People & Publishing Roundup, August 2024
JOSEPH COELHO won the 2024 Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing for The Boy Lost in the Maze, illustrated by KATE MILNER (Otter-Barry). The award was presented by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals.
CLARE WINGER HARRIS (1891-1968) is the winner of the 2024 Cordwainer Smith Rediscovery Award, intended to bring attention to lesser-known SF and fantasy authors, announced at Readercon 33, held July 11-14, 2024, in Quincy MA. The jury members were Rich Horton, Steven H Silver, and Ann VanderMeer.
JAKE LAMAR’s Viper’s Dream (No Exit) won the Historical Dagger category in the Crime Writers’ Association 2024 Dagger Awards. ANTHONY HOROWITZ won The Dagger in the Library for “a body of work by an established writer of crime fiction or non-fiction who has long been popular with borrowers from libraries.” JAMES LEE BURKE and LYNDA LA PLANTE were previously announced as joint winners of the 2024 Diamond Dagger Award for Lifetime Achievement in Crime Writing.
NICOLA DAVIES’s Skrimsli (Firefly) won the Bute Energy Children & Young People Award in the 2024 Wales Book of the Year Awards, honoring “outstanding literary talent from Wales across many genres and in both English and Welsh.”
THEODORA GOSS sold a short story collection to Jacob Weisman at Tachyon Publications via Seth Fishman of the Gernert Company. Jaymee Goh will edit.
KATE ELLIOTT sold the Witch Roads duology to Lee Harris at Tordotcom via Russell Galen of Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency.
JOHN CHU sold two SF novels to Jennifer Gunnels at Tor via Eric Showers of Howard Morhaim Literary Agency.
RICHARD CHIZMAR sold the final volume in the Boogeyman series and a standalone psychological/supernatural horror novel to Ed Schlesinger at Gallery.
MIKE CHEN sold space opera The Photonic Effect and a second book to Nivia Evans at Saga Press via Eric Smith of P.S. Literary Agency.
PARK SEOLYEON’s SF novel Project V, translated by GENE PNG, described as “steminist mecha meets Mulan,” sold to Alexa Frank at HarperVia in a pre-empt via Edwina de Charnace of Mulcahy Sweeney on behalf of Jinhee Park of Greenbook Literary Agency.
AG RODRIGUEZ sold cozy SF novel Space Brooms! to Gemma Creffield at Angry Robot at auction via Stephanie Hansen of Metamorphosis Literary Agency.
SERRA SWIFT’s fantasy Kill the Beast and a second book sold to Stephanie Stein at Tor in a six-figure pre-empt via Valerie Noble of Donaghy Literary Group.
VERONIKA DAPUNT sold fantasy novel Death and Other Occupational Hazards and a second book to Olamide Olatunji-Bello at Transworld via Elizabeth Counsell at Northbank Talent Management.
KARMA BROWN sold The Mother to Maya Ziv at Dutton and to Brittany Lavery at Simon & Schuster Canada via Carolyn Forde of Transatlantic Literary Agency.
GABRIELLE LUCILLE FUENTES sold Here Is Clear Water to Nadxieli Nieto at Flatiron Books via Danielle Bukowski of Sterling Lord Literistic.
SAM HUGHES, writing as qntm, sold a revised version of self-published SF horror novel There Is No Antimemetics Division, and a second book, to Julian Pavia at Ballantine at auction via Caitlin Blasdell of Liza Dawson Associates. UK rights went to Kate McHale at Del Rey UK.
ALLA ZAYKOVA sold space opera Blackjack Interstellar and a second book to Stephanie Lippitt Clark at Orbit Works via Bethany Weaver of Weaver Literary Agency.
JOSH ROUNTREE’s novel The Unkillable Frank Lightning went to Jacob Weisman at Tachyon Publications via Kristopher O’Higgins at Scribe Agency. Rick Klaw will edit.
ANDREA EAMES sold cozy fantasy A Harvest of Hearts and a second book to Diana Pho at Erewhon Books in the US and to Ajebowale Roberts at Voyager UK at auction via Sam Farkas of Jill
Grinberg Literary Management.
SARAH K.L. WILSON’s The Fisher King, “a mythic retelling of ‘Thrushbeard’,” and two more books sold to Brit Hvide at Orbit in a pre-empt via Whitney Ross of High Line Literary Collective.
SARAH L. HAWTHORN’s queer historical speculative novel The Drowned Coast and a second book sold to Jenna Jankowski at Sourcebooks via Larissa Melo Pienkowski of Jill Grinberg Literary Management.
COURTNEY KAE sold sapphic fantasy rom-com She’s a Reaper to Elizabeth Trout at Kensington via Claire Friedman of Inkwell Management.
C.M. ALONGI sold Sanctuary, sequel to Citadel, to Marilyn Kretzer at Blackstone Publishing via Lesley Sabga of the Seymour Agency.
MARTIN CAHILL sold The Audition for the Fox to Jacob Weisman at Tachyon Publications via Hannah Bowman of Liza Dawson Associates. Jaymee Goh will edit.
