If the deal-making ahead of the opening of this year's event is any indication, the 2024 Frankfurt Book Fair is going to be a busy one.
Among the deals announced was Scribner editor Rebekah Jett's acquisition of North American rights, in a six-figure preempt, to Portia Elan’s debut novel Homebound, from Julie Barer of the Book Group. The novel, per Barer, is "a wildly inventive and deeply moving debut spanning seven millennia, following a queer teen in the 1980s, a 400-year-old automaton, a time-slipping astronaut, and a 26th-century pirate—all of whom are linked by a computer game."
The rights have been hot internationally as well. Nicole Winstanley and Brittany Lavery at S&S Canada acquired Canadian rights, and German rights were sold to Madlen Reimer at Fischer in a six figure preempt brokered by Jenny Meyer, who is handling foreign rights for the book. In the U.K., where rights are being handled by Caspian Dennis at Abner Stein, an auction is ongoing, Barer told PW.
“This book reminds me why we all love to read. Thanks to Portia's crystal clear style and the incredible depth and breadth of her curiosity, she can fling us across time, and we are thrilled to be along for the ride,” Jett said of Homebound. “I finished Homebound starry-eyed and with my heart full to the brim. This is a firmly optimistic book with its eyes wide open, about the buoying power of storytelling and community, all held together by the compassion and sharp intelligence of Portia's characters. Readers ooking to be swept away and returned to their seats feeling less alone and wholly refreshed will be head over heels for Homebound.”
Elan is a graduate of Stanford University who holds an MFA in Poetry from the University of Victoria, an MA in Education from UC Berkeley, and an MLIS from the University of Illinois.
Also in the S&S family, Naomi Ishiguro’s The Rainshadow Orphans, plus two untitled novels in a Japanese folklore-inspired fantasy series, are headed to Simon & Schuster. Rights were bought by S&S UK commissioning editor Charlotte Trumble from Peter Straus at Rogers, Coleridge & White, in partnership with Joe Monti at Saga Press US and Anthea Bariamis at S&S Australia. The series will see a simultaneous global publication in spring 2026, with translation deals slated for 21 other territories.
The trilogy is inspired by Japanese folklore and Studio Ghibli, and follows three inhabitants of Rainshadow City, set on an imagined archipelago that is at once mythical and modern. "As soon as I started reading The Rainshadow Orphans I was right there in Naomi's world and completely obsessed," said Trumble.
Ishiguro's debut novel, Common Ground, was published by Tinder Press in 2021. “I'm beyond delighted to be working with Charlotte, Joe, Anthea and the teams at Simon & Schuster UK, Saga Press, and S&S Australia for this trilogy, as well as with so many wonderful international publishers,” she said in a statement.
Moving outside of the S&S orbit, two of the graphic novel business’s rising star outfits are teaming up in a deal inked before New York Comic Con, which shares dates with Frankfurt this year.
Inklore, an imprint of Random House Worlds that launched last year with a focus on manga and webtoons, and Tiny Onion, the independent production house launched by comics star James Tynion IV, will publish three original graphic novel series as part of a 12-book deal between Tynion and Random House. World rights were acquired by Rebecca "Tay" Taylor, editorial director at Inklore, and Kate McHale, senior commissioning editor at Inklore UK.
The move comes as Random House continues to grow its footprint in the comics space, including with its recent purchase of Boom! Studios.
“I spend a lot of time thinking about the right home for each of my projects, and for years I’ve guarded a few of my favorites, letting the worlds cook into incredibly vibrant places that I’m desperate to introduce to comic readers,” said Tynion, in a statement. “With Inklore, I have found the perfect partner to bring each of these new worlds to the printed page, starting with The Most Beautiful People Who Never Loved Me."
The Most Beautiful People, the first of the three series, follows, per Inklore, “a magician whose revolutionary performances bring him great professional success at a significant personal cost.” The first of the three volumes in the series are scheduled for 2028; the other two series are as-yet-untitled.
“I could not be more excited to be teaming up with James and the Tiny Onion team,” said Taylor, in a statement. “James’s characters and their relationships to each other always drive his stories, no matter the genre."
