Nancy Inteli and Megan Ilnitzki at HarperCollins Children’s Books acquired North American rights to Hansel and Gretel, a Brothers Grimm reimagining by horror writer Stephen King (l.) and illustrated by late Caldecott Medalist Maurice Sendak, from the Maurice Sendak Foundation and Liz Darhansoff at Darhansoff & Verrill. The picture book edition of the fairy tale classic will feature art originally created by Sendak in 1997 as set and costume designs for the Engelbert Humperdinck opera of the same name. Publication is set for September.

Bill Thomas at Doubleday procured U.S. rights to Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts by Margaret Atwood from Karolina Sutton at CAA, with Lee Boudreaux set to edit. The book will explore Atwood’s life and work, “from her peripatetic childhood in the Canadian far north through the writing of The Handmaid’s Tale to her position today as revered truth-teller and literary icon,” the publisher said. Publication is set for November, simultaneously with the Canadian edition from McClelland & Stewart and the U.K. version from Chatto & Windus.

Keith Kahla at Minotaur signed a two-book deal with Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Sara Paretsky, picking up North American and audio rights from Dominick Abel of the eponymous shingle. Carolyn Mays at Bedford Square Publishers took U.K. rights. The first book in the deal, Bad Company, releases next fall and follows retired CIA agent Lily Sedarko’s adventures after “one of her old operations comes under scrutiny and sends her back into the field, on the run from both the CIA and whoever set her up.”

Anna Michaels at Sourcebooks took North American rights to Caroline Darian’s I’ll Never Call Him Dad Again from Stella Giatrakou at Bonnier. The publisher called the memoir from the daughter of Gisèle Pelicot, the French woman whose rape trial against her husband and 50 other men made headlines worldwide last year, “a powerful personal account and a call to action against the rising tide of violence against women.” The book was published in 2022 in France by JC Lattès and earlier this year in the U.K. by Bonnier Books, and is set for a March release in the U.S.

Tricia Narwani at Del Rey inked a six-book deal with Elise Kova for her bestselling, previously self-published Married to Magic series, securing North American rights from Jenny Bent at the Bent Agency. The series, the publisher said, includes “five linked standalone titles that reimagine classic myths and fairy tales with supernatural and paranormal elements,” and includes a new, sixth book. Foreign rights have sold in seven territories. U.S. release dates are forthcoming.

In Brief

  • Alyea Canada at Orbit has acquired Leslye Penelope’s next urban fantasy, December 32, set on the eve of the Y2K crisis, from Arley Sorg of kt literary, for publication in 2026.
  • Ryan Doherty at Celadon acquired world rights, from Susan Canavan at Waxman Literary Agency, to Brady and Mahomes, Lars Anderson’s biographies of quarterbacks Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. Brady will hit shelves next fall.
  • Alessandra Bastagli at One Signal landed North American rights to lawyer and transgender rights activist Chase Strangio’s memoir Sparkle in the Darkness from Mollie Glick at CAA, for a September 2027 release.
  • Laura Schreiber at William Morrow bought North American rights to two mysteries by Ross Montgomery, at auction, from Pete Knapp at Park, Fine & Brower on behalf of Claire Wilson at Rogers, Coleridge & White. The debut The Murder at World’s End releases in winter 2026.
  • Pamela Dorman at the eponymous imprint and Deborah Sun de la Cruz at Penguin Canada acquired North American rights to Rosie Walsh’s The One Day You Were My Husband, from Allison Hunter at Trellis Literary Management on behalf of Lizzy Kremer at David Higham Associates. Release date TBA.