After an eight-way auction, Monique Patterson at Bramble took North American rights to The Poet Empress by Shen Tao (pictured l.), for seven figures, from Jennifer Azantian, who has an eponymous shingle. Foreign rights sold in seven other territories, including to Gollancz  in the U.K. The debut fantasy epic “follows a young rice farmer who becomes concubine to a monstrous imperial prince and must survive deadly court politics while writing the one poem that can kill him before he becomes emperor—if it is written with love.” Publication is slated for winter 2026.

Marysue Rucci acquired North American English rights to beauty industry titan Bobbi Brown’s memoir, Still Bobbi, from Rebecca Gradinger at UTA for her eponymous imprint. In the book, the publisher said, the makeup artist “shares her personal journey, including the integral relationships that inspired and emboldened her from a young age to pursue her creative vision.” Still Bobbi releases in September simultaneously with the S&S Audio edition, to be narrated by Brown.

In an exclusive, Jillian Ramirez at Bloomsbury US, with Emma Herdman at Bloomsbury UK, netted world English rights to Every Day I Read by Hwang Bo-reum (Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop), translated from the Korean by Shanna Tan, from Joy Lee at BC Agency. The book, per the publisher, is “a cozy, introspective collection of essays inviting lifelong and new readers to reflect on their
relationship with reading and celebrate the joys of books.” Publication is set for fall 2025.

Margo Shickmanter at Avid Reader secured North American rights, at auction, to Iowa Writers Workshop grad Eliana Ramage’s debut novel, To the Moon and Back, from Meredith Kaffel Simonoff at the Gernert Company. The publisher called it “an epic novel of family, belonging, heartbreak, and wonder, spanning three decades and several continents to tell the story of one young woman’s relentless quest to become the first Cherokee astronaut.” U.K. rights were also sold at auction, to Bobby Mostyn-Owen at Doubleday UK, by Caspian Dennis at Abner Stein on behalf of Simonoff. Release is slated for fall 2025.

Ben Rosenthal at Stonefruit bought North American rights to Erin Entrada Kelly and Eliot Schrefer’s middle grade horror series Fatal Glitch, in a four-book auction from Sara Crowe at her namesake agency and Richard Pine at InkWell. Pitched as Black Mirror meets Goosebumps, each standalone story in the series, the publisher said, “features kids in frightening circumstances facing off against some form of twisted modern technology.” The first two titles will hit shelves in summer and fall 2026.

In Brief

  • Tricia Narwani at Del Rey took world English rights to Chuck Wendig’s horror fantasy duology The Calamities and Chaos Reigns, “in which the rich and powerful are actually rival demon families who feed on souls,” from Stacia Decker at Dunow Carlson & Lerner. Pub date TBA.
  • John Scognamiglio at Kensington preempted U.S. rights to Catherine Coulter’s historical romance The Heir of Whitestone, in a two-book deal, from Robert Gottlieb at Trident Media Group. Pub date TBA.
  • Sally Kim and Helen O’Hare at Mulholland signed North American rights to doctor-turned-comedian Adam Kay’s debut novel, A Particularly Nasty Case, from Tara Hiatt at Orion, for a fall 2025 release.
  • Nick Amphlett at Dutton bought world rights, in an exclusive, to Giving Up Is Unforgivable, by former U.S. attorney, MSNBC legal analyst, and Civil Discourse newsletter writer Joyce Vance, from Christy Fletcher at UTA, for an October release.
  • Deeba Zargarpur at S&S Children’s secured world rights, at auction, to Derrick Chow’s YA graphic novel I Got You, Allen Liu, which the publisher calls “a heartfelt and humorous coming-of-age story,” from Thao Le at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency, for a fall 2026 release.