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Deal Announcements

June 2022 Deal Announcements

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Adult Fiction and Poetry

Author of the forthcoming THE ROMANCE RECIPE and HOT COPY Ruby Barrett‘s THE LEARNING CURVE, where a bi, down-on-his-luck ex-firefighter joins a cross-disciplinary academic study teaching millennials how to make friends as adults, but an unexpected flirtation with an earnest people-pleasing female participant jeopardizes the study and their hearts, to Stephanie Doig at Carina Adores, for publication in winter 2024, by Kiana Nguyen at Donald Maass Literary Agency (world).

D’VAUGHN AND KRIS PLAN A WEDDING author Chencia C. Higgins’s untitled novel, set in a woman-owned, queer-friendly adult entertainment club, in which a teddy bear stud music producer breaks her own rules and romances her BFF, the club’s highest earning dancer and a devoted single mom, pitched as BROWN SUGAR meets P-Valley, to Kerri Buckley at Carina Adores, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2023, by Keisha Mennefee at Honey Magnolia Media (world).

Sim Kern’s THE FREE PEOPLE’S VILLAGE, following a queer punk band in Houston swept up in an anti-capitalist revolution, in an alternate timeline where President Al Gore declared a War on Climate Change, transforming U.S. cities into solarpunk paradises—but only for wealthy white neighborhoods, to Irene Vazquez at Levine Querido, by Rebecca Podos at Rees Literary Agency (world).

Author-illustrator of the LA Times Book Award finalist HONOR GIRL Maggie Thrash’s adult debut RAINBOW BLACK, part murder mystery, part gay international fugitive love story, part meditation on queerness and identity, set against the ’90s Satanic Panic and spanning 20 years in the life of a young woman pulled into its undertow, to Noah Eaker at Harper Perennial, for publication in spring 2024, by Stephen Barr at Writers House (NA).

Eugenio Volpe’s I, CARAVAGGIO, pitched as a postmodern retelling of the bisexual, street-fighting godfather of modern painting, to Christoph Paul at Clash, in a nice deal, in an exclusive submission, for publication in July 2023 (world English).

Writer, performance artist, and community healer Kai Cheng Thom’s LOVE LETTERS TO LOST SOULS, a collection of prose poems promising to uplift queer and marginalized people, show grace to those seemingly beyond saving, and affirm the imperfect yet sacred humanity in us all, to Katy Nishimoto at Dial Press, in a pre-empt, by Leonicka Valcius and Marilyn Biderman at Transatlantic Literary Agency (world, excl. Canada). Rights also to David Ross at Penguin Canada.

Audiobook narrator Travis Baldree’s LEGENDS & LATTES, in which an orc mercenary hopes to make a new start in life, opening the first coffee shop in Thune, to Lindsey Hall at Tor, in a good deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2022, by Jon Mitchell at Pan Macmillan.

I’M SO NOT OVER YOU author Kosoko Jackson’s WRANGLED AND ENTANGLED, a gay rom-com set on a family ranch in Montana, where a city boy licking his wounds post-breakup finds himself falling for the cowboy who never wanted his family legacy reduced to a tourist attraction in the first place, to Kristine Swartz and Mary Baker at Berkley, for publication in spring 2024, by Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret (world).

Rachel Runya Katz’s THANK YOU FOR SHARING, pitched for readers of Casey McQuiston, following two biracial former Jewish sleepaway camp crushes (and rivals) as they’re forced put aside their baggage to save their careers and work together 14 years later, only to realize that they can’t ignore their shared history or their growing feelings for each other, to Vicki Lame at Griffin, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2023, by Jessica Mileo at Inkwell Management (NA).

Lebanon Valley College Director of Creative Writing Holly M. Wendt’s HEADING NORTH, pitched for fans of THE ART OF FIELDING and the BEARTOWN series, tracking a season in which a gay Russian ice hockey player must rebuild his life in the NHL after tragedy and his general manager wrestles for team control while her marriage deteriorates, in a novel about grief and social change on the global stage of professional sport, to Jeffrey Condran at Braddock Avenue Books, in a nice deal, for publication in November 2023 (NA).

Meredith Mooring’s REDSIGHT, a debut science fantasy with positive bisexual and disability representation that follows a blind priestess who powers warships for the galactic military by manipulating spacetime; when the captain of her ship is murdered by a pirate with a dark past, the priestess must choose between a painful life of service or a chance at freedom with the galaxy’s most wanted criminal, to Amy Borsuk at Rebellion, in a nice deal, for publication in spring 2024, by Ernie Chiara at Fuse Literary (world).

