Adult Newsletter: January 2022

Up And Coming For Submission

 FICTION

For fans of Daisy Jones & the Six and Last Letter to Your Lover, WHAT YOU DO TO ME is the story of a love song, the woman it was written for, and the reporter who relentlessly searches to uncover the truth behind its origins, breaking open her own heart along the way. For Cecilia James, music is a second language. Named after a Simon & Garfunkel hit, she relishes her job at Rolling Stone. Except, Cecilia can’t quite get her relationship on track, and when she comes across the inspiration behind the most famous love song of her time, she dodges a planned vacation with her boyfriend, dooming their relationship for good. “What You do to Me” is the song for every woman; no one knows who the lyrics were written for, but everyone wants to be her. Desperate for the truth, Cecilia believes that providing the happy ending fans have been rooting for will deliver the same for her, a woman whose broken history has vanquished her belief in true love. But not all stories are meant to be told, and Cecilia grapples with the unforgettable tale of fate and forbidden love. USA Today and Amazon bestseller Rochelle B. Weinstein writes of the heartbreaks and elation of two great love stories and of the triumph of the heart over the greatest of odds.

 In JEZEBEL, debut novelist Megan Barnard combines the richly conjured landscape and ferocity of voice in Circe with the lyrical writing and re-imagined story of forgotten women in A Thousand Ships to retell the story of Israel’s legendary queen. Jezebel was born into the world howling, making sure her voice was heard. She intends to leave it the same way. As a girl, Jezebel was horrified to learn that she would not become king like her father. When she is married off to King Ahab, she decides to remake Israel in the image of her beloved homeland of Tyre. She begins by building temples to the gods she grew up worshiping and is loved for ushering a new era of prosperity into Israel. Then Elijah, the prophet of Yahweh and her own former lover, begins to speak out against her, calling her slut. Harlot. Witch. Jezebel is determined to make Israel into a great nation, but as her greatest love becomes her greatest enemy and bloodshed descends, Jezebel has to decide how far she’s willing to go and who she’s willing to kill, in order to protect her family, her throne, her name. A stunning feminist revision of the story of how one woman’s name became synonymous with harlotry, JEZEBEL is a bracing, thrilling debut. (Please note, Jim McCarthy is the agent on this project).

 It’s been two years since maintenance worker Leroy Garrett’s ex-wife Renata told him May was not his daughter, with a paternity test and restraining order to prove it. So when Renata shows up on his doorstep inviting him to join her, May, and her toddler Henry on a road trip through the California Mission system, Leroy’s wary, but eager to spend time with the “daughter” he lost and misses deeply. As they wind their way up El Camino Real, researching Renata’s indigenous roots and ancestral connection to California’s founding, Leroy falls headlong into the ups and downs of a life that might have been, despite knowing Renata will inevitably return to the man she’d left him for once the trip is over. The road trip is further complicated by the recurring presence of a charismatic professor tracking his own research through the missions and by glimpses into Renata’s life that prove more challenging than Leroy imagined, upending everything he assumes about what their lives might play out. Lorraine López’s WHAT WE HAVE HERE is a wry, poignant, and timely exploration of family, history, and the ties that bind and break us, reminiscent of Valeria Luiselli’s acclaimed Lost Children Archive. A novel that captures what it means to be woven inextricably into the history of a society that fails to acknowledge the violence on which it is built, it is a major literary achievement and PEN/Faulkner finalist López’s best work yet. (Please note, Lauren Abramo is the agent on this project.)

After a devastating home invasion, Neve brings her daughter Ash to the family lakehouse where she used to spend every summer. She hasn’t been back in twenty years, since a night of bonfires and beers with her summer BFFs Bee and Sandra turned tragic, changing their lives forever. Now Neve returns searching for peace, and a new chance at normal for Ash. But the darkness of the past waits for her at every turn, culminating when a neighbor woman is found dead in the lake—murdered—on their second day in the house. Detective Jess Lambert is back on the job after a leave of absence and has her own secrets to keep. When the body in the lake turns out to be Neve’s childhood friend Bee, Jess suspects this is just one of many things Neve is lying about. Jess is determined to leave no stone unturned, while Neve is equally set on hiding the past, but also terrified the murderer may already know her secrets—and may target her next or worse, come for Ash. As they draw closer to the truth of what happened to Bee, the past refuses to stay buried, and Neve and Jess must each decide what is more important—keeping their secrets, or saving a life. THESE STILL BLACK WATERS by Christina McDonald, bestselling author of The Night Olivia Fell, is a gorgeous, unpredictable, and unsettlingly poignant thriller for fans of Andrea Bartz and Laura Dave. (Please note, Sharon Pelletier is the agent on this project.

Tessa excels at handling things on her own—poised to become the youngest Black woman partner at her law firm, she’s leading the biggest case of her career, all while getting over a doozy of a break-up and planning her BFF’s wedding. But when her absentee father dies and leaves her his house, Tessa realizes she can’t do it all alone. Enter For Worse, the hot new app claiming to “disrupt the grief industry” by connecting users with an on-demand Shoulder for emotional support—someone who’s never too busy to listen or pitch in. Henry, the laidback (and hunky, not that she’s noticed) Shoulder the app assigns her, helps Tessa go through her father’s things and quickly proves himself unfazed by all the chaos in her life—plus there’s an unignorable sizzle between them. Tessa keeps finding new excuses to book him as she navigates her mounting responsibilities and messy emotions over the summer. Would bringing a Shoulder as a wedding date be the worst idea? Is Henry just really good at his job—or is the connection between them real? As the deadlines in Tessa’s life converge with alarming speed, she must decide whether it’s worth it to open herself up to unpredictability, for better or for worse. Corinn Jackson’s debut FOR WORSE will ring true with romcom readers who know that there’s always an app for that, whatever that is, blending love and friendship, ambition and heart, humor and heat in the style of Denise Williams and Farrah Rochon. (Please note, Sharon Pelletier is the agent on this project.)

