People & Publishing Roundup, December and January 2023
MILESTONES
JESMYN WARD’s Let Us Descend (Scribner) has been chosen by Oprah Winfrey as the next title for her Book Club. Winfrey said, “I have read all of Jesmyn Ward’s books and have been a fan of her writing for years. Let Us Descend is a vital work for our culture and I’m so excited to have her newest offering as part of our Book Club.”
NNEDI OKORAFOR has been awarded the Imagination in Service to Society Award for her “unforgettable speculative fiction and Africanfuturism for youth and adults” by the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation, presented at the annual Unleash Imagination event hosted by the foundation on November 8, 2023.
KIM STANLEY ROBINSON is the winner of the Hans Carl von Carlowitz Sustainability Award in the International category for Das Ministerium für die Zukunft [The Ministry of the Future] (Heyne), presented via the Carlowitz Society. Winners were honored at the Carlowitz Society Sustainability Conference, held November 10, 2023 in Chemnitz, Germany.
STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES, TIM PRATT, and PAUL TREMBLAY were awarded the Sheridan Le Fanu Award for contributions to speculative literature, and S.T. JOSHI received the award for non-fiction work, presented November 19, 2023 at the 15th Sui Generis Madrid festival in Madrid, Spain.
JULIA ARMFIELD’s Our Wives Under the Sea (Picador) is the overall winner for the 2023 Polari Prize, given to writers born or based in the UK and Ireland “for emerging and established LGBTQ+ literary talent.” Winners were announced in a ceremony in London on November 24, 2023. The Polari Prize is sponsored by DHH Literary Agency, and as overall winner, Armfield receives £2,000.
R.F. KUANG’s Yellowface (Borough) is the winner of the Amazon Best Book of the Year award from Amazon UK. Yellowface also won in the Fiction category at the New England Book Award, while SACHA LAMB’s When the Angels Left the Old Country (Levine Querido) won in Young Adult, announced at the New England Independent Booksellers Association Fall Conference, held October 3-5, 2023 in Providence RI.
REBECCA CAMPBELL’s Arboreality (Stelliform) won the $25,000 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction, presented by the Ursula K. Le Guin Literary Trust “to a writer for a single work of imaginative fiction.”
KATHERINE RUNDELL’s Impossible Creatures (Bloomsbury Children’s) is the winner of the Waterstones Book of the Year 2023.
GABRIELLE ZEVIN’s Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (Knopf) won the inaugural 2022 Indie Champions Fiction Award, presented via Bookshop.org.
RAMSEY CAMPBELL sold horror novel The Incubations to Don D’Auria at Flame Tree Press via John Jarrold of John Jarrold Literary Agency.
Artist and author BOB EGGLETON writes to let us know that Easton Press has just published his illustrated King Kong, with 10 color pieces; he’s co-edited a second volume featuring the artwork of Frank Kelly Freas with LAURA FREAS, with 20,000 words of essays by Eggleton, for Centipede Press; he’s finishing a “massive color illustrated” version of Hyperborea by Clark Ashton Smith, also for Centipede; he’s doing the art for The Thing from Another World by John Betancourt; and is working on a fantasy gaming project with actor/writer TODD STASHWICK. “I have been busy… not so social!”
NICK HARKAWAY sold an untitled spy novel featuring his father JOHN LE CARRÉ’s character George Smiley, set between that author’s books The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, to Lindsey Schwoeri at Viking via Jonny Geller at Curtis Brown.
KIM HARRISON’s fantasy novels First Contact, Totality, and Emergence sold to Anne Sowards at Ace via Jennifer Jackson of Donald Maass Literary Agency.
ANNALEE NEWITZ sold SF novel The Recipe for Blue, fantasy novel Dirty Animals, and SF novella Automatic Noodle to Lindsey Hall at Tor via Laurie Fox of Linda Chester Literary Agency.
BEN H. WINTERS sold horror novel Hitchhikers to Jo Ann Peritz at Audible via Joelle Delbourgo of Joelle Delbourgo Associates. Steve Feldberg will edit.
RICHARD POWERS sold Playground, about seasteading and AI (among other things), to John Glusman at Norton via Melanie Jackson at Melanie Jackson Agency. Rights also sold to Anne Collins at Random House Canada via Jackson, and to Hutchinson Heinemann in the UK via Peter Straus of Rogers, Coleridge & White on behalf of Melanie Jackson Agency.
TANYA HUFF sold cozy horror novel Direct Descendant to Navah Wolfe at DAW via Joshua Bilmes of JABberwocky Literary Agency.
CAITLIN STARLING’s hospital gothic Graceview and a second book sold to Michael Homler at St. Martin’s via Caitlin McDonald of Donald Maass Literary Agency.