A.K. Mulford’s THE FIVE CROWNS OF OKRITH series, a queer fantasy romance series, the first of which is popular on TikTok, to David Pomerico at Voyager, in a major deal, for seven figures, in a five-book deal, for publication in October 2022, by Jessica Watterson at Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency (world English).

Sheila Connolly’s BLACK SAILS TO SUNWARD, the first in series in which a woman joins the Martian Imperial Navy to save her family’s waning fortunes but somehow ends up sucked into piracy with her ex-girlfriend instead, to Cate Pearce at Hansen, with Elizabeth Jeannel editing, in a nice deal, in a three-book deal, for publication in July 2023.

Melissa Karibian’s A CHORUS OF ASHES AND SHADOWS, the sequel to A SONG OF SILVER AND GOLD, to Elizabeth Jeannel at Hansen, for publication in June 2023.

Children’s Fiction

Chinese Canadian writer, musician, and filmmaker, and author of THIS CITY IS A MINEFIELD Aaron Chan’s THE BROKEN HEART, a picture book pitched with identity-inspired LGBTQ2S+ themes, the story of a young girl who likes to fix things, and who sets out to help her brother mend his heart after his relationship with his boyfriend has ended, illustrated by Josiane Vlitos, to Lauri Hornik at Rocky Pond Books, for publication in spring 2024, by Emmy Nordstrom Higdon at Westwood Creative Artists (world).

Young Adult Fiction

Author of IF YOU CHANGE YOUR MIND Robby Weber’s WHAT IS THIS FEELING?, a rom-com in which a high school theater star just wants to win a scavenger hunt and meet his Broadway idol on the drama club trip to New York City, but when he finds himself stuck sharing a room with his polar opposite, the snarky loner from the tech department, the last thing he expects is to form a friendship—and maybe more, to Connolly Bottum while at Inkyard Press, in a very nice deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2024, by Kristy Hunter at The Knight Agency (world English).

Kamilah Cole’s SO LET THEM BURN, pitched as “Jamaican Joan of Arc” and inspired by Zendaya’s 2018 Met Gala look, following a 17-year-old girl who once wielded the magic of the gods to save her island from dragon-riding colonizers and must now save her sister from the same enemy—even if it means bargaining with a long-forgotten god and ending the world, to Alexandra Hightower at Little, Brown Children’s, in a six-figure deal, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, for publication in winter 2024, by Emily Forney at BookEnds (world).

Debut author Carolyn Hill’s MASK OF CELIBACY, a 1990s-set novel featuring two heteroromantic ace characters, to Rebecca Sands at Wattpad, for publication in summer 2024 (world).

Author of YOU’RE NEXT Kylie Schachte’s HEARTS OF GOLD, a queer action-adventure pitched as Our Flag Means Death meets modern-day Indiana Jones, in which the daughter of an archeologist must team up with her archnemesis to uncover the truth about a legendary gang of female pirates—and find their long-lost treasure, to Samantha Gentry at Little, Brown Children’s, for publication in fall 2023, by Margaret Sutherland Brown at Folio Literary Management (world).

Nonfiction

Cohost of the Queer Kids Stuff YouTube series and TED speaker Lindz Amer‘s HOORAY FOR HE, SHE, ZE, AND THEY!, a celebration of pronouns and gender euphoria, illustrated by Kate Alizadeh, to Celia Lee at Simon & Schuster Children’s, for publication in 2024, by Claire Draper at The Bent Agency for the author, and by Mandy Suhr at Miles Stott Agency for the illustrator (world).

Professor of history at Eastern Michigan University John G. McCurdy‘s THE PARSON IS A BUGGERER: HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION, the story of the trial of Lieutenant Robert Newburgh, placing LGBTQ+ presence at the founding of the United States, to Laura Davulis at Johns Hopkins University Press, by Christopher Rogers at Dunow, Carlson & Lerner (world).

Artist, publisher, and founder of Hello Mr. magazine Ryan Fitzgibbon’s untitled compendium of queer storytelling, collecting material from the magazine’s archives alongside new material from today’s emerging queer artists and writers, contextualizing the magazine’s lasting impact while celebrating a new generation of LGBTQ+ creators, to Zachary Knoll at Abrams, in an exclusive submission, by Michael Bourret at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret (world).

National Book Critics Circle Award-winning author of GAY BAR Jeremy Atherton Lin’s DEEP HOUSE, a pre- and post-Obergefell love story weaving the author’s decades-long, transnational romance into a larger inquiry into the many ways queer couples lived and loved before gay marriage became legal, to Jean Garnett at Little, Brown, in a good deal, by Laura Macdougall at United Agents (NA).

