Viola Davis, James Patterson to Cowrite Novel
Little, Brown and Company will partner with JVL Media to publish a novel cowritten by Viola Davis and James Patterson. According to a release, the as-yet-untitled book is slated for 2025 or 2026 and will be released by Little, Brown "in association" with JVL Media, the publishing company launched earlier this year by Davis, her husband Julius Tennon, and publisher Lavaille Lavette.
The novel will appear simultaneously in hardcover, e-book, and audiobook, and will be distributed by Hachette Book Group in North America and Century, an imprint of Penguin Random House UK, in the UK and Commonwealth (excluding Canada). The rights were sold by Robert Barnett and Deneen Howell of Williams & Connolly.
Per the release, the novel is "set in the present-day rural south" and "follows a dynamic and brilliant female judge"—named Mary Stone—"on the brink of a decision with seismic repercussions for her small county, and potentially the whole nation."
Last month, JVL Media inked a deal with HarperOne's Amistad imprint, which will serve as a publishing partner for three of JVL Media's inaugural titles.
