Paretsky Moves to Morrow
The bestselling author and creator of detective V.I. Warshawski, Sara Paretsky, has moved houses. Paretsky left Putnam for William Morrow, signing a three-book North American rights deal with Daniel Mallory. The first Warshawski book was published in 1982, and there are now 17 titles in the series. The books have spawned one film—1991’s V.I. Warshawksi, starring Kathleen Turner as the titular Chicago PI—and helped earn Paretsky a number of literary awards, including the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. The first Warshawski book in this deal features the female detective outside of her native city, working a case in her Kansas hometown. Agent Dominick Abel brokered the deal for Paretsky.
Berkley Lands Indie Sensation for Seven Figures
Jasinda Wilder, a bestselling indie author, signed her first traditional deal, inking a seven-figure agreement with Berkley Books to write a new contemporary romance trilogy. Cindy Hwang acquired world English rights to Madame X, the first title in a planned series of the same name, from Kristin Nelson, who has an eponymous agency. Berkley said Wilder—the pen name of a husband-and-wife writing team (with her as the face of the duo)—has published more than 40 novels on her own, and her sales exceed two million e-books. The new series, Berkley said, is “a dark, sexy, and atmospheric modern-day fairy tale about a mysterious woman drawn to two very different men.” Madame X is set for November, with the second and third books in the series currently slated for 2016.
Llewellyn Lands Siefvater
Barbara Moore and Bill Krause at Llewellyn Worldwide inked a world rights deal with Maggie Stiefvater for a tarot card deck and accompanying title. Laura Rennert at the Andrea Brown Agency represented Stiefvater in the deal. Stiefvater created a few tarot cards to promote the launch of the latest title in her bestselling Raven Cycle series: book three, Blue Lily, Lily Blue (Scholastic, Oct. 2014). The cards were given away as prizes to fans, but Stiefvater was unexpectedly inundated with requests for a full deck. This deal, Rennert said, was inspired by those requests. Stiefvater said the cards, originally conceived as appealing mainly to her readers, “evolved instead into a reflection of the creative life.” The tarot deck will be packaged with a book, The Raven’s Prophecy Tarot Card, that describes Stiefvater’s creative process with the 78-card collection. Rennert said the book will delve into “how she created the artwork and how it relates to the meaning of the cards and the larger tarot tradition.”
Breslin Goes ‘Crazy’ at Harper
David Linker at HarperCollins Children’s Books acquired world rights to a memoir and essay collection from Academy Award–nominated actress Abigail Breslin. Part autobiography, part lifestyle guide, the book, titled This May Sound Crazy, is aimed at teenagers and is slated to publish in fall 2015. Creative Artists Agency brokered the deal for Breslin.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled the first name of author Jasinda Wilder.
