Tag Archives: Holly Root

Deal Announcements

May 2023 Deal Announcements

Leave a comment

Adult Fiction

NYT staff writer Elizabeth Harris‘s HOW TO SLEEP AT NIGHT, about two gay siblings whose lives are upended when one decides to run for office—as a Republican, to Rachel Kahan at William Morrow, in a pre-empt, for publication in 2025, by Brettne Bloom at The Book Group (world).

Rose Black‘s TIL DEATH DO US BARD, a queer light fantasy pitched for fans of LEGENDS & LATTES and Our Flag Means Death, about a grumpy ex-adventurer who must come out of retirement to save the kingdom and his sunshiny bard husband, with the “help” of a flirty necromancer grandmother and the ghost of his ex-wife, to Natasha Qureshi at Hodderscape, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2023, by Rebecca Podos at Rees Literary Agency (world English).

Kate Cochrane‘s debut WAKE UP, NAT & DARCY, a sapphic romance in which two former hockey teammates turned rivals with unresolved feelings for one another are paired to host a popular morning show’s Olympic coverage and must remain professional amid a nation of fans closely scrutinizing their incredible chemistry, to Errin Toma at Carina Adores, for publication in 2024, by Paige Terlip at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (world English).

Dana Hawkins‘s LOVE AND RAINBOW LATTES, an opposites-attract queer romance, to Emily Gowers at Storm Publishing, in a two-book deal, for publication in January 2024 (world).

Author of ZEUS GRANTS STUPID WISHES Cory O’Brien‘s TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE, a literary science fiction mystery set in a half-drowned future Los Angeles where knowledge is literally currency, following an aging combat veteran who is dragged into investigating a murder that brings his ex-boyfriend back into his life decades after they parted ways, in a humorous, heartfelt blend of noir and cyberpunk, to Anna Kaufman at Anchor, by Jessica Felleman at Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency (NA).

McSweeney’s contributor and one of Electric Literature’s emerging voices of Nigerian fiction Chukwuebuka Ibeh’s BLESSINGS, a coming-of-age story following a young gay man in Nigeria longing for love, acceptance, and queer joy, culminating in the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act of 2014, interrogating how politics can impact ordinary lives, to Cara Reilly at Doubleday, for publication in 2024, by Emma Leong at Janklow & Nesbit (US).

Republic of Consciousness finalist Nate Lippens’s RIPCORD, which follows the narrator of MY DEAD BOOK as he navigates sex, intimacy, class, and queer aging in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Hedi El Kholti at Semiotext(e), in a nice deal, in an exclusive submission, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2024, by Chris Fischbach at Fischbach Creative (NA).

Children’s and Middle Grade Books

Author of JUDE SAVES THE WORLD Ronnie Riley‘s ASKING FOR A FRIEND, in which a socially anxious, nonbinary 12-year-old lies to their mother about having friends at their new school—and has to make them fast when Mom wants to throw them a 13th birthday party, to Erin Haggett and Amanda Sun at Scholastic, with Emily Seife editing, in an exclusive submission, for publication in 2024, by Jennifer Azantian at Azantian Literary Agency (world).

Emmy-winning journalist and poet Dr. Seema Yasmin, MD’s picture book THE ABCS OF QUEER HISTORY, a journey through key individuals, movements, and moments across a range of identities and experiences, illustrated by Lucy Kirk, to Pamela Bobowicz at Workman Kids, in an exclusive submission, for publication in spring 2024, by Lilly Ghahremani at Full Circle Literary for the author (world).

Author-illustrator Jayme Brodie’s debut graphic novel STICK TOGETHER, which follows a 12-year-old who is excited to become fast friends with her new neighbor and join her school’s field hockey team, but her burgeoning friendship with (and crush on) one of the prettiest and coolest girls that she’s ever seen threatens to come between them, and she must reconcile their differences, and her feelings for the pretty one, before they tear the team and each other apart, to Rachel Diebel at Feiwel and Friends, in a very nice deal, at auction, for publication in spring 2026, by Jennifer Azantian at Azantian Literary Agency (world).

