Celadon Nabs ExxonMobil Exposé
In a preempt, former New York Times editor Jill Abramson has sold North American rights to #ExxonKnew to Bill Hamilton at Celadon Books. Suzanne Gluck at WME brokered the deal. Celadon said the book is Abramson’s investigative account of ExxonMobil’s attempt to “cover up scientific evidence of the environmental damage it inflicted on the planet” and its upcoming trial in Boston that will be “a long-awaited showdown between the third most profitable company in the world and the State of Massachusetts, environmentalists, and members of the Rockefeller family, whose ancestor, John D. Rockefeller, was the founder of ExxonMobil’s corporate forebearer Standard Oil.” The book will be published in 2026.
Matt Holt Wins ‘Best Scar’
Matthew Holt at Matt Holt Books has acquired world rights to Iraq veteran and former West Point professor Matt Cavanaugh’s Best Scar Wins: How You Can Be More Than You Were Before, a memoir about how the author became the fastest American, and living kidney donor, ever to run Racing the Planet’s Four Deserts Grand Slam. Joseph Perry at Perry Literary handled the deal. Best Scar Wins is set for a fall 2025 publication.
Kinsella’s “Personal” Novella Goes to Dial
Sophie Kinsella, author of the bestselling Shopaholic series, has sold North American rights to a novella, What Does It Feel Like?, to Whitney Frick at the Dial Press. The deal was negotiated by Kim Witherspoon at InkWell Management. Dial said the “deeply personal” book follows “a renowned novelist who is facing a devastating cancer diagnosis and learning to live and love anew.” Kinsella said the book is her “most autobiographical work to date”; it comes after the author revealed in April that she has been diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive and cancerous brain tumor. The book is set for publication in October.
Saga Lands Edward’s Adult Fantasy Debut
Senior editor Amara Hoshijo at Saga Press has acquired world English rights to An Ancient Witch’s Guide to Modern Dating, the debut adult cozy fantasy by Australian middle grade author Remy Lai, writing as Cecilia Edward. Saga said the novel follows “an almost-40-year-old witch who accidentally transports herself from the 16th to the 21st century with a love potion gone awry, catapulting her into the world of online dating and other present-day hijinks.” Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret negotiated the deal. The book is set to be published in summer 2025.
‘Book Woman’ Re-ups at Sourcebooks
In a reported seven-figure deal, Kim Michele Richardson (The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek) has sold world rights to the as-yet-untitled third novel in her Book Woman series to her longtime editor at Sourcebooks, Shana Drehs. Stacy Testa at Writers House brokered the deal. The publisher said that Richardson’s books, which feature “beloved heroine” and “legendary book woman” Cussy Lovett, have sold more than a million copies to date. Publication is planned for fall 2025 or spring 2026.
Hogarth Takes A24 Director’s First Novel
After an auction, Hogarth editor-in-chief David Ebershoff has taken North American rights to director Jane Schoenbrun’s debut novel, Public Access Afterworld. The deal was negotiated by Bill Clegg of the Clegg Agency. Hogarth called the book “an epic blend of literary fantasy, coming-of-age, sci-fi, and horror” that traces “the mysterious transmissions of a secret television network” to “a wide cast of characters, including two teenage best friends in a suburban New York basement, a housewife during the last days of WWII, and a young trans content moderator at a YouTube-like corporation who becomes an unlikely hero capable of rescuing a century of victims who have disappeared into the broadcast’s signal.” Schoenbrun’s most recent film is I Saw the TV Glow. No pub date has been announced.
