Adult Newsletter: January 2021

Up And Coming For Submission

 FICTION

A young man’s chance encounter with a dead body starts to unravel a series of seemingly unrelated events in a tiny island community. Put-in-Bay, known as the “Key West of the North,” welcomes countless visitors every summer to enjoy its natural beauty, along with its Animal House-like antics, diversions, free-flowing alcohol, and the ability to completely reinvent yourself. Michael Kutcher might be called a “failure to launch” by some—a college drop-out, who lands a job as a bartender on Put-in-Bay. To Michael, the island feels like home. Yet he also becomes deeply troubled by some of the things he sees and experiences there. Realizing that if he doesn’t find a way to break free of Put-in-Bay, he’ll spend his life in an endless loop of seasons and off-seasons, like so many of the islanders he comes to know, he leaves to work and live on the mainland. After two years away, however, he’s pulled back to the island to eulogize the untimely passing of his friend, Scott. Upon his return, Michael begins to notice some troubling circumstances surrounding Scott’s death and, in an effort to understand his friend’s fate, begins to investigate.  A slow burn mystery woven through with a captivating sense of place and an irreverent sense of dark humor, KILL EVERYTHING YOU SEE by Eric Nuzum, is about a young man’s quest for truth about his friend’s death, while attempting to define himself and escape the gravitational pull of this enigmatic island.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Katie Ashley, serves up a royally entertaining read with THE ACTRESS AND THE ARISTOCRAT. After years of bit parts in forgettable Hallmark movies and embarrassing commercials for feminine hygiene products, Charlotte Morgan (aka Charlie) has finally been given her big-budget break: the lead in an Edwardian era social drama set on a sprawling estate in Sussex. Everything is going great until she discovers her costar and current flame banging his way through the upstairs and downstairs of the cast. That’s when the southern girl channels her inner Scarlet O’Hara by hurling a vase at him. It turns out, the owner of said vase—the infuriating and brooding Earl of Whittingham—actually does give a damn about the priceless heirloom. Just as she’s imagining a life of servitude to pay him back, he presents an unorthodox proposal: pretend to be his girlfriend and accompany him through myriad of events during the British social season. As an actress, Charlie is used to playing a part, and she’ll need to turn in an Oscar-worthy performance to prove she’s in love with the Darcy-esque earl. But might the tall, handsome aristocrat prove to be a winning leading man? With nods to Pride and Prejudice, My Fair Lady, and a hooker-free Pretty Woman, THE ACTRESS AND THE ARISTOCRAT merges the glamourous worlds of Hollywood and royalty and sets up a series of royally mismatched couples.

You probably remember Grace Corday or, as she was known on TV, Amazing Grace. She’s the psychic who claims she can divine an audience member’s secrets by holding a borrowed object in her hand. Psychometry, it’s called. That’s her spiel, perfected at psychic fairs and carnivals. She’ll tell you she believes it, but then, she’ll tell you a lot of things, and she herself may not know just where truth blends into self-serving fiction. Millions of reality-TV viewers bought her act—until the debacle in Michigan, when she inserted herself into a missing-person case with disastrous results. Now she’s off the air, out of money, being sued by everyone, mocked by skeptics and former fans. Her producer and sometime boyfriend has walked away. Her friends don’t take her calls. And her new apartment boasts a charming view of a homeless camp. Obviously, the very last thing Grace should do is get involved in another criminal case. But when the mother of a girl who’s gone missing in Arizona begs for help, she can’t say no. Rescuing sixteen-year-old Riley Kendrick—honor student, star athlete, only child of a single mom—is Grace’s shot at redemption, a chance to prove she’s not the fraud everyone says she is. Unless, of course, she’s been lying to herself all along. Or is she lying to you right now? Plotted with head-spinning twists, exploring the borderline between self-knowledge and self-deception with subtlety and wit, DON’T TOUCH marks the striking debut of K. Jordan Hart.