Young Adult Fiction

Author of BIANCA TORRE IS AFRAID OF EVERYTHING Justine Pucella Winans‘s ONE KILLER PROBLEM, a humorous mystery following a bisexual teen with IBS and an attitude, who convinces her murder-mystery obsessed, bookish best friends to investigate the suspicious death of their favorite teacher, to Lily Kessinger at Harper Teen, with Alice Jerman editing, for publication in summer 2024, by Jordan Hamessley at New Leaf Literary & Media (world English).

Jessica Lewis‘s NAV’S FOOLPROOF GUIDE TO FALLING IN LOVE, a queer rom-com in which an expert at flirting who is allergic to love agrees to give the painfully shy new girl lessons in romance to win over her best friend, only to fall for the new girl herself, to Olivia Valcarce at Inkyard Press, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2024, by Holly Root at Root Literary (world English).

Author of ZOMBABE and BABYLOVE I. S. Belle’s GIRLS NIGHT, a sapphic YA in which four unlikely friends at an all-girls school start an underground fight club, but what starts out as a way to let off steam quickly snowballs into something larger until the girls are forced to choose between the friendships they’ve made or the club that brought them together, to Joshua Dean Perry at Tiny Ghost Press, in a nice deal, for publication in summer 2024 (world English).

Non-Fiction

Fashion Fair commentator and founder of The Ground Crew Audrey Smaltz‘s EVERY INCH A LADY: A MEMOIR, highlighting the author’s life from a model, Wall Street mutual funds broker, department store dynamo, Ebony fashion coordinator and commentator, Vogue editor, and successful businesswoman; taking readers behind-the-scenes with her work with fashion royalty including Michael Kors, Donna Karan, and Ralph Lauren, and candidly discussing her “coming out” after marrying her wife, former WNBA and Olympic silver medalist Gail Marquis in 2011, to Patrik Henry Bass at Amistad, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, for publication in fall 2025, by Alina Mitchell at MacGregor & Luedeke (world).

Long-term survivor of AIDS, prominent advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, and former Metropolitan Community Church pastor Rev. Dr. Steve Pieters‘s DANCING WITH JOY: COMING OUT, SURVIVING AIDS, AND EMBRACING GOD’S GRACE, the story of the man whose 1985 interview with Tammy Faye Baker changed how religious America perceived AIDS and the gay community, to Richard Brown at Rowman & Littlefield, in a nice deal, in an exclusive submission, for publication in March 2024, by George Greenfield at CreativeWell (NA).

Author of IN THE MARGINS Shannon T. L. Kearns‘s NO ONE TAUGHT ME HOW TO BE A MAN: A TRANSGENDER PERSPECTIVE ON NON-TOXIC MASCULINITY, in the author, a transgender man, examines how we got to this moment of a crisis of masculinity in modern culture and illustrates how transgender men provide unique insights on how readers can become better men, better feminists, and work more in solidarity with people of all genders, to Lil Copan at Broadleaf, for publication in spring 2025, by Trinity McFadden at The Bindery (world).

Justice, equity, and transformation post-doctoral fellow at the University of Calgary Lucas Wilson ed.’s SHAME-SEX ATTRACTION: SURVIVORS’ STORIES OF CONVERSION THERAPY, an anthology that collects the stories of those who have been harmed by anti-gay conversion therapy, offering hope in community and overcoming their shame, to Alex DiFrancesco at Jessica Kingsley, for publication in January 2025 (world).

Deal Announcements

November 2021 Deal Announcements

Leave a comment

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

September 2021 Deal Announcements

Leave a comment

Adult Fiction

R. Lee Fryar’s FLIPPING, pitched as an enemies-to-lovers mash-up of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir and The Money Pit, in which a gay ghost and a psychic house flipper duke it out over a haunted house with an agenda of its own, to Lisa Green at Mystic Owl, in a nice deal, for publication in November 2022.

