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Deal Announcements

November 2021 Deal Announcements

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Adult Fiction

Russian poet, artist, and feminist activist Oksana Vasyakina’s WOUND, following a young queer woman on a journey across Russia to Siberia, where she has promised to take her mother’s ashes, woven through with memories of a traumatic and impoverished childhood, experiences of the sublime, her sexual and artistic awakening, and the pains and joys of life as a lesbian in Russia, to Katharina Bielenberg at MacLehose Press, in a nice deal, at auction, by Rachel Clements at Abner Stein on behalf of Marleen Seegers at 2 Seas Agency, for Catapult.

Victoria Lee’s A SHOT IN THE DARK, a contemporary queer romance featuring Elisheva Cohen, a now-sober young artist who returns to New York to study photography after nearly a decade in Los Angeles and has an unforgettable one-night stand with a gorgeous trans man who turns out to be her teacher, the legendary Wyatt Cole, to Shauna Summers at Dell, at auction, in a two-book deal, by Holly Root and Taylor Haggerty at Root Literary.

Sophie Burnham’s SARGASSA, a queer speculative novel set in contemporary North America in a world where the Roman Empire never fell, following the high-and low-born children of a murdered politician as they are swept up in a revolution and race to find a powerful artifact, to Joshua Demarest at CatStone, by Maria Napolitano at Bookcase Literary Agency (world English).

ACLU-NJ honoree and LGBTQ activist Robyn Gigl’s next two books in her Erin McCabe legal thriller series, featuring a transgender attorney, to John Scognamiglio at Kensington, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2023 and 2024, by Carrie Pestritto at Laura Dail Literary Agency (world).

Author of NYTBR Editors’ Choice THE RECENT EAST Thomas Grattan’s IN TONGUES, a coming-of-age novel set in New York City and Europe in fall 2001, following a gay 24-year-old Midwesterner as he gets swept up in the charm and desires of a powerful older couple, examining issues of social class and queer desire, the pursuit of religious and physical ecstasy, and the complicated relationships between fathers and sons, both biological and chosen, again to Jackson Howard at MCD/FSG, for publication in fall 2023, by Jody Kahn at Brandt & Hochman (world).

Argentinian author Marina Yuszczuk’s THIRST, a queer Gothic vampire novel set in Buenos Aires, following two women in different time periods who confront desire, fear, violence, loneliness, and mortality, pitched as having echoes of Mary Shelley’s FRANKENSTEIN and for readers of Samanta Schweblin, Carmen Maria Machado, and Samantha Hunt, to Pilar Garcia-Brown in her first acquisition for Dutton, by Elianna Kan at Regal Hoffmann & Associates (world English).

Hell’s Library series author A.J. Hackwith’s HOLLOW ROAD HOME and its sequel, pitched as a queer, millennial AMERICAN GODS, about a fae working at a truck stop in Kansas to hide from her past, until she’s blackmailed by a self-taught magician to guide him and his sister—a girl born with a changing map on her skin—across the strange backroads and forgotten spaces of the gothic American Midwest in search of a powerful treasure, to Miranda Hill at Ace, in a two-book deal, for publication in spring 2023, by Caitlin McDonald at Donald Maass Literary Agency (world).

Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center Fellow and UMass Amherst MFA/PhD Shastri Akella’s THE SEA ELEPHANTS, a queer bildungsroman set in 1990s India, following a young gay man who, after the sudden death of his sisters, flees his father’s threats to send him to a conversion center by joining a street theater troupe; pitched as reminiscent of THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS in the way it blends the personal and the political to tell an epic story of forbidden love, to Caroline Bleeke at Flatiron Books, in a pre-empt, by Chris Clemans at Janklow & Nesbit (NA).

Author of A TIP FOR THE HANGMAN Allison Epstein’s LET THE DEAD BURY THE DEAD, a historical novel in which the arrival of a mysterious woman at the 19th-century Russian court divides the second son of the tsar and his lover, a captain in the imperial army, when one of them believes her to be a creature out of myth, setting all three on a collision course with revolution, again to Carolyn Williams at Doubleday, in a very nice deal, by Bridget Smith at JABberwocky Literary Agency (NA).

