People & Publishing Roundup, December 2024
CLIO EVANS is now represented by Stevie Finegan of Zeno Agency Ltd.
HAYAO MIYAZAKI is this year’s recipient of the Forry Award for lifetime achievement in the SF field, presented by The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society. Miyazaki is the founder of Studio Ghibli and an Academy Award-winning filmmaker. The award, named for Forrest J Ackerman, has been given annually since 1966.
SEANAN MCGUIRE, writing as MIRA GRANT, sold alien invasion novel Overgrowth to Lee Harris at Nightfire via Diana Fox of Fox Literary.
MOLLY TANZER sold And Side By Side They Wander, “an interstellar art heist set 300 years in the future,” to Ellen Datlow at Tordotcom via Cameron McClure of Donald Maass Literary Agency.
JOHN LANGAN’s cosmic horror novel The Cleaving Stone and collection Lost in the Dark and Other Excursions sold to Ross Lockhart at Word Horde via Ginger Clark of Ginger Clark Literary.
PHILIP FRACASSI sold historical horror novel Sarafina to Christoph Paul at Clash via Elizabeth Copps of Copps Literary Services.
JONATHAN MABERRY sold books 16 and 17 in the Joe Ledger Rogue Team International series, plus a standalone novel to Michael Homler at Griffin via Sara Crowe of Sara Crowe Literary.
ISABEL CAÑAS sold historical horror novel The Possession of Alba Díaz to Jen Monroe at Berkley via Kari Sutherland of kt literary.
A.C. WISE sold dark fantasy novel Ballad of the Bone Road to Katie Dent at Titan Books via Barry Goldblatt of Barry Goldblatt Literary LLC.
MOLLY X. CHANG sold a romantasy trilogy beginning with The Nightblood Prince to Bethen Morgan at Gollancz in a six-figure pre-empt via Tracy Williams of New Leaf Literary
MARIE BRENNAN & ALYC HELMS writing as M.A. CARRICK sold alternate history novel The Sea Beyond and a second book to Tiana Coven at Orbit via Eddie Schneider of JABberwocky Literary Agency for Brennan and Cameron McClure of Donald Maass Literary Agency for Helms.
M. STEVENSON sold romantasy Behooved and a second book to Calah Singleton at Hodderscape for six figures in a pre-empt via Maddy Belton of Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency. US rights went to Lindsey Hall at Bramble in a three-book deal.
CAIT JACOBS’s fantasy Medievally Blonde, “loosely inspired by Legally Blonde,” went to Elizabeth Vaziri at Voyager UK via Josh Adams of Adams Literary. Priyanka Krishnan will edit.
AMAL SINGH’s fantasy novel Slow Burn went to Don D’Auria at Flame Tree Press via Kanishka Gupta of Writer’s Side.
KIM FU sold literary horror novel The Valley Of Vengeful Ghosts to Masie Cochran at Tin House Books via Jackie Kaiser of Westwood Creative Artists. Canadian rights went to Jennifer Lambert at Harper Canada.
DE ELIZABETH’s first adult novel, queer horror story A Shared Haunting, sold to Rachael Kelly at Dutton via Samantha Fabien of Root Literary.
H. LEIGHTON DICKSON sold pirate fantasy Ship of Spells and a second title to Liz Pelletier at Red Tower via Desiree Wilson at Looking Glass Literary & Media.
LEX CROUCHER sold dark academia fantasy The Unmagical Life of Briar Jones and a second book to Priyanka Krishnan at Voyager US at auction via Chloe Seager of Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency.
ROWENNA MILLER’s historical fantasy The Palace of Illusions and a second book sold to Nivia Evans while she was at Orbit US via Jessica Sinsheimer of Context Literary Agency. Alyea Canada will edit.
IVA MARIE PALMER sold holiday fantasy Christmas People and a second book to Eileen Rothschild at St. Martin’s via Viana Siniscalchi and Joelle Hobeika of Alloy Entertainment.
GLENN DIXON sold literary fantasy The Infinite Sadness of Small Appliances to Ifeoma Anyoku at Atria via Hilary McMahon of Westwood Creative Artists. Canadian rights went to Janice Zawerbny at Harper Canada.
