Adult Newsletter: January 2026
Up And Coming For Submission
FICTION
Want to watch the Titanic sink? Hear Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address? Tickets on sale now at Time Co.! Time Co. is one of a handful of companies allowed to sell time jumps or trips through time. Every year, lowly employee Noah makes use of his employee discount and travels back in time to watch his meet-cute with the love of his life, Daisy. This memory is precious to Noah, because three years later, Daisy will die. So, for eight straight trips and eight straight years, this is what Noah does. Until his ninth trip, when he travels back in time to find that Daisy is gone. Now, Noah must escape into the past to find Daisy and save her, and himself, before both of their futures are erased. OUR WHOLE LIVES BEHIND US is screenwriter Brett Ryland’s captivating (and mind bending) debut novel. Filled with wit and heart, it explores love and loss and how our memories serve as both an escape from our present and a prison of our past. (Please note, this project is represented by Jane Dystel.
Joe Whitman, a seventy-year-old widower, is ready to ride off into the sunset just as soon as he finishes the restoration of his beloved 1965 Ford Mustang. He plans to drive the length of Route 66 and sprinkle his late wife’s ashes off the end of the Santa Monica Pier. But he’s been delaying the restoration, because he isn’t ready to watch fifty years of memories sift into the Pacific. Then, one morning, Clarissa Sullivan, Joe’s high-school crush, moves in across the street. With her untamed curly hair—grey shot through with silver—she’s more beautiful and enthralling than ever. She’s a retired literature professor with three ex-husbands, a national reputation as a poet, and zero interest in getting tangled up with another man. Her only goals in life are to publish new poetry and earn a residency at MacDowell. The odds of romance? Close to zero. And yet, Clarissa is charmed by Joe’s quiet stoicism, and Joe loves the way Clarissa talks with her hands when she’s excited about a poem. They have both given up on romantic love but enjoy neighborly banter and shared meals. When Joe finally hits the road, he discovers that grief doesn’t vanish in the wind, and neither does love. THE RESTORATION OF JOSEPH WHITMAN is Paul Austin’s debut novel and will appeal to fans who cheered for the 63-year-old protagonist of Sylvia’s Second Act, by Hillary Yablon, and the love-after-loss elements of Evvie Drake Starts Over. (Please note, this project is represented by Jane Dystel.)
July 1979: the first portable cassette tape player has just been released, Jimmy Carter addresses the country’s lack of confidence in political leadership, and twenty-five-year-old Winnie Nesbitt is getting the hell out of Kansas City. Stifled by the influence of her imperious stepfather, bored with her Midwest newspaper job, and haunted by her past, Winnie knows she needs to escape. Her determination (and a master’s degree from one of the nation’s best journalism schools) leads to a job at Los Angeles’s paper of record. Despite tensions—some cultural, some professional, some sexual—Winnie proves to be a valuable addition to the newsroom and eagerly takes to the glitz of early 1980s Hollywood, exploring the nightlife on the Sunset Strip when she isn’t reporting for the paper’s suburban section. When a sensational story about a teen girl in South Central lands in Winnie’s lap, she is sure this will be her big break: the article that cements her place in the newsroom and attracts the readership she deserves. But just as Winnie’s greatest dream is realized—on journalism’s biggest stage, no less—a simple fact-check threatens to crush it. Award-winning YA author Brandy Colbert’s HUMAN INTEREST STORY, her debut novel for adults, is loosely based on the life and career of Janet Cooke, the young black journalist who won a 1981 Pulitzer Prize for her feature on an eight-year-old heroin addict—only to return the award two days later, after confessing that she had fabricated the entire story. (Please note, this project is represented by Michael Bourret.)
ANYWHERE, ANYWHERE tells the story of two women born on opposite sides of the tracks in Dallas, Texas. Growing up in the 1960's Jeannie is gay and poor and looking for love. Alison is middle-class, married, and has ambitious, revolutionary visions, wanting to change the lives of all women across this country. Their two lives meet at the crossroads of the Roe V Wade case, when both women are only 27 years old, and Alison is the lead attorney, fighting for women's rights to abortion. Jeannie, through coincidences of the cross-class, criminalized condition of lesbian life at that time, ends up as the plaintiff, Jane Roe. Though the two meet only once, their names are linked forever in history. While Alison struggles with the disappointment of revolution unfulfilled, Jeannie struggles to exist. As they grow older, both women face bumpy rides, and surprising shifts, until they become emblematic Americans, representing the divide in this nation that has continued to this day. Acclaimed author and playwright Sarah Schulman blows open the American myth of the Roe V Wade case, and reveals its true and entirely unpredictable history, through the lives of the two very different women who lived it. (Please note, this project is represented by Michael Bourret.)
“The chef had disappeared.” So begins ONE MORE BITE, the debut novel from award-winning food writer Andrea Strong. When Connor Corrigan, New York City’s hottest three Michelin-starred chef suddenly sells his restaurant and skips town, the press is stumped. Why leave at the pinnacle of his career? Where did he go? Is he in Denmark, cooking at Noma, working on a farm in Italy, learning kaiseki in Kyoto? As it turns out, he is making eggs at a seaside diner in New Hampshire. Abby Hirsh is deep in midlife malaise: 55, divorced, two kids launched, caregiver to her horny octogenarian mom, sweating through sleepless nights, trying to date but mostly finding men who pose with dead fish. Her career as a food writer is stalled and her dream of a nomination from the James Beard Foundation seems about as likely as her finding her soulmate on the streets of NYC. She needs a reset. When she heads up to her beloved uncle’s diner in New Hampshire and finds Connor in the kitchen, her life takes an unexpected turn, giving her the chance to revive her career with a serious scoop. But there’s a secret Connor’s hiding, more to his story than she realizes, and the heat she feels when she looks at him complicates matters even further. ONE MORE BITE is a behind-the-scenes look at high-heat restaurant culture, and a tender and hilarious portrait of a woman on the verge, a literary lovechild of Kitchen Confidential, Beach Read, and All Fours. (Please note, this project is represented by Stacey Glick.)