For fans of Elizabeth Strout and Brit Bennett’s The Mothers, GENTLE WOMEN is a wry and moving family saga centering around Therese, a resolute sex worker in a small Southern lakeside town, and her daughter, Lily, who grows up surrounded by generations of interlocking secrets. As the townspeople in Lake Valentine wrestle with their own problems, these secrets are gradually revealed in dual timelines; the biggest secret of all concerning Lily’s paternity. The local alcoholic priest, Isaac, is one contender, who wavers between his vocation to the priesthood and his yearning for Therese after she attends Mass, drawn to his sermons about love. When he dies, Therese reveals that they were lovers, though no one believes her. Sylvia, a local nurse, claims her son is the father, as she looks for physical connection outside her marriage when her husband refuses to touch her. And, years later, Lily ultimately finds herself at a crossroads in life when she’s faced with an unwanted pregnancy and her mother’s sudden death. Torn between two men—one who can shed light on Therese’s past and another who can help Lily close the door on it—Lily must decide whether the answers she seeks about her family history are worth losing the future she’s always imagined for herself. Deftly told through the voices of four Southern women and one priest, GENTLE WOMEN by debut author Amber Wheeler Bacon, explores relationships, sex, loss, faith, the choices women make about motherhood, and what we’re willing to sacrifice for our hidden desires. (Please note, this project is represented by Amy Elizabeth Bishop.)

It’s 1979 in the mountains of Washington state and everything is about to change for Jackson McGavin. Raised in an isolated fundamentalist family, Jackson secretly joins a local community college class where he meets Natalie Haney—the daughter of his family’s new neighbors. Back in Seattle, Natalie’s senior year of high school was cut short by an affair with an older man and her subsequent abortion. Under the guise of embracing the back to the land movement, Natalie’s family moved up to the mountains to leave the past behind. Despite their unlikely friendship, Jackson and Natalie’s relationship escalates into a volatile romance until the Haneys and the McGavins are caught in a fatal police shootout (based loosely on the true events of Ruby Ridge), leaving both Natalie and Jackson’s fathers dead. His life turned over by violence and loss, Jackson is set afloat in the new world outside of his family’s compound, all while being deified by the burgeoning American Evangelical movement. FOUNDLING by Emily Berge, carries the complicated discussion of violence and religion of Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer with the fraught love story of All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Brynn Greenwood, as Natalie and Jackson come into adulthood and grapple with love, grief, and faith. (Please note, this project is represented by Amy Elizabeth Bishop.)

Autistic archeologist Matthew Freeman is a little bummed that his life has turned out to be more Bridget Jones than Indiana Jones, while Colin Albrecht is a charming cat burglar who dreams of the day he can give up his criminal career and settle down on his family farm. Their worlds collide—quite literally—after Matthew unwittingly interferes in the museum heist Colin had planned to be his last. What begins as a hostage situation quickly evolves into a quirky courtship, as the lonely men discover they have more in common than just a love of digging in the dirt. But when a dangerous threat from Colin’s past emerges, they are both pulled deep into the seedy underworld he had tried to leave behind, and their budding relationship is suddenly the least of their worries. Matthew’s unique problem-solving skills are put to the test as the lovebirds work to clear their names, finding help along the way from snooty tailors, vigilante bridesmaids, and one tough-as-nails granny (and her life-saving lasagna dish). Between attacks from leather-clad goons and sugar-crazed goats, Colin and Matthew will be forced to decide whether their love is worth its weight in gold. Featuring a riotous cast of supporting characters, RATIONAL TREASURE is the heartfelt and hilarious debut rom-com from autistic author and researcher Tara Fitzsimmons, sure to charm readers with its fresh, funny, and authentic voice. (Please note, this project is represented by Amy Elizabeth Bishop.)

Twenty-five years ago, Savannah’s identical twin, Georgia, went missing on a family outing to the lake and, ever since, she’s felt like a city without a state to call home.  A suspect was arrested for the crime, but Savannah never believed that her sister is dead.  Now, she and her three estranged siblings have returned to their childhood home in Muscadine, Louisiana, to fulfill a childhood pact to retrieve the time capsule they buried in their old backyard. As they sort through old artifacts and reunite with Meemaw—the overprotective grandmother who raised them when their mother died, and their father abandoned them--they come across a curious photograph preserved in the capsule that was taken on the day Georgia disappeared. A witness who knew their mother was there, and she could potentially shed light on what happened. But first, they have to find her. If they can’t attain closure on Georgia’s disappearance, they risk allowing the tragedy to separate them all over again.  A lifelong hoarder, Meemaw is a keeper of lost souls and, in her unique way, she helps the sisters recognize that one should never give up on family.  Reminiscent of Kristin Woodson Harvey, THE LOST SISTERS OF MUSCADINE by Laura Barrow is a heartfelt debut about viewing life with a different lens to find wholeness. (Please note, this project is represented by Ann Leslie Tuttle.)

When her estranged aunt sends an urgent summons to visit her ailing uncle, vagabond travel writer Iris Kazan speeds to their picturesque village on the Costa Brava eager to reconcile.  But their rift becomes even harder to mend once Iris suspects her uncle’s charismatic wellness doctor and his posh clinic are a front for something shady. Poking around behind the high-end menu of algae baths and electrified kelp wraps, Iris stumbles on a black-market operation. It’s the kind of discovery that could win back the admiration of her ex-boss, but her uncle isn’t at all happy about her interference. Neither are the criminals, who seem to know she’s on to them. Time to drop the investigation (and her heady dalliance with a hot local botanist) and hop a bus back to her uncomplicated, solitary life. Then a friend with information turns up dead.  And Iris’s only option is to risk her livelihood—and her life—with a plan to expose her friend’s killer, win her old job back, and reconcile with the only family she has.  Melding the glamour of Serena Kent and Patricia Highsmith’s novels with the intrigue of We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz, LOVE & OTHER DEADLY CURES is an upmarket debut by Cara Stimpson, who has had her own world adventures as an archaeologist and the former manager of a café in Ecuador’s cloud forest. (Please note, this project is represented by Ann Leslie Tuttle.