KEMI ASHING-GIWA sold fantasy The King Must Die to Amara Hoshijo at Saga Press via Tricia Skinner of Fuse Literary.
V. CASTRO sold ‘‘modern Latinx erotic horror collection’’ The Pink Agave Motel and Other Stories to Leza Cantoral at Clash.
FREYA MARSKE sold fantasy Swordcrossed, plus two more novels and a novella, to Ruoxi Chen at Tor for six figures via Diana Fox of Fox Literary. UK rights went to Bella Pagan at Tor UK via David Grossman of Books Crossing Borders on behalf of Fox Literary.
DELILAH S. DAWSON, writing as ISLA JEWELL, sold Books & Bewitchment and Coffee & Conjuring – ‘‘Gilmore Girls meets Practical Magic’’ – to Sarah Peed at Del Rey via Stacia Decker of Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. Emily Archbold will edit.
PHILIP FRACASSI sold historical horror novel Sarafina to Paul Miller at Earthling via Elizabeth Copps of Copps Literary Services.
M.H. AYINDE sold three books in epic fantasy series A Song of Legends Lost, ‘‘inspired by multiple pre-colonial cultures,’’ to Emily Byron at Orbit UK at auction via Jennie Goloboy of Donald Maass Literary Agency.
DANIEL KRAUS sold historical fantasy Angel Down and a second book to Loan Le at Atria via Richard Abate of 3 Arts Entertainment.
JAMES LONG, writing as JAMES LOGAN, sold fantasy The Silverblood Promise and two more books in the Last Legacy series to Stephanie Stein at Tor via Emma Thawley of Jo Fletcher Books.
DEBBIE URBANSKI sold speculative story collection Portalmania to Tim O’Connell at Simon & Schuster via Kate Garrick at Salky Literary Management.
SAMANTA SCHWEBLIN’s collection The Good Evil and a second book sold to John Freeman at Knopf in a pre-empt via Johanna Castillo of Writers House.
RUTH OZEKI sold collection The Typing Lady: Short Fictions and novel To Live, for Now to Ibrahim Ahmad at Viking via Molly Friedrich and Lucy Carson at Friedrich Agency. Canadian rights went to Deborah Sun de la Cruz at Penguin Canada, UK rights to Jenny Fry at Canongate, and Australia/New Zealand rights to Michael Heyward at Text, via Caspian Dennis of Abner Stein on behalf of The Friedrich Agency.
ELLA FIELDS sold fantasies Nectar of the Wicked and Wrath of the Damned to Natasha Qureshi at Hodderscape, in a two-book deal via Meire Dias of Bookcase Literary Agency.
NOELLE MICHEL sold near-future SF novel Tomorrow’s Shadows, translated from the French by FRANK WYNNE, to Olivia Taylor Smith at Simon & Schuster via Marleen Seegers at 2 Seas Agency on behalf of Le Bruit du Monde.
JON MCGORAN sold near-future thriller The Price of Everything – ‘‘John Wick meets Johnny Mnemonic’’ – to David Thomas Moore at Solaris via Stacia Decker of Dunow, Carlson & Lerner.
ASHLEY POSTON’s romantic fantasy A Novel Love Story and another book sold to Amanda Bergeron at Berkley via Holly Root of Root Literary. UK rights sold to Emily Kitchin at HQ via Tawanna Sullivan.
JAMES HAN MATTSON sold The Grand Impostors, a suspense novel with ghosts, to Alexis Kirschbaum at Bloomsbury UK via Marya Spence of Janklow & Nesbit.
E.M. ANDERSON’s ghost novel The Keeper of Lonely Spirits and a second book sold to Dina Davis at Mira in a pre-empt via Keir Alekseii of Azantian Literary Agency.
MATT SERAFINI sold horror novel Feeders to Ed Schlesinger at Gallery via Mark Falkin of Falkin Literary.
RY HERMAN sold This Princess Kills Monsters – a feminist retelling of Grimms’ fairy tale ‘‘The Twelve Huntsmen’’ – to Katy Nishimoto at Dial Press in a pre-empt via Michelle Hauck of Storm Literary Agency.
CARYS JONES sold SF novel Always on My Mind and a second book to Katie Ellis-Brown at Harvill Secker via Kiya Evans at Mushens Entertainment on behalf of Liza DeBlock.
CHLOE C. PEÑARANDA’s The Stars Are Dying and two more in the dark romantasy Nytefall trilogy went to Monique Patterson at Bramble in a pre-empt via Jessica Watterson of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency. UK rights sold to Areen Ali at Wildfire via Anna Carmichael of Abner Stein.
