Avid Reader Picks Up WWII Epic
In a preempt, Jofie Ferrari-Adler at Avid Reader Press has acquired world rights to Samuel Hawley’s Daikon, which the publisher called “an extraordinary novel of love and war set in Japan during the final days of WWII, told from the Japanese perspective.” Warren Frazier at John Hawkins & Associates brokered the deal. The premise of the book is that three atomic bombs were actually delivered for the attack on Japan, “but the third bomb falls into the hands of the Japanese.” Hawley, who was born in South Korea and taught English for many years in Japan, has been working on the novel for 28 years. Daikon is set for a summer 2025 publication.
Hibbert Brings ‘Last Thorn’ to Saturday
After an auction, bestselling author Talia Hibbert (Get a Life, Chloe Brown) has sold world English rights to The Last Thorn to Saturday Books executive editor Vicki Lame in the U.S. and to Tor Books publisher Bella Pagan in the U.K. Courtney Miller-Callihan at Handspun Literary Agency negotiated the joint acquisition. The publisher said the romantasy is “a spicy ‘Beauty and the Beast’ retelling” set in “a glamorous world of magic users living in the shadows of a modern Britain recovering from civil war.” The Last Thorn is set for simultaneous U.S. and U.K. publication in summer 2026.
HarperOne Explores the ‘Invisible Universe’
Elizabeth Mitchell at HarperOne has taken world English rights to Our Invisible Universe: A Freefall Journey into the Wondrous Realities Hidden All Around Us by science writer Corey S. Powell. Peter Steinberg at UTA negotiated the deal. Steinberg said the book will “tell the story of the world beyond the senses” and explore how, using instruments like the James Webb Space Telescope and neutrino detectors under construction in South Dakota, it’s possible to see “things that were impossible to see before.” The book will be published in 2026.
Israeli Bestseller Goes to Viva
Jarred Weisfeld at Viva Editions has acquired world rights (excluding Hebrew and French) to Oct 7: The War Against Hamas Through the Eyes of an Israeli Commando Officer by Elkana Cohen. Tali Carmi at eBookPro handled the deal. Cohen is captain of an elite Israeli commando unit and Viva said the book, which was a bestseller in Israel, is his diary kept during the Israel–Hamas war. It earned the praise of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Viva will publish on October 7.
Berkley Joins the ‘Club’
Berkley executive editor Esi Sogah has bought North American rights to Amelia Ireland’s debut novel, The Seven O’Clock Club. Helen Edwards at Helen Edwards Rights Agency brokered the deal on behalf of Emily Glenister at DHH Literary. Berkley said the book “is deeply emotional upmarket fiction” that will appeal to fans of The Midnight Library and Remarkably Bright Creatures, with a story that follows “four strangers who meet in a new type of group therapy as they work together through their grief to rediscover hope—until an unexpected revelation upends everything they thought they knew.” The Seven O’Clock Club is set for spring 2025.
Allie Merola at Penguin has taken world rights to Let It Be a Tale: Palestinian Journalists on Survival and Resistance, edited by Zahra Hankir, which the publisher said is “an anthology of original essays by reporters under Israeli occupation in Gaza and the West Bank.” The anthology will also include a foreword by Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha. Jessica Papin at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret handled the deal. Penguin said the collection will examine “the devastation and perseverance witnessed during the deadliest period for journalists on record, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.” Hankir is the editor of Our Women on the Ground: Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World and author of Eyeliner: A Cultural History. A pub date has yet to be announced.