Digital artist Ciel Pierlot‘s BLUEBIRD, in which a lesbian gunslinger fights spies in space, against her home faction, with a mysterious bounty hunter to protect her sister and the entire galaxy, to Gemma Creffield at Angry Robot, in a nice deal, for publication in February 2022, by Lauren Spieller at TriadaUS Literary Agency (world English).

Children’s Books

Authors of THE GAY AGENDA and THE QUEER TAROT and owners of the Ash + Chess stationery store Ashley Molesso and Chess Needham’s ABC-DECONSTRUCTING GENDER, an illustrated ABC book, with each page featuring a word and then an illustration that shows that words can be neutral or not tied to one specific gender, disrupting the notion that words are typically gendered or related to either “masculine” or “feminine” associations, drawn in their singular brightly colored, risographed style, to Julie Matysik at Running Press Kids, in an exclusive submission, by Meg Thompson at Thompson Literary Agency (world).

Young Adult Fiction

Author of A LESSON IN VENGEANCE Victoria Lee’s THE GIRL THAT TIME FORGOT, pitched as a sapphic The Umbrella Academy with time travel, in which a teenage girl, one of five adepts training in a mysterious new magic, discovers that her fellow adepts have recently murdered someone and are planning to kill again, to Krista Marino at Delacorte, for publication in spring 2023, by Holly Root and Taylor Haggerty at Root Literary (NA).

Nora Neus‘s STUNT GIRL, in which real-life historical figure Nell Nelson—one of the early undercover female journalists called stunt girls—investigates working conditions in the garment factories of New York City in the summer of 1888, while also falling in love with real-life historical figure and queer icon Alice Austen, the first female street photographer, illustrated by Julie Robine, to Andrea Colvin at Little, Brown Children’s, for publication in winter 2025, by Wendi Gu at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates for the author, and by Tanya McKinnon at McKinnon Literary for the illustrator (world).

Lambda, Stonewall, and PEN Center USA Literary award-winning author Bill Konigsberg‘s DESTINATION UNKNOWN, a story about two teen boys—one bold and headstrong, one hesitant and yearning—who find each other in 1987 New York City and try to figure out love, sex, and identity as AIDS decimates and galvanizes the gay community, to David Levithan at Scholastic, for publication in May 2022, by Linda Epstein at Emerald City Literary Agency (NA).

Composer Edward Underhill’s debut ALWAYS THE ALMOST, about a trans classical pianist who resolves to spend his junior year winning back his ex-boyfriend and defeating his arch-nemesis at the biggest piano competition of the year, only to have his carefully-laid plans in both love and music disrupted when a new boy moves to town and makes a play for his heart, pitched as for fans of Becky Albertalli and Phil Stamper, to Sylvan Creekmore at Wednesday Books, in a very nice deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in spring 2023, by Patricia Nelson at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency (world).

Non-Fiction

Minister of outreach and media strategy at Middle Church Benjamin Perry’s LEARNING TO CRY: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF OUR TEARS–AND HOW THEY MIGHT CHANGE THE WORLD, in which a queer minister and activist explores our rich legacy of weeping, why we stopped crying, and how tears can change both our culture and our future, to Valerie Weaver-Zercher at Broadleaf, for publication in spring 2023 (world).

British journalist, editor, and artist Shon Faye‘s THE TRANSGENDER ISSUE: AN ARGUMENT FOR JUSTICE, an overview of the oppression faced by transgender people, the relationship of trans rights to feminism and gay and lesbian liberation, and a call for a trans rights movement that can bring a more joyful world for us all, with a new introduction for US readers, to Jessie Kindig at Verso, in a nice deal, for publication in September 2022, by Emma Paterson at Aitken Alexander (NA).

