Adult
Farhad Dadyburjor‘s THE OTHER MAN, an urban gay rom-com about love and longing in Mumbai, dealing with the crazy pressures of family expectations, the staunch traditions of Indian society, and how the power of love can change everything, to Chris Werner at Lake Union Publishing, in a very nice deal, in a pre-empt, for publication in fall 2021, by Priya Doraswamy at Lotus Lane Literary (world).
K.D. Edwards‘s THE HOURGLASS THRONE, the third in the tarot and Atlantis-inspired queer urban fantasy series about the heir to a lost throne who must navigate a cutthroat society with a ragtag band of allies, to Rene Sears at Pyr, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, by Sara Megibow at kt literary.
Hettie Bell’s LEARN TO KNIT IN NINE MONTHS OR LESS, in which an unplanned pregnancy spurs a young woman to join a knitting group, where she finds an unexpected romance in the woman who runs it and an unexpected family in her kooky fellow knitters, to Ronan Sadler at Carina Press Adores, for publication in spring 2021 (world).
Author of DEATH INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX Candice Wuehle’s MONARCH, a humorous novel based on a popular 90’s-era conspiracy theory about a former child beauty queen who falls in love with a fellow pageant girl and, with the help of her riot grrrl babysitter, decides to take down the organization that secretly programmed her as an assassin, to Sarah Lyn Rogers at Soft Skull, by Kiele Raymond at Thompson Literary Agency (world).
Dea Poirier‘s AFTER YOU DIED, a supernatural thriller set in 1968 and partially based on a true story, in which a bisexual teen has no memory of why he woke up covered in his girlfriend’s blood, sentenced to five years at a sinister reform school, which, like his memory, hides violent secrets of its own, and he must find the truth to save himself and those he loves, to Chantelle Aimee Osman at Agora Books, by Jill Marsal at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency (world).
Molly Greeley‘s THE HEIRESS: THE REVELATIONS OF ANNE DE BOURGH, pitched as an LGBTQ+ reimagining of the life of the PRIDE AND PREJUDICE character Anne de Bourgh, to Thorne Ryan at Hodder & Stoughton, for publication in January 2021, by Laura Williams at Greene & Heaton, on behalf of Jennifer Weltz at the Jean V. Naggar Agency.
Hudson Lin‘s J-CURVE, the first in the Jade Harbour Capital series, in which an executive on a high-stakes deal must work with the one-night-stand he’s never quite been able to forget—his best friend’s little brother, to Stephanie Doig at Carina Press Adores, in a two-book deal, for publication in spring 2021 (world).
Children’s Fiction
JACOB’S ROOM TO CHOOSE coauthors Ian Hoffman and Sarah Hoffman’s JACOB’S NEW WORD, the third book in the Jacob collection, where Jacob and his classmate perform a play that showcases pronoun use as well as gender fluidity and diversity, illustrated by Chris Case, to Kristine Enderle at Magination Press, for publication in June 2021, by Deborah Warren at East-West Agency for the authors (world).
Young Adult Fiction
Cindy Rizzo’s THE PAPERCUTTER, in which three Jewish teens, including a queer girl in the USD, come of age in a split USA and are unprepared for what they must confront as increased violent anti-Semitism threatens Jews in the USF, to Katherine V. Forrest at Bella Books for publication in June 2021 (world).
Author of the forthcoming THE SKY BLUES Robbie Couch’s BLAINE FOR THE WIN, in which a boy is determined to prove his worth by becoming senior class president after his boyfriend breaks up with him to pursue more “serious guys,” and sacrifices his own sense of self in the process, to Amanda Ramirez at Simon & Schuster Children’s, in a nice deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in spring 2022, by Moe Ferrara at BookEnds (world English).
Author-illustrator of the long-running web comics Peritale and Life of Melody Mari Costa‘s BELLE OF THE BALL, a humorous, lesbian love-triangle YA story between a wallflower, a star athlete, and a head cheerleader, set amid the trials and tribulations of high school, and the many social pressures therein, to Calista Brill at First Second, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2023, by Pete Ryan at Stimola Literary Studio (world).
Sydney Taylor Honor-winning author of THE GIRL WITH THE RED BALLOON Katherine Locke‘s THIS REBEL HEART, a fabulist novel, pitched as for fans of LOVELY WAR and CODE NAME VERITY, in which a Jewish teen finds her voice during the very real student-led 1956 Hungarian Revolution, and which explores whether failed revolutions matter—and whether you should fight for a country that doesn’t love you back, to Marisa DiNovis at Knopf Children’s, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, for publication in spring 2022, by Lara Perkins at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (world).
Cultural critic Mathew Rodriguez‘s CARLOS ALEJOS HAS TO LOSE HIS CHICHOS, about a queer Puerto Rican teen of size as he grapples with body image, friendship, and his burgeoning sexuality in suburban New Jersey, illustrated by Charlot Kristensen, to Trisha de Guzman at Farrar, Straus Children’s, in an exclusive submission, for publication in winter 2023, by Melissa Edwards at Stonesong for the author, and by Thao Le at Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency for the illustrator (world).
Non-Fiction
Former NBC, CNBC, and MSNBC anchor and producer Steve Majors‘s HIGH YELLA: A MODERN FAMILY MEMOIR, exploring the question of what defines family, from the author’s perspective as the white-appearing gay son of a large, poor Black family, and as father to two adopted Black sisters, to Beth Snead at University of Georgia Press, in a nice deal, for publication in fall 2021, by Gina Panettieri at Talcott Notch Literary Services (world English).
Librarian and author of The Cardboard Kingdom and Dead Weight: Murder at Camp Bloom Molly Muldoon’s A QUICK & EASY GUIDE TO ASEXUALITY, the next installment in the A Quick & Easy Guide series, exploring what asexuality is for those who want to learn and for Ace people to validate their experiences, illustrated by Will Hernandez, to Ari Yarwood at Limerence, with Amanda Meadows editing, for publication in spring 2021 (world).
Stonewall Award-winning author Kyle Lukoff and trans rights activist Gavin Grimm‘s IF YOU’RE A KID LIKE GAVIN, a nonfiction account of Gavin’s fight against his school administration when he was banned from using the boys’ restroom and subsequent Supreme Court case, illustrated by J Yang, to Mabel Hsu at Katherine Tegen Books, for publication in summer 2022, by Saba Sulaiman at Talcott Notch Literary Services (NA).
American Ballet Theatre principal dancer, drag queen, and pop star James Whiteside’s CENTER CENTER, a humorous memoir-in-essays about how the author discovered his sexuality, pushed creative boundaries, and subverted the classical traditions of ballet on his journey to center stage, to Gretchen Schmid at Viking, in an exclusive submission, by CAA (world English).
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(Listings originally posted in Publisher’s Marketplace.)
Cindy Rizzo is the author of three novels, Getting Back (2015, Ylva Publishing), Love Is Enough (self-published, 2014), and Exception to the Rule (self-published, 2013), which won the 2014 Goldie for Best Debut Author. Her short stories and essays have appeared in Unwrap These Presents (Ylva), Conference Call (Bella Books), Language of Love (Ylva), and Our Happy Hours, LGBT Voices from the Gay Bars (Flashpoint Publ.). Cindy has a long career in social justice philanthropy and has served on the boards of many LGBTQ organizations, including currently, Services & Advocacy for LGBT Elders (SAGE). She is a member of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, the world’s largest LGBTQ synagogue. She lives in NYC with her wife and their three cats. They have two adult sons and three wonderful granddaughters.