Growing up, Grace Matebe’s father would tell her a bedtime story of an African prince who had all the riches of the kingdom but still his life lacked happiness and direction. Until the day he was imprisoned in a cave. There he saw how light as small as a crack in the wall illuminated that dark space with a brilliance that changed the prince’s life. The moral of that story was lost to her at the time and, over the years, life experiences have concealed her own brilliant light. Now at thirty-three, sobriety therapist Grace Matebe has received yet another rejection for research funding, claiming she’s aloof and standoffish, and more concerned about the research than the people she claims it will help. And that’s not the worst of her problems. A once-in-a-decade storm has flooded her home. With her carefully constructed world in shambles, Grace must accept a very unusual offer. In exchange for room and board, she will help her new “landlord” stay sober.  Suddenly, everything Grace thought she knew is tested as affection for her temporary housemate blossoms. Aidan Tattenham is as compelling as he is deeply flawed, and Grace must confront the one person she's tried so hard to deny and dismiss . . . herself.  THE BRILLIANT SIDE OF DARK is a sharp-eyed debut by novelist Sunshine Kamaloni which sheds a deeply nuanced perspective on the often taboo and misunderstood subject of addiction. (Please note, this project is represented by Ann Leslie Tuttle.)

Queer Shakespearean subtext becomes text in THEN COME KISS ME, a graphic novel reimagining of Twelfth Night that explores trans identity. This fresh take on one of Shakespeare’s more celebrated plays recasts the original protagonist, the crossdressing Viola, as Cesario—a trans, gay man. Shipwrecked in Illyria, Cesario is faced with a choice: seek passage home, where womanhood will be demanded of him; or stay, don his twin brother’s clothes, and embrace an identity that is not a disguise, but who he was always meant to be. Choosing to live as himself, Cesario becomes a court musician for Orsino, a duke who is deep in the closet and half-heartedly wooing the uninterested countess Olivia. A spark quickly alights between Cesario and Orsino, but neither man is at ease to pursue their budding romance—Cesario tightly guards his trans identity, and Orsino his sexuality. When Cesario’s twin brother appears in town, a case of mistaken identity only further complicates the messy love triangle, leading up to a conclusion that gleefully subverts heteronormativity. Incorporating Shakespeare’s original text into an inventive new script, debut graphic novel author-illustrator Neil Cochrane depicts the complexities of trans identity and queer sexuality in this joyful and refreshing take on a familiar classic. (Please note, this project is represented by Michaela Whatnall.)

 NON-FICTION

The 21 boys on the California School for the Deaf football team are not particularly big. Some might be best described as scrawny. But from the very first game of the 2021 season, when they clobbered their opponent 68-0, the players and coaches at Southern California’s only deaf public school knew they had something special. THE BOYS FROM RIVERSIDE is a look at how a high school football team, the Cubs, turned what their competitors assumed would be a disadvantage – their deafness – into an edge. As their record-breaking season carried over into the playoffs, New York Times San Francisco bureau chief, Thomas Fuller, wrote an article for the Times that put the Cubs on the national stage and offered the country an uplifting story amid the gloom of the pandemic. Television crews and Hollywood producers converged to cover their games­. The team won the attention of California’s governor, who promised to upgrade their rutted field and rusting bleachers. So many fans bought tickets for their championship game that the school changed venue to a stadium that could accommodate thousands. THE BOYS FROM RIVERSIDE delivers a tale about how a special bond between deaf coaches and deaf players, many of them from underprivileged backgrounds, forged a team that brought pride to the deaf community nationwide, and brought the boys the thrill of a 12-1 season, the best football team the school had ever fielded. They were underdogs no more. 

The biggest and most influential lobbying law firm in the world is a money machine called Akin Gump.  With headquarters in Washington and a major presence in Beijing, Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi, London, and Dubai, the firm has over 1,000 lawyers, annual revenue exceeding $1 billion, and profit per partner of $2.6 million.  It is the law firm of choice for Russian oligarchs, powerful foreign interests, and the corporate elite.  How Akin Gump operates and endures, discreetly under the radar in a city defined by continual shifts in political power and influence, is a fascinating story told for the first time by award-winning author and investigative journalist John A. Jenkins in THREE KINGS: VERNON JORDAN, ROBERT STRAUSS, AND THE HOUSE OF AKIN GUMP.  The key players in this epic tale of money, power, and influence spanning six decades are the firm’s memorable leaders and strange bedfellows, Strauss and Jordan – one a shrewd Texan who advises politicians and heads of state, the other a charismatic Black activist who remakes himself into a boardroom titan and takes center stage in the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal.  THREE KINGS is a theatrical story, vivid in characters, detail, and color, told through the lives of two men and one law firm that made Washington what it is today.      

“Does this dress make my penis look big?” “Do I still stand when I pee?” “When can I get the operation?” Not the questions Kate Brookes would have expected from her 8-year-old daughter. Nor like any of those discussed in the What to Expect books that Brookes, a former TV reporter-turned-producer, devoured when preparing for her twins’ arrival. And yet, these and similar queries came hurtling toward her after her young son looked up at her and said, “Mama, I think I’m a transister.” TRANSISTER is the story of a family in transition. It offers a candid, heartfelt, sometimes heartbreaking, and humorous account of one mother’s journey to support her transgender child. From deciding who to tell about her new daughter, to feeling the rejection of “so-called friends,” to navigating the name selection process (her daughter tried out 13 before landing on Gabriella), Brookes gives readers an inside look at the complexities of gender transition in a way that statistics alone cannot. She learns that gender expression isn’t a switch that’s flipped; it’s a daily negotiation that her daughter makes—with herself and with her world (and sometimes with just her underpants). And while Brookes acknowledges that life for her daughter is and will be filled with incredible challenges, she also demonstrates that with love, acceptance, and lots of support, transgender kids can “come out” stronger and happier than they could have imagined.

A letter is faxed from a Yukon River village, the author of which is an Athabaskan Indian, accusing urban authorities of wrongly imprisoning four young Native men for a White teen’s 1997 murder. His parting words haunt author Brian Patrick O’Donoghue: “Too many people in positions of authority and law laugh at the phrase ‘double standard of justice, but Natives know how hard it is to have lived under it.” Given past scandals involving the chief detective, O’Donoghue senses that this case needs a closer look. UNSETTLING: LAWYERS, LIARS, AND THE FAIRBANKS FOUR is the story of a twin-mission: freeing innocent men and exposing damning truths concealed under attorney-client privilege. It follows O’Donoghue’s years-long work to solve the mystery of what happened, covering the social media attention that helped boost the case and the Alaska Innocence Project’s legal initiatives, the intimidation efforts by the state and their doubling down on the wrongful verdicts, and the confessed killer and their lies under oath. UNSETTLING is a whodunit that brings readers along for the rollercoaster ride that helped free four innocent men and overhaul the way Alaskans think about their relationship with their indigenous citizens.

