Jen Monroe at Berkley, in a two-book deal and exclusive submission, preempted North American rights to Dying to Be Us by Karen M. McManus (pictured l.) from Allison Remcheck and Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio. The YA author’s adult debut follows a group of former college friends, who once starred in a YouTube reality show that ended in tragedy, as they’re reunited upon learning that “someone secretly has information that could implicate them in a cold-case murder that has bound them for life,” per the publisher. Release is set for summer 2027.

(photo: Kaitlyn Litchfield Photography)

Natalie Hallak at Ballantine acquired, in an exclusive
submission, North American rights to Vaishnavi Patel’s The Library of Lost Time from Jordan Hill at New Leaf Literary. The Kaikeyi author’s latest novel centers on a woman who “follows the trail of the man she loves through time and across different worlds that are created
whenever a book is banned—alternate realities in which that book never existed,” per the publisher. A summer 2027 publication is scheduled.

Maria Gomez at Montlake picked up world English-language rights to two lupine romance novels by Sara Field from Mark Gottlieb at Trident Media Group. Hunted, slated for summer 2027, sees a “headstrong nurse save a dying stranger—only to discover he’s a possessive werewolf who believes she’s his fated mate,” per the agency. The Alpha, planned for winter 2027, is set in “a world where ruthless wolf-shifter dynasties rule high society” and follows “an ambitious intern who
discovers her billionaire boss is both her predator—and
her destined mate.”

Molly Turpin at Random House bought North American rights to two books by Isabella Weber, an associate professor of economics at UMass Amherst, from Rebecca Nagel at the Wylie Agency. The first is Anti-Fascist Economics, which the publisher called “an urgent diagnosis of how the status quo in economics has encouraged the rise of fascist politics and why affordability is crucial to the protection of democracy”; publication is planned for fall 2026. The second book, Essential, which has no pub date yet, will explain “why
neoliberalism is ill-equipped to meet the challenges of an age of overlapping crises.”

Patrizia van Daalen at Astra House preempted North American rights to BoxBoxBoxBox by Japanese author Wan Sakamoto from Li Kangqin at New River on behalf of Kohei Hattori at EAJ and publisher Kawade Shobō Shinsha. The debut novella, told from the POV of four manual laborers, “holds up a dark mirror to our supply-chain society as well as the latent madness of our addiction to efficiency,” per the publisher. No translator has been named yet. Release is scheduled for spring 2027.

In Brief

  • Donna Loffredo at Rodale took world rights to dating coach Erika Ettin’s untitled guide to both online and offline dating and communication from Melissa Edwards at Stonesong for release in spring 2027.
  • Batya Rosenblum at Tarcher bought world rights, at auction, to The Art of Finishing Things: Actually Useful Productivity Tools for Artists, Misfits, and Eccentrics by Bridget Watson Payne and Lisa Congdon. The deal was brokered by Adriana Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio, who represented Watson Payne and Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel at Full Circle Literary, who represented Congdon. Publication is set for spring 2028.
  • Stephanie Koven at Blackstone took North American rights to Amy Twigg’s Milk, Bread, Teeth, a body horror novel about a woman whose life is upended by an all-consuming hunger that she struggles to appease, from Anna Power at Johnson & Alcock, for release in January 2027.
  • Marnie Cochran at Rodale took world English rights to orthopedic surgeon Vonda Wright’s Peak, a “playbook for women ages 35–45 who want to lock in their strength, fertility, resilience, and bone health” from Heather Jackson, who has an eponymous agency, for publication in summer 2027.

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