KAIT BALLENGER’s fantasy romance Original Sinner and two more books went to Maria Gomez at Montlake via Nicole Resciniti and Lesley Sabga of the Seymour Agency.
JULIE SOTO sold fantasy romance Rose in Chains and two more titles to Junessa Viloria at Grand Central via Gaia Banks of Sheil Land Associates. UK rights sold to Martha Ashby and Rachel Winterbottom at Magpie.
EMILY WIBBERLEY & AUSTIN SIEGEMUND-BROKA sold ghost romance Seeing Other People and a second title to Kristine Swartz at Berkley via Katie Shea Boutillier of Donald Maass Literary Agency.
RANDEE DAWN’s “rock-star fairy tale” The Only Song Worth Singing and near-future fantasy Leave No Trace sold to Shahid Mahmud at Arc Manor via Bridget Smith of JABberwocky Literary Agency.
MICHELLE GARZA & MELISSA LASON sold horror novel Janitors vs the Living Dead to Steve Wands at Death’s Head Press.
ALYSSA DAY sold fantasy novel Nobody’s Quest and two more books to Liz Pelletier at Red Tower via Kevan Lyon of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency.
CAT SCULLY’s historical horror novel Below the Grand Hotel sold to Christoph Paul at Clash.
PAULA D. ASHE sold sapphic body horror novel Transubstantiation Blues to Christoph Paul at Clash via Lane Heymont of the Tobias Literary Agency.
REAVIS Z. WORTHAM sold two books in the fantasy Western Commancheria series to Casey Cowan at Hat Creek via Anne Hawkins of John Hawkins & Associates. Anthony Wood will edit.
BETH OVERMYER’s Forged, third book in the Blade & Bone trilogy, went to Don D’Auria at Flame Tree Press.
JENDIA GAMMON, writing as J. DIANNE DOTSON, sold The Secret of the Sapphire Sentinel and The Dawn of Dusk and Twilight, the sequel and prequel to The Inn at the Amethyst Lantern, to Justine Norton-Kertson at Android.
EMILY A. WEEDON’s erotic noir vampire thriller Hemo Sapiens went to Russell Smith at Dundurn Press via Kathleen Foxx of the Rights Factory.
C.E. HOFFMAN sold It’s Elizabeth to Elton Skelter at Lethe Press. Steve Berman will edit.
JUSTIN HOLLEY’s Unseen Gods went to Don D’Auria at Flame Tree Press.
IRENOSEN OKOJIE sold historical “mythic tale” Curandera to Mensah Demary at Soft Skull via Tucker Smith of the Wylie Agency.
ELIZABETH ANNE MARTINS’s SF novel Opposite World sold to Don D’Auria at Flame Tree Press.
NICK CATO & ANDRE DUZA sold horror novel At Midnight We Possess the Damned to Steve Wands at Death’s Head Press.
TODD KEISLING sold The Sundowner’s Dance – “Cocoon meets ‘The Colour Out of Space’” – to Alan Lastufka at Shortwave via Becky LeJeune of Bond Literary Agency.
CATHERINE FEARNS sold historical fantasy The Fault Mirror to Cassandra Thompson at Quill & Crow.
CHRISTOPHER MICKLOS sold horror novel Tick Town to In Churl Yo at Castle Bridge Media via Mark Falkin of Falkin Literary. Jason Henderson will edit.
KENT PRIORE sold horror/fantasy novel The Monsters Among Us to Rowan Prose Publishing.
GRACE DALY’s horror novel The Scald-Crow went to Amanda Manns at Creature.
JACOB STEVEN MOHR sold dark fantasy Brides in the Dark to Cassandra Thompson at Quill & Crow.
BOBBY MILLER sold SF novel Situation Nowhere to Mallory Smart at Maudlin House in a pre-empt.
BRITTNEY MORRIS sold fantasy romance Who Wants to Marry a Vampire? Errin Toma at Canary Street via John Cusick of Folio Literary Management for packager Bittersweet Books and Quressa Robinson of Folio Literary Management Morris.
LISELLE SAMBURY sold A Brood of Beasts, concluding the trilogy that begins with A Mastery of Monsters, to Sarah McCabe at Margaret K. McElderry Books via Kristy Hunter of the Knight Agency.
ALLISON SAFT’s YA fantasy Wings of Starlight sold to Katlin Sarantou at Disney-Hyperion via Claire Friedman and Jessica Mileo of Inkwell Management.
ALLIE MILLINGTON’s YA fantasy Earl Grey and a second book sold to Liz Szabla at Feiwel and Friends in a pre-empt via Kristen Terrette of Martin Literary Management.
NIKITA GILLS sold Hekate, “a novel-in-verse retelling of the Greek myth of Hekate,” and two more books to Margaret Raymo at Little, Brown Children’s at auction via Nicola Chang of David Higham Associates.
E.L. STARLING’s Boundless, a YA “gender-bent retelling of Titanic” on a spaceship, sold to Justine Bylo at Entangled Teen via Gabriella Melendez at Great Dog Literary.
