Doyle Shares the ‘Love’ at Flatiron
After a seven-publisher auction, Flatiron Books won Just Some Stupid Love Story by Katelyn Doyle (The Duke I Tempted). Caroline Bleeke took North American rights, in a two-book deal, from Sarah Younger at the Nancy Yost Literary Agency. The publisher said the romantic comedy follows a screenwriter and her high school boyfriend, who’s now a divorce lawyer. When the two reconnect at their high school reunion, they “make a bet on the outcome of five relationships—including their own—over the next five years, with the winner to be declared the ultimate authority on true love.”
Grand Central Feels Zoffness’s ‘Pain’
Rachel Zoffness, a psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University who specializes in pain, sold Tell Me Where It Hurts to Grand Central. Colin Dickerman and Karyn Marcus took world rights, excluding the U.K., at auction from Gail Ross and Jenna Free at the Ross Yoon Agency. Grand Central said the book, subtitled The Science of Pain and How to Heal, uses “a blend of patient stories and cutting-edge neuroscience” to “offer an optimistic road map to the heart of understanding—and treating—chronic pain.”
Watson Sells Adult Debut
Little, Brown’s Tracy Sherrod bought North American rights at auction to Renée Watson’s debut adult novel, Skin & Bones. Watson, a bestselling children’s author, was represented by Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio. Stimola said the book is set in Portland, Ore., and examines “who society makes space for, exploring themes of sisterhood, motherhood, history, race, faith, love, body image, and ultimately, what one generation passes down to the next.” Skin & Bones is set for 2024.
Doubleday Nabs Grisham Sequel
Doubleday’s Suzanne Herz bought North American rights to The Exchange: After the Firm by John Grisham. The publisher said the novel, a sequel to Grisham’s 1991 bestseller The Firm, follows Mitch McDeere, now a partner at a major law firm, as he works to save an associate who’s been kidnapped while on a business trip to Libya. David Gernert at the Gernert Company represented Grisham. The book is set for October.
Filmmakers Sell Depp-Heard Book
Documentary filmmakers Kelly Loudenberg and Makiko Wholey sold a currently untitled work to Dey Street Books about the defamation suit brought by Johnny Depp against Amber Heard. Stuart Roberts took U.S., Canadian, and open market rights from Allison Devereux, who represented the authors while working at the Cheney Agency. Dey Street said the book examines “what happens when celebrity culture collides with the justice system... and what our obsession with the case reveals about the media, sexual politics, fame, and us.”
Sokol Takes ‘Hustle’ to One Signal
For Simon & Schuster’s One Signal imprint, Nick Ciani bought North American rights to Brett Sokol’s The Basquiat Hustle. The nonfiction book, the publisher explained, is about “art fraud, creator exploitation, and the multibillion-dollar art market.” Sokol is a New York Times contributor, and The Basquiat Hustle is expanded from his Times series on the scandal at the Orlando Art Museum, whose recent Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibit was raided by the FBI after the provenance of 25 paintings came into question. Katherine Flynn at Kneerim & Williams sold the book, which is scheduled for spring 2024.