Young Adult Fiction

Author of SWEET & BITTER MAGIC Adrienne Tooley’s THE THIRD DAUGHTER and THE SECOND SON, pitched in the tradition of Three Dark Crowns and Girl, Serpent, Thorn, a dual PoV series featuring a crown under siege, an enchanted well of sadness, a ruthless antiheroine, and a slow-burning romance, to Jessica Anderson at Christy Ottaviano Books, in a good deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2023, by Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret (world).

Jenna Miller’s OUT OF CHARACTER, a queer, fat-positive contemporary romance that follows a girl who escapes the stressors of the real world by roleplaying online in secret—but after falling for her roleplay bestie, she must decide if she can be honest about her double life, to Alyssa Miele at Quill Tree, in a two-book deal, for publication in winter 2023, by Michaela Whatnall at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret (world).

Author of THE MYTHIC KODA ROSE Jennifer Nissley’s THE RULES OF US, pitched as the intersection between Becky Albertalli and Nina LaCour in a queer YA love story about longtime couple and best friends, who have dated throughout high school only to come out to each other on prom night, challenging their meticulously planned future as they try to disentangle their lives and identities, explore their sexualities, and learn not only a new way to be together, but how to be alone, to Liesa Abrams at Labyrinth Road, for publication in summer 2023, by Danielle Burby at Mad Woman Literary Agency (NA).

University of Cambridge student Sarah Underwood’s LIES WE SING TO THE SEA, pitched as a sapphic, feminist reclamation of the story of the hanged maids in THE ODYSSEY in a YA CIRCE, in which a failed oracle and a vengeful immortal must break the curse on their kingdom by killing its prince, to Stephanie Stein at Harper Teen, in a major deal, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, for publication in winter 2023, by Catherine Cho at Paper Literary (NA).

Dan Clay’s BECOMING A QUEEN, about a teenage boy who turns to drag performance to overcome his grief when tragedy strikes, to Mekisha Telfer at Roaring Brook Press, in a very nice deal, for publication in spring 2023, by Brent Taylor at TriadaUS Literary Agency (world).

LGBTQ+ romance and fantasy author Lauri Starling’s POISON FOREST, pitched as HOUSE OF SALT AND SORROWS meets Holly Black, featuring a mage who joins two teens with powerful abilities to track down the magic-stealing sorcerer who kidnapped her royal ex-girlfriend, braving a cursed forest and a betrayal that leaves them at the sorcerer’s nonexistent mercy, to MaryBeth Dalto-McCarthy at Sword and Silk, for publication in October 2022.

Screenwriter and NYT-bestselling coauthor of FIVE FEET APART and ALL THIS TIME Mikki Daughtry’s untitled lesbian love story, unfolding over two sets of lives, 100 years apart, to Stephanie Pitts at Putnam Children’s, in a pre-empt, for publication in fall 2023, by Liz Parker at Verve Talent & Literary (NA).

Non-Fiction

Men’s Health sex and relationship columnist Zachary Zane’s BOYSLUT: A MEMOIR-MANIFESTO, a series of essays told through a bisexual lens, exploring the author’s coming-of-age in a world riddled with harmful messages about sex and sexuality, moving toward a place of embrace and celebration unencumbered by shame, to Zachary Knoll at Abrams Image, at auction, by Katherine Latshaw at Folio Literary Management (world).

Prince Shakur’s WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO BE GOOD, a memoir that mines the author’s many eras of radicalization and self-realization through examinations of place, childhood, queer identity, and a history of uprisings, to Hanif Abdurraqib at Tin House Books, for publication in October 2022 (NA).

Author of A NIGHT AT THE SWEET GUM HEAD Martin Padgett’s PRIVATE MATTERS, an exploration of the 1986 Supreme Court case Bowers v. Hardwick, which Laurence Tribe lost in the Court’s ruling that allowed Georgia to prosecute private homosexual acts (and which was not overturned until 2003), showing how the case ignited the gay rights movement of the 1980s while upending the life of Michael Hardwick, to Amy Cherry at Norton, in an exclusive submission, for publication in summer 2023, by Beth Marshea at Ladderbird Literary Agency (world English).

Deal Announcements

November 2020 Deal Announcements

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Adult Fiction

Kobby Ben Ben’s NO ONE DIES YET, set in Accra in 2019, the “Year of Return” that memorialized the many who died during the slave trade in Ghana, following three African American friends as they join in the festivities to explore Ghana’s colonial past as Black diasporas around the world make a pilgrimage to West Africa and its underground queer scene; soon, these friends are thrust into the hands of two guides who they have no choice but to trust and what unfolds is an unsettling tale of murder in a country whose dead slaves are shackled with stories that must be heard, to Christopher Potter at Europa Editions, with Eva Ferri editing, in a nice deal, for publication in spring/summer 2022, by Aida Lilly at kt literary (world English).