In 2014, a young married couple came up with the dream of one day quitting their jobs and traveling the world by sailboat. There were just two obstacles in their path: they didn’t know how to sail, and they had barely any money. But they were determined and, five years later, left the San Francisco Bay on their thirty-five-foot sailboat named Thisldu. Bound for Panama, writer Audrey Ruhland and her husband Garrett spent a month sailing down the California coast, four months in Pacific Mexico, and ten weeks quarantined at the docks in Nicaragua at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. UNDERWAY: MY LIFE AT SEA is Audrey’s raw and riveting account of all she encountered during the eight months spent cruising from Sausalito, California, to Aserradores, Nicaragua. It is her story of braving squalls, fifteen-foot waves, mental and physical illness, navigating marriage in a high-stress, cramped living situation, plans of traversing the Panama Canal getting upended by a global pandemic, and the extraordinary encounters with nature that made the challenge of their adventure all worth it. UNDERWAY is an inspiring, honest, and transportive look at the wonders and perils of living at sea.

When you think of Ernest Hemingway’s influences, Gertrude Stein, Joseph Conrad, and Mark Twain might come to mind. But there is one woman who arguably influenced him more than all the rest: his mother. In GRACE UNDER PRESSURE: A BIOGRAPHY OF GRACE HALL HEMINGWAY, Cristen Hemingway Jaynes explores the fascinating life of her great-great-grandmother. A virtuoso, Grace was invited to join the Metropolitan Opera in her twenties but turned the offer down to return to Oak Park, Illinois, and marry Clarence Hemingway, the young man across the street. Still, she taught, composed music, and was the breadwinner when her doctor husband was first starting out. Grace designed the family house on Kenilworth Avenue, the cottage on Walloon Lake in Michigan, and her own Grace cottage, for which she built the furniture herself. She would retreat to Grace cottage to rejuvenate, get inspiration from “God — the source” and compose music. Once she felt her voice no longer had its original quality, Grace turned to painting, taking classes at the Art Institute of Chicago in her fifties and eventually driving all over the country, setting her canvas on the steering wheel in front of vistas she wished to paint. Her art was later exhibited in the U.S. and in Paris. GRACE UNDER PRESSURE is a captivating look at an overlooked yet exceptional woman who once said that of all her children, Ernest was the most like her.

Foodies are everywhere. Barry Levenson is unashamedly one of them. He founded Wisconsin’s National Mustard Museum in 1992, proud of his condiment allegiance. But “legal beagles” (people interested in all aspects of the law) are also everywhere. Levenson is one of those too; not only is he fascinated by all things legal, but he also practiced law for fifteen years before his mustard obsession, and even argued a case at the United States Supreme Court with a jar of mustard in his pocket, his tribute to Justice Felix Frankfurter and Chief Justice Warren Burger. CORPUS DELECTABLE: FOOD LAW FOR FOODIES by Barry. Levenson, author of Habeas Codfish and a professor of Food Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School (the only course where in eating in class is not only allowed, but required!), is a fresh look at the exhilarating world of food law. This delightful yet informative read covers a myriad of topics such as plant-based foods and new law issues that come with them, food fraud class action lawsuits, and the morality of food and the use of labor overseas. Written for foodies and anyone interested in law and food policy, A CORPUS DELECTABLE is an entertaining and delicious foray into a world that touches us all.

 In one of the worst environmental disasters of our times, tens of thousands of ravenous Burmese pythons have ravaged the Everglades, turning the vast wetland’s fragile ecosystem upside down. The invasive serpents – measuring up to 20 feet long and weighing 200 pounds – have supplanted alligators as the Everglades’ top predator, wiping out the rabbits, foxes, and racoons that roamed the vast wetlands, decimating bird populations, and even making meals out of deer, endangered Florida panthers, and small alligators. In THERE USED TO BE BUNNIES veteran journalist Neil Reisner offers readers an inside look at how the slithering menace found their forever home in the ‘Glades, what might be done to save one of the nation’s most precious natural resources, and whether it may be too late to do anything at all. From the quirky python hunters who wrestle the creatures out of the swamp to control their numbers, to people like “Python Wildman” Dusty Krum, who roams the ‘Glades barefoot and says he can track pythons by their smell, readers will traverse the levees where pythons bask in the sun.  And most importantly, they’ll learn about the misbegotten flood control and politics that let the disaster happen. THERE USED TO BE BUNNIES paints a compelling picture of an environmental apocalypse that threatens to destroy the Everglades.

On January 4, 1923, a mustachioed Frenchman in a baggy black suit arrived in New York City, eager to teach anxious Americans how to heal themselves. His name? Émile Coué. He had already gained renown in Europe for his curative, eleven-word mantra: “Every day in every way, I am getting better and better.” In BETTER AND BETTER, author Paige Bowers tells the story of Coué, a rosy-cheeked country pharmacist who learned hypnosis in a correspondence course and then masterminded one of the biggest and most-publicized wellness fads of the early 1920s. He couldn’t have come along at a better moment: the world was still reeling from the aftermath of World War I and the 1918 flu epidemic, and a nasty culture war was unspooling in the United States. In walked Coué – a veritable Ted Lasso of his time – who, among other things, charmed King George V, cured Lord Curzon of his sleepless nights, and claimed to have treated an average of 20,000 people a year for ailments such as frayed nerves, stuttering, and intestinal distress. He was called “The Henry Ford of Psychology,” and Ford himself was among the notables of that age who were fans of his work, believing it could, among other things, increase productivity, reform criminals, and raise better children. A biography of a man, moment, and mood, BETTER AND BETTER is a story about the things we seek when our faith is tested, and the power that resides in us all to cure ourselves and change for the better.