Deal Announcements

December 2021 Deal Announcements

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Adult Fiction

Em Liu‘s THE DEATH I GAVE HIM, a queer, locked-room sci-fi mystery pitched as inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet, to David Thomas Moore at Solaris, in a two-book deal, for publication in September 2023, by Penelope Burns at Gelfman Schneider/ICM (world).

Brianna Labuskes‘s THE LIBRARIAN OF BURNED BOOKS, pitched for fans of Kate Quinn and Julia Kelly, about three women who believe in the power of books to triumph over the very darkest moments of war, based on the true story of the Council of Books in Wartime, the World War II organization founded by booksellers, publishers, librarians, and authors to use books as “weapons in the war of ideas,” to Tessa Woodward at William Morrow, in a significant deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, by Abby Saul at The Lark Group (world).

Author of the forthcoming A BRUSH WITH LOVE Mazey Eddings‘s PINING, a queer holiday rom-com featuring a down-on-her-luck 20-something who wins the lottery and impulsively buys a tree farm to escape her ex, but instead of solitude she finds a grumpy woman claiming she inherited the property, causing sparks to fly as they fight for the disastrously romantic farm, to Eileen Rothschild at St. Martin’s, by Wendy Sherman Associates.

Founder of gal-dem magazine Liv Little‘s ROSEWATER, a coming-of-age story of a young, queer, Black working-class poet in south London, narrating her journey to find a place in the world and discover love where it has always been, to Caolinn Douglas at Get Lifted Books, in a nice deal, for publication in spring 2023, by Kate Hibbert at Little, Brown UK (US).

Bloomsbury Children’s editor Camille Kellogg‘s JUST AS YOU ARE, pitched as PRIDE AND PREJUDICE meets The L Word: Generation Q, an enemies-to-lovers rom-com celebrating queer friendship, identity, coming-of-age, and the unpredictable nature of love, to Katy Nishimoto at Dial Press, in a pre-empt, by Jessica Alvarez at BookEnds (world).

Cohost of the long-running Babylon Salon series Dominic Lim‘s untitled book, pitched as RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE meets Glee, draped in CRAZY RICH ASIANS, in which a nerdy piano prodigy meets his high school crush 20 years later, only now the crush is a famous action movie star and he is still a nerdy pianist; and a second untitled book, pitched as Kinky Boots meets Tootsie, to Alex Logan at Forever, in a very nice deal, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, for publication in June 2023, by Gina Panettieri at Talcott Notch Literary Services (world).

Lambda Literary Award Finalist Selby Wynn Schwartz‘s AFTER SAPPHO, a queer collective biography and poetic reimagining of intertwined circles of feminists, sapphists, writers, and artists at the turn of the 20th century as they fight for liberation and forge new identities, to Gina Iaquinta at Liveright, in a pre-empt, by Sam Jordison at Galley Beggar Press (NA).

Lambda Literary Award-winning author of WRITTEN IN THE STARS Alexandria Bellefleur’s THE FIANCEE FARCE, a queer marriage of convenience rom-com in which a shy bookstore owner claims to be dating the beautiful cover model from her favorite romance novel, but when their paths unexpectedly cross, an awkward situation becomes mutually beneficial—because her fake girlfriend is actually in need of a real wife, to Nicole Fischer at Avon, in a good deal, in a three-book deal, by Sarah Younger at Nancy Yost Literary Agency (world).

Swedish writer and critic Hanna Johansson’s ANTIQUITY, pitched as a queer contemporary LOLITA story, centered on a lonely woman whose feelings for a glamorous older artist are transferred to her 15-year-old daughter when she joins them on holiday in the Greek city of Ermoupoli, and the illicit sexual relationship that follows; a story of desire, power, lust, obsession, observation, and taboo, to Kendall Storey at Catapult, at auction, for publication in 2024, by Linda Altrov Berg at Norstedts (world English).

Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate and Lambda Emerging LGBTQ Voices Fellow Santiago Jose Sanchez’s HOMBRECITO, about a young gay man—an immigrant from Colombia to Miami—grappling with his turbulent sexual coming of age, and his fierce, complicated relationship with his mother and their homeland, to Laura Perciasepe at Riverhead, by Jin Auh at The Wylie Agency.