2020 Le Guin Feminist Science Fiction Fellow R.B. Lemberg‘s THE UNBALANCING, set in the same Birdverse universe as the author’s FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES, in which a group of queer and nonbinary magic keepers across an archipelago must come together to save their islands from an environmental catastrophe, to Jacob Weisman at Tachyon Publications, with Jaymee Goh editing, for publication in winter 2022, by Mary C. Moore at Kimberley Cameron & Associates (world English).

Author of WHEN HARRY MET HARRY Sydney Smyth‘s BRIDESMATES, an LGBTQ romance about a brokenhearted man who reluctantly agrees to be a male bridesmaid (a “bridesmate”) in his BFF’s wedding and finds romance along the way, to Rose Hilliard at Audible Originals, in an exclusive submission, for publication in spring 2021, by Emily Sylvan Kim at Prospect Agency, on behalf of et al Creative (world).

Syrian Canadian author, public speaker, and LGBTQ refugee activist Danny Ramadan‘s THE FOGHORN ECHOES, an #OwnVoices novel that begins in war-torn Syria, where a forbidden romance between two boys culminates in a traumatic incident, the echoes of which reverberate through their adult lives in Vancouver and Damascus, to David Ross at Penguin Canada, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, by Rachel Letofsky at CookeMcDermid.

Autistic debut author Sunyi Dean‘s THE BOOK EATERS, in which a lesbian Book Eater, forced into arranged marriages, gives birth to a Mind Eater and loves her son so fiercely she becomes a monster herself to save him from her family’s violent ways, to Lindsey Hall at Tor, in a significant deal, in a pre-empt, in a three-book deal, for publication in winter 2022, by Naomi Davis at BookEnds (NA).

Author of LAKEWOOD Megan Giddings‘s THE WOMEN COULD FLY, pitched as reminiscent of Kelly Link and Ottessa Moshfegh, about a Black bisexual woman on a journey to come to terms with the loss of her mother, who disappeared mysteriously when she was a teenager; set in a world where witches are real, to Rakesh Satyal at Amistad, in a pre-empt, by Dan Conaway at Writers House (NA).

Children’s Fiction

Author-artist Wallace West‘s debut MIGHTY RED RIDING HOOD: A FAIRLY QUEER TALE, the first in a series of reimagined folktales from a queer perspective, starring a sassy boy in a frilly red riding hood who confronts a bullying wolf espousing gender norms, to Andrea Spooner at Little, Brown Children’s, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2022, by Marietta Zacker at Gallt and Zacker Literary Agency (world).

Jyoti Rajan Gopal‘s DESERT QUEEN, a biography-in-verse which follows the life of beloved Rajasthani drag performer Queen Harish, known as the Whirling Desert Queen of Rajasthan, who, lit by an inner fire and propelled by a family tragedy, defied the gender conventions of middle class Indian life, battled discrimination and intimidation, and eventually grew up to dance with Bollywood movie stars and on stages across the world, illustrated by Svabhu Kohli, to Arthur Levine at Levine Querido, in an exclusive submission, for publication in spring 2023, by Wendi Gu at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates (world).

Young Adult Fiction

Amanda Woody‘s debut THEY HATE EACH OTHER, told in dual POVs, a queer enemies-to-lovers romance that follows 17-year-olds who turn to fake dating after a homecoming disaster; their ploy begins to fail spectacularly, though, when unexpected chemistry and past scars interfere, weaving a profound connection between the two, to Dana Leydig at Viking Children’s, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2023, by Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary & Media (world English).

Author of HOW WE FALL Kate Brauning‘s THE BALLAD OF DINAH CALDWELL, a futuristic Ozarks thriller pitched as inspired by True Grit, in which a queer teenage girl sees her mother and brother murdered by a local kingpin and vows revenge and revolution no matter the cost, to Ashley Hearn at Page Street, with Tamara Grasty editing, in a nice deal, for publication in October 2021, by Bridget Smith at JABberwocky Literary Agency (world English).

