Chris Jackson at One World landed world rights to Chain of Ideas: The Origins of Our Authoritarian Age by Ibram X. Kendi (pictured l.) from Ayesha Pande, who has an eponymous agency. The latest book by the National Book Award winner “charts how ‘great replacement theory’ has moved from the margins to become the most dominant political theory of our time—and what we can do to safeguard democracy from this insidious threat,” per the publisher. Release is planned for March 2026.

Judy Clain at Summit took world rights, excluding the U.K. and Canada, in an exclusive submission, to Emma Donoghue’s Blaze from Kathleen Anderson at Anderson Literary Management. The novel follows a young pigeon who comes of age in her tight-knit flock against the backdrop of a dystopian, near-future New York City—and whose world is upended by a story told to her by an elderly stranger. Release is set for spring 2027.

Mae Martinez at Dell preempted North American rights, in a two-book deal, to Lilly Lu’s Death Wish, from Hannah Todd at Janklow UK. The publisher called the novel a “supernatural slow burn sapphic romance” in which “a reaper comes face to face with the soul who got away—now a vampire who’s ready to move on—but first they must track down her killer before he targets another woman.” An early 2027 release is planned.

Laura Brown at Atria preempted North American rights to Elizabeth Wellington Rollins’s The Three Graces of Pearl Street from Haley Heidemann at WME. The debut novel sees “an Italian American grandmother, daughter, and granddaughter find their lives—and their secrets—colliding when, after years apart, they come to live under the same roof,” per the publisher. A fall 2026 release is planned.

Michael Reynolds at Europa bought world English rights to Thomas Schlesser’s The Gardener’s Cat from Solène Chabanais at Albin Michel. The novel follows a taciturn man named Louis who finds a path to healing in his unexpected friendship with his neighbor, a retired French teacher and lover of poetry, per the publisher. A fall 2027 release is set. A translator has not yet been named.

Nicole Otto at Zando took world rights, in a two-book deal, to Casey Stegman’s Kill Current from Uwe Stender at Triada US. The debut novel kicks off the Jon Hendricks series, about “a spy turned professor who’s pulled back into the field to uncover a bloody conspiracy that would upend the balance of global technology and power,” per the publisher. Kill Current is scheduled for spring 2027, and the second book is set to publish in spring 2028.

In Brief

  • Kathryn Belden at Scribner won North American and open market rights to Ada Limón’s Against Breaking: On the Power of Poetry, an expanded version of her farewell address as the 24th U.S. poet laureate, from Rob McQuilkin at Massie McQuilkin & Altman, for an April 2025 publication.

  • Alice Jerman at Requited won world rights to C.C. Dador’s Merry Ex-Mas, a Groundhog Day–style rom-com with a Christmas
    twist, from Ann Rose at the Tobias Literary Agency, set for fall 2026.

  • Tess Banta at 23rd Street netted world rights to Sammi Zhang’s graphic travelogue Journaling Through Japan from Monica Rodriguez at Context Literary Agency, for a 2029 release.

  • Abby West at Amistad bought U.S. Commonwealth rights to A Committee of One: How Faith + Action = A PurposeFull Life, a memoir by activist and “grandmother of Juneteenth” Opal Lee, from Anthony Mattero at CAA, to publish in June 2026.

  • Christine Bendorf at Keeperton took world English rights to Kandi Steiner’s Hot Mess, about a couple on a reality dating show who fake their love to win the cash prize but fall for each other just as the producers bring their exes into the mix, from Ariele Fredman at UTA, for a 2027 release.

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