Deal Announcements

February Book Deal Announcements

Leave a comment

Adult Fiction

Assistant Books Editor at O, the Oprah Magazine Michelle Hart‘s WE DO WHAT WE DO IN THE DARK, about a young woman who has an affair with an older, married female professor during college, and how that relationship reshapes the rest of her life; a story of desire, loneliness, and the secrets we keep, even from ourselves, to Laura Perciasepe at Riverhead, in a pre-empt, by Sarah Burnes at The Gernert Company (NA).

New Yorker contributor and University Fellow at the Syracuse MFA program Anthony Veasna So‘s AFTERPARTIES, in which young Cambodian Americans grapple with race, sexuality, and their inherited traumas from the Khmer Rouge genocide, even as they carve out lives in the California Central Valley and Bay Area, and STRAIGHT THRU CAMBOTOWN, about three Cambodian-American cousins who inherit their late aunt’s illegitimate loan sharking business and then become embroiled in a Hollywood conspiracy, to Helen Atsma at Ecco, in a significant deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2021, by Rob McQuilkin at Massie & McQuilkin (NA).

Sidney Bell‘s THIS IS NOT THE END, a polyamorous romance in which a deeply reserved songwriter is invited to join his best friend and his wife in bed for a night, and what starts as a fling may just turn into forever, to Stephanie Doig at Carina Press (world).

Author of LILY AND THE OCTOPUS and THE EDITOR Steven Rowley‘s THE GUNCLE, about a reclusive television star who takes his young niece and nephew into his Palm Springs home after a family tragedy, and how his outsized lifestyle and unusual life wisdom bring about a season of healing that redefines their understanding of family and finally leads him back to himself, again to Sally Kim at Putnam, by Rob Weisbach at Rob Weisbach Creative Management (NA).

Children’s

NYT-bestselling author of THREE LITTLE WORDS and THREE MORE WORDS Ashley Rhodes-Courter’s SAM IS OUR SISTER, a picture book based on the experiences of the author’s family that follows three siblings, one of whom is transgender, as they play astronauts, learn about what it means to become your true self, and realize they will always be together, illustrated by MacKenzie Haley, to Wendy McClure at Albert Whitman, for publication in spring 2021, by Jacqueline Flynn at Joelle Delbourgo Associates for the author, and by Samantha Groff at Advocate-Art for the illustrator (world).

Katherine Locke and Nicole Melleby’s THIS IS OUR RAINBOW: 16 STORIES OF HER, HIM, THEM, AND US, a middle grade anthology that collects short stories, poetry, and comics about LGBTQIA+ characters and experiences by contributors Locke, Melleby, Eric Bell, Lisa Jenn Bigelow, Ashley Herring Blake, Lisa Bunker, Alex Gino, Justina Ireland, Shing Yin Khor, Mariama Lockington, Marieke Nijkamp, Claribel Ortega, Mark Oshiro, Molly Knox Ostertag, Aida Salazar, and A.J. Sass, to Marisa DiNovis at Knopf Children’s, for publication in fall 2021, by Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret (world).

Stephanie Stein at HarperCollins has bought, at auction, in a two-book deal, middle grade novel THE INSIDERS by Schneider Family Award winner Mark Oshiro (ANGER IS A GIFT). The book features a queer boy who, fleeing from bullies, discovers a magical closet that not only provides him sanctuary, but also unites him with two other kids facing persecution at their own schools across the country, helping them find friendship and strength in one another. Publication is slated for fall 2021; DongWon Song at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency negotiated the deal for North American rights.*

Natashya Wilson at Inkyard Press has acquired THE WITCH KING plus a sequel from debut author H.E. Edgmon. The YA fantasy duology tells the story of witch and angry trans boy Wyatt Croft, who wants nothing to do with his mediocre magic or his betrothal to fae prince Emyr North, but his plans to change his fate are shattered when the kingdom is threatened by a coup and Emyr comes to claim him. Publication of book one is planned for summer 2021; Rena Rossner at the Deborah Harris Agency brokered the deal for North American rights.*

