LBYR Gets Light as a ‘Feather’
Connie Hsu at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers took world rights to a new picture book by Nina Laden called Does a Feather Remember? The book will be illustrated by Renata Liwska (The Quiet Book). Laden is an author/illustrator who has written a number of titles, including Peek A-Who and Remeow and Drooliet. According to LBYR, Feather will be “an evocative and lyrical picture book about growing up in an ever-changing world.” Laden was inspired to write the book after stumbling upon a feather at a beach near her home in the San Juan Islands (which are in Washington State). Laura Rennert at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, brokered the deal for Laden, while Holly McGhee at Pippin Properties represented Liwska. Feather is scheduled for fall 2013.

McCurdy Ponies Up for ‘Rutherford’
Presumably tapping into the Downton Abbey–inspired craze for Edwardian melodramas, Liv Blumer of the Blumer Literary Agency sold world rights to Elizabeth Cooke’s Rutherford, about an English family and their servants in the year before the outbreak of WWI. Wendy McCurdy at Berkley took world rights, in a two-book deal, and plans on publishing the title in fall 2013. Blumer did the deal on behalf of Laura Longrigg, a London-based agent at MBA. The book is historical fiction.

House of Anansi Re-Ups Hamilton
The Canadian publisher House of Anansi has inked a major new deal with Ian Hamilton, author of The Water Rat of Wanchai (named a Quill & Quire book of the year for 2011). The president and publisher of Anansi, Sarah MacLachlan, along with senior editor Janie Yoon and v-p of publishing operations Matt Williams, took world rights to three more books in Hamilton’s bestselling Ava Lee series, for six figures. Anansi launched the Ava Lee series, which follows a Chinese-Canadian forensic accountant, with Water Rat (Feb. 2011); Hamilton is finishing up his current contract with the house now. Hamilton’s first deal with Anansi (which he signed in 2010) was for four books, and the last title in that contract, The Red Pole of Macau, is due out in the fall. The series, which has been compared by reviewers to Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy, has sold into a number of countries, and film rights to the first four books sold to Strada/Union Pictures in 2011. Agents Bruce Westwood and Carolyn Ford, at Westwood Creative Artists, handled the book deal.

Kerrigan Lands at Europa
Irish crime writer Gene Kerrigan has inked a deal for his latest novel with Europa Editions. Europa publisher Kent Carroll bought U.S. rights to The Rage, about a Dublin detective investigating the mysterious death of a local banker. Kerrigan writes a column for the Irish newspaper the Sunday Independent, and Europa said The Rage, among other things, offers a picture of a city in decline, “a Dublin broken by the financial crisis, a society plagued by compromises with criminals and uneasy with its tainted justice system.” Europa has published Kerrigan before, having released both The Midnight Choir (2007) and Little Criminals (also 2007). Melanie Jackson, at the Melanie Jackson Agency, did the deal on behalf of Peter Strauss of the British agency Rodgers, Colderidge and White; Europa will release The Rage as a paperback original.

Correction
In last week’s column, we incorrectly referred to Ellie Krieger’s new cookbook as Comfort Food Fix. Comfort Food Fix is a 2011 book by Krieger; her new cookbook is currently untitled.