Fea Signs a Triple
Theo Calderara, editor-in-chief at Oxford University Press, bought world rights to a three-volume narrative history of evangelicals in 21st-century American politics by John Fea, Distinguished Professor of American History at Messiah University and the author of Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump. David Bratt at BBH Literary represented the author. The three volumes will focus on the evolution of evangelical politics and religion from George Bush’s more moderate evangelicalism to the more radical Christian nationalism championed by Trump and others. The first book, tentatively titled Marching to Zion: Evangelicals in the Era of George W. Bush, is scheduled for 2025, with the second (Exiles in Babylon: Evangelicals in the Era of Barack Obama) and third (Searching for King Cyrus: Evangelicals in the Era of Donald Trump) tentatively scheduled for 2029 and 2033.
Brown Debuts a Kids’ Book
Elissa Schauer, acquiring editor for IVP Kids, bought world rights to Sharon Garlough Brown’s debut picture book Not Finished Yet, slated for publication in spring 2024. Brown, who represented herself in the deal, is the author of the bestselling Sensible Shoes series for adults. The children’s book follows young Wren who learns to paint from Gran, but learns much more than the craft of painting as Gran helps her express her feelings and prayers.
Medieval Mystics Answer Modern Questions
Image associate editor Matthew Burdette acquired world rights from Keely Boeving at WordServe Literary to The Mystics Would Like a Word by Catholic writer and retreat leader Shannon K. Evans. Image, an imprint of Random House Group, plans to publish the book in spring 2024. In it, Evans positions contemporary faith questions next to five medieval female mystics, exploring their “unexpected, daring spiritual and theological insights that challenge the picture of female saints as docile and submissive,” according to the publisher.
Eerdmans Causes a ‘Rift’
Trinity McFadden of The Bindery sold world rights to Lisa Ann Cockrel, acquiring editor at Eerdmans Publishing, to Rift: My Story of Escaping the Stay-At-Home Daughter Movement by Cait West, to be published in spring 2024. The literary memoir blends meditations on geology with West’s story of growing up in a strict religious movement that forced her to live at home after graduating from homeschool. She finally escaped, only to discover abuse and trauma have a long reach and that independence does not ensure freedom.
Zondervan Gets ‘Crunchy’
Acquiring editor Carly Kellerman of Zondervan Books took world rights from Ashleigh Pinkerton of A Drop of Ink Literary to Emily Morrow’s tentatively titled The Beginner’s Guide to Becoming Really Very Crunchy. It is scheduled for winter 2024 release and explores becoming more mindful of toxins in our food, creating a “crunchy” lifestyle. Morrow and her husband started the Really Very Crunchy brand in January 2022 and she has gained over 1.3 million followers and nearly 500 million views on her social media accounts.
WaterBrook Doubles Up
Children’s editor Bunmi Ishola at WaterBrook took world rights to two picture books for ages 4-8 written by Tina Cho and illustrated by Marta Alvarez. Adria Goetz, at Martin Literary Management at the time, represented the author, while Kate Kendrick Powell at Astound US represented the illustrator. The first of the two books, God’s Little Astronomer, is schedules for publication in spring 2024, and the second untitled book will follow in spring 2025. Both titles “invite young readers to explore how scientific concepts can reveal God’s love for the world,” according to the publisher.