MONA AWAD sold We Love You, Bunny, “a prequel and a sequel” to Bunny, plus another standalone novel to Marysue Rucci at Marysue Rucci Books for seven figures via Bill Clegg of The Clegg Agency. UK rights sold to Chris White at Scribner UK and Canadian rights to Nicole Winstanley at Simon & Schuster Canada.
DAVID ANNANDALE sold fantasy novel The Sleep of Empires and a second book to Rene Sears at Pyr via Robert Lecker of Robert Lecker Agency.
ANNA RASCHE sold historical fantasy The Midnight Diamond to Erika Imranyi at Park Row Books for six figures via Stefanie Lieberman of Janklow & Nesbit.
NICHOLAS RUSSELL sold eco-horror novel Observer and collection Southwestern Gothic to Rachel Sargent at Ecco at auction via Danielle Bukowski of Sterling Lord Literistic.
NAGI SHIMENO sold Japanese fantasy Messenger Cat in a Cafe, translated by M. Jean, to Tarini Sipahimalani at Putnam via Marina Penalva of Casanovas & Lynch Agency on behalf of Emily Chuang of Emily Books Agency.
DANIE SHOKOOHI’s fantasy Glass Girls went to Erin Wicks at Gillian Flynn Books in a pre-empt via Margaret Sutherland Brown of Folio Literary Management.
CYNTHIA ST. AUBIN resold paranormal mystery series Tails from the Alpha Art Gallery and sold a new mystery trilogy to Monique Patterson at Bramble via Christine Witthohn of Book Cents Literary Agency.
AUGUSTINE MARCH sold “time-bending love story” In Due Time to Laura Schreiber at Avon via Jim McCarthy of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.
NIKKI ST. CROWE sold the Great & Terrible Land trilogy, inspired by The Wizard of Oz, to Erika Tsang at Bramble for seven figures at auction via Joanna Volpe and Suzie Townsend of New Leaf Literary & Media.
JESSICA KHOURY’s fantasy The Moorwitch went to Elizabeth Agyemang at 47North via Tracey Adams of Adams Literary.
Quercus publishing director ANNE PERRY, writing as AMY COOMBE, sold cozy fantasy Stay for a Spell and two more books to Anne Sowards at Ace at auction via Maddy Belton of Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency.
NICK MEDINA’s horror novel The Whistler, “about a young Native American man with quadriplegia who has been haunted by a mythical specter” and a second book sold to Sareer Khader at Berkley via Amanda Orozco of Transatlantic Literary Agency.
AMY PENNZA’s Dhampira and two more in a vampire trilogy sold to Gabrielle Pachon at Ace in a pre-empt via Amy A. Collins at Talcott Notch Literary Services.
KALYN JOSEPHSON sold fantasy The Library of Amorlin and another title to Viengsamai Fetters at Erewhon in a pre-empt via Carrie Pestritto of Laura Dail Literary Agency.
CHRISTA CARMEN’s horror novel How to Fake a Haunting went to Gracie Doyle at Thomas & Mercer via Jill Marr of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.
MEGAN BONTRAGER’s The Sea Hides Its Dead and two more books sold to Alyea Canada at Orbit and Nadia Saward at Orbit UK in a pre-empt via Clara Chuiton of Olswanger Literary.
ELIZABETH EVERETT’s paranormal romantic comedy Magic and Mischief at the Wayside Hotel and another book went to Sarah Blumenstock at Berkley via Ann Leslie Tuttle of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.
DANAI CHRISTOPOULOU sold “horromantasy” Vile Lady Villains to Jorgie Bain at Michael Joseph via Lauren Bieker of FinePrint Literary Management.
LINDSAY STRAUBE sold Kiss of the Basilisk, starting the Split or Swallow romantasy series, and two more titles to Christa Desir at Bloom Books for six figures. UK rights went to Anne Perry at Arcadia Books in a pre-empt via Suzannah Ball of William Morris Endeavor.
AMANDA LINSMEIER’s gothic historical fantasy A Dance with Death sold to Amanda Chiu Krohn at Keylight via Juliana McBride of Rebecca Friedman Literary.
