Daphne Durham at Putnam bought, at auction, North American rights to What Hungers in the Dark by Monika Kim (pictured l.) from Gráinne Fox at UTA. The dual-timeline novel, which alternates between modern Manhattan, Los Angeles, and Seoul and 19th-century Korea, follows “a young woman searching for her missing brother and falling into the clutches of an enigmatic and dangerous family, and a young nobleman facing off against his powerful, pitiless father,” per the
publisher. Release is scheduled for summer 2027.

(photo: Octobee Studios)

Grace McNamee at Bloomsbury won, in a two-book deal, North American rights to Rebecca Flint Marx’s Small Kingdoms and The Bliss Point from Michael Taeckens at Massie McQuilkin & Altman. The first novel is the dual coming-of-age story of a mother and daughter set in 1970s New York City and the early days of the internet. The second sees “a cookbook writer reckoning with her childhood and her choices while trying to wrest a cookbook from a difficult chef,” per the publisher. Release is set for 2027 and 2029, respectively.

Natalie Hallak at Ballantine landed, in a four-book deal and exclusive submission, world rights to K.L. Speer’s Bones from Emily Forney at BookEnds. The novel, set in a “postapocalyptic survivalist world,” follows a girl with a healing gift who is “captured by a group of rebels and, as she falls for one of them, is forced to confront the horrors of her past,” per the publisher. Release is slated for fall 2026.

Jeramie Orton at Penguin netted North American rights to Antony Johnston’s The Forest of Death from Lucy Beresford-Knox at Transworld, on behalf of Sarah Such, who has an eponymous agency. The interactive whodunit, the second in Johnston’s Can You Solve the Murder? series, centers on a murdered woman connected to a shadowy figure from local folklore, whose body is found within a circle of ancient stones. Release date TBA.

Ivanka Perez at Dell took world English rights to Emma MacDonald’s Romantasyland from Nina Leon at Perez Literary & Entertainment. The queer satire sees a superfan attend a romantasy-themed retreat, “only to fall through a portal and into a real fantasy world where she is declared the chosen one and expected to save the kingdom, all while entangled in a steamy love triangle,” per the publisher. Release is set for April 2027.

Maria Gomez at Montlake won world rights to Michelle Heard’s My Neighbor, the Assassin from Mark Gottlieb at Trident Media Group. The novel sees “a grumpy ex–mafia assassin in WITSEC fall for a sunshiny bartender” only to be forced into “a deadly race for their happily ever after,” per the agency. Release is set for late 2028.

In Brief

  • Calista Brill and Kiara Valdez at 23rd Street acquired world rights to Jyoti Chand and Tara Anand’s Unsuitable, a graphic novel about three generations of Indian American women, from Chad W. Beckerman at the CAT Agency, for publication in 2027. Ari Yarwood will edit.

  • Hannah Kimber at Andrews McMeel landed world rights to Birbs ’n’ Bread: Lots of Loaf by viral social media artist Kenny Mays, aka KennysGifs, a comic collection about tiny “birbs” and their loaf-like friends, from Lenny Herbert at Maximum Orbit, for a fall 2026 release.

  • Donna Loffredo at Rodale preempted world English rights to One Word at a Time, a collection of rituals, strategies, and tools “for using language more intentionally” on the page and in life by Jeannine Ouellette, founder of the Substack Writing in the Dark, from Laurie Abkemeier at DeFiore & Company, for a fall 2027 publication.

  • Peter Blackstock at Grove preempted U.S. Commonwealth rights, excluding Europe, to Will Maclean’s Solace House, about a group of university students who are tasked with clearing out an esoteric hoarder Victorian’s mansion and uncover a powerful secret in the process, from Dan Milaschewski at UTA, for a fall 2026 release.

​​​