Double Deal for Friedrich
Agent Molly Friedrich, who has an eponymous shingle, closed two deals last week. In the first, North American rights to the new novel by Ruth Ozeki were acquired by Carole DeSanti at Viking. Ozeki, a winner of the L.A. Times Book Prize, is writing a companion to her last novel, A Tale for the Time Being (Viking, 2013). Viking said the currently untitled work draws on “parable, fable, and magical realism.” Ozeki said that while her last novel explored the concept of time, this book “is about space and matter,” and that “if it has a single message, it’s that matter matters.”
Friedrich also sold world English rights, in a two-book deal, to the next entries in John Verdon’s Dave Gurney series to Dan Smetanka at Counterpoint. The first four books in the series, which feature an officially retired (but still working) NYPD detective, were published by Crown. Smetanka won the books at auction and will release the first title, Wolf Lake, in summer 2016 as one of Counterpoint’s lead titles. The agency said the book follows “four unconnected people who have identical nightmares.”
Weiner Re-ups, Goes Kid-Friendly, at S&S
Bestselling author Jennifer Weiner signed a new deal with her longstanding publisher, Simon & Schuster. Weiner, who published her debut, Good in Bed, 15 years ago with the Simon & Schuster’s Atria division, signed on to do four more books there, she also inked a three-book deal with S&S’s Aladdin imprint to pen her first foray into children’s literature, a middle-grade trilogy called The Littlest Bigfoot. Sarah Cantin at Atria, and Mara Anastas at Aladdin, negotiated the deal—both took world rights—with agent Joanna Pulcini, who has her own shingle. The trilogy, which Aladdin’s Amy Cloud will be editing, will launch in October 2016. Weiner, S&S noted, has sold more than 12 million copies of her books and has more than 120,000 followers on Twitter.
Moseley Takes ‘Fight’ from Wattpad to GCP
In a six-figure two-book deal, Megha Parekh at Grand Central’s Forever imprint took North American rights to Kirsty Moseley’s new adult novel Fighting to Be Free. Stephany Evans at FinePrint Literary Management brokered the deal on behalf of Lorella Belli, who has her own agency. The book began on the writing community Wattpad, where the author has amassed a sizable following; Evans said Fighting to Be Free has logged more than 5.7 million reads.
Schwab Gets ‘Vicious’ at Tor
V.E. Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic) signed a four-book six-figure deal with Miriam Weinberg at Tor. Under the deal Schwab will write a sequel to Vicious (Tor, 2014), which is about a supervillain’s revenge. The deal also covers the third book in her Shades of Magic series, and two currently untitled works of speculative fiction. Holly Root at Waxman Leavell represented Schwab.
Lake Union Throws Down for Ryan Hyde
Catherine Ryan Hyde (Pay It Forward) signed a six-figure two-book deal with Tara Parsons at Amazon’s Lake Union imprint for her new novel, Blythe River. The book, about a 17-year-old who must find his missing father in a remote wilderness in South Africa, is set for summer 2016 and was sold by Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary.
Correction: An earlier version of this article stated that the first book in Jennifer Weiner's new four-book deal with Atria will be nonfiction. That nonfiction book is not part of this deal; it is part of an earlier deal and will be published by the imprint in September 2016.