In December 1935, a single news story transformed how many Americans thought about gender. That month, a Czech athlete named Zdeněk Koubek, who had set a record in the women’s 800-meter race at the 1934 Women’s World Games, announced he was now living as a man. Soon after, news stories about other transitioning international sports stars hit the press. While most observers saw these sex changes as either a novelty or an inspiration, the phenomenon began to alarm certain segments of the International Olympic Committee. The American executive Avery Brundage argued that the transitioning athletes represented an existential threat to Olympic sports. He introduced the first major sex testing regime in Olympic history, solidifying the system that is still in use today. In SEX REVERSAL: THE FIRST OLYMPIC GENDER PANIC, journalist Michael Waters makes the case that none of today’s backlash against trans and intersex athletes was inevitable. By recounting the experiences of Koubek and several other athletes, he shows how the public often reacted to them with compassion or curiosity, while sports executives ignored that positive momentum and instead set the stage for the flurry of laws barring trans people from public sports that we see today. While conservative activists like to portray trans and intersex people competing in sports as a modern phenomenon, Waters demonstrates that the debate around trans athletes dates back nearly a century—and remarkably, the current backlash is quite possibly more harmful and regressive than when it began decades ago. (Please note, Michael Bourret is the agent on this project.)

Despite decades of medical and psychological research confirming masturbation is healthy from uterus to coffin, the solo act remains shrouded in taboo, myths, and pseudoscience perpetuated by reactionaries who believe self-pleasure will unravel everything in a culture they hold dear. DIY: THE WONDERFULLY WEIRD HISTORY AND SCIENCE OF MASTURBATION is an examination of the crusaders on a campaign to suppress masturbation, the sex educators fighting back with science, and the everyday people stuck in the middle of these conflicting messages about what constitutes healthy self-pleasure. Exploring topics such as normative behaviors during childhood, the NoFap and semen retention movements, the moral panic over masturbation addiction, sex dolls and robots, porn and fantasy, and how to turn your cremated remains into a vibrator for your grieving widow, DIY unapologetically critiques the individuals and systems that have sought to control masturbation, and overviews the scientific literature and clinical recommendations on how masturbation is a healthy practice for all. As an associate professor of clinical psychology and sexuality studies at Minnesota State University, author Dr. Eric Sprankle brings over a decade of experience as an educator, researcher, and therapist challenging sexual myths and moral panics through the promotion of sexual science. (Please note, Michael Bourret is the agent on this project.)

Women who don’t conform have been called witches for centuries, since it’s preferable to burn an inconvenient woman than to listen to her. In SUFFER A WITCH, National Book Award long-listed young adult author Joy McCullough weaves a memoir of her life and abuse growing up in the church with letters to women who’ve been called witches, from Eve to Joan of Arc to the Salem accusers and accused. The daughter of a Presbyterian pastor himself embroiled in sexual scandal, McCullough tells in searing verse of her abuse by a youth pastor and the religious institutions that protected him rather than listen to her.  Drawing strength and solidarity from the inconvenient women before her, SUFFER A WITCH intertwines the personal and political with glorious fury. (Please note, Jim McCarthy is the agent on this project). When was the last time you gave yourself permission to cry? Like, really cry? Freely, passionately unapologetically cry for any of the following reasons: sadness, joy, pain, or anger? You know who doesn't ask for this permission? Children. And you know why? Because it is literally the most instinctive and natural human response- starting from birth. Yet at some point in life, adults are convinced to suppress this level of innocence and instinct and told to... (cue dramatic music)... "grow up". Think about how much more well-balanced humans would be, if they could let go of imposed self-judgment and insecurity, and cling tighter to that childlike nature. In her first book, LESSONS I LEARNED FROM MY SON, Grammy Award Winning Singer/Songwriter, Wellness Advocate and Mother Melanie Fiona, identifies how children are exceptionally capable of teaching adults how to be happier and more fulfilled human beings. The book is a collection of personal stories, engaging anecdotes, and inspiring life lessons she has embraced along her journey through motherhood. Collectively, they illustrate how observing and learning from her son's uninhibited and optimistic approach to life, has helped her become more empowered and enlightened as a woman and creative. Her philosophy in honoring the power of simple childhood concepts like crawl before you walk, or "no" as a full sentence, prove to be both valuable metaphors and applicable lessons for anyone at any age. (Please note, Stacey Glick is the agent on this project.)

For too long, lifestyle books have represented home as a sweet sanctuary or as an escape, not as what it has the potential to be –  a place of great mystery, messaging, and power. And all too often, we set up our spaces to reflect the person we are, not the person we aspire to be. If we are stuck, we live in clutter. If we can’t sleep, our homes are too energized. If our relationships are struggling, our space lacks harmony. In THE ORACLE HOUSE, award-winning magazine editor, journalist and interiors consultant Emily Grosvenor invites us to a new, post-pandemic reality where our homes hold limitless opportunities to create meaning, shape behavior, and inspire action. Drawing on ancient wisdom and modern science, and filled with examples and relatable stories from the author’s groundbreaking research and work with clients, THE ORACLE HOUSE is a fresh, smart, modern and inspiring lifestyle book that shows you through clear, concise, digestible advice, tips and suggestions how to change the messages you are telling yourself in your home. Divided into chapters not by room but by aspiration – such as attraction, creativity, purpose, partnership, focus, and connection – it presents a new way to collaborate with where you live, in order to carry your purpose out in a changing world and create the perfect environment for you to thrive. (Please note, Stacey Glick is the agent on this project.)

What were coral reefs like before humans were the dominant force on the planet? Preserved in tropical limestone, their fossils are clues to how reefs survived and thrived in a world without us. The stories these fossils tell are the key to figuring out how to help struggling reefs today. L.S. Gardiner’s FOSSIL ISLAND: WADING INTO THE SHALLOW END OF DEEP TIME takes readers on a remarkable exploration of fossilized coral reefs and their living counterparts on a remote Bahamian island. A behind-the-scenes look at adventurous tropical field research diving into geology, paleontology, and marine ecology, the book explores the inspiring marine life that construct this unique and valuable ecosystem and how scientists investigate their world. Reef creatures may be small, but they are also mighty – building structures on the seafloor large enough to be seen from space. The turmoil in coral reefs today is unprecedented, yet the fossil record shows that reefs have survived tough times before, offering glimmers of hope for the future of this ecosystem. Readers will discover that the geologic past puts our present world into perspective. They’ll also learn, as Gardiner has, that ecological communities provide insights on how we can make human communities stronger. Dr. L.S. Gardiner (lsgardiner.com) is a scientist, educator, and award-winning writer. She leads a group within the National Center for Atmospheric Research that develops museum exhibits, websites and curriculum to help people learn about the science of our planet. (Please note, Jessica Papin is the agent on this project.)