Krista Marino at Delacorte has bought, at auction, Victoria Lee’s (THE FEVER KING and THE ELECTRIC HEIR) A LESSON IN VENGEANCE. Pitched as The Secret History meets Genuine Fraud and The Craft, the YA novel follows Felicity Morrow, a senior returning to school after her girlfriend’s tragic death, only to meet a new student and teenage literary prodigy who transferred to research the school’s bloody history, and recruits Felicity into a murderous experiment of their own. Publication is set for 2021; Holly Root and Taylor Haggerty at Root Literary negotiated the deal for North American rights.*

Maya Marlette at Scholastic has bought Leah Johnson’s (YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN) new YA romance, RISE TO THE SUN. Set over the course of four days at a music festival, the novel features strangers Toni and Olivia, who meet and realize that the music is more than just a way out; it’s a way through… if they are brave enough to face it together. Publication is scheduled for summer 2021; Sarah Landis at Sterling Lord Literistic brokered the deal for world rights.*

Sarah Rees Brennan‘s FENCE: STRIKING DISTANCE, based on the comic series created by C.S. Pacat and Johanna The Mad, following the rise of a sixteen-year-old outsider in the world of competitive fencing as he joins the team at an elite boys school and experiences intense rivalries, lifelong friendships, and romance between teammates, to Mary-Kate Gaudet at Little, Brown Children’s, for publication in fall 2020, by Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary & Media (world).

A.M. Strickland‘s IN THE RAVENOUS DARK, a LGBTQIA+ dark fantasy featuring a teen blood-magic user bound to an undead guardian, to John Morgan at Imprint, for publication in summer 2021, by Hannah Bowman at Liza Dawson Associates (world).

Graphic Novels

Jonah Newman’s OUT OF LEFT FIELD, a semi-autobiographical young adult graphic novel in which a gay teen boy, determined to excel at baseball but decidedly much more at home in a history book, discovers himself, to Andrea Colvin at Little, Brown Children’s, at auction, for publication in summer 2023, by Chad Luibl at Janklow & Nesbit (world).

Non-Fiction

Oxford University research fellow and LitHub contributor Jack Parlett’s WRITTEN IN THE SAND, a blend of memoir and literary history, exploring the queer identity, idyllic beaches, and famous locales of an iconic destination—Fire Island; pitched as in the vein of Hugh Ryan’s WHEN BROOKLYN WAS QUEER and Olivia Laing’s THE LONELY CITY, examining a number of key literary figures like W.H. Auden, Carson McCullers, Edmund White, Andrew Holleran, and Jeremy O. Harris, who together tell the story of what it means to create a queer space, to John Glynn at Hanover Square Press, at auction, by David Forrer at Inkwell Management, on behalf of Jane Finigan at Lutyens & Rubinstein (NA).

Kelly Delaney at Knopf has acquired, in a preempt, ALL THE THINGS I’VE KEPT FROM MYSELF by Karina Manta. This YA memoir tells of the champion figure skater’s experiences as a professional athlete, coming out as bisexual in a hyper-feminine sport, and her continually evolving body image. Publication is scheduled for fall 2021; Jess Regel at Foundry Literary + Media brokered the deal for North American rights.*

Foreign/Subrights

Arkady Martine’s A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE and A DESOLATION CALLED PEACE, to J’ai Lu (France), in a two-book deal, by Danny Baror at Baror International; also to Mondadori (Italy), in a two-book deal, by Danny Baror at Baror International; on behalf of DongWon Song at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency.

Morgan Rogers’s HONEY GIRL, to DTV (Germany), by Heather Baror-Shapiro at Baror International, on behalf of Holly Root at Root Literary.