From Qais Akbar Omar, the internationally acclaimed author of A Fort of Nine Towers (FSG) comes a debut novel that aims to be the Afghan Pachinko. THE SIXTH NIGHT is built on two intersecting narratives.  The first follows a wealthy landowner, Haji Ibrahim, an erstwhile ardent Marxist now living in his tradition-bound hometown. Fearful for the future, he demands that his wife, Hava, who has already given him five daughters, find him a second wife. He is convinced he needs a son to protect him—and his patrimony—in his old age.  Meanwhile, in the same village, twelve-year-old Taaj loses his father: desperate to support his mother, he is forced to become a bacha—a dancing boy—for the local drug lord, a situation with far-reaching ripple effects. Tremendous in its scope, this multifamily saga presents a panoramic view of Afghan lives over the past forty years – from the wealthy and privileged to the poor and abused. Rich with sharply drawn characters, authentic dialogue and wrenching situations, THE SIXTH NIGHT is both an allegory of country’s struggle for its existence and a captivating portrait of a nation through the eyes of an Afghan writer who has lived amongst his characters all his life. Qais Akbar Omar holds a BA from Kabul University and an MFA in Creative Writing from Boston University. His work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Sunday Times in London, The Globe and Mail, The Southern Review, Agni, Guernica, among others. (Please note: this project is represented by Jessica Papin.)

When Bridget Meyer was a child, the river in her backwoods Minnesota town brought her things to find. Lost jewelry, at first, then lifeless birds and stiffened squirrels, eventually dead cats and poisoned dogs. Finally, in high school, Bridget found a series of three women, bodies abandoned in the forest, their killer never identified. As soon as she could, Bridget fled her hometown, the burden of her findings, and the fists of a father who never wanted her or her twin brother Jason. Now, twenty years later, Bridget has a new life in Colorado, safe from the darkness of her childhood, and no plans to ever return—until Jason tracks her down and begs her to come see their dying mother. Bridget travels north, hoping to at last find closure, only for history to repeat itself as lost items and then broken animals again start to find her. Bridget is terrified, knowing where this pattern is leading: another woman’s body. She dares to hope this time will be different—maybe now, grown and strong, she can uncover the truth behind the horrors in her past—but even though Bridget is ready to stop running, she isn't prepared for her own life to be the one the river threatens. Jane Harper’s character-driven suspense meets Charlotte McConaghy’s atmospheric prose in SHORELINES by Katherine Salter—a searing debut that sinks its teeth into our assumptions about where evil comes from while exploring the ways we humans persist in taking care of each other. (Please note: this project is represented by Sharon Pelletier.)

Physics professor Katherine Maurice accepts a position at a university in rural Scotland with her career on the rocks after spending the past year running away from a painful past. Moorcartney University offers something she can’t resist: a chance to reconcile with her estranged twin brother Robert, who left his rising public profile to work at the obscure university three years ago. But the university and the village surrounding it turn out to be steeped in Scottish folklore more malevolent than charming. After a near-death experience in the local lake, mysterious—yet beautiful—scars show up all across Katherine’s body, and she finds herself unexpectedly skilled in her new hobby of swordfighting. As her reality grows increasingly entangled with local myth, she realizes that much more is at stake than her relationship with her brother. Her career, her belief in physics, her very freedom—as well as the fate of everyone at Moorcartney—hang on the outcome of her final battle. To be victorious over a foe she barely understands, Katherine must finally face the truth of secrets long-buried in her own world, as well as in the one that lies beyond. THE TRIBUTE OF CARTERHAUGH by Elizabeth Heider is upmarket fantasy with crossover potential to enthrall fans of THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE and THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE. Heider works at the European Space Agency and her short fiction has earned recognition from the Santa Fe Writer Awards and the New Century Writer Awards. (Please note: this project is represented by Sharon Pelletier.)

