Dexter Creator to Dutton
Jeff Lindsay, author of the bestselling Dexter series, signed a world English rights deal for a new, currently untitled thriller series at Dutton. The two-book deal was struck between Dutton editor-in-chief John Parsley and Nicholas Ellison at the Nicholas Ellison Agency. The new series, Dutton said, will feature an antihero named Riley Wolfe who is, like Dexter Morgan, a “bad guy we can root for”; he is “a master thief” and an “expert at disguise.” In book one, Wolfe sets his sights on a collection of crown jewels. But Wolfe is more than a mere thief and, as the publisher elaborated, he only steals from people “who have committed heinous misdeeds and malpractices” in the pursuit of their wealth. The Dexter books were the basis of the same-titled Showtime television series.
Harlequin Nabs Debut YA
For Harlequin Teen, Lauren Smulski bought world English rights to the debut YA fantasy Coral and Pearl. Author Mara Rutherford was represented by Uwe Stender at TriadaUS. The book, the publisher said, follows “a young woman from a village in the sea” who “must impersonate her twin on land to save everyone she loves from a tyrannical prince.” The novel is set for fall 2019.
Peanuts Anthology to LAM
Agent Andrew Blauner sold world rights to an essay collection about Peanuts, which he is editing, to Max Rudin at Library of America. The Peanuts Papers: Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the Gang, and the Meaning of Life will feature pieces on the iconic comic strip from, among others, Adam Gopnik, Jonathan Lethem, Rick Moody, and George Saunders. Blauner said the book, which is slated for 2019, will “explore different Charles M. Schulz characters, distinctive aspects or themes of the Peanuts strip, and the writers’ autobiographical engagement with the beloved comic.”
Seal Press Minds Rowland’s Gap
In a world English rights acquisition, Stephanie Knapp at Seal Press bought Katherine Rowland’s nonfiction book, The Pleasure Gap. The book, subtitled How Modern Women Are Reclaiming Desire, was sold by Rachel Vogel at Dunow, Carlson & Lerner. Knapp said the book is “a deeply reported exploration into why the pleasure gap exists in Western culture.” She added that it integrates “science, social criticism and rich profiles of women from all walks of life to ultimately argue that pleasure can be and is being reclaimed.” Rowland is a journalist at, and publisher of, Guernica magazine. The book is set for a fall 2019 release.
Briefs
Blackstone Publishing’s Vikki Warner took world rights to Shelley Shepard Gray’s new series, the Bridgeport Social Club, in a three-book deal brokered by Nicole Resciniti at the Seymour Agency. The first novel under the agreement, Take a Chance, is, Blackstone said, about a group of men “needing a place to call a home, a small town in Ohio in need of hope, and a group of women who are special enough to make both happen.” Take a Chance is set for September 2018.
Academic Conevery Valencius and journalist Anna Kuchment sold In the Bull’s Eye to Karen Darling at the University of Chicago Press. Valencius is a professor at Boston College, and Kuchment is a reporter for the Dallas Morning News; in the book, the pair follows a team of scientists looking to uncover the cause of a string of earthquakes rocking the Midwest. Agent Katherine Flynn at Kneerim & Williams, who represented the authors, said that the scientists find the problem is a “manmade” one, and this in turn “leads to a larger tale of scientific discovery, politics, industry, and science denial in contemporary America.”
Correction: A previous version of this article referenced that Jeff Lindsay had struck a deal for his new series with Putnam. He has sold the series to Dutton.