D.E. ROGERS sold alternate history Black States of America, set in a world where Abraham Lincoln was not murdered, to Abby West at Amistad via Chris Winhaven of Winhaven Agency in association with Viola Davis’s JVL Media. Makayla Tabron will edit.
JAROD ANDERSON sold fantasy Strange Animals to Julian Pavia at Ballantine in a pre-empt via Rach Crawford of Wolf Literary Services.
CAMERON REED sold SF novel What We Are Seeking and a second title to Patrick Nielsen Hayden at Tor via Lauren Bajek of Liza Dawson Associates.
LAURIE L. DOVE sold fantasy Wrath of the Water Tiger, sequel to Mask of the Deer Woman, and a second book to Carly James at Berkley via Sharon Pelletier of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.
MINDY HUNG’s fantasy The Glowing Life of Leeann Wu sold to Jess Verdi at Alcove Press via Sarah Younger of Nancy Yost Literary Agency.
MACKENZIE NOLAN sold horror novel Veal to Pia Singhal at ECW Press.
RASCAL HARTLEY’s SF horror novel Dear Stupid Penpal sold to Matt Blairstone at Tenebrous Press. Alex Woodroe will edit.
DARBY COX sold fantasy A Day of Breath to Desola Coker at Angry Robot via Amy A. Collins of Talcott Notch Literary Services.
THOMAS WHARTON’s “genre-bending fairy tale” Dog: A Fable went to Anne Collins at Random House Canada, in a pre-empt via Denise Bukowski of The Bukowski Agency.
JASMINE MAS sold Psycho Shifters, Psycho Fae, and Psycho Beasts in the Cruel Shifterverse series to Cat Clyne at Canary Street via Kimberly Whalen of the Whalen Agency.
DANA DIEHL’s speculative collection The Earth Room went to Diane Goettel at Black Lawrence Press.
H.R. HAMILTON’s Claimed by Darkness went to Lisa Green at City Owl Press.
GLORIA DUKE’s “paranormal romp about charming mermen set along the beaches and boardwalks of the Jersey Shore” and a second title sold to Mary Altman at Sourcebooks Casablanca via Maria Napolitano of kt literary.
ALETHEA LYONS’s The Somnia, in which a woman must follow a dangerous path through the dreamscape to find a supernatural killer, sold to S.D. Vassallo at Brigids Gate. MJ Pankey will edit.
REVEY GALAER’s Unfamiliar went to Tee Tate at City Owl Press.
LAUREN LEE SMITH sold horror Western The Night Pool to Daniel Ehrenhaft at Blackstone Publishing via Chad Luibl of Janklow & Nesbit.
BEN ALDERSON & LAURA R. SAMOTIN sold vampire novels The Shadows Have Teeth and The Darkness Bites Back to Eleanor Teasdale at Angry Robot via Hannah VanVels Ausbury of Belcastro Agency.
KIT ANDERSON sold SF novel Second Shift to Ricky Miller at Avery Hill.
J.P. ROTH sold fantasy Divinica to Lisa Green at City Owl Press via Stephanie Hansen of Metamorphosis Literary Agency.
LOGAN SPURGEON sold Southern Gothic Sourwood to Cassandra Thompson at Quill & Crow.
NATALIE BROWN’s fantasy A Bounty of Blood and Nails went to Lisa Green at City Owl Press.
SUSAN DENNARD sold YA fantasy The Executioners Three to Lindsey Hall at Tor Teen for six figures via Joanna Volpe of New Leaf Literary & Media. Aislyn Fredsall will edit. UK rights went to Daphne Tonge at Daphne Press via Sarah Gerton of New Leaf Literary & Media on behalf of Volpe.
MARISSA MEYER & TAMARA MOSS sold YA The Escape Game and a second book to Ruta Rimas and Gretchen Durning at Putnam Children’s at auction via Jill Grinberg of Jill Grinberg Literary Management.
TIFFANY WANG’s YA fantasy Tempest’s Queen, sequel to Inferno’s Heir, sold to Kevin Norman at Bindery Books via Kelly Van Sant at kt literary. UK rights sold to Georgina Mitchell at Hachette Children’s via Taryn Fagerness Agency on behalf of Bindery Books.
