Atria Lands Harris’s ‘Island’
Zakiya Dalila Harris (The Other Black Girl) sold two books to Lindsay Sagnette at Atria for seven figures. Stephanie Delman at Trellis Literary Management brokered the deal for North American rights. The first book to be published under the agreement, Kinfolk Island, “follows a young couple who travel to a lush, exclusively Black island off the coast of North Carolina for escape and renewal, only to find hidden horrors beneath its promised magic,” Delman said. The novel, set for summer 2025, “explores issues of Black excellence, legacy, and what we owe to our ancestors.”
Vera’s ‘Girls’ Head to Liveright
Liveright senior editor Gina Iaquinta acquired world rights to Marisel Vera’s The Girls from Humboldt Park. “Vera is a brilliant lyricist who defies convention,” Iaquinta said. The novel is set in the 1970s and “captures a particularly turbulent time in Chicago’s Puerto Rican neighborhood, following four young women as they struggle against the tyranny of low expectations.” Vera’s previous book, The Taste of Sugar, was selected as one of the Washington Post’s 50 Notable Works of Fiction in 2020. Betsy Amster at Betsy Amster Literary brokered the deal, and The Girls from Humboldt Park is set to be published in summer 2025.
Little Birds Fly to Algonquin
Amy Gash at Algonquin acquired North American rights to Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow’s All the Little Bird-Hearts. The novel was longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize, whose judges wrote that it “masterfully intertwines themes of familial love, friendship, class, prejudice and trauma with psychological acuity and wit.” Susan Golomb at Writers House made the deal on behalf of Jenny Hewson at Lutyens Rubinstein in the U.K. Golomb called the book “a funny debut by an autistic author written from the point of view of an autistic mother as she and her headstrong teenage daughter are befriended by a glamorous, charismatic couple with dark ulterior motives.” Publication in the U.S. is set for December.
Blackstone Makes Perfect Purchase
In a seven-figure, two-book deal, Sandy Lu at Book Wyrm Literary Agency sold world rights to Jeneva Rose’s The Perfect Divorce and a second, untitled novel to Josh Stanton at Blackstone Publishing. The Perfect Divorce is a sequel to Rose’s bestselling thriller The Perfect Marriage, whose film and TV rights were optioned to Picture Perfect Federation. The Perfect Divorce is set to be published in April 2025.
Ishiguro Sings for Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf senior v-p and editor-in-chief Jordan Pavlin acquired North American rights from Amanda Urban at CAA to a collection of lyrics written by acclaimed writer Kazuo Ishiguro for jazz singer Stacey Kent. The Summer We Crossed Europe in the Rain features an introduction by Ishiguro, the lyrics to 16 songs, and full-color illustrations by Italian artist Bianca Bagnarelli. Knopf publisher Reagan Arthur said, “Ishiguro is one of the most extraordinary writers at work today, and it’s thrilling to experience his writing here in a new form.” The book will be released in the U.S. in March 2024.
Regnery Buys Truss Tale
Harry Crocker at Regnery Publishing bought North American rights to Ten Years to Save the West by Liz Truss, whose 49-day tenure as British prime minister was the shortest in the country’s history. According to Regnery, Truss will recount in the memoir being asked by Queen Elizabeth II to form a government just two days before the monarch’s death, and will also describe encounters with Russian president Vladimir Putin and Chinese president Xi Jinping, among others. Dylan Colligan at Javelin brokered the deal. The book is set for release in April 2024.