 In the vein of Yuval Noah Harari’s 21 Lessons and Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass, Peter Sutoris’ IMAGINE is a transformative manifesto that addresses how our society should respond to the global environmental crisis and a guide to (re)discovering our inner radicals. In Imagine, Sutoris argues that radical imagination is key to creating a world that won’t destroy itself, and considers the ways our societies hamper our imagination. From education systems that use ‘critical thinking’ as double-speak for ‘problem-solving for infinite growth’ to our culture’s fixation on wealth accumulation, he explores the many ways our civilization puts blinkers on our imagination—and what we can do about it. In Imagine, we meet some of history’s great activists—Cold War communist dissidents, fighters against apartheid—who stepped outside their societies in order to imagine a different future. We also meet those who carry the torch of radical imagination today—indigenous protesters from Standing Rock, the disruptors of Extinction Rebellion, the South African activists fighting environmental racism. We ask them how they have kept their radical imaginations alive. What tips do they have for us as the generation bearing the fate of humanity on its shoulders? Peter Sutoris, PhD (www.petersutoris.com) is an environmental anthropologist and documentary filmmaker based at University College London who studies how different cultures imagine the future differently, and the author of Visions of Development (Oxford University Press) and Educating for the Anthropocene (The MIT Press). (Please note, Jessica Papin is the agent on this project.)

The Church of the Highlands is one of the largest megachurches in the US, with 25 campuses across Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia, a superstar pastor, and even its own college. But Highlands’ glossy gospel belies an alarming machinery of money, power, and scandal—and ordinary congregants are the collateral damage. While hiding behind a banner of Christian values and spiritual guidance, Highlands subjects its followers to sexism, racism, and rampant spiritual abuse, sometimes even kidnapping new converts for bloody and bizarre “discipleship” initiations. And Highlands isn’t the only megachurch guilty of headline-worthy grift and exploitation. Yet attendance at megachurches is booming, as is the impact of supersized evangelicalism on American culture at large. WOLVES AMONG SHEEP goes inside one of America’s largest churches to uncover how it—and others like it—propagates a culture of profit, politics, and trauma, deftly blending the fierce yet empathetic reporting of Bad Blood with the unflinching analysis of Jesus and John Wayne. Scott Latta is a freelance journalist whose reporting has been recognized by the New York Times and featured in publications including CityLab, Modern Farmer, and The Southampton Review. He holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from Oregon State University and currently covers climate change, migration, and conflict for Project HOPE and other international NGOs. (Please note, Sharon Pelletier is the agent on this project.)

 In TAKE BACK THE MAGIC: GETTING TO KNOW THE DEAD, Perdita Finn journeys into the mysteries of the soul, revealing the wisdom that life is beginningless, love is endless, and the dead don’t go anywhere when they die. Weaving together memoir, history, and a spirituality based in ecology, Finn recounts healing her relationship with her bitter father – after his death – and other stories of souls coming back to help the living. A ghost visits her infant from another life, a cat sacrifices himself for love of his owner, an aborted child returns to her mother at a better time, and the Virgin Mary makes an appearance, demonstrating that anyone can call upon the guidance of the dead and recover a relationship with the ancestors. An invitation to healing and the lived experience that we are never alone, TAKE BACK THE MAGIC shows that the whole world is simply souls reaching out to and finding each other -- and no one is ever lost to us. Finn is co-founder, with her husband Clark Strand, of the non-denominational international fellowship, The Way of the Rose, also the title of their book about the divine feminine (Spiegel & Grau). A former high school English teacher, Finn wrote the time travel series Time Flyers (Scholastic) and The Reluctant Psychic with Susan Saxman (St. Martin’s), which was optioned by Shonda Rhimes. In her popular workshops, Getting to Know the Dead, participants activate the magic in their own lives with the help of their ancestors. (Please note, this project is represented by Leslie Meredith.)

Silent Spring meets Notes from a Catastrophe in SOILED: How a Cornfield Sowed Chaos in My Rural America by internationally recognized environmental scientist Elizabeth Hilborn, who is also a veterinary bee expert and a Registered Nurse. Hilborn and her family live on a beautiful farm on a hill in North Carolina, surrounded by wild creatures who swam, soared, and sang. Then, overnight, all became quiet: No Bees. Dead baby birds. A nearby wetland had been poisoned; death crept up from the water and struck her farm. Food plants grew barren from lack of pollinators; wildlife disappeared or died at Hilborn’s feet. Traumatized by the insect apocalypse, grieving the plants and animals decimated by an unknown threat, Hilborn felt called to use her training as a disease detective to find the killer. Part investigative journalism, part memoir, and part popular science, SOILED is Hilborn’s 2-year quest to solve an environmental mystery. It is also the story of a tight-knit community of small family farms that becomes polarized but ultimately unites to defy the dictates of agrochemical companies, whose treatments destroy biodiversity one field at a time. A lyrical celebration of nature, SOILED ultimately offers hope – that citizens can create change, that reform is possible. Elizabeth Hilborn works at a federal agency researching the health effects of water contamination, has published more than 50 scientific articles, and speaks at major international conferences. She also runs a part-time honeybee veterinary business and belongs to the North Carolina Writers Network. (Please note, this project is represented by Leslie Meredith.)

Rights Round Up

Tantor acquired audio rights to DEPRAVED, DEADLY AMERICAN BEAUTY, and NEVER LEAVE ME and DOOMSDAY MOTHER by John Glatt, as well as GLITTER and LYRICS OF A SMALL TOWN by Abbi Glines. They additionally acquired DROP DEAD SEXY, BOUND TO ME, NETS & LIES, and THE ACRESS AND THE ARISTOCRAT by Katie Ashley. Recorded books acquired audio rights to ASH and HUNTRESS by Malinda Lo and Ray Stoeve’s ARDEN GREY. Audible has acquired the audio rights to THE TWO WEEK STAND by Samantha Towle and TWO MORE DAYS by Colleen Hoover.

Marisol Nichols has optioned film rights to Eilish DeJager’s GLIMMER LAKE. Matthew Algeo’s LAST TEAM STANDING was optioned for film by Daniel Lewin Productions. Sobini Films has optioned film rights to PERFECTLY PARVIN by Olivia Abtahi.