Children’s/Young Adult Fiction

James Sutter‘s DARKHEARTS, a debut contemporary romance pitched as appealing to readers of MORE HAPPY THAN NOT and THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, in which an ordinary Seattle high schooler, having dropped out of a band that then went on to become the hottest teen pop act in America, is thrown back into contact with his former bandmate after the other bandmate dies by suicide, and the newly connected boys soon trade their frenemy status for a confusing, tentative romance, to Sara Goodman at Wednesday Books, in a two-book deal, for publication in spring/summer 2023, by Josh Adams at Adams Literary (NA).

Gen Z essayist and feminist advocate Malavika Kannan’s ALL THE YELLOW SUNS, pitched for fans of ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE, telling the story of a 16-year-old Indian American artist living in a conservative Florida suburb who falls for her white, wealthy, complicated female classmate, when she is asked to join a secret society of vandals and mischief-makers who fight for justice at their school, to Samantha Gentry at Little, Brown Children’s, in a pre-empt, for publication in summer 2023, by Stephanie Kip Rostan at Levine Greenberg Rostan (world). Rights: Janelle DeLuise

Stonewall Honor-winning author Melanie Gillman‘s OTHER EVER AFTERS, asking what if the monsters, mermaids, and witchy old women in fairy tales all found the happily ever afters they deserve?, to Gina Gagliano at Random House Graphic, for publication in fall 2022, by Jen Linnan at Linnan Literary Management (world).

Erica Hollis’s debut HEARTS FORGED IN DRAGON FIRE, a f/f high fantasy, in which a lesbian teen who can speak to dragons must get rid of the dragon that’s terrorizing her missing mother’s hometown, but falls for the girl who’s mysteriously sabotaging her mission, to Jen Bouvier at Entangled Teen, for publication in fall 2022 (world).

Non-Fiction

Author of REFUSE and Cave Canem poetry fellow Julian Randall‘s THE DEAD DON’T NEED REMINDING, an essay collection that intertwines pop culture, from BoJack Horseman and T-Pain to the Dallas Cowboys, with the author’s struggle with depression and the search for his great-grandfather’s grave in small-town Mississippi, to tell a story of Black queer life and what it takes to come back from the edge, to Hillary Brenhouse at Bold Type Books, by Abigail Donoghue and Patrice Caldwell at New Leaf Literary & Media (world).

UC Berkeley professor, author of GENDER TROUBLE, and pioneering scholar of queer theory Judith Butler‘s WHO’S AFRAID OF GENDER?, a defense of the study of gender that spans philosophy, history, law, and reportage to analyze the social fantasy of “gender” as a destructive force that has incited new forms of fascism across the world, and argues that to oppose these reactionary tides, we must to come to a radically new understanding and affirmation of gendered lives in their complexity and diversity, to Eric Chinski and Jackson Howard at Farrar, Straus, by Sarah Chalfant at The Wylie Agency (NA).

Stonewall Honoree Robin Stevenson‘s QUEER HISTORY A–Z, covering key people, places, and events that have shaped queer history in North America over the past century, with a focus on the theme of activism, illustrated by Vivian Rosas, to Katie Scott at Kids Can Press, for publication in spring 2024, by Maria Vicente at P.S. Literary Agency for the author (world).

Editor in chief of British Vogue Edward Enninful‘s A VISIBLE MAN, a memoir of the author’s journey through one of the world’s most exclusive industries, and how as a Black, gay, working-class refugee, he found in fashion not only a home, but the freedom to share with people the world as he saw it, to Christopher Richards at Penguin Press, at auction, for publication in September 2022, by Albert Lee and Meredith Miller at UTA (NA).

Author and historian of medicine Brandy Schillace’s THE INTERMEDIARIES: HOW PIONEERS OF SEXOLOGY BUILT THE FIRST TRANS CLINIC IN THE SHADOW OF THE THIRD REICH, chronicling the stories of the pioneers who founded The Institute for Sexual Science in interwar Berlin, a base of operations for the first LGBTQ rights movement of the 20th century as well as women’s rights, sex education and birth control, offering a history as well as a cautionary tale in the face of today’s oppressive anti-trans legislation, to Jill Bialosky at Norton, at auction, by Jessica Papin at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret (world).

Editor-in-chief of frieze magazine and author of the novels SKYLAND and MACARTHUR PARK Andrew Durbin‘s SPEED OF LIFE, an exploration of three foundational, transgressive, and intimately connected gay artists—Paul Thek, Peter Hujar, and David Wojnarowicz—who defined New York’s storied downtown scene and later the international art world, and who ultimately changed contemporary art forever; a book about friendship and death, queerness and community, and the complicated meanings of “legacy,” to Jackson Howard at Farrar, Straus, in an exclusive submission, by Anna Stein at ICM (NA).