CLAY MCLEOD CHAPMAN’s horror novel Stay on the Line, illustrated by TREVOR HENDERSON, sold to Alan Lastufka at Shortwave via Nick McCabe of the Gotham Group for Chapman and by Gordon Warnock of Fuse Literary for Henderson.
- JANE WORMA sold horror novel Of Beasts to Christoph Paul at Clash.
COREY FARRENKOPF sold Living in Cemeteries – ‘‘The Graveyard Book for adults’’ – to Christopher Payne at JournalStone at auction via Marie Lamba of Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency.
DAMIEN OBER’s fantasy novel Voidverse went to Tim O’Connell at Saga Press via Peter Steinberg and Brandi Bowles of UTA.
DAVID JAMES KEATON’s horror novel Red Narcissus sold to Stephanie Beard at Podium Publishing.
EMILY GOLDEN’s epic romantasy Behind the Crimson Curtain and a second book went to Adrienne Procaccini at 47North for six figures in a pre-empt via Laura Dail of Laura Dail Literary Agency.
JULIE LEONG sold fantasy novel The Teller of Small Fortunes and a second book to Jessica Wade at Ace at auction a two-book deal via Paul Lucas of Janklow & Nesbit. UK rights sold to Molly Powell at Hodderscape via Lucas and Hellie Ogden of Janklow & Nesbit UK.
INGRID SEYMOUR’s fantasy novel A Price So Cruel and sequels A Cage So Gilded and A Court So Dark went to Sophie Keefe at Headline Eternal via Jenny Bent of the Bent Agency.
SOPHIE JORDAN sold adult romantic fantasy A Fire in the Sky, first in a new series set in the world of the YA Firelight series, plus a second book to May Chen at Avon via Maura Kye-Casella of Don Congdon Associates.
TIM MCGREGOR sold Eynhallow, ‘‘filling the blank Shelley left detailing the creation of the bride of Frankenstein on the mysterious island of Eynhallow,’’ to Jennifer Barnes at Raw Dog Screaming Press.
LIZA MONROY’s SF novel The Distractions went to Adriana Senior at Regalo Press via Jennifer Lyons of Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency.
EV KNIGHT sold The House on the Cover of a Horror Novel to Jennifer Barnes at Raw Dog Screaming Press.
J.T. GEISSINGER sold Ruthless Creatures, Carnal Urges, Savage Hearts, and Brutal Vows in the Queens and Monsters series – ‘‘Romeo and Juliet meets John Wick’’ – to Monique Patterson at Tor for seven figures via Jenny Bent of the Bent Agency.
HESTER FOX sold Petal White and Water Dark, ‘‘a gender-flipped ‘The Little Mermaid’,’’ and a second book to Sara Rodgers at Graydon House via Jane Dystel of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.
BLAIR FELL, writing as R.B. FELL, sold romantasy Disco Witches of Fire Island to Jess Verdi at Alcove Press via Douglas Stewart of Sterling Lord Literistic.
BIANCA MARAIS’s fantasy mys tery A Most Peculiar Tale, Indeed went to Nicole Brebner at Mira via Cecilia Lyra of P.S. Literary Agency.
LUKE DUMAS sold horror novel Nothing Tastes as Good and a second title to Loan Le at Atria via Maria Whelan of Inkwell Management.
LLOYD MEEKER’s fantasy The Garden Witch sold to Ashley Hutchinson at Lost Boys via Amy A. Collins of Talcott Notch Literary Services.
SOPHIE KEETCH sold Le Fay and The Vale of No Return, sequels to Arthurian fantasy Morgan Is My Name, to Amanda Ferreira at Random House Canada via Marina de Pass of Soho Agency.
GENEVA LEE’s Filthy Rich Fae, set in the world of Filthy Rich Vampires, and two more books went to Liz Pelletier at Amara via Louise Fury of The Fury Agency.
LIA RILEY’s time-travel romance Puck and Prejudice and a second book sold to Alessandra Roche at Avon via Emily Sylvan Kim of Prospect Agency.
LARA EHRLICH’s fantasy Bind Me Tighter Still went to Kate Gale at Red Hen Press via Serene Hakim of Ayesha Pande Literary.
DREW HUFF sold horror novel The Divine Flesh to Rob Carroll at Dark Matter Ink.
JOY WILLIAMS sold collection Concerning the Future of Souls to Masie Cochran at Tin House Books via Amelia Atlas of CAA.
JENEANE O’RILEY sold How Does It Feel? and The Smell of Smoke in the Infatuated Fae series, plus two more titles, to Christa Desir at Bloom Books in a pre-empt.