Zalozba Pivec acquired Slovene rights and Eksmo acquired Russian rights to WHEN HE’S MARRIED TO MOM by Kenneth M. Adams. Book Plus acquired Malayalam rights to IBN ARABI’S SMALL DEATH by Mohammed Hasan Alwan. Newton Compton acquired Italian rights to THE PLAN by Katie Ashley. Slovart acquired Slovak and Czech rights to DAUGHTER OF SPARTA by Claire Andrews. Sangsangsquare acquired Korean rights to SUPERFLY by Jonathan Balcombe. Tarsago acquired Czech rights to A DEADLY TURN by Claire Booth and Hungarian rights to ANOTHER MAN’S GROUND. Jalees acquired Arabic rights to A TASTE FOR POISON by Neil Bradbury, while Sidosha Inc acquired the Japanese rights and BookLab acquired the Polish rights. Robin DiAngelo’s NICE RACISM was acquired by Akashi Shoten for Japanese rights. Konyymolykepzo acquired the Hungarian rights to JACKAL by Tarryn Fisher and Willow Aster. Knigoholicari acquired Macedonian rights to SO MUCH MORE and BRIGHT SIDE by Kim Holden. Tympanum acquired the Czech audio rights to FIRST BLOOD by David Morrell. The Gift Box acquired Portuguese rights to FIRE NIGHT, TRYST SIX VENOM, and CREDENCE by Penelope Douglas. CREDENCE was acquired by Ahavot for Hebrew rights, 24Sata for Croatia rights, and Black Ink Editions for French rights. PUNK 57 was acquired by StorySide for Bulgarian audio rights, and Quinta Esencia/Leva acquired Portuguese rights. CORRUPT was acquired by StorySide for Romanian audio rights. NieZwykle acquired Polish rights to KILL SWITCH and NIGHTFALL. AST acquired Russian Audio rights to HIDEAWAY and KILL SWITCH, and Russian rights to TRYST SIX VENOM. Piper acquired German rights to GLITTER by Abbi Glines, and Knigoholicari acquired Macedonian rights to FALLEN TOO FAR and NEVER TOO FAR. Bastei Luebbe acquired German rights to THE SMALLEST PART by Amy Harmon and Konyymolykepzo acquired Hungarian rights to THE QUEEN AND THE CURE. REMINDERS OF HIM by Colleen Hoover went to Record for Portuguese rights, dty for German rights, IBIS for Bulgarian rights, Zomer & Keunig for Dutch rights, and Eksmo for Russian rights. VERITY went to Mirae Jihyang for Korean rights, Sphere for UK rights, and Ucila for Slovene rights. Gursli Berg acquired Norwegian rights for both VERITY and REMINDERS OF HIM. Pegasus acquired the Estonian rights to HEART BONES, while Hugo & Cie acquired the French rights. Sperling and Kupfer acquired VERITY, HEART BONES, REMINDERS OF HIM, REGRETTING YOU, and LAYLA for Italian rights. Epsilon acquired Turkish rights for LAYLA, REMINDERS OF HIM, REGRETTING YOU, and TOO LATE. Richelle Mead’s VAMPIRE ACADEMY, FROSTBITE, SHADOW KISS, BLOOD PROMISE, SPIRIT BOUND and LAST SACRIFICE went to Storytel for Bulgarian Audio rights, Hidra for Spanish rights, and HarperCollins Brasil for Portuguese rights. Agave acquired Hungarian rights to VAMPIRE ACADEMY and FROSTBITE. Eksmo acquired Russian rights to BLOOD PROMISE, SPIRIT BOUND, and LAST SACRIFICE. 13 THINGS STRONG KIDS DO by Amy Morin went to Jarir Bookstore for Arabic rights and Alma Littera for Lithuanian rights. 13 THINGS MENTALLY STRONG PARENTS DON’T DO went to Uranzaya San for Mongolian rights. 13 THINGS MENTALLY STRONG PEOPLE DON’T DO went to Eastone for Slovak rights, CEDET for Portuguese rights, and Kodansha for Japanese rights. Terra Publica acquired Lithuanian rights to STORY THIEVES by James Riley. BEAUTIFUL AND TERRIBLE THINGS by Riley Hart was acquired by Turquoise Publishing for Hebrew rights. Konymolykepzo acquired Hungarian rights to Tammara Webber’s HERE WITHOUT YOU. Mariana Zapata’s ALL RHODES LEAD HERE was acquired by IBIS for Bulgarian rights, and HANDS DOWN was acquired by Konymolykepzo for Hungarian rights. HERE WITH ME and THERE WITH YOU by Samantha Young was acquired by Burda for Polish rights and Bookzone for Romanian rights. Jacqueline Carey’s KUSHIEL’S DART, KUSHIEL’S CHOSEN, and KUSHIEL’S AVATAR went to Pegasus for Turkish rights. THE POWER OF EMPATHY by Arthur Ciaramicoli and Katherine Ketcham was sold to Vietnam AZ Communication and Culture Company for Vietnamese rights. Mason Deaver’s I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST and I’LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS went to DVP for Dutch rights and Oscar Fantastica for Italian rights. Poznanski acquired Polish rights for I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST and THE GHOSTS WE KEEP. Tracey Garvis Graves’ ON THE ISLAND went to StorySide for Romanian audio rights. Abbe Greenberg and Maggie Sarachek’s THE ANXIETY SISTERS’ SURVIVAL GUIDE went to Kosmos for Dutch rights. I LEFT MY HOMEWORK IN THE HAMPTONSby Blythe Grossberg went to CITIC Press for Simplified Chinese rights. Malinda Lo’s LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB went to Eksmo for Russian rights. THE ONE TRUE OCEAN by Sarah Beth Martin went to Dotbooks for German rights. Mar Romasco Moore’s I AM THE GHOST IN YOUR HOUSE went to Slalom/Editis Group for French rights. Judith Siegel’s STOP OVERREACTING went to China Times Publishing Company for Traditional Chinese characters.

RECENT SALES

Jenna Miller’s OUT OF CHARACTER went to Quill Tree Books in a two-book World rights deal by Michaela Whatnall.

World rights to Michelle Cassandra Johnson’s A SPACE FOR US were sold to Beacon Press in a deal by Lauren Abramo.

