Martha Stewart, unagented, sold world rights to her first gardening guide in more than 30 years, Martha Stewart’s Gardening Handbook: The Essential Guide to Gardening, Planting, and Growing, to Diana Baroni and Jacqueline Quirk at Harvest. Slated to hit shelves in March, the book, the publisher said, is “an invaluable resource for gardeners at every skill level, offering comprehensive guidance on plant care, garden planning, and year-round maintenance” and covering “everything you need to know to curate a stunning, thriving garden.”

Hilaria Baldwin, unagented, sold world rights to Manual Not Included, “a collection of thoughtful and candid vignettes about the highs, lows, and unpredictable outtakes from her different (and not-so-different) life,” to Pamela Cannon at Gallery Books. The publisher said that the book, which is set for publication in May, details how Baldwin “found joy and purpose entering the public eye” and “faced the challenges of the uglier, more toxic parts of the spotlight, living along with her entire family under a warped magnifying glass” after meeting her husband, actor Alec Baldwin.

Joanna Volpe at New Leaf Literary & Media sold North American rights to This Is Not a Ghost Story by Amerie’s Book Club founder and Grammy nominee Amerie, in a six-figure preempt, to Jaime Levine, formerly of William Morrow, with Morrow’s Tessa James now editing for a June release. The “sharp satirical debut novel” follows, the agency said, “a Black man who walks into the light but finds himself in Los Angeles, where he becomes an instant celebrity as the world’s first-ever documented ghost.”

Molly Stern at Zando took North American rights to Plunder by Carole DeSanti from Robin Straus at the eponymous agency, for a 2026 release. Billed by the publisher as a “multilayered tale of betrayal and revenge,” the novel, set in the 1700s and the present, “reimagines the lives of two infamous historical figures, Mary Read and Anne Bonny, who sailed and fought as men, loved as women, defied their captors, and, in the end, escaped execution” after “a present-day woman on a visit to a Caribbean Island rediscovers a lost account of their lives.”

Angela Kim at Berkley has secured North American rights to Maria J. Morillo’s The Ex-Perimento from Gwen Beal and Geritza Carrasco at United Talent Agency. The novel, set in Venezuela and billed by the publisher as “a vibrant romantic comedy” for fans of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, The Bold Type, Emily Henry, and Abby Jimenez, follows “a young woman who enlists the help of the lead singer of her favorite up-and-coming band to win her boyfriend back but finds herself falling for the singer instead.” Publication is set for 2025.

In Brief

  • Andy Ward at Random House bought North American rights to an as-yet-untitled book by Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, on “the profound spiritual crisis currently unfolding in America that the Democratic Party has ignored at great cost,” from Jennifer Joel at CAA. Pub date TBA.
  • Ali Fisher and Dianna Vega at Bramble took world rights, in a two-book deal, to Sarah Beth Durst’s Sea of Charms, a cozy fantasy set in the world of The Spellshop and The Enchanted Greenhouse, from Andrea Somberg at Harvey Klinger, for a 2026 release.
  • Ben Schafer at Grand Central netted world rights, in a two-book deal, to Steven Hyden’s Is This It: The Never Ending Rise and Fall of the Strokes (and Rock ’n’ Roll) and U2: The Last Biggest Band in the World, set for 2026 and 2028, from Anthony Mattero at CAA.
  • Helen O’Hare at Little, Brown preempted North American rights, in a two-book deal, to Cailean Steed’s literary fantasy The Mirror Halls, about “a widow searching for her husband and a young woman missing her mother, who collide on the hunt for a mysterious drowned village,” for a 2026 release, from Oliver Munson at A.M. Heath.