Kensington Nabs ‘Ripley’-like Debut
John Scognamiglio, editor-in-chief at Kensington, has acquired world and audio rights to Edwin Hill’s debut novel, Little Comfort. The publisher described the book, which is set to be published in summer 2018, as a “cross between Laura Lippman’s Hush Hush and Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley.” It centers on two teenagers who flee their New England hometown after being involved in a murder and then return 10 years later with new identities. Hill is the editorial director and v-p at Macmillan Higher Education and has previously published work in the Los Angeles Review of Books and the Life Sentence. Robert E. Guinsler of Sterling Lord Literistic represented him in the deal.
Dlouhy Books Buys Fearless Debut
Dara Hyde of the Hill Nadell Literary Agency sold world rights to Matt Méndez’s debut novel, When We Were Fearless, to Caitlyn Dlouhy at Caitlyn Dlouhy Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster’s Atheneum Books, in a two-book deal. When We Were Fearless, which is set to be published in fall 2018, tells the story of two high school friends growing up in a barrio community in El Paso, Tex. Méndez’s second book will follow in 2019.
Sourcebooks Has ‘Blackout’
Shana Drehs at Sourcebooks took North American rights to Blackout by Marc Elsberg. Originally published in 2012 by Blanvalet in Germany, where it sold over a million copies, the debut thriller is about, the publisher said, a terrorist attack that plunges countries into total darkness, “as a former hacker teams up with an investigative journalist to discover who is behind the crime.” The deal was brokered by Helen Edwards at Penguin Random House UK’s Transworld imprint. The book is slated for a June 2017 release.
St. Martin’s Picks Up Israeli Bestseller
Leslie Gelbman, executive editor-at-large at St. Martin’s Press, has purchased world English and audio rights to Israeli writer Yoav Blum’s novel The Coincidence Makers from Amy Tannenbaum of the Jane Rotrosen Agency. The Coincidence Makers, about, SMP said, “three members of a secret organization devoted to creating and carrying out coincidences,” was first published in Israel in 2011 by Keter—a publisher whose list includes books by Amos Oz, Haruki Murakami, and Donna Tartt—and has sold more than 40,000 copies there. Translation rights have been sold to publishers in Brazil, China, France, Germany, Italy, and Poland, and an auction in Turkey is underway. The novel is set to be published by St. Martin’s in winter 2018.
Editor’s note: In this issue, Daniel Lefferts begins a three-month run writing the Deals column while Rachel Deahl is on maternity leave. All Deals items should be sent to dlefferts@publishersweekly.com and to jmilliot@publishersweekly.com.
