Kensington Re-ups Wiseman

John Scognamiglio, editor-in-chief of Kensington, acquired world and audio rights to two books by Ellen Marie Wiseman in a new-contract deal negotiated by Michael Carr of Veritas Literary. According to the publisher, Wiseman’s 2014 book with Kensington, What She Left Behind, about a woman who becomes immersed in the diaries of a psychiatric patient living during the Great Depression, was “one of Kensington’s bestselling digital and trade titles of the past two years,” with half a million copies in print. Wiseman’s next novel, The Life She Was Given, will be published in summer 2017. The first of the two books acquired in this deal will be published sometime in 2019.

Ace Buys Books in Two Series by Hunter

Jessica Wade, a senior editor at Ace Books, acquired world English rights to four novels by Faith Hunter in a six-figure deal negotiated by Lucienne Driver of the Knight Agency. According to the publisher, two of the novels will continue the author’s Jane Yellowrock series, about “Cherokee skinwalker and rogue-vampire hunter” Jane Yellowrock. The other two will continue the author’s Soulwood series, a spin-off of the Jane Yellowrock series. Ace plans to publish the first Soulwood book that is part of the new deal in April 2019 and the first Jane Yellowrock book in December 2019.

Rosenbloom Brings M.L.K. Book to Beacon

Gayatri Patnaik, editorial director of Beacon Press, acquired North American and audio rights to Redemption: The Last Journey of Martin Luther King, Jr. by investigative journalist Joseph Rosenbloom, in a deal brokered by William Clark of William Clark Associates. According to Clark, the book centers on the “last 31 hours of Dr. King’s life—from when his flight landed in Memphis on April 3 of ’68 to his murder the following afternoon” and includes “photos and never-before-used interviews.” Rosenbloom has been a reporter and editorial writer for the Boston Globe and Frontline and has received Emmy and Peabody awards for his work. Redemption is set to be published in April 2018 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of King’s death.

Europa Nabs Four Books by French Crime Novelist Bussi

Sandro Ferri, publisher of Europa Editions, acquired North American rights to four novels by Michel Bussi, a French crime novelist, in a deal brokered by Alexandra Buchman of Place des Éditeurs. Bussi, who according to Europa is known for his “signature twist endings,” was ranked the third bestselling author of 2015 by Le Figaro. Europa’s first Bussi book will be Time Is a Killer, about a grief-haunted woman who “returns to Corsica to exorcise her past.” It’s set to be published in spring 2018.

Atria Picks Up Civil Rights–Focused Debut Novel

Todd Hunter of Atria Books acquired world English rights to Columbia-M.F.A.-graduate Malcolm Hansen’s debut novel, They Come in All Colors. Jaida Temperly of New Leaf Literary & Media did the deal. According to Temperly, the book was pitched as “The Secret Life of Bees meets Paul Beatty” and tells of a “biracial teenage boy whose life in N.Y.C. is disrupted by childhood memories of growing up in the Deep South during the early Civil Rights Movement.” It’s set to be published in spring 2018.

Journalist Takes Domestic Violence Book to Bloomsbury

Bloomsbury executive editor Anton Mueller and assistant editor Callie Garnett bought North American rights, in a preempt, to Rachel Louise Snyder’s No Visible Bruises, in a deal arranged by Susan Ramer of Don Congdon Associates. According to the publisher, the book offers “a look at the national and global scope of domestic violence, how we have misunderstood it, what it portends about other types of violence, and what we can do—and what is being done—to work against it.” Synder is a journalist who has written for publications including the New Republic, the New Yorker, and the New York Times Magazine. Bloomsbury plans to publish the book in spring 2019.

Pegasus Acquires Sex-Toy History

Iris Blasi of Pegasus Books acquired world rights to Hallie Lieberman’s Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy, in a deal brokered by Lydia Shamah of the Carol Mann Agency. According to the publisher, the book touches on everything from “lube in ancient Greece” to the role of sex toys in the fight against HIV/AIDS, offering a “microhistory that ultimately charts our changing sexual mores” and contributing to a trend of “feminist nonfiction that is becoming a new market of its own.” The author is a historian who received her doctorate in sex-toy history from the University of Wisconsin–Madison (according to the publisher, it’s the first degree of its kind). The book is set to be published in fall 2017.