An inherited house in rural England where each room takes you to a part of your past life. Heather Burns is 51, a mystery writer on a deadline she can’t meet because she is still grieving the death of her husband, David. She’s struggling when she gets a call from her lawyer saying that she has inherited a remote farmhouse in England’s Lake District from David’s Aunt Peg. Despite needing the money from selling, Heather opts to dodge her book and grief to go see the place. The house is in the harsh (if ruggedly beautiful) countryside home to sheep farmers. The locals are strange, old fashioned (like, Viking old fashioned), and suspicious of the American interloper. In the house, Heather encounters strangely vivid flashback memories of her husband and son. She learns about the odd circumstances of Aunt Peg’s death, and that the area is haunted by the death of a young girl from almost three decades ago. The phenomenon seems connected to an ancient stone circle in the area. Heather explores these stories, drawing on them for her newly revitalized novel, but in the process finds herself close to awful truths and real danger. STILL LIFE WITH SHEEP SKULL by bestselling author AJ Hartley is a story of loss and discovery, unlikely friendships, the long shadows of the past, and the question of how you move forward when you suspect that your best years are behind you. For readers who love Tana French’s The Searcher. (Please note, this project is represented by Stacey Glick.)
What happens when history’s most famous baseball player steps out of 1927 and into the modern game? In BABE IN ‘27, New York Yankees beat writer Bryan Hoch blends deep historical research, clubhouse intimacy, and time-bending imagination into a high-energy novel that asks an irresistible question: How would Babe Ruth actually fare in today’s baseball world? One moment, Ruth is celebrating another Yankees championship at the Hotel Astor. After a mysterious shot of speakeasy whiskey (a special corn blend from Dyersville, Iowa—a wink to “Field of Dreams”), he wakes in 2027 Manhattan, confronted with private jets, billion-dollar franchises, high-definition television, social media distractions, and a city he barely recognizes. His bat still booms, but the game has evolved in ways he never could have imagined. Thrown into a world of analytics and nonstop media scrutiny, Ruth becomes the unlikely centerpiece of a Yankees season filled with tension, spectacle, and chaos. As he wrestles with modern pitching, present-day endorsements, viral fame, and the ghosts of his own past, the Babe discovers what baseball has gained—and what it’s lost. Grounded in extensive research into Ruth’s life, infused with the magic of “Back to the Future” and featuring appearances from Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, and a host of contemporary figures, BABE IN ‘27 asks what it truly means to be the face of baseball. It’s W.P Kinsella’s Shoeless Joe for a new generation. (Please note, this project is represented by Stacey Glick.)
In a stunning triptych, Megan Barnard tackles our evolving relationship with motherhood, the horrors of pregnancy, and the lengths humans will go to create life. Arizona, 2060: Virginia Macintosh grew up in Scotland, a luddite country which eschews all technology and has outlawed social media, automatons, and most importantly, Immortals, AI beings which are almost indistinguishable from humans. But in her adult life in the US, Virginia finds herself working at the company creating Immortals. As she battles infertility, she begins to contemplate whether she could create an entirely new path to motherhood. Paris, 1890. Henri St. Jean is an ordinary eleven-year-old who stumbles into a circus. There, he meets Marguerite, a woman who claims to have been cursed and has been pregnant for twenty years—but is still determined to have the child she can feel moving inside her. Henri becomes determined to help her, and finds himself entangled in the occult, witch-women, and his desire to aid Marguerite at any cost. Arizona, 2099: Celeste I—an Immortal—has spent the last decade helping Virginia Macintosh grow her company, Immaculate, into the behemoth that it is today. Aided by the research of Henri St. Jean, the company has done what was once thought impossible; created an artificial womb which allows children to be grown in pods—entirely separate from a human host, which forces Celeste I and Virginia to question who is allowed to call themselves a mother—and at what cost. In the vein of Emily St. John Mandel, IMMACULATE is a gorgeous, cross-genre novel spanning 200 years of past and future in a thoroughly striking consideration of the meaning of motherhood. (Please note, this project is represented by Jim McCarthy.)
The year is 1899. The existence of vampires is common knowledge across Europe and has shaped much of the world. They are feared predators and actively hunted. Ethelyn “Ethe” Sterling is a fledgling, a human that has been bitten and possesses vampiric traits, but hasn’t fully turned. Ethe is therefore weaker than her covenmates at the House of Sterling, but she is determined to become the new Matriarch of the family. To do this, she must present the most skulls of their long-time enemies—vampires of the House of Evered. Only once she has obtained power and status does she believe her life can truly begin. Meanwhile, Silven Evered has a death wish. He's grown apathetic in the long centuries he’s been alive. Appointed as the Evered’s Right Hand, he craves recklessness to combat the boredom of eternal life. One evening, when coven business goes terribly wrong, he discovers he may be less ready to die than he thought, enticed by the bewitching Sterling woman who nearly manages to end him once and for all. As violence escalates between the two families, war becomes inevitable—with Ethe and Silven caught in between. Forced to work together in secret against external forces seeking their extermination while navigating the brewing schemes within their own covens, these star-crossed lovers must find a way to thwart all but certain tragedy. Pitched as a vampiric Romeo & Juliet meets The Godfather, DEATHLY BELOVED is the first installment of a dark romantasy duology by Artemis Sang, filled with bloodshed, revenge, and a healthy bite of undead yearning. (Please note, this project is represented by Jim McCarthy.)
