Rachael Levay at Princeton UP acquired world rights to Those People by Musa al-Gharbi (pictured l.) from Andrew Stuart at the Stuart Agency. The book, the publisher said, “explores the causes and consequences of the growing social distance between elites and the rest of society and the resulting alienation and disenfranchisement felt among those outside rarified centers of cultural and economic influence, looking closely at how elites have capitalized on these schisms—often relying on prejudicially writing off ‘those people’ and their motives.” Publication is set for late 2026.

Liv Ryan at Mulholland bought North American rights to Gabrielle Sher’s Odessa from Gráinne Fox and Kelly Karczewski at UTA, for publication in winter 2026. The debut novel, per the publisher, is “a retelling of Frankenstein through Jewish folklore set in Russia at the height of the pogroms, following a grief-stricken family who turn to ancient magic to bring their daughter back from the grave and instead conjure something otherworldly.”

For FSG’s Auwa imprint, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Sean McDonald picked up world rights, unagented, to Black Dragon: A Culinary History of Chinese American Restaurants in Black Communities, by chef and founder of Philadelphia’s Black Dragon Takeout Kurt Evans. The book, the publisher said, “delves into the unique role Chinese American restaurants have played as lifelines in urban neighborhoods, hubs of cultural exchange, and symbols of resilience in marginalized communities, and examines the shared culinary ethos between soul food and traditional Chinese cuisine.” Release is set for winter 2027.

Colin Dickerman at Grand Central preempted world English and Spanish rights to Jonathan Jakubowicz’s The Adventures of Juan Planchard, in a two-book deal, from Mollie Glick at CAA. The thriller, the publisher said, follows “a middle-class nobody who becomes a millionaire by weaponizing the very corruption that swallowed his home country of Venezuela, and the seductive American beauty who just might be his way out—or his downfall.” A TV adaptation from Gaumont is underway. Publication is set for summer 2026.

Peter Wolverton at St. Martin’s netted world rights to three books by Jason Pargin from Mark Gottlieb at Trident Media Group: the fourth book in the Zoey Ashe series, an untitled standalone supernatural horror novel, and the sixth book in the John Dies at the End series—set for release in spring 2028, fall 2029, and fall 2031, respectively. The standalone, per the agency, follows “a true crime junkie hunting her sister’s killer—only to uncover a ‘murder hotel’ run by an interdimensional trapper harvesting human skins in the hollowed-out heart of suburbia.”

In Brief

  • ​Liese Mayer and Sally Kim at Little, Brown won, at auction, North American rights to Dani Shapiro’s memoir Kaleidoscope, about “a profound and sudden upheaval in her late middle age,” and an untitled novel, from Margaret Riley King at WME, for release in fall 2027.
  • Caitlin McKenna at Random House landed Julie Buntin’s novel Famous Men, “about a young woman who falls into a boundary-blurring entanglement with an older, famous writer,” in an exclusive, two-book submission, from Claudia Ballard at WME, for a summer 2026 release.
  • Jillian Ramirez at Bloomsbury preempted North American and open market rights to Miye Lee’s psychological gameshow drama Break Room, translated from the Korean by Sandy Jooson Lee, from Bruno Onuki Reynell at New River Literary on behalf of the Danny Hong Agency and O’Fan House, for a winter 2026 release. Océano secured world Spanish rights, with foreign rights sold in six terrirories.
  • Jennifer Ung at Morrow took world English rights, in an exclusive submission, to Sandhya Menon’s Inheritance, “set in a dystopian future in which young women are conscripted to become surrogate mothers for the powerful,” from Thao Le at Sandra Dijkstra, for a winter 2027 release.