MAXWELL I. GOLD’s collection of cosmic horror prose poetry, Tiny Oblivions and Mutual Self Destructions, went to Jennifer Barnes at Raw Dog Screaming Press.
OLIVER DARKSHIRE sold cozy fantasy novel Isabella Nagg and the Pot of Basil to Tom Mayer at Norton via John Ash of CAA.
ELIZABETH STEPHENS sold an untitled superhero romance and a second book to Lauren Plude at Montlake via Amy A. Collins of Talcott Notch Literary Services.
SUZANNE REDFEARN, writing as S.E. REDFEARN, sold SF thriller Two Good Men to Addi Wright at Blackstone Publishing in a pre-empt via Gordon Warnock of Fuse Literary.
ALLISON KING’s fantasy novel The Phoenix Pencil Company went to Jessica Williams at William Morrow in a pre-empt via Seth Fishman of the Gernert Company. UK rights sold to Kish Widyaratna at Fourth Estate in a pre-empt via Caspian Dennis of Abner Stein.
YEONG-GWANG YOU sold fantasy The Rainbow Goblin Store to Rebecca Hilsdon at Michael Joseph at auction via Emily Randle of Randle Editorial & Literary Consultancy and Jackie Yang of Eric Yang Agency on behalf of Clay House.
FLORENCE KNAPP sold alternate-timelines novel The Names to Pamela Dorman at Pamela Dorman Books at auction via Anna Stein on behalf of Karolina Sutton of CAA. Canadian rights went to Nicole Winstanley at Penguin Canada, and UK rights to Francesca Main at Phoenix at auction, via Sutton.
OLIVIA ROSE DARLING resold previously self-published romantasy Fear the Flames and sold a second book to Shauna Summers at Bantam Dell via Jessica Watterson of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.
RUBY DIXON sold fantasy romance Bound to the Shadow Prince to Margot Mallinson at W by Wattpad via Holly Root of Root Literary.
SCOTT KENEMORE’s space exploration satire The Goo went to Stephan Zguta at Talos Press.
A.T. NAPOLI’s fantasy novel Bitchcraft: The Witch’s Assistant – ‘‘The Devil Wears Prada, but with witches’’ – sold to Stephanie Beard at Podium Publishing.
RAE KNOWLES & APRIL YATES sold Lies that Bind, illustrated by DANIELLA BATSHEVA, to Heather Vassallo at Brigids Gate.
ROSALIA RODRIGO sold historical fantasy Beasts of Carnaval to Dina Davis at Mira at auction via Allegra Martschenko of Ladderbird Literary Agency.
MEG RIPLEY’s feminist folk horror novel Necrology sold to Amanda Manns at Creature via Erin Clyburn of Howland Literary.
VICTORIA DALPE sold Selene Shade: Resurrectionist for Hire, first in a dark fantasy series, to Christoph Paul at Clash.
ELIZABETH ANNE MARTINS’s postapocalyptic novel Dry Lands sold to Don D’Auria at Flame Tree Press.
ALETHEA LYONS sold The Hiding, illustrated by ELIZABETH LEGGETT, to S.D. Vassallo at Brigids Gate.
MEREDITH IRELAND, writing as MAI CORLAND, sold fantasy Five Broken Blades and two more books to Liz Pelletier at Red Tower via Lauren Spieller of Folio Literary Management.
PAULETTE KENNEDY’s horror novel The Last Light of Autumn went to Danielle Marshall at Lake Union Publishing via Jill Marr of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.
KEV HARRISON’s Shadow of the Hidden, illustrated by Mustapha Design dz, went to Heather Vassallo at Brigids Gate.
RAIN NOX sold fantasy Magic
& Melody, second in the Animal Charmer series, to Jason Henderson at Castle Bridge Media. In Churl Yo will edit.
MIA DALIA sold horror novel Haven to Sue Arroyo at CamCat Books. Helga Schier will edit.
MARK RIGNEY sold fantasy novel Vinyl Wonderland to In Churl Yo at Castle Bridge Media. Jason Henderson will edit.
KEITH ANTHONY BAIRD’s horror novel Sinthetica sold to Heather Vassallo at Brigids Gate.
DAVID LEO RICE sold The Berlin Wall, set ‘‘in an alternate 2020, a time when the once-living Berlin Wall threatens to come back to life amidst a total breakdown of knowable history,’’ to Miette Gillette at Whiskey Tit.
JUSTIN ROBINSON sold Moonlight Special, sixth in the series starting with City of Devils, with illustrations by KATE SULLIVAN, to Athena Andreadis at Candlemark & Gleam.
IAN SANDUSKY’s historical horror novel The Devil’s Transit and other titles sold to George Mitchell at Rogue River via Kristen Terrette of Martin Literary Management.