Taylor Jenkins Reid’s THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO, to Locus (Bulgaria), by Katalina Sabeva at Anthea Agency, on behalf of Taryn Fagerness Agency and Carly Watters at P.S. Literary.

***

*Copyright (c) Publishers Weekly PWxyz LLC. Used by permission.

Deal Announcements

December Book Deal Announcements

Leave a comment

Adult Fiction

Columbia MFA Joss Lake’s FUTURE FEELING, set in alt-future Brooklyn and L.A., following three young trans men—a professional dog walker, a self-absorbed social media influencer, and a jaded TV writer—who must work together to remedy the disastrous effects of an ill-conceived hex at the behest of the Rhiz, the quasi-benevolent network responsible for the collective well-being of the global transgender community, to Yuka Igarashi at Soft Skull, by Chris Clemans at Janklow & Nesbit (world English).

NYT-bestselling author of PLEASE LOOK AFTER MOM and winner of the International Man Booker Prize Kyung-Sook Shin’s VIOLET, about a young woman who works in a flower shop and has been shunned by her female high school lover, which sets her apart from society and the world of Seoul, to Jisu Kim at Feminist Press, in an exclusive submission, for publication in 2021, by Barbara Zitwer at Barbara Zitwer Agency (world English).

NYT bestselling author of RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE Casey McQuiston‘s ONE LAST STOP, pitched as a queer Kate & Leopold, in which a 23-year-old realizes her subway crush is displaced from 1970’s Brooklyn, and she must do everything in her power to help her – and try not to fall in love with the girl lost in time – before it’s too late, to Vicki Lame at Griffin, in an exclusive submission, for publication in summer 2021, by Sara Megibow at kt literary (world English).

Sara Codair’s EARTH RECLAIMED, in which a 17-year-old non-binary mage must stop a budding war between mages and scientists before Mother Earth reclaims the world, to Zelda Knight at Aurelia Leo, in a nice deal, for publication in January 2021 (world English).

Lambda Literary Fellow and diaCRITICS.org contributor Eric Nguyen‘s A HISTORY OF LOST THINGS, set in the New Orleans housing project of Versailles and following a Vietnamese refugee mother and her two sons, one tempted by gangs and the other embracing his gay identity, as they reckon with their past losses and grapple with creating a new home, to Caitlin Landuyt at Knopf, in a very nice deal, at auction, by Julie Stevenson at Massie & McQuilkin (NA).

Author of the second installment of VERA KELLY series Rosalie Knecht‘s VERA KELLY IS NOT A MYSTERY, picking up with an ex-CIA agent after she loses her job and her girlfriend in a single day and reluctantly goes into business as a private detective, taking a case chasing a lost child through foster care and following a trail of Dominican exiles to the Caribbean, dredging up dark memories and dangerous characters from across the Cold War landscape, to Masie Cochran at Tin House Books, for publication in June 2020, by Soumeya Bendimerad Roberts at HG Literary (NA).

NYT- and USA Today-bestselling author Chelsea Cameron‘s THE GIRL NEXT DOOR, in which one woman’s plans for escaping her parents’ house and the confines of small town life are waylaid by the lobsterwoman next door, to Kerri Buckley at Carina Press Adores, for publication in June 2020 (world).

Morgan Rogers‘s HONEY GIRL, pitched for fans of RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE, an #OwnVoices debut that follows a young black woman just finishing her PhD in astronomy who impulsively gets married in Vegas and decides to leave her perfectly ordered life for a summer in New York with the wife she barely knows, to Laura Brown at Park Row Books, by Holly Root at Root Literary (NA).

Children’s Fiction

Sunmi’s FIREBIRD, a debut graphic novel that follows a girl as she crushes on an older girl she tutors, and their friendship through their varied experiences as queer children of Asian-American immigrants, to Clarissa Wong at Harper Alley, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2022, by Susan Graham at Einstein Literary Management (world).