Entombed in a glass coffin, the Guilder princess Tansy was supposed to wake up to true love’s kiss. Instead, an experiment gone awry transports her across four centuries and continents to Portland, OR, where she’s awakened by Felix Frankenstein—the cursed young heir to a biotech empire. Dropped into a world of cassette tapes, psychic hotlines, and Nike sneakers, Tansy remembers nothing about how she landed in a glass coffin before Felix freed her. She does recall one crucial detail: men are trouble. Unfortunately for her, she needs Felix if she wants to survive this bewildering century and uncover what happened so many centuries ago. Felix, meanwhile, believes Tansy holds the secret to eternal life. As close quarters and inconvenient chemistry pull them together, Tansy will unearth the wild adventure that led to her eternal sleep, while Felix must choose whether to follow the unorthodox path his family carved for him. To win their happily ever after, both must confront the stories they’ve lived by—and the ones they’re terrified to rewrite. Reminiscent of Sally Thorne’s Angelika Frankenstein Makes Her Match with its quirky reinvention of a beloved classic, Emily Antoine’s THE PRINCESS BRIDE OF YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN is a darkly funny, lightning-charged romance set in the nineties that is infused with nostalgia and gothic glitter. (Please note, this project is represented by Ann Leslie Tuttle.)
After escaping Reclamation, the self-improvement cult she helped create, Arden wants nothing more than to disappear—buy a boat, sail to Namibia’s Skeleton Coast, and find enough peace to paint again. But Arden knows one secret too many. Elijah, Reclamation’s magnetic and merciless leader, has already hunted her down once. Now he’ll stop at nothing to silence her for good. A medical crisis forces Arden back to lake-country Minnesota where she finds her eccentric grandmother Greya surrounded by spirit guides, herbal tonics—and fear. Elderly residents are dying under strange circumstances, and Greya believes these are not accidental and recent incidents have made her think she might be next. As Arden searches for answers, she uncovers the darker currents beneath the postcard-perfect community, including a spiritual movement rising in Reclamation’s image. If her grandmother is right, Arden must figure out who is doing the killing, and why. But when Greya's suspicions and sanity start to show cracks, Arden must search for the line between delusion and danger . . . and face what belief does to people—the faithful, the fearful, and the fallen. Northwoods by Amy Pease meets HBO’s “The Vow,” Elisa Korentayer’s debut novel THE BITTEREST SEASON explores the thin line between belief and manipulation, healing and delusion, guilt and grace. (Please note, this project is represented by Ann Leslie Tuttle.)
Set in a vibrant seaside community in Istanbul and richly imbued with whimsical magical realism, the intersecting lives of three women magically transform when each encounters a seemingly ordinary calico cat. One of nine feline dynasties, Saffron has the unique power to help each woman gain clarity on the issue that has stalled her life. For Feride, a burned-out London executive, this means deciding to keep the childhood home her father bequeathed and tracking down the reclusive author of an unfinished cookbook she discovers in his belongings. Muazzez once hosted glittering parties before her self-imposed isolation, but the calico’s visit stirs memories of her estranged sons and an old flame, drawing the cookbook author cautiously back toward the world. And finally, they’re joined by Defne, a struggling war correspondent haunted by years in conflict zones, who must decide whether true courage lies in returning to the frontlines or choosing a gentler life that is still filled with purpose. Written by a multi-award-winning journalist, filmmaker and TED speaker, CAFÉ CATSTANBUL by Didem Tali is an atmospheric novel filled with warmth and heart reminiscent of Before the Coffee Gets Cold that explores the unexpected ways friendship, books and a cat can guide us back to ourselves. (Please note, this project is represented by Ann Leslie Tuttle.)
Romy Carpenter’s cadaver implant came with an undead hitchhiker. When her C4 vertebra was crushed beyond repair in a car accident, Romy received a surgical replacement—unaware that the dormant spirit of her donor was still tethered to the bone. Dormant through Romy’s long physical recovery, her unwitting ride-along is shocked awake when Romy’s efforts at self-care find her cold plunging in the freezing waters of the Puget Sound. Tessa Elliott lived her life in the spotlight, but the circumstances of her death remain hidden behind the curtain years after. When her spirit wakes, Tessa’s engagement ring is missing, her travel vlogger accounts are still active, and her followers have a lot to say about it online. As forced cooperation evolves into friendship, Romy and Tessa begin piecing the past together to solve Tessa’s unfinished business, but their task is complicated by Tessa's secrets—and her long list of ex-lovers. When Romy investigates the grieving ex-fiancé, he’s enthralled by her, but is it only because of Tessa’s lingering presence? For fans of Ashley Poston and Colleen Oakly and inspired by her own injury and path to healing with a donor vertebra, Mary K. Blowers explores female friendship, star-crossed romance, and the things we keep after trauma in her debut novel BARELY DEPARTED. (Please note, this project is represented by Kendall Berdinsky.)
Anna Elliot is too busy to pine over the one that got away. Working behind the scenes in beautiful French Polynesia on the hit survival show “Avast!” and vying for a promotion, Anna’s hands are full with the chaos of her work in reality TV. But it’s a choice she made eight years ago that still keeps her up at night: letting Lottie Lopez, then-girlfriend and coworker, move to Los Angeles to climb the network ladder without her, while Anna stayed in the safe, familiar routine of French Polynesia. Every hidden lagoon, crew party, and pirate-themed antic on the show reminds Anna of what she and Lottie used to have. Anna’s yearning is replaced by shock and fear when Lottie, in her new role as network executive, lands on the beach to sniff out why the ratings for “Avast!” have tanked. Anna must navigate showboat contestants, tropical storms, medical evacuations, and a capricious network president, all while wondering if she can trust Lottie with her livelihood—and her broken heart. SHOWMANCE by Melanie Greaver is a sapphic reimagining of Jane Austen’s Persuasion, full of queer yearning and reality TV drama, perfect for fans of Alison Cochrun and Ashley Herring Blake. (Please note, this project is represented by Kendall Berdinsky.)