EVA LEIGH sold The Sea Witch and book two in a romantic fantasy duology to Cat Clyne at Canary Street via Deidre Knight of The Knight Agency.
NAIMA SIMONE sold Hunted Kingdom and two more in the Kingdoms dark romance trilogy to Monique Patterson at Bramble via Rachel Brooks of BookEnds.
KAT MARTIN sold Ghost Town and an untitled thriller to Alicia Condon at Kensington via Mark Gottlieb of Trident Media Group.
SAPIR A. ENGLARD sold Cloak of the Vampire and Blood of the Gods to Alison Dasho at Montlake via Georgia McBride of Month9Books.
Sisters Elizabeth and Helen, writing as ELIZABETH HELEN, resold Bonded by Thorns, Woven by Gold, Forged by Malice, and sold the fourth book in the Beasts of the Briar fantasy series to Ajebowale Roberts at Voyager UK in a pre-empt in a four-book deal via Stevie Finegan at Zeno Agency on behalf of Susan Velazquez of JABberwocky Agency. The first three were originally self-published.
SHAMEEZ PATEL PAPATHANASIOU sold The First King, third in the Selene trilogy, to Don D’Auria at Flame Tree Press.
STEVE STRED’s horror novel 456 Blatchford Drive sold to Andrew Robert at DarkLit via Alec Frankel of IAG. David Sodergren will edit.
GEORGE SIROIS sold five-book SF series Parts Unknown to George Clay Mitchell at Dragonblade via Amy Brewer of Metamor phosis Literary Agency.
DAMIEN CASEY sold horror novel Church of Skatan to Andrew Robert at DarkLit via Alec Frankel of IAG.
LESLIE O’SULLIVAN’s Emerald Spire: A Rockin’ Fairy Tale, went to Lisa Green at City Owl Press.
STEPHANIE SANDERS-JACOB sold horror novel Pyramidia to David-Jack Fletcher at Slashic Horror Press.
MIKE SALT’s horror novel Blind sold to Andrew Robert at DarkLit via Alec Frankel of IAG.
JOSHUA MILLICAN sold horror novel Teleportasm to Alan Lastufka at Shortwave.
WENDY DALRYMPLE sold Pageant – ‘‘Carrie meets Little Miss Sunshine’’ – to Andrew Robert at DarkLit via Alec Frankel of IAG.
CAT VOLEUR’s sapphic horror novel The Desert Island Game went to David-Jack Fletcher at Slashic Horror Press.
TIM MEYER sold horror novel Vanishing Castles to Andrew Robert at DarkLit via Alec Frankel of IAG.
AMBER CAMP sold fantasy Getting Ghosted Is Murder to Terri Bischoff at Crooked Lane via Jill Marsal of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.
TRACY DEONN sold Oathbound, third in the Legendborn Cycle, plus a second title to Kendra Levin at Simon & Schuster Children’s for seven figures via Joanna Volpe of New Leaf Literary & Media.
KENDARE BLAKE sold the second book in the Heromaker duology and resold first volume Champion of Fate to Katie Jennings at Oneworld in the UK via Charlotte Bodman at Rights People on behalf of Emily van Beek and Chiara Panzeri of Folio Literary Management.
JUSTINA IRELAND sold middle-grade novel The Boo Hag Flex and HANNA ALKAF sold Night of the Living Head, first in The Tales from Cabin 23 series, ‘‘in the tradition of Goosebumps,’’ with a different author for each title, to Jordan Brown at Balzer + Bray via Laura Rennert of Andrea Brown Literary Agency (for Ireland) and Victoria Marini of Volume Five Literary (for Alkaf).
ERIN A. CRAIG sold another book in the Sisters of the Salt YA fantasy series, plus two more novels, to Wendy Loggia at Delacorte via Sarah Landis of Sterling Lord Literistic.
KALYNN BAYRON sold the first book in a YA horror series, plus a new middle-grade mystery series, in a four-book deal to Mary Kate Castellani at Bloomsbury Children’s VIA Jamie Vankirk of Rainbow Nerds Literary.
JENN REESE sold middle-grade antasy Puzzleheart to Mark Podesta at Henry Holt via Holly Root of Root Literary.
RYAN GRAUDIN’s historical YA fantasy The Enchanted Lies of Celeste Artois and a second title went to Priyanka Krishnan at Redhook via Tracey Adams of Adams Literary. Alyea Canada will edit.
AMY GOLDSMITH’s YA horror novel Predatory Natures and a second book sold to Lydia Gregovic at Delacorte via Claire Friedman of Inkwell Management.
PHIL HICKES sold YA novel Shadowhall Academy, starting a new series, plus a second book to Alice Moloney at Usborne via Chloe Seager of Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency.