Remi England‘s THE ONE TRUE ME AND YOU, a queer romance in which a beloved fanfic author and beauty pageant contestant find love, and learn what it means to be—and stand up for—yourself, to Alexandra Sehulster at Wednesday Books, for publication in winter 2022, by Eric Smith at P.S. Literary Agency (world English).

NYT-bestselling author of CEMETERY BOYS Aiden Thomas‘s untitled fantasy duology, pitched as Aztec Percy Jackson meets the Hunger Games; and another untitled book, pitched as gay Titanic in space, to Holly West at Feiwel and Friends, in a significant deal, in an exclusive submission, in a three-book deal, for publication in fall 2022, fall 2023, and fall 2024, by Jennifer March Soloway at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (world).

Non-Fiction

Editor-at-large for LinkedIn and former staff writer for Wired and Fortune Jessi Hempel’s THE FAMILY OUTING, pitched as FUN HOME meets Modern Family, about her family’s transformation from the portrait of traditional charm to a new incarnation, with almost all of them embracing their queer identities, an expansion of her viral Time magazine cover story and a new definition of what it means to live in our changing world, to Rakesh Satyal in his first acquisition at Harper One, in a major deal, at auction, by Suzanne Gluck at William Morris Endeavor (NA).

Reality TV star of the Bravo series Shahs of Sunset Reza Farahan’s MEMOIRS OF A GAY SHAH, a humorous and at times heartbreaking story about being gay, Muslim, Jewish, and Persian in America, to Kate Roddy at Sourcebooks, by Steve Troha and Katherine Odom-Tomchin at Folio Literary Management.

Professor of English literature at DePaul University Francesca Royster‘s FIERCE LOVE: A MEMOIR OF BLACK QUEER MOTHERHOOD, examining the conception of what family means, the complexity of queer parenthood, and the influence of race on everyday acts of parenting in a biracial household, to Chelsea Cutchens at Abrams Press, for publication in fall 2022, by Claire Anderson-Wheeler at Regal Hoffmann & Associates (world).

Recipient of an inaugural David Prize philanthropic grant Edafe Okporo‘s ASYLUM, a blend of memoir and manifesto by a young, gay, Nigerian refugee who sought asylum in America after fleeing his home in the wake of violent hate crimes, examining the American asylum process, the modern refugee’s experience—especially the unique challenges facing LBGTQ+ refugees—and his path toward becoming the executive director of the RDJ Refugee Center in Harlem, to Zachary Knoll at Simon & Schuster, by Daniel Lazar at Writers House (NA).

Creator of #TheKentTest and culture critic Clarkisha Kent‘s FAT OFF, FAT ON, a humorous memoir about a fat Black woman, telling the story of how a fat body isn’t a cosmic punishment and is one you can grow into, how sometimes family doesn’t always mean home, and sharing ill-fated love affairs of the bisexual kind, to Lauren Hook at Feminist Press, for publication in fall 2022, by Claire Draper at The Bent Agency (world English).

Deal Announcements

June 2020 Book Deal Announcements

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Adult

Emma Copley Eisenberg‘s debut BERNIE AND LEAH, told from the perspectives of two queer artists who leave Philadelphia for a life-changing ten day road trip, exploring artistic purpose, intimacy, and identity in a time of profound societal change, and FAT SWIM, a collection of stories new and previously published, to Alexis Washam at Hogarth, in a two-book deal, by Jin Auh at The Wylie Agency (NA).

Laura Blackett and Brooklyn College MFA graduate Eve Gleichman’s THE VERY NICE BOX, following a hardworking, heartbroken product engineer who works for a fashionable furniture company where corporate change lands her under the purview of a young, charismatic boss who seems determined to get close to her at all costs, pitched as for fans of ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE and SEVERANCE, to Pilar Garcia-Brown at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, at auction, for publication in spring 2021, by Faye Bender at The Book Group (NA).

Neil Cochrane’s I WILL GO TO THE BANK BY THE WOOD, centering queer and trans characters; pitched as a loose retelling of Beauty and the Beast, to Laura Stanfill at Forest Avenue Press, in a nice deal, for publication in spring 2022 (world).

*Ruoxi Chen has acquired Nghi Vo’s THE CHOSEN AND THE BEAUTIFUL, a magical reimagining of THE GREAT GATSBY told through the eyes of a queer, Asian-American Jordan Baker as the American immigrant narrative that GATSBY always should have been. The two-book deal, for North American rights, was brokered by Diana Fox at Fox Literary.

