Simon Pulse Buys YA Debut
Sarah McCabe of Simon Pulse took North American rights, in a preempt, to This Mortal Coil, a debut young adult novel by Emily Suvada, in a deal brokered by DongWon Song of the Howard Morhaim Literary Agency. Suvada is an Australian-born writer with a background in data science. According to Song, the novel tells the story of “the daughter of the world’s leading geneticist,” who must solve the mystery he left behind, using her own biohacking skills, “to save the world from a lethal plague that has devastated humanity.” Song notes that Caspian Dennis of Abner Stein sold U.K. and Commonwealth rights for the book to Tig Wallace of Penguin Random House Children’s and that Heather Baror-Schapiro of Baror International sold German rights to Planet. Simon Pulse plans to publish the novel in November 2017.
47North Takes Paper Magician Spin-Off
Jason Kirk of 47North, an imprint of Amazon Publishing, acquired world rights for Polymaker, a paranormal novel by Charlie N. Holmberg, in a deal negotiated by Marlene Stringer of the Stringer Literary Agency. According to Stringer, the novel, which is set in the world of the author’s Paper Magician series, tells of Alvie Brechenmacher, a young woman who travels to England to “realize her dream of becoming a Polymaker—a plastics magician—and discover its hidden spells under the nephew of the renowned Magician Tagis Praff.” Holmberg has published three books in the Paper Magician series: The Paper Magician, The Glass Magician, and The Master Magician. 47North plans to publish Polymaker later this year.
Europa Signs Crime Novel by Colombia’s Gamboa
Sandro Ferri, publisher of Europa Editions, acquired world English rights to Return to the Dark Valley, a crime novel by Colombian writer Santiago Gamboa, in a deal arranged by Guillermo Schavelzon of the Schavelzon Graham Agency. According to Europa, the novel “tells the interweaving stories of five arresting characters: Manuela Beltrán, a woman haunted by a troubled childhood she tries to escape through literature; Tertuliano, an extremist Argentine preacher who claims to be the Pope’s son; Ferdinand Palacios, a Colombian priest with a dark paramilitary past; Rimbaud, the precocious, brilliant French poet; and Juana, whom Gamboa’s fans will remember from Night Prayers,” a novel by Gamboa published in 2016. Commenting on Gamboa’s sensibility, Europa’s Ferri adds, “He is miles away from his compatriot Garcia Marquez in tone and style, but close to him in imagination and culture.” Return to the Dark Valley is set to be published in fall 2017.
Levy Brings Rollins Bio to Da Capo
Russell Galen of Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency sold exclusive world rights to Freedom Suite: The Life and Music of Sonny Rollins by Aidan Levy to Ben Schafer, an executive editor at Da Capo Press. According to the publisher, the book, which was written with the famed saxophonist’s cooperation, draws on new interviews to “unravel the music and enigma of one of the jazz world’s most talented, influential, and misunderstood figures.” Da Capo adds that it’s the “first-ever narrative biography” of Rollins. Levy, a journalist, previously authored Dirty Blvd.: The Life and Music of Lou Reed. Da Capo plans to publish Freedom Suite in fall 2019.