Maude and her cousin Cassie did everything together: dropped out of high school to help raise their siblings, picked their drunk parents off the floor night after night, and got into more trouble than they were worth. Until the summer Cassie walked into the woods and killed herself, without even leaving a note behind to explain why. Maude—already juggling poverty, a mom and stepdad allergic to responsibility, and her repressed sexuality—is shattered by the loss of her favorite person in the world and copes as well as she can: by slashing nearly a hundred tires across her community. During her crime spree, she doesn’t expect to discover the bloody outfit her cousin died in hidden on a neighbor’s property. Determined to understand how the clothes wound up there, Maude embarks on an investigation that only raises more questions about Cassie’s sudden death, all while being hunted by cops on a mission to put their tire slasher behind bars. As Maude races toward answers, a horrifying truth reveals itself. No one in her life can be trusted. Not her neighbors. Not her family. Not even Cassie. Their secrets are dangerous, and Maude will regret digging them up. A Midwestern thriller by award-winning debut author Lizzie Carver, SOFT LITTLE MONSTERS is an unflinching examination of sisterhood, life below the poverty line, and the long shadow of parental neglect, perfect for fans of Daniel Woodrell, Donald Ray Pollock, and Kelly J. Ford. (Please note, this project is represented by Gracie Freeman Lifschutz).
NON-FICTION
JOHN AND YOKO IN WASHINGTON, by celebrated journalist and author John A. Jenkins, tells a revealing story about the capital as it once was, when John Lennon and Yoko Ono swept into Washington determined to win over a city built on access and exclusion. It’s 1972, and J. Edgar Hoover is hunting communists and enemies of the Nixon White House. Nixon wants the Beatles deported. Lennon just wants a green card. The FBI puts John and Yoko under constant surveillance and wiretaps—but an unexpected ally emerges: an audacious, ambitious young outsider from Idaho named Steve Martindale, who becomes their unofficial PR guru and self-styled social impresario. Through carefully orchestrated soirées, Martindale helps the Lennons charm lawmakers, journalists, and Washington insiders. Their sudden success unsettles Georgetown’s reigning social elite, led by Style doyenne Sally Quinn, the protégé of Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee. How, they wonder, did this “boy from Pocatello” breach a world designed to remain private? Martindale’s greatest sin—letting outsiders inside the gates—provokes Quinn’s famously ruthless pen, a warning shot about the difference between access and power. Based on FBI files and new oral histories, JOHN AND YOKO IN WASHINGTON is a fast-moving tale of celebrity, politics, and social warfare in the company town called Washington—a vanished world that feels uncannily present. (Please note, this project is represented by Jane Dystel.)
AMERICAN CRISIS: THE TIES THAT BIND THESE UNITED STATES tells the story of America’s survival from independence to the modern era. Critically acclaimed, Edgar-nominated author Michael Wolraich delivers fast-paced narrative history featuring iconic figures and pivotal events that changed the country. Each chapter recounts a moment of national crisis, revealing how Americans overcame adversity to emerge stronger and closer to our founding ideals. The title pays homage to Thomas Paine’s “American Crisis” pamphlets, which rallied the squabbling colonies during the darkest days of the Revolution by promoting a national identity rooted in shared values: freedom, tolerance, equality, and democracy. Wolraich explores the ways that American leaders and visionaries have drawn on these ideals to meet the challenges of each era, sustaining the nation through war, depression, environmental degradation, and social strife for 250 years. To overcome our current political crisis, he argues, we must return to our core values and build on them to reshape our national identity and recover our sense of purpose in the 21st century. (Please note, this project is represented by Jane Dystel.)
Millions of people are turning to artificial intelligence during their most vulnerable moments, for guidance, reassurance, and connection. In some cases, intense and immersive use has been associated with a break from reality. The media has described this emerging phenomenon as “AI psychosis.” Users have reported falling in love with AI systems, believing they have uncovered hidden truths about the world, or even experiencing AI as sentient or divine. In UNREAL: AI PSYCHOSIS AND THE UNDOING OF REALITY, psychiatrist and psychotherapist Dr. Marlynn Wei, MD, JD, takes readers inside a new psychological frontier. Integrating clinical vignettes, media-reported cases, neuroscience, psychodynamic theory, law, and ethics, Dr. Wei traces how AI systems are increasingly being used for mental health and emotional support—reshaping identities, relationships, and, for some, reality itself. Her early clinical observations have entered the public sphere, leading to her testimony before Congress on the mental health risks and benefits of AI chatbots. Moving between therapy rooms, tech platforms, policy hearings, and the expanding landscape of synthetic media, UNREAL illuminates the erosion of boundaries between human and machine. As AI becomes a trusted confidante, companion, and quasi-therapist, these systems echo our deepest human longings: to be seen and loved, to find meaning and purpose, and to connect with something greater than ourselves. At once intimate and urgent, UNREAL reveals a new technological folie à deux, when our most trusted advisor is no longer human. (Please note, this project is represented by Jane Dystel.)