Miel Moreland’s IT GOES LIKE THIS, an #OwnVoices story about a former queer pop band, the (messy) fallout of their globally mourned breakup, and the devastating hometown storm that brings the teens back together, leaving each member to wonder if they can rebuild more than just the town, to Rachel Diebel at Feiwel and Friends, for publication in spring 2021, by Jessica Errera at Jane Rotrosen Agency (NA).

Author of ONLY MOSTLY DEVASTATED Sophie Gonzales‘s THE EX-GIRLFRIEND GETTER-BACKER EXPERIMENT, in which a bisexual girl who gives out anonymous love advice at her high school is blackmailed by the hot guy in her class into helping him get his ex-girlfriend back, and the unintended consequences of her advice end up affecting everyone, including herself, pitched as THE DUFF meets TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE, to Sylvan Creekmore at Wednesday Books, in an exclusive submission, for publication in 2021, by Moe Ferrara at BookEnds (world).

Kate Prosswimmer at S&S/McElderry has acquired IN DEEPER WATERS by F.T. Lukens. Pitched as A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice & Virtue meets Pirates of the Caribbean, this high seas fantasy features a prince with secret magic who is kidnapped during his coming-of-age tour and must rely on a mysterious young man to save him. Publication is slated for spring 2021; Eva Scalzo at Speilburg Literary Agency did the deal.

STRANGE GRACE author Tessa Gratton‘s NIGHT SHINE, pitched as a dark, queer Howl’s Moving Castle, in which the crown prince is kidnapped, and only an orphan knows enough of his secrets to seek him in a demon-haunted fortress, to Karen Wojtyla at Margaret K. McElderry Books, in an exclusive submission, for publication in fall 2020, by Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (world English).

Maya MacGregor‘s THE MANY HALF-LIVED LIVES OF SAM SYLVESTER, about an autistic genderqueer protagonist who leaves an intolerant school for a new high school with the support of their loving father, finding a Rainbow Club and accepting friends, all of whom must come together to solve the decades-old mystery of the murder of a teenage boy and confront the child’s own fears of early death, to Jes Negron at Boyds Mills Press, for publication in fall 2020, by Sara Megibow at kt literary (world English).

Jake Maia Arlow‘s ALMOST FLYING, in which a 13-year-old takes part in a summer road trip to several amusement parks and celebrates found family, first queer crushes, and the singular delight of roller coasters, to Ellen Cormier at Dial, in a good deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2021, by Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret (world).

Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award-winning actor, singer, dancer, writer, and advocate Billy Porter‘s untitled picture book, to Courtney Code at Abrams Children’s, by Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret (world).

Non-Fiction

Contributor to Tin House and Granta Krys Malcolm Belc’s THE NATURAL MOTHER OF THE CHILD, about bodily autonomy and parenthood, from a transmasculine parent who identifies as neither mother nor father to his gestational son and the two children his partner carried, to Dan Smetanka at Counterpoint, with Jennifer Alton editing, by Ashley Lopez at Waxman Literary Agency (NA).

Trans activist, storyteller, and Director of Family Formation at Family Equality Trystan Angel Reese‘s TENDER MOMENTS AND TOUGH LESSONS: THE JOURNEY THROUGH ADOPTION, TRANS PREGNANCY, AND LGBTQ PARENTHOOD, a memoir of Trystan and his partner Biff’s route to parenthood, from adopting two kids in need to becoming pregnant as a man and candid reflections on it all, interwoven with universal lessons for those facing obstacles to parenthood, to Batya Rosenblum at The Experiment, for publication in spring 2021, by Myrsini Stephanides at Carol Mann Agency (world).

Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award-winning actor, singer, dancer, writer, and advocate Billy Porter‘s UNPROTECTED, a memoir of childhood trauma, creative struggle, public courage, and triumph, to Jamison Stoltz at Abrams Press, in a pre-empt; also, an untitled picture book, to Courtney Code at Abrams Children’s, by Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret (world).