ELIZABETH JOHNSON’s YA fantasy Enchanting Girl went to Melanie Nolan at Knopf Children’s in a pre-empt via Jim McCarthy of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.
KAT ELLIS sold YA fantasy The Devouring Light to Alice Jerman at HarperTeen via Molly Ker Hawn at The Bent Agency. Clare Vaughn will edit.
LILI WILKINSON’s dark academia YA fantasy Unhallowed Halls sold to Lydia Gregovic at Delacorte via Katelyn Detweiler of Jill Grinberg Literary Management. Australian and New Zealand rights went to Jodie Webster at Allen & Unwin.
FARAH HERON sold YA fantasy Remember Me Tomorrow to Carmen Johnson at Skyscape via Rachel Brooks of BookEnds.
NATALIE C. PARKER’s queer YA adventure novel The Assassin’s Guide to Babysitting sold to Miriam Newman at Candlewick via Lara Perkins of Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
ALISON AMES sold YA fantasy The Devourer and a second title to Lauren Knowles at Page Street via Rena Rossner of Deborah Harris Agency.
LAMAR GILES sold YA fantasy Ruin Road – ‘‘Stephen King’s Needful Things meets Friday Night Lights’’ – to Jody Corbett at Scholastic via Jamie Weiss Chilton of Andrea Brown Literary.
BRIDGET MORRISSEY sold Sapphic YA romantic fantasy Everything She Does Is Magic to Hannah Hill at Delacorte via Taylor Haggerty of Root Literary.
COREY LIU’s YA horror novel Horny Lover Boys – ‘‘Heartstopper meets Stephen King’’ – went to Erika Turner at Little, Brown Children’s via Amy Moore-Benson of Meridian Artists.
LAURA STEVEN’s YA fantasy romance Our Infinite Fates and a second book went to Eileen Rothschild at Wednesday, with UK rights to Carmen McCullough at Puffin UK, both in pre-empts via Chloe Seager of Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency.
LEAH THOMAS & KALI WALLACE sold queer romantic YA fantasy The Blade That Binds Us to Joshua Dean Perry at Tiny Ghost Press.
XAN KAUR’s YA fantasy When Devils Sing, ‘‘about a Punjabi teen who strikes a deal with a devil,’’ and a second book sold to Brian Geffen at Holt Children’s for six figures at auction via Pete Knapp of Park & Fine Literary and Media.
KELSEY IMPICCICHE sold YA fantasy Voice of the Ocean to Marilyn Kretzner at Blackstone Publishing via Mark Gottlieb of Trident Media Group.
REBECCA COFFINDAFFER’s YA fantasy The Bloody and the Damned went to Nicolas Ore-Giron at Roaring Brook Press via Lara Perkins of Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Connie Hsu will edit.
KREE SULLIVAN sold queer YA crossover fantasy Blackblood to Joshua Dean Perry at Tiny Ghost Press.
ROSE KEATING’s debut literary horror collection Oddbody went to Olivia Taylor Smith at Simon & Schuster via Ed Wilson of Johnson & Alcock.
First novelist EMILY HUNT KIVEL sold ‘‘late capitalist fairytale’’ Dwelling to Milo Walls at Farrar, Straus at auction via Stacy Testa of Writers House.
DARIA LAVELLE’s debut fantasy Aftertaste sold to Carina Guiterman at Simon & Schuster at auction via Lucy Carson of Friedrich Agency. Alexis Kirschbaum acquired the book for Bloomsbury UK in a pre-empt.
CASEY SCIESZKA’s debut fantasy The Fountain, about a woman who doesn’t age, sold to Sarah Stein at Harper in a pre-empt via Ali Lake of O’Connor Literary Agency.
First novelist ALISA ALERING sold dark fantasy Smothermoss to Elizabeth DeMeo at Tin House Books via James Mustelier of the Bent Agency on behalf of Martha Perotto-Wills of the Bent Agency.
MAIGA DOOCY sold debut fantasy Sorcery & Small Magics and two more titles to Brit Hvide at Orbit in a pre-empt, and to Emily Byron at Orbit UK, via Allegra Martschenko of Ladderbird Literary Agency.
DAN FRANKLIN’s debut, horror novel These Things Linger, went to Kevin Lucia at Cemetery Dance.
WENDY GORMAN’s debut novel We Kept Her in the Cellar, a horrific retelling of ‘‘Cinderella’’, sold to Terri Bischoff at Crooked Lane via Emily Keyes of Keyes Agency.
First novelist LILY BRAUN-ARNOLD’s postapocalyptic YA The Last Bookstore on Earth went to Hannah Hill at Delacorte in a pre-empt via Lily Dolin of UTA. UK rights sold to Carmen McCullough at Penguin UK.