JESSICA MARY BEST’s YA dystopian sapphic romance You Pierce My Soul went to Jessica Yang at Quirk Books via Michaela Whatnall of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.
ADEN POLYDOROS sold YA SF novel If I Can’t Have You to Lauren Knowles at Page Street via Sam Farkas of Jill Grinberg Literary Management.
SONORA JHA sold YA fantasy Intemperance and resold Foreign (previously published only in India) to Rakesh Satyal at Harper Via via Soumeya Bendimerad Roberts of HG Literary.
ANA DAVIS’s My Keen Knife – a YA “historical fantasy retelling of Macbeth” – and a second book sold to Amanda Chiu Krohn at Keylight via Allegra Martschenko of Ladderbird Literary Agency.
BRENNON LANE’s queer BIPOC YA time-travel romance Falling Into You went to Tamara Grasty at Page Street via Connor Eck of the Eck Agency.
SANDRA J. PAUL sold YA paranormal thriller Dead Girls Don’t Talk to Marilyn Brigham at Skyscape via Melissa Vandeputte of Hamley Books.
ALEX RITANY’s YA time-loop romance “with a body swap twist,” Maybe Tomorrow I’ll Know, and a second title sold to Kristin Allard at Norton Young Readers via Jenna Satterthwaite of Storm Literary Agency.
JONATHAN VAN NESS & JULIE MURPHY’s sold queer YA ghost story Let Them Stare sold to Alessandra Balzer while at Harper Children’s via Gwen Beal and Albert Lee of UTA for Van Ness and John Cusick of Folio Literary Management for Murphy. Kristin Daly Rens will edit.
AUTUMN KRAUSE’s Blood Art, inspired by Japanese folklore, went to Ashley Hearn at Peachtree Teen via Susan Hawk of Upstart Crow Literary.
YEJIN SUH’s The Last Soldier of Nava, inspired by Korean mythology, sold to Ajebowale Roberts at Magpie via Allegra Martschenko of Ladderbird Literary Agency. Chloe Gough will edit.
YASMIN ANGOE’s Black vampire novel She Drinks the Light, inspired by Ghanaian folklore/West African traditions, sold to Kat Brzozowski at Feiwel and Friends at auction via Temple Hill Entertainment and Melissa Edwards at Stonesong.
LUCY SMOKE’s Sons of Salem New Adult fantasy trilogy went to Eileen Rothschild at St. Martin’s at auction via Josi Beck of Beck Literary Agency.
ROZ MACLAREN sold romantic YA fantasy Fable and Legend and two other titles to Nancy Schumacher at Satin Romance. Jane Bonander will edit.
THOMAS HA’s first collection Uncertain Sons and Other Stories sold to Michael Kelly at Undertow.
New writer MORGAN LOCKHART’s romantic holiday fantasy A Spell for Midwinter’s Heart sold to Charlotte Peters at Dutton in a pre-empt via Aurora Fernandez of Trident Media Group.
GREER STOTHERS sold debut queer comedic fantasy Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die to Katie Dent at Titan Books via Ben Miller-Callihan of Handspun Literary Agency.
New writer K.M. FAJARDO’s Local Heavens, a queer cyberpunk reimagining of Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, sold to Kathryn Budig at Bindery Books via Laura Rennert of Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
Debut author GIGI LITTLE sold detective fantasy Who Killed One the Gun? to Laura Stanfill at Forest Avenue Press.
New writer PORTIA ELAN’s SF novel Homebound went to Rebekah Jett at Scribner in a pre-empt via Julie Barer of The Book Group. Canadian rights went to Brittany Lavery and Nicole Winstanley at Simon & Schuster Canada.
EMILY KREMPHOLTZ’s first novel, cozy fantasy Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore, and a second book sold to Sareer Khader at Berkley in a pre-empt via Brent Taylor of TriadaUS Literary Agency.
New writer ISABELLE MONGEAU’s “subversive romantasy” The Debtor’s Game and another title sold to Natalie Hallak at Ballantine at auction via Haley Heidemann of William Morris Endeavor.
