jessica Felleman of Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency.
ANN DÁVILA CARDINAL’s YA Breakup from Hell sold to Claudia Gabel at Harper Children’s via Linda Camacho of Gallt and Zacker Literary Agency.
EMMA MILLS’s YA fantasy Something Close to Magic sold to Reka Simonsen at Atheneum via Bridget Smith of JABberwocky Literary Agency.
ALEX CRESPO’s YA ‘‘queer Gothic mystery’’ Saint Juniper’s Folly and another title sold to Ashley Hearn at Peachtree Teen via Mary C. Moore of Kimberley Cameron & Associates.
MARC J GREGSON’s YA fantasy novel Sky’s End sold to Jonah Heller at Peachtree Teen via Heather Cashman of Storm Literary Agency.
JUSTIN ARNOLD’s YA ‘‘campy-horror’’ novel Wicked Little Things sold to Joshua Dean Perry at Tiny Ghost Press.
MALENE SOLVSTEN sold the Whisper of the Ravens YA trilogy to Joy Bean at Arctis US via Lise Broen Rosenberg Dahm of Gyldendal Group Agency.
Debut author THEA GUANZON sold the Hurricane Wars trilogy, a fantasy romance ‘‘set in a Southeast Asian-inspired world of magic, airships, and strange beasts,’’ to Julia Elliott at Voyager via Thao Le of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. Natasha Bardon acquired rights for Voyager UK.
Debut author MONIQUILL BLACKGOOSE sold To Shape a Dragon’s Breath, launching a fantasy series, and two more books to Anne Groell at Del Rey in a pre-empt via Leslie Varney and Trodayne Northern of Prentis Literary.
First novelist JOSEPH EARL THOMAS sold novel God Bless You, Otis Spunkmeyer and collection Leviathan Beach to Maddie Caldwell at Grand Central via PJ Mark of Janklow & Nesbit.
BIJAL VACHHARAJANI’s debut Savi and the Memory Keeper went to Daniel Ehrenhaft at Blackstone Publishing via Kanishka Gupta of Writer’s Side.
CHRISTOPHER ARNONE’s first novel The Hermes Protocol went to In Churl Yo at Castle Bridge Media via Katie Salvo of Metamorphosis Literary Agency. Jason Henderson will edit.
Actor OMAR EPPS & CLARENCE HAYNES sold debut Nubia: The Awakening, launching a YA fantasy series, to Beverly Horowitz and Krista Marino at Delacorte via Todd Shuster and Erica Bauman of Aevitas Creative Management; Marino will edit.
New writer LILY MEADE sold YA speculative thriller The Shadow Sister to Annette Pollert-Morgan at Sourcebooks Fire in a pre-empt via Elana Roth Parker of Laura Dail Literary Agency.
JONATHAN JANZ sold historical horror novella The Dismembered to Kevin Lucia at Cemetery Dance via Priya Doraswamy of Lotus Lane Literary.
RYAN BRITT’s non-fiction book The Spice Must Flow: The Journey of Dune, about the impact of Frank Herbert’s Dune ‘‘in all its iterations, on literature, pop culture, and politics,’’ sold to Jill Schwartzman at Plume via Christopher Hermelin of Fischer-Harbage Agency.
MIKE SLATER sold cookbook The Necromunchicon: Unspeakable Snacks & Terrifying Treats from the Lore of H.P. Lovecraft, with illustrations by KURT KOMODA, to James Jayo at Countryman Press.
A new edition of J.R.R. TOLKIEN’s The Silmarillion, illustrated with paintings and drawings by the author, will be published by William Morrow in November 2022.
Frank Herbert’s estate resold Whipping Star, The White Plague, The Green Brain, The Eyes of Heisenberg, Destination: Void, Direct Descent, The Heaven Makers, The God Makers, The Dosadi Experiment, The Dragon in the Sea, and The Santiroga Barrier to Marcus Gipps at Orion via Marianna Sharp and Ana Ban of Trident Media Group on behalf of Robert Gottlieb and John Silbersack. In a separate deal, Herbert & BILL RANSOM’s The Jesus Incident, The Lazarus Effect, and The Ascension Factor also went to Gipps at Orion via the same agents.
TJ KLUNE resold the Green Creek Series and The Bones Beneath My Skin to Bella Pagan at Tor UK via Deidre Knight of the Knight Agency.
TRAVIS BALDREE sold fantasy Legends & Lattes and another book to Georgia Summers at Tor UK in a pre-empt via Stevie Finegan of Zeno Agency. Published in the US by Cryptid Press.
JUSTIN STANCHFIELD sold SF Western Space Cowboy to Kevin J. Anderson at WordFire Press via Timothy Travaglini of Transatlantic Literary Agency.
BORA CHUNG’s Booker International-shortlisted collection Cursed Bunny, ‘‘blending elements of horror, surrealism, and speculative fiction to take on the patriarchy, capitalism, and the reign of big tech,’’ resold to Madeline Jones at Algonquin at auction via Jessica Friedman on behalf of publisher Honford Star.
ROBERT STALLMAN’s estate sold ebook rights to The Book of the Beast: The Orphan, The Captive, and The Beast to Betsy Mitchell at Open Road Media via Vaughne Hansen of the Virginia Kidd Agency. Limited special edition rights sold to Jerad Walters at Centipede Press via Hansen.
OLIVIA ATWATER sold Half a Soul and two more books in the previously self-published Regency Faerie Tales series to Priyanka Krishnan at Orbit and Nadia Saward at Orbit UK via Christabel McKinley of David Higham Associates.
CYNTHIA PELAYO resold collection Loteria to Chantelle Aimee Osman at Agora Books via Lane Heymont of the Tobias Literary Agency.
BRIAN HERBERT & KEVIN J. ANDERSON delivered Dune: The Heir of Caladan to Christopher Morgan at Tor Books.
Editor MELISSA ANN SINGER left Tor/Forge in March 2022 after 37 years with the company. ‘‘Not sure what’s next; it’s going to take a little time to figure that out.’’
S.B. DIVYA stepped down as co-editor of Escape Pod on April 8, 2022, replaced by VALERIE VALDES. MUR LAFFERTY remains as the other co-editor.
EMILY MAH is taking over as interim editorial director at the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, replacing KEVIN WABAUNSEE.
ANN TONSOR ZEDDIES will write A Princess of Mars: Shadow of the Assassins plus a bonus novelette for Christopher Paul Carey at Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.
RHETT C. BRUNO & JAIME CASTLE sold supernatural Westerns Cold as Hell and Dead Acre to Joe Riley and Mark Williams at Zero Gravity Entertainment.
The option for JOHN WOOLEY & RON WOLFE’s Old Fears was renewed by Sony Television for motion picture and series development via Harold Schmidt of Harold Schmidt Literary Agency. An expanded 40th anniversary edition was recently published by Babylon Books
Read more like this in the May 2022 issue of Locus.
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