Women Leaving the Church Title to Broadleaf
Valerie Weaver-Zercher, acquiring editor at Broadleaf Books, has taken North American rights to Sarah Stankorb’s Damned If She Does: Why Women Are Leaving the Church and What it Means for the Future of Religion in America, which examines the root causes behind the exodus of over 16 million women from Christian churches over the past decade. Stankorb (Disobedient Women), represented by Kerry D’Agostino at Curtis Brown, Ltd., is a religion journalist who has written for The New York Times, Glamour, The Washington Post, and more. Publication is planned for fall 2026.
Beaming Books Acquires Picture Book
Elizabeth Schleisman, associate editor at Beaming Books, has acquired Jubilee Jumps for Joy by Brentom Jackson (Elijah's Easter Suit) and illustrated by Alex Aldrich Barrett. The picture book is for ages 4-8. Determined to find happiness after her grandmother’s death, Jubilee turns to her grandmother's belongings, only to realize that true joy lies in her grandmother’s wisdom and faith. Charlotte Wenger at Prospect Agency represented the author, and Tina Doffing at Astound US represented the illustrator in this deal for world rights. Publication is scheduled for spring 2026.
Christian, Muslim Pair to Brazos
Brazos Press editorial director Katelyn Beaty has acquired world rights to America Without God by Matthew Kaemingk and Shadi Hamid, with the project agented by Bridget Matzie of Aevitas Creative Management. Liberal Muslim political scientist Hamid and conservative Christian theologian Kaemingk argue that secularization has harmed democratic norms and institutions and that if democracy is going to survive and prosper, America needs more religion and not less, says the publisher. A fall 2026 release is planned.
Cancer Stories to Brazos Press
Executive VP for Academic Publishing James R. Kinney has acquired world rights to the new and unagented Brazos Press title In the Valley of the Shadow of Death by Rolf A. Jacobson with his brother Karl Jacobson and Michael Pancoast. Rolf Jacobson serves on the faculty at Luther Seminary; Karl Jacobson, who contributed to the manuscript before his death in August, was a Lutheran pastor and former professor at Augsburg College, and Pancoast is a Lutheran pastor in Minnesota. The three pastors have told their cancer stories to encourage and inspire readers to let God meet them in difficult times. A spring 2026 release is planned.
Professor Studies American Jews and Israel-Hamas War
Bloomsbury/Rowman & Littlefield senior executive editor for religion and spirituality, Richard Brown, has taken world rights, in all languages, to Roberta Kwall’s Polarized: Why America’s Jews Are Divided and What To Do About It. Amaryah Orenstein of GO Literary negotiated the deal for the October 2026 release. Kwall (Remix Judaism) is a professor at DePaul University College of Law and is co-editing The Oxford Handbook of Jewish Law. In her new book, she examines what has long divided the American Jewish community, the impact of the Israel-Hamas war on these divisions, and how to move forward with hope, consensus, and common ground.
Beaty Acquires ‘Nonconformist’ Book
Katelyn Beaty, editorial director at Brazos Press, has taken world rights to unagented Abraham Cho’s Joyfully Different, which argues that Christian communities of “happy nonconformists” will present the most compelling case for the gospel in our contemporary world. Cho is VP for thought leadership at Redeemer City to City, which connects churches and leaders across the globe, and was on the Redeemer East Side staff alongside Tim Keller for eight years. The book will release in spring 2027.
Contemporary Fiction to Tyndale
Barb Roose of Books & Such Literary Management has negotiated a world rights deal for two contemporary fiction books for women with Elizabeth Jackson, senior acquiring editor at Tyndale Publishers, for first-time novelist Hannah Caitlin Parker. Publication is set for the tentatively titled Best Friend Bucket List in Spring 2026 and the second novel is scheduled to release in Spring 2027.