E.E. HUSSEY’s fabulist debut novel Hafa Adai went to Marisa Siegel at Curbstone via Kiele Raymond of Thompson Literary Agency.
KEYA CHATTERJEE’s first novel, speculative romance The Revolution Will Not Be Rated G, went to Rose Alexandre-Leach at Green Writers Press. Maria Tane will edit.
BETHANY TAP’s debut fantasy Upon the Burning sold to Cal Fable at Midnight Meadow. Kadan Astrophel will edit.
KALLA HARRIS’s first novel The Ground That Devours Us – “a post-apocalyptic paranormal romance” – and a second title went to Hoda Agharazi at Entangled Teen via Jenna Satterthwaite of Storm Literary Agency.
First novelist NOELLE MONET’s YA contemporary fantasy Bound by Fury and a second book sold to Sarah McCabe at Margaret K. McElderry Books for six figures at auction via Jenissa Graham of BookEnds.
SARAH LANGAN sold novella Pam Kowolski Is a Monster to Jennifer Barnes at Raw Dog Screaming and resold novels The Keeper, The Missing, and Audrey’s Door to Stefan Dziemianowicz at Open Road, all via Stacia Decker of Dunow, Carlson & Lerner.
CHELSEA SUTTON’s horror novella Krackle’s Last Movie went to Kristine Langley Mahler at Split/Lip Press.
KAREN LORD, ANNALEE NEWITZ, and MALKA OLDER will edit We Will Rise Again: Speculative Stories About Political Protest, Resistance, and Hope, “an anthology of stories, essays, and interviews that offer visions of the future, fantastical alternate worlds, and inspiration for the social justice movements of tomorrow,” for Sareena Ka math at Saga Press via Hana El Niwairi of CookeMcDermid for Lord, Laurie Fox of Linda Chester Literary Agency for Newitz, and Hannah Bowman of Liza Dawson Associates for Older.
HENRY HERZ will edit anthology Death Maidens, “a collection of contemporary fantasy stories about modern-day Valkyries,”, for Anne Sowards at Ace via Gaby Cabezut of The Seymour Agency.
JENNA MORECI’s writing guide How to Write Romantasy sold to Zoey Brandt at Ten Speed Press via Sarah Gerton of New Leaf Literary & Media.
TERRY PRATCHETT’s Night Watch will be published as an annotated edition by Penguin Modern Classics in the UK, to appear on April 28, 2025 – “Terry Pratchett Day,” the late author’s birthday. This edition will include a foreword by Rob Wilkins and an introduction and annotations by David Lloyd and Darryl Jones.
LAURA E. WEYMOUTH resold fantasy novel The Castle and the Cloister and sequel The Starlight and the Flame to Kate McHale at Del Rey UK via Laura Crockett of Triada US. Saga will publish in the US.
MARK W. TIEDEMANN resold the Secants Sequence, including Compass Reach, Metal of Night, and Peace & Memory, to Histria Publishing.
DIANA PHO has been promoted to editorial director at Erewhon, and VIENGSAMAI FETTERS has been promoted to associate editor.
AMY BREWER of Metamorphosis Literary Agency has been promoted to vice-president, while company president STEPHANIE HANSEN “will shift her focus towards managing operations, representing legacy clients, and developing film subsidiary rights ventures.”
NAN GRAHAM is stepping down as publisher of Scribner, but will continue to edit and acquire books, starting in 2025. She was Scribner’s first editor-in-chief starting in 1994. A replacement has not yet been named.
CLIVE BARKER’s The Thief of Always is being adapted as a feature film by Jennifer Kent, director of The Babadook.
BEN AARONOVITCH’s novel Rivers of London is being adapted as a TV series by Sky Studios with production company Pure Fiction.
This report and more like it in the December 2024 issue of Locus.
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The December 2024 People & Publishing Roundup in Locus Magazine highlights notable developments in the speculative fiction realm. Hayao Miyazaki’s receipt of the Forry Award for lifetime achievement is a testament to his profound impact on the genre. Additionally, the array of forthcoming novels, including Seanan McGuire’s “Overgrowth” and Molly Tanzer’s “And Side By Side They Wander,” promises to enrich the literary landscape.