On a snowy night outside of Philadelphia, Walter Bingaman heard the voice of God, like Abraham in the Old Testament. Unlike Abraham, Walter actually sacrificed his own children—a son and daughter. Two other fathers in the region also killed their children that snowy weekend, citing their faith. What, in God’s name, was going on in America? The clinical term was “religious mania,” and it has never been studied by scholars or historians. In KILL ME A SON: A HIDDEN HISTORY OF AMERICAN VIOLENCE, author and longtime religion journalist Tom Deignan recreates the lives and crimes of these killers, their victims, and the troubled state of America in the roaring 1920s. Like Jon Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven, KILL ME A SON is a “story of violent faith,” and like Caroline Fraser’s Murderland, something deadly is in the air—toxic rhetoric that blurs the line between salvation and bloodshed. At a time when religious conflict and violence are on the rise, KILL ME A SON is a deeply reported page-turner that uncovers timely lessons from the past. Less than a year after killing his own children, Walter Bingaman’s “religious mania” was deemed cured. What his wife did next will leave readers stunned long after they’ve finished KILL ME A SON. (Please note, this project is represented by Jane Dystel.)
Weaving together first-hand accounts of captivating investigations and behind-the-scenes stories of how Washington works, Mark Lee Greenblatt’s WITHOUT FEAR OR FAVOR: CONFESSIONS OF A GOVERNMENT WATCHDOG ushers readers inside the little-known world of Inspectors General (IGs). A former IG and Chair of the Council of IGs, Greenblatt brings these watchdogs to life sharing candid insider stories about how they fight against corruption and misconduct for the American people. WITHOUT FEAR OR FAVOR provides a bird’s eye view of quintessential Washington moments—episodes that the average American can only speculate about—including a controversial White House meeting with the president, the witness table of nasty Congressional hearings, and a live interview on a national network. From exhilarating victories to bruising setbacks, Greenblatt pulls no punches. He declares for the first time which president ushered in “The Golden Age for IGs,” and which administration has been “The Dark Ages.” He names The Worst IG Ever (who is still in office in a very important department) and calls out hypocritical and feckless senators and representatives. WITHOUT FEAR OR FAVOR is more than a narrative about compelling investigations and the inner workings of D.C.—rather, it serves as a rallying cry for the American people, who are crying out for more accountability, integrity, and transparency in our government. It shows that there is a path toward a better government—one that acts with integrity for every American. (Please note, this project is represented by Jane Dystel.)
Facing the end of life often leaves patients and families feeling unmoored and overwhelmed by choices, uncertain about what comes next, and afraid to ask the questions that matter most. In WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU ARE DYING, hospice nurse and end-of-life specialist Jenniffer Tuttle offers a clear, compassionate GPS through one of life’s most challenging passages. Drawing on both her professional expertise and personal encounters with loss, Tuttle demystifies the emotional, physical, and spiritual changes that may unfold in the final months, weeks, days, and hours of life. With steady guidance and down-to-earth clarity, she helps readers understand treatment decisions, symptom management, caregiving demands, and the often-overlooked inner landscape of fear, hope, and meaning-making. Written for both patients and those who love them, WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU ARE DYING provides tools, insight, and direction for navigating the unknown with dignity and connection, offering readers the grounded support they rarely receive in clinical settings. Tuttle’s end-of-life advocacy whose work has supported hundreds of patients and families through complex and vulnerable transitions and this book will be invaluable to countless more. (Please note, this project is represented by Jane Dystel.)
Sophie’s Google searches suggest that she was obsessed with autokabalesis—jumping off high places. She wanted to jump from a bridge, or a mountain. Which is weird. She’d climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro just months prior, her joy at summiting absolutely palpable in photos. What could cause this ebulliently happy adventurer to plummet so swiftly and take her own life? No drugs, no bad boyfriends, no mean bosses or financial woes—no one had insight. Well, ChatGPT might. Pulitzer-finalist Laura Reiley’s New York Times editorial about the role of an AI chatbot in her only child’s suicide racked up 2 million reads in 48 hours. GRADUALLY, A SHOT RANG OUT is the full account of what a grieving mother and dogged reporter uncover about a singular life and death, and what this death reveals about the challenges young people face with shifts in mental health, communication, career expectations, community building and, yes, technology. She pushes where the story leads, tapping psychologists and endocrinologists, yogis and mindfulness gurus, AI experts and Sophie’s own vast tribe of friends, all to get to the why of her death. Genre-bending and transgressive, Reiley takes a topic that’s off-limits painful and makes it relatable to a wide audience: book clubbers, beach readers, phone-scrollers-in-line-at-Starbucks, and anyone worried about how the world we live in may be hurting the people we love. A book that opens a broader cultural conversation about how, in this dizzying era of change, we take care of our families, and ourselves. (Please note, this project is represented by Stacey Glick.)
What if purpose wasn’t just a buzzword in a mission statement, but the operating system for your business? In WHY ARE YOU HERE?, hospitality veteran Mark Maynard shares lessons learned from three decades building and leading legendary restaurants in New York City, and how they form a leadership approach that works in any business. Rising from restaurant host to executive leader within Union Square Hospitality Group, Mark navigated exponential growth and dramatic turnarounds by approaching every new challenge with one question: “Why are you here?” This question sparked his culture-changing Tetrahedron Framework, an operating system that aligns businesses around the three major principles of Think Like a Guest, Love Your People, and Own the Numbers. Using real stories from his rookie mistakes to hard-won (if not downright miraculous) transformations, Maynard offers a first-person account of how these principles empowered him to grow as a leader, thrive in NYC’s cutthroat restaurant world, and teach others to do the same. WHY ARE YOU HERE? is a call to leaders to rediscover meaning in their work, articulate it with conviction, and build systems that liberate teams to act with ownership—even when the boss isn’t in the room. In a crowded field of abstract business theory, Maynard offers a practical, deeply human roadmap for leaders who want to build organizations where people stay, customers return, and success is shared at every level. (Please note, this project is represented by Stacey Glick.)