Jade Pearce has a perfect life. She’s a successful corporate event planner about to pitch a once-in-a-lifetime project, owns an exquisite NYC apartment, and has zero emotional complications. In fact, she has spent the last fifteen years avoiding human commitment of any kind. Jade goes to see a lawyer, presumably about a painting left to her by a recently deceased college roommate—and leaves with a prickly, blue-haired, fourteen-year-old girl named Zoe—hurling her meticulous, orderly life into the spin cycle. Not any happier about the arrangement than Jade is, and grieving the loss of her mother, Zoe demands to find the father she has just learned of, whose last known location was Scotland. Jade agrees to give it one week. What follows is a rollicking trip throughout the UK, where Jade and Zoe encounter a cast of quirky characters, including a brooding Viscount named Tommy Pennington, who may or may not be Zoe’s father, in a deteriorating manor house. The unlikely trio, each carrying grief from the past, not only manage to save the manor, they save each other. THAT’S MY GIRL is a poignant, feel-good romcom, equal parts humor and heartfelt, by debut author Pam Peterson—an Emmy-award winning TV art director who has also designed costumes for Saturday Night Live and written for Huffington Post. (Please note: this project is represented by Ann Leslie Tuttle.)

Daughter and father Emmy and Steve Quinn have a bond as strong as heat seeping through doors during the dog-days of August—star-gazing, football watching, pick-up games played in the front yard of their West Texas home. One problem: Emmy hasn’t told him she’s gay. When she does, she hopes their shared love will be stronger than the Baptist faith that damns her in the town’s eyes. Love, like life, Emmy discovers, has its limitations. Especially in West Texas. With a slam of a door, Emmy goes off to her senior year of college, isolated from her hometown and, more importantly, her father. Now, Emmy must learn what it means to live authentically while redefining her faith and falling in love for the first time. Steve, supported by the town, is named head football coach. However, in places like West Texas, where Southern Baptists rule, powerful people have to keep their personal lives spotless to stay employed. The head of the Board informs Steve he must stay away from Emmy to avoid tarnishing the team’s first promising season in years. As he grapples with loneliness and love for his daughter, Steve desperately searches for a way to reconcile with her— within the bounds of his faith. THE LIGHT IN WEST TEXAS by Madeline Kay Sneed, details the courage it takes to leave oppressive religious environments and why these ideologies exist in the first place. At its heart, the novel explores love in its many forms—romantic, familial, spiritual—and the damage done in its absence. (Please note: this project is represented by Amy Elizabeth Bishop.) 

NON-FICTION

For the past half century, through good times and bad, Rudy Giuliani has been a bold-faced name—as a crusading prosecutor, New York City mayor, hero of 9/11, failed presidential candidate, businessman, Republican Party cheerleader and, most recently, Trump flunky in the guise of his personal attorney. His early successes, particularly his extraordinary first term as mayor where his take-no-prisoners approach to governing a city once dubbed “ungovernable” resulted in an astounding urban renaissance, predicted a great political future. That future appeared guaranteed when he was anointed “America’s Mayor” for the leadership and compassion he displayed in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. How then to explain his colossal fall from grace and his relationship with Trump, his seeming opposite?  Author Fran Reiter provides explanations in RUDY & ME: A POLITICAL STORY OF LOVE & BETRAYAL. Reiter spent a decade working with Giuliani through three mayoral campaigns and his first term in office, during which she served as his Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Planning. Through personal recollections, interviews with former colleagues and New York’s political and business movers and shakers who witnessed the many stages of Giuliani’s professional life, and an examination of the historical events that undoubtedly played a role in shaping his transformation, RUDY & ME: A POLITICAL STORY OF LOVE & BETRAYAL will attempt to make sense of the Giuliani train wreck.