Tiffany Clarke Harrison’s BLUE HOUR went to Soft Skull Press in a North American rights deal by Sharon Pelletier.

North American rights to Clayton Trutor’s BOSTON BALL were sold to University of Nebraska Press in a deal by John Rudolph.

THE PRICE OF HUMANITY by Amy Schiller was sold to Melville House in a World rights deal by Michael Bourret.

Libby Hubscher’s PLAY FOR ME and UNTITLED BOOK 2 were sold to Berkley in a World English rights deal by Sharon Pelletier.

UNTITLED ON MURDAUGH FAMILY MURDERS by John Glatt was sold to St. Martin’s Press in a North American rights deal.

NOAH’S SPACESHIP by Avi Loeb went to Mariner in a World English rights deal by Leslie Meredith.

Amy Elizabeth Bishop sold World rights to Shari Green’s GAME FACE to Groundwood Books.

Grand Central bought North American and World rights to Colleen Hoover’s VERITY and UNTITLED SUSPENSE NOVEL, respectively.

Amy Morin’s 13 THINGS MENTALLY STRONG PEOPLE DON’T DO WORKBOOK went to HarperCollins in a North American rights deal by Stacey Glick.

DAYSPRING and an untitled second novel by Anthony Oliveira went to Strange Light in a North American rights deal by Lauren Abramo.

THE HYDE EXPLORING EXPEDITION AND THE EVOLUTION OF AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY by Rachel Morgan was sold to University of Chicago Press in a North American rights deal by Amy Elizabeth Bishop.

Stacey Glick sold World rights to Amber Vittoria’s THESE ARE MY BIG GIRL PANTS BOOK + CALENDAR to Andrews McMeel.

North American rights to Kim Cross’s IN LIGHT OF ALL DARKNESS were sold to Grand Central by Leslie Meredith.

Quill Tree bought World rights to Livia Blackburne’s CLEMENTINE AND DANNY SAVE THE WORLD (AND EACH OTHER), in a deal by Jim McCarthy.

Sharon Pelletier sold Samantha Jayne Allen’s HARD RAIN and UNTITLED to St. Martin’s in a North American rights deal.

Jes Battis’ THE WINTER KNIGHT was sold to ECW Press in a North American rights deal (English and French), by Lauren Abramo.

MEDUSA’S SISTERS by Lauren Bear was sold to Berkley in a World rights deal.

LET’S GO by Drew Binsky was sold to BenBella Books in a World rights deal, by Stacey Glick.

World English rights to Emily Farris’ I’LL JUST BE FIVE MORE MINUTES were sold to Hachette Go by Michael Bourret.

Jessica Papin sold James Lang’s WRITING LIKE A TEACHER to University of Chicago Press in a World rights deal.

Lynda Rutledge’s THAT MOCKINGBIRD SUMMER was sold to Lake Union in a World rights deal.

THE VIEW FROM THE WRECK and UNTITLED by Deb Caletti was sold to Random House Children’s Books/Labyrinth Road in a World rights deal by Michael Bourret.

World rights for Heather B. Moore’s PAPER DAUGHTERS OF CHINATOWN (YOUNG READER’S EDITION) were sold to Shadow Mountain in a deal by Ann Leslie Tuttle.

BLACK PANTHER: A CULTURAL EXPLORATION by Ytasha Womack was sold to Becker and Mayer! Quarto in a World rights deal, by Jessica Papin.

GODSKIN by Moses Utomi was sold to Atheneum in a World rights deal, by Jim McCarthy.

Michael Bourret sold North American and open market rights to Aaron Starmer’s A MILLION VIEWS to Penguin Workshop.

Abrams bought World English rights to Ray Stoeve’s SUMMER LOVE STRATEGY, in a deal by Lauren Abramo.

Stacey Glick sold Ashley Rodriguez’s ROOTED KITCHEN to Clarkson Potter in World rights deal.

Tara Taylor Quinn’s COLTONS OF NEW YORK was sold to Harlequin in a World rights deal by Ann Leslie Tuttle.

THE FORGOTTEN FIVE BOOK #3 and #4 by Lisa McMann were sold to Putnam Young Readers in a World rights deal by Michael Bourret.

Beacon Press bought World English rights to Marcos Gonsalez’s HANGING OUT WITH YOU, in a deal by Lauren Abramo.

North American rights to James Riley’s ONCE UPON ANOTHER TIME were sold to Aladdin in a deal by Michael Bourret.

World rights for Jess Fogel’s TOBY were sold to Penguin Workshop in a deal by John Rudolph.

The next three books in Erica Ridley’s WYNCHESTER SERIES were sold to Forever/Grand Central Publishing in a World rights deal by Lauren Abramo.

World rights to Brandy Schillace’s THE INTERMEDIARIES went to W.W. Norton in a deal by Jessica Papin.

Kensington bought Michael Gerhardt’s FDR’S MENTORS in a World rights deal.

Simon Spotlight bought World rights to Margie Palatini’s GOCAM BOOKS #1-4, in a deal by John Rudolph.

Christie Matheson’s A MISCHIEF OF MICE (BOOK #1) and UNTITLED BOOK #2 went to Sourcebooks in a World rights deal by Stacey Glick.

WE’RE HERE TO HELP by Diane Dimond was sold to Brandeis University Press in a World rights deal.

Moses Utomi’s THE CITY OF LIES and UNTITLED BOOK 2 AND 3 to Tordotcom in a World English rights deal, by Jim McCarthy.

World rights for Erin Soderberg Downing’s JUST KEEP WALKING were sold to Scholastic in a deal by Michael Bourret.

THE THIRD DAUGHTER and THE SECOND SON by Adrienne Tolley was sold to Christy Ottaviano Books in a World rights deal by Jim McCarthy.

Ytasha Womack’s THE AFROFUTURIST EXPERIENCE sold to Grand Central Balance, in a World rights deal by Jessica Papin.

North American rights to David H. Rosmarin’s THRIVING WITH ANXIETY were sold to Harper Horizon by Leslie Meredith.

SENSORED: REINVENTING HEALTHCARE by Jay Singh was sold to Mayo Clinc Press in a World rights deal by Stacey Glick.

THE GHOST CLUB by Kate Winkler Dawson was acquired by PRH Audio Original, in a World rights deal by Jessica Papin.