Tag Archives: Mabel Hsu

Deal Announcements

August 2020 Book Deal Announcements

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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.)

Deal Announcements

January Book Deal Announcements

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Children’s/YA

Miriam Newman at Candlewick has bought THE HEARTBREAK BAKERY, a new YA novel by Amy Rose Capetta in an exclusive submission, in which agender teen baker Syd deals with first heartbreak by whipping up brownies—which break up everyone who eats them, including the owners of LGBTQIAP+ institution The Proud Muffin. With the help of magical baking and a cute transmasc bike messenger, Syd must save relationships and defend the bakery from disappearing in a fast-changing Austin, Texas. Publication is set for fall 2021; Sara Crowe at Pippin Properties did the deal for North American rights.

Ashley Hearn at Page Street has bought world English rights to author Alison Ames’s debut, THE HAUNTING OF MOON BASIN, a queer YA horror with shades of SAWKILL GIRLS. After a mining explosion coated Moon Basin in ash, residents moved just outside the uninhabitable zone and set up a new settlement in the mine’s shadow. Years later, the people of the New Basin begin experiencing strange phenomena—sleepwalking, night terrors, voices only they can hear—prompting four teen girls to investigate. Publication is slated for spring 2021; Rena Rossner at the Deborah Harris Agency brokered the deal.

Jason June‘s JAY’S GAY AGENDA, which follows a teen boy after he moves to Seattle from his rural high school, introducing him to other queer teens for the very first time, and allowing him to finally cross items off his gay romance to-do list, to Megan Ilnitzki at Harper Teen, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2021, by Brent Taylor at TriadaUS Literary Agency (world English).

ONE MAN GUY and HOLD MY HAND author Michael Barakiva‘s THESE PRECIOUS STONES, pitched as SAILOR MOON meets SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA, about an eclectic group of queer and international teens who learn that they must bear the magical gems that will save the universe from an ancient galactic threat, to Trisha de Guzman at Farrar, Straus Children’s, for publication in fall 2021, by Josh Adams at Adams Literary (world English).

Mabel Hsu at HarperCollins/Tegen has bought, at auction, in a two-book deal, THE (UN)POPULAR VOTE by debut author Jasper Sanchez. Pitched as RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE meets The West Wing, this YA contemporary novel follows a transmasculine teenager who defies his congressman father and runs in a three-way brawl for class president. Publication is planned for summer 2021; Claire Friedman at InkWell Management brokered the deal for world English rights.

Adult Fiction

Alexis Hall‘s THE BEST OF ME, a transgender Regency romance about a woman who is reunited with her childhood best friend, the Duke of Gracewood, who believes she died in the Battle of Waterloo, at auction, in a two-book deal; and WINNER BAKES ALL, a romantic comedy set against the backdrop of a British baking reality show, in an exclusive submission, in a three-book deal, to Amy Pierpont at Forever, by Courtney Miller-Callihan at Handspun Literary (world).

P. J. Vernon’s BATH HAUS, pitched as GONE GIRL with gays and Grindr, about a young gay man whose life spirals out of control after an indiscretion, to Robert Bloom at Doubleday, by Chris Bucci at CookeMcDermid (world).

Courtney Maguire’s INNOCENCE LOST, book one of the Youkai Bloodlines series, set in feudal-era Japan, in which a servant is different—not really a man, not quite a woman; in the wake of their failure to protect a boy they saw as a son from their abusive master, they are sold into the house of a young nobleman, who is the opposite of everything they have ever known—gentle, kind, and generous; their friendship blooms into a profound love, but the nobleman harbors a dark secret: he is a youkai, a blood demon, to Heather McCorkle at City Owl Press, in a nice deal, for publication in September 2020 (US).

RITA Award-winning author Elia Winters‘s HAIRPIN CURVES, a f/f frenemies-to-lovers romance in which two former friends embark on an epic road trip that promises to change their lives forever, to Kerri Buckley at Carina Press Adores, for publication in August 2020, by Saritza Hernandez at Corvisiero Literary Agency (world).

OLYMPIA KNIFE and SWEET author Alysia Constantine‘s LUCKMONKEY, about a punk band whose members are anti-capitalist agitators who break into homes and businesses, each time stealing one possession and leaving something different in its place; but when one of them steals a wind-up monkey, things deteriorate into squabbles and bad decisions, forcing them to weigh the work of political resistance against their individual needs for stability and safety, to Annie Harper at Interlude Press, in a nice deal, for publication in January 2021.

Author of EMPIRE OF SAND and REALM OF ASH Tasha Suri‘s THE JASMINE THRONE, beginning a new trilogy set in a world inspired by the history and epics of India, in which a captive princess and a maidservant in possession of forbidden magic become unlikely allies on a dark journey to save their empire from the princess’s traitor brother, to Priyanka Krishnan at Orbit, in a three-book deal, for publication in spring of 2021, by Laura Crockett at TriadaUS Literary Agency (world).

Non-Fiction

Celebrity fashion stylist Andrew Gelwicks‘s THE QUEER ADVANTAGE: CONVERSATIONS WITH LGBTQ+ LEADERS ON THE POWER OF IDENTITY, collecting personal interviews with LGBTQ+ luminaries from the worlds of business, Hollywood, tech, sports, and politics on how they leveraged their unique challenges to supercharge their careers, to David Lamb at Hachette Go, with Mollie Weisenfeld editing, for publication in fall 2020, by Ian Bonaparte at Janklow & Nesbit (world).

Lambda Literary Award-winning author Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore‘s BETWEEN CERTAIN DEATH AND A POSSIBLE FUTURE, an anthology of essays by queer writers coming of age in the midst of the AIDS epidemic, exploring how the specter of death suffuses desire for an entire generation that internalized trauma as part of becoming queer, to Brian Lam at Arsenal Pulp Press, for publication in fall 2021, by Amanda Annis at Trident Media Group (world).