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 ‘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 ‘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 ‘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 ‘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 ‘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 ‘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).
‘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 , 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
‘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 ‘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).
‘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 ‘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 ‘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 ‘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 ‘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).