Convergent Commits to Contentment
Executive editor at Convergent Becky Nesbitt acquired world rights from Keely Boeving of WordServe Literary to Lydia Sohn’s Here: A Spirituality of Staying in a Culture of Leaving. Sohn, a United Methodist minister, pushes back against what she calls an age of constant reinvention. Instead, she calls on readers to embrace and transform their circumstances with commitment and stability, which can lead to true contentment, according to the publisher. The book is slated for publication in fall 2024.
Salem Signs a Magician
Mary DeMuth of her eponymous literary agency sold world rights to Timothy Peterson, executive editor of Salem, to magician and former megachurch pastor Taylor Hughes’s Misdirection: A Magician’s Guide to Avoiding Manipulation. Hughes, emcee for author and speaker Bob Goff’s conferences, reveals how the same tools magicians use for misdirection have found their way into churches, communities, businesses, and politics. The book is slated for publication in early 2024.
‘Shift Happens’ to Whitaker
Amy Bartlett, acquisitions editor at Whitaker House, bought world rights from Chip MacGregor of MacGregor & Luedeke, to Michelle McKinney Hammond’s Next: What to Do When Shift Happens, set for publication in fall 2023. Hammond—an author, Emmy Award-winner, and actress—aims to help readers “reimagine seasons of change as times of hope and new opportunities for growth,” according to the publisher.
Activist Reups at IVP
Donovan D. Potter of Potter Law, sold world rights to Ethan McCarthy, associate editor at IVP, to Justin Giboney’s tentatively titled A Profound Public Witness: How the Black Church’s Social Action Tradition Can Help the Church Transcend the Culture Wars. Giboney—coauthor of Compassion (&) Conviction (IVP, 2020), attorney, and cofounder of the AND Campaign, which promotes Christians’ civic and cultural engagement—examines America’s complicated history that includes opting for rivalry and winning at all costs, and offers solutions based on the Black Church’s approach to civic engagement and its social action tradition. Publication is slated for fall 2024.
WaterBrook & Multnomah Gets Sober-Curious
Estee Zandee, editor at WaterBrook & Multnomah, bought world rights from Mary DeMuth to Love Life Sober: Finding Freedom from Alcohol in 40 Days by Christy Osborne, a life coach who helps women free themselves from the power of alcohol. To be published in spring or summer of 2024, the book presents what the author calls a 40-day reset, with biblical encouragement and words of support, for women struggling with drinking.
IVP Takes New Look at Belonging
Ingrid Beck of The Bindery sold world rights to Cindy Bunch, v-p and associate publisher for InterVarsity Press, for the tentatively titled You Are Welcome: Reimagining the Way We Belong in the World by Sarah Westfall, community director for The Stories Between Us writing community and host of the Not My Story podcast. The book, scheduled for 2024 release, explores how connection and belonging are extensions of the welcome we receive from God. She encourages readers to shift from asking, “Where do I belong?” to “How can I become a place of welcome?,” according to the publisher.
‘From the Psych Ward’ to Bethany
Andy McGuire, senior acquisitions editor nonfiction for Bethany House, acquired world rights to Resilience: And Other Lessons I Learned from the Psych Ward by Chris Morris. Drawing on experiences with mental illness and chronic disease, Morris provides guidance to those battling mental illnesses as well as those who support them, while offering “strategies for victory amidst the battles,” according to the publisher. Mary DeMuth of Mary DeMuth Literary negotiated the deal, and the book is slated for publication in summer 2024.