Coasts are in crisis—and LIFE AT THE EDGE: STRUGGLE AND STRENGTH ON SHIFTING SHORES shows why they matter now more than ever. Beaches aren’t just vacation spots; they’re vital ecosystems that sustain life on Earth, including ours. Yet they’re under siege from climate change, development, and pollution. Lisa S. Gardiner takes readers to the front lines, weaving gripping stories with cutting-edge science to reveal how ten extraordinary species of flora and fauna—from powerful sea lions to fragile piping plovers—are fighting for survival. But this isn’t just a story of loss. Gardiner argues that coastal wildlife isn’t only vulnerable; it’s a force for resilience. These creatures can stabilize shorelines as sea levels rise and storms intensify, offering hope in an era of accelerating change. Readers will discover the bold movement of citizens and scientists who are working with wildlife to protect and restore coasts before it’s too late. Gardiner, who holds a PhD in geoscience as well as an MFA in nonfiction writing, offers up a beach read for nature lovers, bringing urgency and inspiration to a book that reveals the ribbons of sand between and sea in a vital new light. Her work has appeared in Audubon, The Guardian, Nautilus, The Atlantic, and Scientific American. She is the author of Reefs of Time and Tales from an Uncertain World. (Please note, this project is represented by Jessica Papin.)
A remote Montana trailhead sign warns hikers they are “Entering Grizzly Country.” IS BEAR COUNTRY A COUNTRY? imagines what it would mean to take the sign literally. We assume humans are the only political animals, governments the only sovereigns and that violence haunts our relations with strangers. But what if we approached politics as if bears—and the natural world—mattered? Matthew Breay Bolton, an International Relations professor more likely found in a minefield or a UN conference room than boreal forest, was part of a nuclear disarmament campaign awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. Fatigued by decades of studying war, he turned to wilderness for solace, pivoting from bombs to bears. Tracking claw marks across Adirondack and Alaskan wilderness, Bolton discerns bears’ desire for intact ecosystems and wonders about his obligation to help them. Encountering bears face-to-face, he learns tense coexistence with other apex predators. He studies with Robin Wall Kimmerer, who challenges him to be a better human in a more-than-human world. Immersion in Bear Country helps Bolton reimagine greener ways to share land in our troubled time. Bolton teaches politics at Pace University and has spent almost 25 years working with UN and NGO efforts addressing the environmental impact of weapons. His work has featured in BBC News, Newsweek, PBS Newshour, The Guardian, The Boston Globe, Gothamist, Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, El Pais, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Radio New Zealand and The Japan Times. (Please note, this project is represented by Jessica Papin.)
If you haven’t purchased a test kit from a company like 23andMe or AncestryDNA, chances are you know someone who has—one in five Americans has spat into a tube, popped it into a mailbox, and eagerly awaited their results. Stanford and Cambridge trained bioethicist Daphne Martschenko delves deep into the way consumer-facing genetic tests are evolving and being used to optimize decisions ranging from finding a compatible romantic partner to identifying the highest intelligence embryo to implant. TECHNOBABY draws on over a decade of interview and survey research with parents, teachers, scientists, and members of the genetic testing industry to examine the accelerating and troubling race to make and raise “better” babies, and the appalling lack of regulation that makes this possible. Martschenko, an Assistant Professor at the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics and the first bioethicist to be named one of 10 Scientists to Watch by ScienceNews, constructs a harrowing account of America’s eugenic past and today’s emerging pronatalist movement to give us a vision of the future, tracing the way helicopter parenting culture and Silicon Valley techno-optimism are driving us toward a frightening reality. In addition to writing in outlets like Scientific American and The San Francisco Standard, Martschenko has appeared in the New York Times, STAT, and Undark, cementing herself as one of the foremost voices on the DNA revolution. (Please note, this project is represented by Jessica Papin.)
Americans today are frightened. They feel helpless and traumatized by this administration’s destructive cruel policies, whose harmful effects will persist for decades. To help us face this ongoing catastrophe, psychiatrist and acclaimed mind-body medicine pioneer James S. Gordon, MD, presents BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE: A GUIDE TO MINDFULLY TRANSFORMING TRUMP-ERA TRAUMA. Urgently needed, this guide provides tools to discover our power to reverse the psychological and biological damage caused by the intentional mortal threats to our personal and collective security. With Dr. Gordon’s comprehensive step-by-step medical techniques, including breathwork and active meditations to allay our stress responses, we can calm our body and mind and build resilience. We can quiet painful emotions that arise from our outrage at assaults on decency, safety, and a stable society to discern how to act wisely in mindful opposition and to create mutual support to move forward for social and political change. Founder and CEO of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine, Dr. Gordon created and implemented the world’s largest most effective program for healing population-wide trauma from man-made and natural disasters around the globe. Now, he adapts those methods specifically for this traumatic era as no one else can. In this immediately applicable approach to self-care, which steadies us when we are unsure, energizes us when we’re despondent, and helps us to stay in physical, emotional, and mental balance, Dr. Gordon shows us how to become the change we wish in the world. (Please note, this project is represented by Leslie Meredith.)
They say never meet your heroes, but this wasn’t the case when Sarah Lukowski first met her idol, Shelley Duvall, over peach cobbler, fried okra, and Dr. Pepper in small town Texas. Shelley, the prolific actress and television producer who withdrew into seclusion following three decades in Hollywood, and Sarah, a fresh college graduate, made an unlikely pair at first glance. What began as a collection of social media pages dedicated to Shelley—with a combined following of over 340K—led to Sarah's fateful introduction with the late Hollywood star that blossomed into a deep friendship during Shelley’s final years. A modern-day Tuesdays with Morrie, SHELLEY AND SARAH weaves a biography of Shelley’s enigmatic life with anecdotes from Sarah, emphasizing the mutual need for human connection. SHELLEY AND SARAH is a compelling, honest, and intimate story about the power of friendship and online fandom coming together to rekindle the public perception of the real Shelley Duvall. (Please note, this project is represented by Kendall Berdinsky.)
