DEAL OF THE WEEK
Kuang Gets Seven Figures at Avon
Avon’s Carrie Feron inked Yulin Kuang to a three-book, seven-figure deal for her debut novel, Good in a Room, after winning a six-bidder auction. The novel, set for summer 2023, was sold by Taylor Haggerty at Root Literary and follows, Avon said, “a screenwriter and an author linked by a shared tragedy who are thrown together years later in the writers’ room.” In said room, the two discover “a spark between them that complicates everything.” Kuang is a screenwriter and director who lives in Los Angeles.
Park Row Wins Cervantes’s Adult Debut
Laura Brown at Park Row Books won North American rights to J.C. Cervantes’s debut adult novel, The Enchanted Hacienda, as part of a six-figure, two-book agreement. Holly Root at Root Literary sold the coming-of-age tale at auction for Cervantes, a bestselling YA and middle grade author. Park Row described The Enchanted Hacienda, which is inspired by Mexican folklore, as “a grown-up version of Encanto.” It follows a young woman named Harlow Estrada, whose female relatives have the power to “grow and use the magical flowers on the family farm.” Harlow, however, seems to have no magical gifts, until “she finally opens her heart to a stranger and pursues her dream of becoming a writer.”
Berkley Re-ups Henry
Amanda Bergeron at Berkley re-signed bestseller Emily Henry (Book Lovers), inking the author to a four-book agreement for world English rights. The first title under contract is the rom-com Happy Place, about, Berkley said, “a couple who broke up months ago, who make a pact to pretend to still be together during their yearly vacation in Maine with a group of best friends.” The book explores “the intricate dynamics of friendships that withstand years and time apart, while also offering another irresistible love story filled with sizzling chemistry.” Henry’s books have, per Berkley, sold more than 2.5 million copies to date. Taylor Haggerty at Root Literary represented Henry.
Dey Street Buys Scobie’s Next Royal Bio
Journalist Omid Scobie sold world English rights to a currently untitled book, set for 2023, to Carrie Thornton at Dey Street. Dey Street said Scobie, who cowrote Finding Freedom, a 2020 biography of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, will focus “on a new chapter of the royal story and feature unique insight, deep access, and exclusive revelations.” Albert Lee at United Talent Agency brokered the deal on behalf of Scobie.
Atwood’s ‘Babes’ Go to Doubleday
Doubleday’s Lee Boudreaux acquired U.S. rights to Margaret Atwood’s short story collection Old Babes in the Wood. The work, set for March 2023, is Atwood’s first collection in nearly a decade and will go to press for an announced first printing of 100,000 copies. Doubleday said it examines “family relationships, marriage, loss, and memory, and what it means to spend a life together.” Karolina Sutton from Curtis Brown handled the agreement.
Bestler Takes Alexander’s ‘Second Chances’
In a six-figure, two-book deal, Lara Jones at Emily Bestler Books bought TJ Alexander’s Second Chances in New Port Stephen. The Simon & Schuster imprint said the LGBTQ rom-com, slated for December 2023, is “an irresistible saga of second chances with first loves, in which a down-on-his-luck, early-40s trans comedian begrudgingly returns to his outlandish Florida hometown for the first time in decades.” Once in town, the comedian runs into his high school ex-boyfriend, which “throws into question where nostalgia ends and where moving on begins.” Larissa Melo Pienkowski at Jill Grinberg Literary Management represented Alexander in the deal.