CAMILLA RAINES sold a debut queer fantasy romance duology beginning with The Hollow and the Haunted to Katie Dent at Titan Books via Kat Kerr of Donald Maass Literary Agency.
JESS LIENHARDT’s debut fantasy novel A Realm Undone and another book sold to Alexandria Brown at Rising Action. Tina Beier will edit.
New author SUSAN J. MORRIS sold Strange Beasts, ‘‘an exploration of feminine power through the lens of Dracula and Sherlock Holmes,’’ to Kathryn Budig at Bindery Books via Jennifer Azantian of Azantian Literary Agency. UK rights sold to Calah Singleton at Hodderscape.
First novelist GRACE FLAHIVE sold near-future SF novel Palm Meridian to Margo Shickmanter at Avid Reader Press at auction via Grainne Fox and Kelly Karczewski of UTA on behalf of Susan Armstrong of C+W Media.
- HATI’s debut SF novel And the Sky Bled went to Zoranne Host at Bindery Books via Allegra Martschenko of Ladderbird Literary Agency.
New writer ERIN ROSE sold historical paranormal romance The Blood Runner to Jessica Shearer at City Owl Press via Cathie Hedrick-Armstrong of The Purcell Agency.
RICHY CRAVEN’s debut ghost fantasy Spirit Level went to Deirdre Nolan at Eriu via Bethany Ferguson of Kate Nash Literary Agency UK.
First novelist KAY SYNCLAIRE’s cozy fantasy House of Frank went to Jaysen Headley at Bindery Books.
Debut novelist BENJAMIN RESNICK sold Next Stop to Lauren Wein at Avid Reader Press via Jessica Kasmer-Jacobs of Deborah Harris Agency.
JACQUELYN ZONG-LI ROSS sold debut collection The Longest Way to Eat a Melon to Kristen Renee Miller at Sarabande Books via Kelvin Kong of K2 Literary.
Debut writer TAYLOR GROTHE’s queer YA horror novel Hollow and a second book sold to Ashley Hearn at Peachtree Teen via Larissa Melo Pienkowski of Jill Grinberg Literary Management.
New author TIFFANY WANG sold fantasy Of Fire and Ash to Kevin Norman at Bindery Books via Kelly Van Sant of KT Literary.
First novelist RACHEL REISS sold YA speculative thriller Out of Air and a second book in a pre-empt to Eileen Rothschild at Wednesday Books via Katie Shea Boutillier of Donald Maass Literary Agency.
First novelist AMBER CLEMENT sold YA fantasy Fortune’s Kiss to Laura Schreiber at Union Square Kids in a pre-empt via Patrice Caldwell of New Leaf Literary & Media on behalf of Electric Postcard Entertainment.
REBECCA DANZENBAKER’s debut YA speculative romance Soulmatch and a second book went to Nicole Ellul at Simon & Schuster Children’s via Michelle Wolfson of Wolfson Literary Agency.
SALMAN RUSHDIE’s memoir Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder, about the attack he experienced in August 2022, went to Random House via the Wylie Agency.
TOCHI ONYEBUCHI sold essay collection Is This a Race Book?, ‘‘interrogating the burden of being labeled a ‘race writer’ in the internet age,’’ to Roxane Gay at Roxane Gay Books via Noah Ballard of Verve Talent & Literary.
EUGEN BACON will edit original non-fiction anthology Afro-Centered Futurisms in Our Speculative Fiction for Amy Martin at Bloomsbury Academic via Jennie Goloboy of Donald Maass Literary Agency. It will be part of the Black Literary and Cultural Expressions series, with series editors Toyin Falola and Abimbola Adelakun. SUYI DAVIES OKUNGBOWA will write the introduction.
DJANGO WEXLER sold two books in his Levgrav novella series to Kate Runde at Podium Publishing via Seth Fishman of The Gernert Company.
CAROL VERBURG & the Edward Gorey Charitable Trust sold The Theatrical Adventures of Edward Gorey, about the artist’s stage productions, including Dracula, to Mirabelle Korn at Chronicle via Neil Olson of Massie & McQuilkin.
LINDY RYAN sold horror novella Cold Snap to George Sandison at Titan Books via Italia Gandolfo of Gandolfo Helin and Fountain Literary Management.
WILL LUDWIGSEN sold Lovecraftian horror novella A Scout Is Brave to Steve Berman at Lethe Press.
MAGGIE TOKUDA-HALL sold graphic novel Squad 2, sequel to Squad, illustrated by LISA STERLE, to Martha Mihalick at Greenwillow via Jennifer Laughran of Andrea Brown Literary Agency for Tokuda-Hall and Britt Siess of Britt Siess Creative Management for Sterle.
