Scribner Takes ‘Lessons’ from Psaki

Former White House press secretary for the Biden administration and MSNBC host Jen Psaki has struck a two-book deal with Scribner. The publisher said the first book, Say More: Lessons from Work, the White House, and the World, will offer “stories about how to be an effective communicator in any situation,” whether engaging with “the president, your partner, your colleagues, or even your kids.” The second is an untitled illustrated book to be published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. Kara Watson acquired world rights from Pilar Queen and Georgia Bodnar at UTA. Say More will be published in May 2024. No date has been set for the second book.

Viking Goes to Jinju with Cho

After an auction, Lindsey Schwoeri at Viking landed North American rights to We Will Go to Jinju by Grace M. Cho, National Book Award finalist and winner of the 2022 Asian/Pacific American Award in Literature. The deal was brokered by Alice Whitwham at the Cheney Agency. Viking said the nonfiction book is “a reckoning with the Korean War and its ongoing impact” that blends “family stories, historical records, and reportage.” A publication date has not yet been announced.

Monroe Takes Next ‘Steps’ at Montlake

In an exclusive submission, Lauren Plude at Montlake has acquired world English rights to Lilian Monroe’s Four Steps to the Perfect Heist. The deal was negotiated by Mark Gottlieb at Trident Media. Gottlieb said the novel, a follow-up to Monroe’s bestselling Four Steps to the Perfect Revenge, follows a forensic accountant who “returns to her hometown to uncover corruption” and teams up with her childhood nemesis, the local sheriff, for “a fake date turned heist, with unexpected romantic twists.” Publication is set for fall 2024.

Ace Mends Andrews’s ‘Broken Souls’

After an auction, L.J. Andrews has sold world rights to the first two books in her new Stonegate romantasy series to Kristine Swartz at Ace. The deal was negotiated by Katie Shea Boutillier at the Donald Maass Literary Agency. Broken Souls and Bones is set for summer 2025. (Details about the second book are not yet available.) Boutillier said Broken Souls follows a young woman “with a unique form of bone melder magic” who is “forced into the service of a power-hungry king and is determined to escape—until she falls for the prince’s silent guard and their forbidden passion unravels a deadly truth.”


‘The Shadower’ Infiltrates Top Shelf

Chris Staros at Top Shelf Productions has acquired world rights to Peter and Maria Hoey’s graphic novel The Shadower (co-written with C.P. Freund). Allison Remcheck at Stimola Literary Studio negotiated the deal. Remcheck said the book is a “taut supernatural story of identity and espionage” involving “a young drama student in a war-torn land.” Publication is scheduled for fall 2025.


GPS Sends Dunn to Bloomsbury

Morgan Jones at Bloomsbury has bought North American rights to Right Here, Right Now, a narrative history of GPS by journalist and Reuters Institute editor Katherine Dunn. Eric Lupfer at UTA handled the deal. Bloomsbury said the book tells the story of how GPS technology, created by the U.S. military in the 1970s for use in bombing missions, “has become a daily necessity upon which the world has become dangerously reliant.” The book is set for a late 2026 publication.