Winner of Publishing Triangle’s Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction Joe Okonkwo’s KISS THE SCARS ON THE BACK OF MY NECK, a debut short story collection populated by complicated characters, male and female, who find themselves at the intersection of Black and gay identities, illustrating the challenges they face, and the price they pay, to live authentic lives, to Michael Nava at Amble, in an exclusive submission, for publication in spring 2021, by Malaga Baldi at Malaga Baldi (world English).

Next Generation Indie Book Award-winning journalist and editor Artem Mozgovoy’s SPRING IN SIBERIA, pitched as similar to AMERICANAH, WHAT BELONGS TO YOU, and ON EARTH WE’RE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS, in which a gay Russian journalist struggles to escape Putin’s post-communist order to persecute gay people—only to end up facing the great American wall, to Kate Gale at Red Hen Press, by Mark Gottlieb at Trident Media Group (world).

Northwestern MFA graduate Allison Epstein‘s A TIP FOR THE HANGMAN, about the life and death of Christopher Marlowe, in which the young poet is approached by the Queen’s spymaster with an offer that will catapult him to both glory and doom, pitched as Shakespeare in Love meets Sarah Waters, to Carolyn Williams at Doubleday, in a very nice deal, for publication in spring 2021, by Bridget Smith at JABberwocky Literary Agency (NA).

Children’s/Middle Grade

Nina Varela’s JUNIPER HARVEY AND THE VANISHING KINGDOM, a contemporary fantasy about a 12-year-girl whose magical artistic abilities set off a chase through parallel worlds, all while juggling new friendships and her first queer crush, to Alexandra Hightower at Little, Brown Children’s, in a good deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2022, by Patrice Caldwell at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency (NA).

Graphic Novel

Katie Fricas’s CHECKED OUT, in which a queer cartoonist and library worker launches forth into a search for love on Craigslist, artistic validation in New York City, and the perfect book, to Tracy Hurren at Drawn & Quarterly, by Mackenzie Brady Watson at Stuart Krichevsky Agency (world English).

Young Adult

Claire Winn’s CITY OF SHATTERED LIGHT, a high-stakes adventure pitched as a queer, female-led Guardians of the Galaxy meets Escape from New York, in which an heiress flees her controlling father to prevent her sister’s mind from being wiped, but must ally with a gunslinging smuggler to outwit a monstrous AI and save the heiress’s sister and their city, to Mari Kesselring and Kelsy Thompson at Flux, in a nice deal, for publication in fall 2021, by Cortney Radocaj at Belcastro Agency (world).

Debut novelist Jennifer Nissley‘s THE MYTHIC KODA ROSE, pitched for fans of Nina LaCour and Jandy Nelson, featuring a queer teen exploring the enigmatic legacy left behind by her rock star father and suddenly navigating an emotionally charged bond with his mercurial ex-girlfriend, to Liesa Abrams at Simon & Schuster Children’s, for publication in summer 2021, by Danielle Burby at Nelson Literary Agency (NA).

Author of HOT DOG GIRL and VERONA COMICS Jennifer Dugan‘s SOME GIRLS DO, about an openly gay track star who falls for a closeted, bisexual local beauty queen with a penchant for fixing up old cars, to Stephanie Pitts at Putnam Children’s, in an exclusive submission, for publication in summer 2021, by Brooks Sherman at Janklow & Nesbit (world English).

Brian Zepka’s THE TEMPERATURE OF ME AND YOU, a humorous love story with a sci-fi bent, about a 16-year-old hopeless romantic and the undeniably cute boy who walks into the Dairy Queen where the hero works and changes everything, showing how first love is truly out of this world, to Brittany Rubiano at Disney, with Augusta Harris editing, for publication in 2021, by Liz Parker at Verve Talent & Literary (world).

Phil Stamper’s THE VALEDICTORIANS, the first entry in a rom-com duology following four queer teens during an unforgettable summer; as senior year approaches—with the real world looming just beyond—these lifelong friends try to stay close when their futures seem to be forcing them apart, to Mary Kate Castellani at Bloomsbury Children’s, in a two-book deal, for publication in winter 2022, by Brent Taylor at TriadaUS Literary Agency (world English).

*(c) Tor.com Publishing