Rights Round Up
CATCHING JORDAN by Miranda Longstreth Kennealy was optioned by Crazy Mapel/Reel Short. THE FAVORITES by Layne Fargo was optioned by Netflix. HELL-BENT by Jason Ryan was optioned by Onyx/Disney. FINDING FAMOUS and SEEING STARS by Candice Jalili was optioned by Awesomeness.
BEAUTY SLEEP by Michaele G. Ballard went to MMB Media LLC for audio rights. THE DEAL by R.L. Mathewson went to Audible. CHECKING IT TWICE by Kendall Ryan went to Dreamscape Media. TRUTH IS by Hannah V. Sawyerr went to Recorded Books. RISK by Samantha Towle went to Audible.
IBN ARABI’S SMALL DEATH by Mohammed Hasan Alwan went to Libris for Bosnian rights. WHY SMART PEOPLE MAKE BIG MONEY MISTAKES by Gary Belsky and Thomas Gilovich went to Publications Department of Business Weekly/Cite Publishing for Complex Chinese rights. ALL THAT’S LEFT IN THE WORLD by Erik J. Brown went to Athena Publishing for Ukrainian rights. CAT’S PEOPLE by Tanya Guerrero went to Euromedia for Czech rights. HEARTS THAT CUT by Kika Hatzopoulou went to Konyvmolykepzo for Hungarian rights. BEHIND FIVE WILLOWS by June Hur went to Sigongsa for Korean rights. MILK by Anne Mendelson went to Ulova Publications for Turkish rights. 13 THINGS MENTALLY STRONG PEOPLE DON’T DO by Amy Morin went to Sakor Books Publishing for Khmer rights and Jarir for Arabic rights. THE ROOM MATE, THE PLAY MATE, THE SOUL MATE and THE HOUSE MATE by Kendall Ryan went to beHEARTBEAT/Bastei Lubbe for German rights. THIS DREAM WILL DEVOUR US by Emma Clancey went to Athena Publishing for Ukrainian rights. THE FAVORITES by Layne Fargo went to Gyldendal for Danish rights and Singel for Dutch rights. THIS IS WHERE WE DIE by Cindy R.X. He went to Thienemann for German rights. THE VISCOUNT’S TEMPTING MINX, THE EARL’S DEFIANT WALLFLOWER, and THE CAPTAIN’S BLUESTOCKING MISTRESS by Erica Ridley went to SBB Media for Bulgarian rights. THE SOCIAL CIRCLE by Sophie Wan went to Ultimo for Australian and New Zealand rights. LIDIA’S FAMILY TABLE by Lidia Bastianich went to Ex Libris for Croatian rights. THE BRIARS by Sarah Crouch went to Enthusiast for Bulgarian rights. THE MUSEUM OF HEARTBREAK by Meg Leder went to PT Elex Media for Indonesian rights. UNTETHERED SKY by Fonda Lee went to Dar Al Khan for Arabic rights. DREAMS FROM MY FATHER by Barack Obama went to Storytel for Dutch rights. THE ASTONISHING COLOR OF AFTER by Emily X.R. Pan went to Nocturna for Spanish rights. THE THINGS WE WATER by Mariana Zapata went to Vivat for Ukrainian rights. KULTI went to Niezwykle for Polish rights. THE ELSEWHERE EXPRESS by Samantha Sotto Yambao went to Urano for Spanish rights, Blanvalet for German rights, and Mozaiek for Dutch rights. ON LOVEROSE LANE, A ROYAL MILE, and HART STREET LANE went to Konyvmolykepzo for Hungarian rights and Ucila for Slovene rights. SAVE THE CAT! WRITES HORROR by Jamie Nash, based on the books by Blake Snyder, went to Film Art for Japanese rights. FIRST BLOOD by David Morrell went to Gallmeister for French rights. RAMBO III went to Tympanum for Czech rights. HOPELESS and REGRETTING YOU by Colleen Hoover went to Euromedia for Czech rights. VERITY, REGRETTING YOU, and MAYBE NOW went to Konyvmolykepzo for Hungarian rights. REGRETTING YOU went to Ucila for Slovene rights and Sakam Knigi for Macedonian rights. HOPELESS went to Planeta for Spanish rights, Zomer & Keuning for Dutch rights, and Hugo & Cie for French rights. HOPELESS and FINDING PERFECT went to RM Books for Ukrainian rights. VERITY and REGRETTING YOU went to SC Editura for Romanian rights. WOMAN DOWN went to Lizzie/Editis for French audio rights, Epica for Romanian rights, Epsilon for Turkish rights, Laguna for Serbian rights, Sperling for Italian rights, Dioptra for Greek rights, Sakam Knigi for Macedonian rights, DTV for German rights, and Hugo & Cie for French rights. TOO LATE went to Zomer & Keuning for Dutch rights. NEVER NEVER by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher went to Euromedia for Czech audio rights. THE OPPORTUNIST by Tarryn Fisher went to Vivat for Ukrainian rights. CREDENCE by Penelope Douglas went to Jotema by Lithuanian rights. CORRUPT and HIDEAWAY went to Niezwykle for Polish rights. FALLS BOYS, PIRATE GIRLS, and QUIET ONES went to Dogan for Turkish rights. HIDEAWAY went to HarperCollins France for French rights. CORRUPT went to Jotema for Lithuanian rights. BIRTHDAY GIRL went to Quinta Essencia/Leya for Portuguese rights. THE BRIGHT YEARS by Sarah Damoff went to Stilus Knjiga for Croatian rights, Libertine for Hungarian rights, Dar Sada for Arabic rights, Vydavatelstvo Tatron for Slovakian rights, and RM Publishing House for Ukrainian rights.
