Putnam Falls for Writing Duo’s Love Story
After an auction, Putnam executive editor Tara Singh Carlson has taken North American rights to You & Me & You & Me & You & Me by Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees, the popular writing duo and real-life couple who met and fell in love while writing together. Meredith Miller at UTA negotiated the deal on behalf of Felicity Blunt and Rosie Pierce at Curtis Brown and Phil Patterson at Marjacq. Putnam said the book is “a multiverse love story in which longtime married couple Adam and Jules Hole discover a gap in the space-time continuum in their garden shed, giving them the power to travel back in time and recapture the heady feeling of falling in love. But when their tweaking the past causes negative ripple effects, the couple must race against time to get their real love story back.” A publication date has not yet been announced.
Viking Steals Debut Heist Novel
Nidhi Pugalia at Viking has acquired world rights to Too Pretty to Lie, the debut novel from Ethiopian American writer Birukti Tsige. Jennifer March Solo-way at Andrea Brown Literary brokered the deal. Viking said the book is a “heist-revenge novel” in the vein of Portrait of a Thief that follows “gorgeous hustler Chernet as she infiltrates the Harvard elite to steal from the sons and daughters of the rich and powerful.” A publication date has not yet been announced.
One World Nabs Beyoncé’s Mother’s Memoir
Tina Knowles, fashion designer, activist, businesswoman, and mother of iconic singer-songwriter Beyoncé, has sold North American rights to a memoir, Matriarch, to One World executive editor Kierna Mayo. Albert Lee at UTA handled the deal. One World called the book “a page-turning chronicle of family love and heartbreak, of loss and perseverance,” and a “multigenerational family saga that carries within it the story of America—and the wisdom that women pass on to each other, mothers to daughters, across generations.” Matriarch is set for an April 2025 publication.
Legacy Lit Takes Book on Black MAGA
Political analyst Clay Cane has sold world rights to Dishonor: Black MAGA and the New Republican Southern Strategy to Krishan Trotman at Legacy Lit. Mark Gottlieb at Trident Media Group brokered the deal. Cane is the author of the 2024 bestseller The Grift: The Downward Spiral of Black Republicans from the Party of Lincoln to the Cult of Trump. Gottlieb said Dishonor is “a deep dive into Black Republicanism, exploring its radical transformation and the fallout from aligning with Trumpism and its aftermath.” The book is tentatively set for an October 2026 publication.
Resolve Editions Lands ‘Girlilla’ Memoir
Nashville-based Resolve Editions publisher Becky Nesbitt has signed world rights to Becoming Girlilla: My Journey to Unleashing Good in Real Life, Online, and in Others, a memoir by leading music industry marketer Jennie Smythe, founder and CEO of digital marketing agency Girlilla Marketing. Smythe was not agented in the deal. Resolve said Smythe’s “more than two decades of experience in the entertainment industry will take center stage” in the memoir, in which she’ll also explore “the challenges of becoming an entrepreneur, fighting breast cancer, and more.” The book is set for an April 2025 publication.
Crown Signs ‘Nightmare’ Adult Debut
In a preempt, YA author Kelly McWilliams (Agnes at the End of the World) has sold world rights to American Nightmare, her adult debut, to Shannon Criss at Crown. Michael Bourret at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret handled the deal. Crown said the book, inspired by the life of civil rights activist Walter White and set in the aftermath of WWI, tells the story of “a young Black man, haunted by the ghost of his best friend, who is hired by the NAACP to investigate lynchings in the South by passing as a white man.” American Nightmare is scheduled for a fall 2026 publication.