CHRISTOPHER GOLDEN & BRIAN KEENE will edit anthology The End of the World As We Know It: Tales of Stephen King’s The Stand, with original stories set in the world of King’s novel, plus an introduction by King, featuring work by S.A. COSBY, TANANARIVE DUE, ALMA KATSU, JOSH MALERMAN, PAUL TREMBLAY, and more, for Ed Schlesinger at Gallery at auction via Howard Morhaim of Howard Morhaim Literary Agency.
JIM BUTCHER & KERRIE L. HUGHES will edit Paranormal Payback, featuring stories ‘‘about the desire for revenge,’’ for Anne Sowards at Ace via Jennifer Jackson of Donald Maass Literary Agency for Butcher and Lucienne Diver of the Knight Agency for Hughes.
VAUGHN A. JACKSON & STEPHANIE PEARRE will edit cosmic horror anthology Beyond the Bounds of Infinity, ‘‘written by authors from historically underrepresented groups to reclaim a genre that wasn’t always welcoming,’’ for Jennifer Barnes at Raw Dog Screaming Press.
CHISTO HEALY, ERICA SUMMERS, and MICHAEL R. COLLINS will write Price Slashers, with three stories based on the same prompt, for David-Jack Fletcher at Slashic Horror Press.
RONALD MALFI resold The Night Parade and Little Girls to Titan Books in the UK via Dorie Simmonds Agency on behalf of US publisher Kensington.
PIP ADAM resold literary SF novel Audition to Jeremy Davies at Coffee House Press in the US and Jordan Ginsberg at Strange Light in Canada at auction via Martin Shaw of Shawna McCarthy Agency. UK rights previously went to Peninsula Press, New Zealand rights to Te Herenga Waka University Press, and Australian rights to Giramondo.
HARLEY LAROUX resold Her Soul to Take, Her Soul for Revenge, and Soul of a Witch in the previously self-published paranormal romance Souls series to Elizabeth May at Kensington for six figures via Bethany Weaver of Weaver Literary Agency.
ALEX HOWARD resold fantasy The Ghost Cat to Peter Joseph at Hanover Square Press via Ruth Logan at Bonnier Books UK. Grace Towery will edit.
JOSH SILVER resold debut dystopian YA duology HappyHead and Dead Happy to Kelsey Horton at Delacorte at auction via Alexandra Devlin of Rights People on behalf of Becky Bagnell at Lindsay Literary Agency.
WAYNE BROOKES is leaving his position as associate publisher for Pan Fiction at Pan Macmillan to spend more time with his family, effective at the end of 2023. He spent 14 years at the company.
KIMBERLEY YOUNG is now managing director of Transworld, succeeding LARRY FINLAY, who is retiring after 40 years. Young was previously managing director and publisher of HarperFiction.
ERIKA TSANG has joined Tor’s romance imprint Bramble as executive editor, reporting to vice president and editorial director Monique Patterson. Tsang began her career at Doubleday Book Club and spent the last two decades at Avon.
RANDY RIBAY sold The Reckoning of Roku, set in the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender, to Anne Heltzel at Amulet on behalf of Paramount/Avatar Studios via Beth Phelan of Gallt and Zacker Literary Agency.
TV rights to MICHAEL ROWE’s October were optioned by producer Scott Sullivan, and TV rights to Enter, Night by producer Daniel Marino, via Karmen Wells at The Rights Factory.
JALEIGH JOHNSON sold Dungeons & Dragons novel The Fallbacks: Bound for Ruin to Alex Davis at Random House Worlds via Sara Megibow of kt literary.
BRENDAN DENEEN sold Alien: Uncivil War to Titan Books.
SARAH RAUGHLEY will write Livewire, a novel about the Valiant Comics superhero, for Brendan Deneen at Blackstone Publishing in association with Valiant Entertainment via Natalie Lakosil of Looking Glass Literary & Media.
Film rights to RANDAL GRAHAM’s fantasy romance Beforelife to producers Aaron & Asher Goldberg via Janine Cheeseman and Tracy Essex-Simpson of Aurora Artists on behalf of ECW Press.
Film rights to ABUBAKAR ADAM IBRAHIM’s collection Dreams and Assorted Nightmares were optioned by Kenneth Gyang at Cinema Kpatakpata via Sharon Bowers of Folio Literary Management.
Film rights to RACHELLE DELANEY’s Clara Voyant were optioned by Matt Code and Natalie Urquhart at Wildling Pictures via Amy Tompkins of Transatlantic Agency.
This report and more like it in the December and January 2023 issue of Locus.
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