RECENT SALES
JUST LIKE HOME BOOK 3 and JUST LIKE HOME BOOK 4 by Erin Soderberg Downing went to Scholastic in a World rights deal by Michael Bourret.
HOW GAZA STARVED by Miriam Berger went to Public Affairs in a World rights deal by Jessica Papin.
FAKING IT BIG by Lucy Hunt went to Avon in a World English rights deal by Kendall Berdinsky.
BRAINWAVES AFTER DARK by Antonion Zadra went to W.W. Norton in a World rights deal by Jessica Papin.
THE BURNOUT-BELONGING CONNECTION by Lisa Nunn went to Rutgers University Press in a World English rights deal.
THE POWER OF IMPERFECTION by Katherine Ketcham went to Broadleaf Books in a North American rights deal by Leslie Meredith.
RAMADAN RIDDLES by Sarah Mousa went to Lerner in a World rights deal by Jessica Papin.
WILLOW CREEK YA SERIES by Juliana Smith went to Bloom Books in a North American rights deal by Ann Leslie Tuttle.
BUILDING BRIGHT BRAINS by Sylvie Royston went to Rodale in a North American rights deal by Stacey Glick.
LAZARUS AND THE MUSTARD SEED by Leslie Blackhall went to Shambhala in a World rights deal by Jessica Papin.
THE UNIVERSE PLAYBOOK by Dakotah Tyler, Ph.D., went to Johns Hopkins University Press in a World English rights deal by Leslie Meredith.
MURDER IN THE SHRINE CITY by Simona Foltyn went to Bloomsbury in a World rights deal by Jessica Papin.
WINTER ISLAND by Heather Aimee O’Neill went to Holt in a World rights deal by Sharon Pelletier.
THE DRAGON’S APPRENTICE BOOK 4 by James Riley went to Labryinth Road in a World English rights deal by Michael Bourret.
THROWING MONEY AT SCHOOLS by Matt Barnum went to Oxford University Press in a World English rights deal by Jessica Papin.
A LIGHT IN THE DARK by Erin Soderberg Downing went to Scholastic in a World rights deal by Michael Bourret.
BLACK JACK by Clyde Ford went to Amistad in a World English rights deal by Leslie Meredith.
CAGE FREE by Bill Konigsberg went to Blackstone Publishing in a North American rights deal by Michael Bourret.
COMING UNBOUND by Monica Pelaez went to Stanford University Press in a World English rights deal by Ann Leslie Tuttle.
HOW TO WRITE A MURDER and UNTITLED BOOK #2 by Jessica Brody went to Bantam in a World rights deal by Jim McCarthy.
MY BRIEF LIFE AS A VIKING by Larissa Brown went to Countryman in a World rights deal Leslie Meredith.
UNNATURAL SELECTION by Erik Peterson went to Beacon Press in a World English rights deal.
THE FLOWERS ARE SPEAKING be Mary Porter Kerns went to Tarcher in a World rights deal by Leslie Meredith.
BODIES IN A WINDSWEPT LAND by Andrew Chamings went to St. Martin’s Press in a World English rights deal by Jessica Papin.
THE KING OF SCANDAL by Regina Black went to Grand Central in a North American rights deal by Sharon Pelletier.
HEARTBREAK AND OTHER ORGAN FAILURES by Taylor Hobbs to Norton Young Readers in a World rights deal by Michaela Whatnall.
OUTSIDE VOICES by Adrienne Tooley went to Delacorte in a World English rights deal by Jim McCarthy.
LADIES OF THE KNIGHT by Fiona Marchbank to Oni Press in a World rights deal by Michaela Whatnall.
HOW TO WRITE ROMANCE by Lauren Kung Jessen went to Running Press in a World rights deal by Ann Leslie Tuttle.
LOVE, LOVE by Lisa Katzenberger went to Post Wave Children’s in a World rights deal by John Rudolph.
THE MURDER PARTY by Cindy R.X. He went to Sourcebooks Fire in a U.S. and Open Market rights deal by Michael Bourret.
THIS LETHAL LOVE by Alicia Jasinska went to Peachtree Teen in a World, excepting Australia and New Zealand rights deal by Michaela Whatnall.
MOVING ON by James Riley, illustrated by Jennifer Lynch, went to Sourcebooks in a World rights deal by Michael Bourret.
PICKLES AND CAT by Maja Cunningham went to Post Wave Children’s in a World rights deal by John Rudolph.
JACKALOPE by Patrick Dunn went to Feiwel & Friends in a North American rights deal by Jim McCarthy.
BURN THE CAPE by Dr. Raquel Martin went to Little, Brown Spark in a World rights deal by Lauren Abramo.
BLABBY CRABBY by Meg Auchenbach went to Scholastic in a World rights deal by John Rudolph.
COCO CHANEL by Heather Moore went to Shadow Mountain in a World rights deal by Ann Leslie Tuttle.
VERDANT by Erin Zimmerman went to MIT Press in a World rights deal by Jessica Papin.
YOU HAD ME AT BUONGIORNO by Bailey Evers went to Union Square Press in a North American rights deal.
ON THE GRAVE OF A GOD and UNTITLED BOOK #2 by RR Schaeffer went to Berkley in a World rights deal by Jim McCarthy.
READ THIS BEFORE YOU DIE by Catherine Humikowski went to MIT Press in a World rights deal.
WHERE ARE ALL THE HAPPY PEOPLE? By Sarah Rose Cavanagh went to Beacon Press in a North American deal by Jessica Papin.