Margo Shickmanter at Avid Reader preempted North American rights to Murder Bimbo by Rebecca Novack (pictured l.) from Claudia Ballard at WME. The publisher said the debut novel is “told in three increasingly subversive acts, in which a 32-year-old sex worker recruited as an unlikely assassin kills an extreme right-wing presidential hopeful... and now has only two days, her wits, and a high-speed internet connection to save her own life.” Sophie Orme at Manilla won U.K. rights, at auction, via Fiona Baird at WME. Publication is set for spring 2026.

Ibrahim Ahmad at Viking won North American rights, at auction, to The Long Shadow: Henry Ford, Corporate Power, and the Roots of American Fascism by Daniel Schulman from Howard Yoon at WME. The publisher called the book “a political biography of Henry Ford that uncovers how the iconic automaker’s cult of personality, corporate authoritarianism, antisemitic propaganda, and ideological influence on Nazi Germany helped lay the foundation for modern fascism.” Publication is set for fall 2027.

Matt Inman at Ten Speed Graphic bought world English rights to MrBallen Presents: Where Nightmares Live by YouTuber MrBallen
(né John B. Allen), written with Robert Venditti and illustrated by Andrea Mutti, from Byrd Leavell at UTA in a five-book deal. The book, the publisher said, “features nine terrifying stories— based on real events—of the horror that lurks within the unknown,” adapting tales from MrBallen’s viral podcast and YouTube channel and including four exclusive entries. MrBallen Presents is due out in September.

In a two-book deal, Emily Burns at Spiegel & Grau preempted world rights to Freyja by Margrét Ann Thors from Erin Harris at
Folio Literary Management. The publisher said the novel, which is “steeped in Icelandic folklore and moves between Reykjavík and the Icelandic countryside,” follows a single mother “who has tried to put the incriminating circumstances of her childhood best friend’s disappearance behind her—until the arrival of a cold case investigator threatens to upend her cautiously constructed life.” Publication is planned for fall 2026.

Krishan Trotman at Legacy Lit took world English rights to Waiting for Dawn: Living with Uncertainty, by grief advocate Marisa Renee Lee, from Marya Spence at Janklow & Nesbit. The publisher called the title “a narrative self-help book about dealing with
hardship and healing with research, to explore how we can all live well through life’s myriad of challenges and offering compassionate and hopeful guidance that perfectly meets our current moment.” Publication is tentatively set for next April.

In Brief

  • Gillian Blake at Crown preempted North American rights to Dwayne Johnson and Nick Bilton’s “gripping new book chronicling the rise of a fierce and defiant Hawaiian syndicate” from Jay Mandel and Erin Malone at WME. Martin Scorsese will direct a related film. Title and pub date TBD.
  • Chris Jackson at One World netted North American rights to three books by Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry from Byrd Leavell and Albert Lee at UTA. The first book, Shot Ready, hits shelves in September.
  • John Morgan at Grand Central preempted North American rights, in a two-book deal, to Révérence, Faith Gladwin’s debut psychological horror, following seven ballerinas at an audition inside a cursed house, from Ginger Clark at her eponymous shingle, on behalf of Rachel Neely at Mushens Entertainment. Publication is set for fall 2026.
  • Leyla Moushabeck at Crocodile secured world rights to Everything Grows in Jiddo’s Garden, the debut picture book by Jenan Matari, who was unagented in the deal, illustrated by Aya Ghanameh, repped by Anjali Singh at the agency of the same name. The book follows a young Palestinian girl who helps her grandfather tend his garden and will pub in August.

Correction: Ten Speed acquired world English rights to MrBallen’s books, not world rights. The program is an extension of an existing partnership, and the titles were not acquired at auction.