Blackwell Re-ups at Berkley
Kerry Donovan took world rights to two more books by bestseller Juliet Blackwell. The novels will have the same setting, and be similar in style and tone, to the author’s recent two titles from Berkley: The Paris Key (2015) and Letters from Paris (2016). The first book, slated for fall 2018, follows an American photographer in France—studying the work of Gustav Bayol, a carousel maker from the 19th century—who becomes friendly with the owner of a chateau on a research trip to Avignon. “Together,” the publisher said, “the unlikely pair restore the antique carousel built for the children of the chateau’s original owners and unearth the secrets held within the castle’s walls.” The second book in the deal, which Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich, and Bourret brokered, is slated for fall 2019.
Capstone Picks Up Australian YA
For the Capstone teen imprint Switch Press, Eliza Leahy nabbed Lili Wilkinson’s YA novel The Boundless Sublime. Published in Australia in 2016, the book is about a girl trying to cope with a family tragedy. Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management, who represented Wilkinson, said that after the heroine joins a group called the Institute of the Boundless Sublime, she soon realizes that “the secretive community is far from the ideal world she expected.” Wilkinson, who is Australian, has had a number of her books published in the States; her 2011 novel Pink (HarperCollins Children’s) won an ALA Stonewall Honor.
Avery Takes the Longevity View
In a U.S., Canadian, and open market rights acquisition, Avery publisher Megan Newman bought Valter Longo’s The Longevity Diet. Longo, who has a Ph.D. from UCLA and teaches gerontology at the University of Southern California, lays out, as Avery put it, “an easy-to-adopt pescatarian plan” in the book. Subtitled Discover the New Science Behind Stem Cell Activation and Regeneration to Slow Aging, Fight Disease and Optimize Weight, the book, Avery elaborated, is based on a “clinically tested” diet that has been proven to help people “reduce abdominal fat” and “extend their lifespan.” Agent Laurie Liss represented Longo.
Redondo’s Prize Winner to AmazonCrossing
Dolores Redondo’s Spanish novel All This I Must Give to You was acquired by Gabriella Page-Fort at AmazonCrossing. Page-Fort took world English rights to the novel, which was published in Spain in 2016 and won the Planeta Prize, one of the country’s top literary honors. (In addition to the literary merits, Amazon said the book is a bestseller in Spain and has, to date, been translated into 17 languages.) The novel opens with a car crash in a vineyard-laden region of Spain. Manuel, whose partner has died in the accident, becomes unnerved by the police’s handling of the case, especially after they encourage him to reach out to his partner’s estranged family. As Manuel becomes entangled with this family, the publisher said, “it’s impossible to turn away until all secrets are revealed.” Marina Penalva at Pontas Agency represented Redondo, and Michael Meigs has been brought on as the translator.
Putnam Buys Kate’s Adult Debut
In a high six-figure world rights preempt for two books, Tara Singh Carlson at Putnam bought bestselling YA author Lauren Kate’s adult debut, Pearl’s War. Laura Rennert at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, who represented Kate (the Fallen series), said the Civil War–era novel follows an enslaved woman who is searching for her daughter. Rennert elaborated that the search “leads her to freedom, to love, and ultimately, through her relationship with the fascinating, controversial Gen. Joseph Hooker, to reshape the Civil War itself.”
Briefs
Ten Speed’s Emily Timberlake took world rights to Dungeons & Dragons: A Visual History. Agent Jacques de Spoelberch at JdeS Associates, who brokered the agreement, said the book is the first to explore the 40-plus-year history of the fantasy game. It will offer “a visual archive of one of the most iconic and pervasive gaming franchises in the world,” de Spoelberch explained. The authors, who are consulting with D&D creator Wizards of the Coast, include biographer Michael Witwer, filmmaker Kyle Newman, games historian Jon Peterson, and actor Sam Witwer. The book is due in fall 2018.
For MIT Press, Amy Brand bought world English rights to Arthur I. Miller’s Mozart’s Flute: The Rebirth of Creativity and Genius in a World of Machines. The book is set for spring 2020 and will, the press said, be the first general title to “explore how computers can be creative in art, music, and other pursuits, and what the future of creativity itself will look like.” Jaime Marshall at JP Marshall Literary Agency represented Miller.