CRYSTAL SEITZ’s YA fantasy Beast Becomes Her – “Wednesday meets Norse mythology through the lens of feminine rage” – and another book sold to Sarah McCabe at Margaret K. McElderry Books via Laura Crockett of TriadaUS Literary Agency.
SARAH HENNING’s magic school rom-com Such a Witch – “Wednesday meets Clueless” – sold to Milena Blue Spruce at Little, Brown Children’s via Whitney Ross of High Line Literary Collective.
CASPIAN FAYE sold YA ghost story In Between the Walls to Joshua Dean Perry at Tiny Ghost Press.
LEE MATTHEW GOLDBERG sold YA time-travel detective novel Miles in Time, sequel Time Fixers, and a third title to Rachel Del Grosso at Wise Wolf via Natalie Kimber of the Rights Factory.
CURTIS JOBLING sold YA novel Wyrdwood and two books in middle-grade series Red Tide Black Heart to Hazel Holmes at UCLan Publishing via John Jarrold of John Jarrold Literary Agency.
SARENA NANUA & SASHA NANUA sold YA historical fantasy A Riddle of Thorns to Mora Couch at Holiday House via Pete Knapp and Stuti Telidevara of Park & Fine Literary and Media.
AMY CIP’s YA fantasy novel Atlantis Rising went to Rowan Prose Publishing.
ERIN GIANNINI sold YA horror novel The Weight of Echoes to Rowan Prose Publishing.
Debut author SARA OMER sold epic fantasy The Gryphon King and two more books to Katie Dent at Titan Books via Anna Carmichael of Abner Stein on behalf of Lane Clarke at Ultra Literary.
STUART PENNEBAKER’s first novel Ghost Fish went to Morgan Wu at Little, Brown via Christopher Combemale of Sterling Lord Literistic.
Debut novelist SARAH G. PIERCE sold “humorous horror love story” For Human Use and a second book to Bradley Englert at Redhook in a pre-empt via Pam Gruber of High Line Literary Collective.
LESLIE BAIRD’s first book Salome went to Tarini Sipahimalani at Putnam in a pre-empt via Mackenzie Williams of Janklow & Nesbit.
LAURA ELLIOTT’s debut SF novel Awakened went to Simon Spanton at Angry Robot in a pre-empt via Caro Clarke of Portobello Literary.
First novelist PAIGE LEWIS sold coming-of-age epic fantasy Canon to Allie Merola at Viking via Jacqueline Ko of the Wylie Agency.
COURTNEY FLOYD’s first novel, dark academia fantasy Higher Magic, sold to Dina Davis at Mira in a pre-empt via Rebecca Matte of Bradford Literary Agency.
AVRA MARGARITI’s first SF novel The New Hunger went to Elton Skelter at Lethe Press. Steve Berman will edit.
A.A. VACHARAT’s near-future YA debut This Moth Saw Brightness went to Andrew Karre atDutton Children’s via Kelly Dyksterhouse of the Tobias Literary Agency.
New writer RACHAEL A. EDWARDS sold fantasy A Fate Unwoven to Jonah Heller at Peachtree Teen via Rena Rossner of Deborah Harris Agency.
DJ SLATER’s first horror novel Legend Has It went to Rowan Prose Publishing.
RIKKI GOODWIN sold debut horror novel Lovers’ Leap to Rowan Prose Publishing.
L. MARIE WOOD sold The Horror Aesthetic: Essays from the Dark Corners of the Genre to Nicole Givens Kurtz at Mocha Memoirs Press.
RYAN T. JENKINS & DAVID CORSE each sold a novelette for Split Scream Volume Six to Alex Woodroe and Matt Blairstone at Tenebrous Press. Alex Ebenstein will edit.
RITA BANERJEE, DIANA NORMA SZOKOLYAI, and CORRINE PREVITE will edit speculative literature anthology Disobedient Futures for Abby Freeland at University Press of Kentucky.
CARLY RACKLIN’s debut, queer novella Funeral Song, described as “The Haunting of Bly Manor meets ‘Linghun’,” went to Anna Kubik at Dead Sky Publishing.
TASHAN MEHTA resold Mad Sisters of Esi, first published in India, to Navah Wolfe at DAW at auction via Cameron McClure of Donald Maass Literary Agency.
MARCEL FELDMAR resold self-published fantasy novel Awkward on the Rocks to Jeremy Wagner at Dead Sky Publishing.
JANE FLETT resold first novel Freakslaw, “a ‘90s queer horror,” went to Caolinn Douglas at Zando via Alexis Hurley of Inkwell Management. Doubleday UK published originally.
Film rights to MICHAEL CRICHTON & JAMES PATTERSON’s Eruption went to Sony for seven figures at auction via CAA on behalf of The Story Factory. Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi will direct.
Film rights to GARDNER DOZOIS’s 1973 novella “Chains of the Sea” was optioned by About It Films.
This report and more like it in the July 2024 issue of Locus.
While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. We rely on reader donations to keep the magazine and site going, and would like to keep the site paywall free, but WE NEED YOUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT to continue quality coverage of the science fiction and fantasy field.
©Locus Magazine. Copyrighted material may not be republished without permission of LSFF.