For fifty years, Bob Woodward has been the most important journalist in America. His reporting on the Watergate scandal with Carl Bernstein prompted the only presidential resignation in U.S. history, as well as the classic All the President’s Men. His reporting during the pandemic took the public behind closed doors of the Trump presidency. He has covered nine presidents for the Washington Post and in twenty best-selling books, thoroughly chronicled the nation’s governance and power structure. WOODWARD is William McKeen’s upcoming biography of the great reporter’s life and work, and an examination of the press in modern American society. In an era when journalists have been cast as “enemies of the people” by the White House, a look into the life and work of our pre-eminent reporter is timely. McKeen, who chairs the journalism program at Boston University, is the author of Outlaw Journalist, a biography of Hunter S. Thompson, and the author or editor of twelve other nonfiction books.

When France suddenly went into quarantine for ten weeks last spring, the pendulum of distinguished Paris food writer and restaurant reviewer Alexander Lobrano’s life abruptly stopped. Shut in, his first instinct was to cook with a vengeance, and then once the initial shock had faded, he recognized the gift of this sudden void was finally having the time to reflect on the frantically busy existence he’d created. Introspection brought to the surface the sordid trauma he’d been fleeing for years, so when quarantine ended, he left Paris for a tiny French village and the stone house bought as a vacation getaway. In MY SECOND FRENCH LIFE, Lobrano tells of how at an age when many people are thinking of retiring, he started a whole new life instead. Instead of observing and judging the work of chefs, winemakers, bakers, and others, he decided he wanted to make and do himself. This led to an apprenticeship with one of the most famous cheese mongers in France, going to bread school in the Cathar country, learning to cook cassoulet, make organic olive oil, and work in the vineyards of a winemaker a ten-minute bicycle-ride away from his house. After three decades as a dyed-in-the-wool Parisian, he fell in love with France all over again by giving up urban glamour, gastronomy and anonymity to become part of a village—a fascinating and endlessly surprising experience that made him a great cook, deepened his knowledge of the country he has made his home, and gifted him a wry but resonant self-acceptance.

The world of beauty is overwhelming, and it can often leave many people wondering where to even begin. Maria Antoinette Loggins, affectionately known as “The Queen of Beauty” by her 375,000 loyal followers, has mastered the art of simplifying beauty. She is an inspiration to the black women who turn to her for easy-to-follow beauty and lifestyle tips. From eye catching hairstyles to flawless skin, Maria has become proficient in repackaging complicated beauty routines and making them digestible for the everyday woman. THE MARIA ANTOINETTE BEAUTY MANUAL is a perfect combination of her professional experience as a licensed cosmetologist and content creator, and her personal passion for all things beauty and lifestyle. Written from the perspective of a busy wife, mother, and business owner, this book seeks to empower readers to embark on their personal beauty journey, without asking them to sacrifice a lot of their time. Readers will discover their skincare needs based on skin type, how to achieve the perfect blow-out at home, how to apply blush according to face shape, and all-natural DIY beauty recipes ranging from creamy body butters to recipes for lightening dark armpits. In THE MARIA ANTOINETTE BEAUTY MANUAL, Loggins provides readers with hundreds of tips and tricks of the trade, plus over 30 step-by-step DIY recipes for developing the perfect beauty regimen.

The Class A Minor League Baseball team known as the Asheville Tourists has played ball at McCormick Field since 1924. Its honeysuckle-wrapped ballpark is tucked into the side of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where Ty Cobb and Jackie Robinson ran the bases, and Babe Ruth was reported to have died. No, really. They still call Ruth’s illness “The Bellyache Heard ‘Round the World.” THE INCIDENTAL TOURIST by Ryan McGee is the story of the perfect summer at this perfect ballpark at a perfect time. In the summer of ‘94, Michael Jordan played in the Minors, O.J. Simpson went on the run, and the major leagues were marching toward the end of a plank that would ultimately cancel the World Series. But in Asheville, a cast of you-can’t-make-‘em-up characters joined forces to create a summertime narrative that is equal parts Walter Mitty, Roger Angell, David Sedaris and Crash Davis (who hit his last homer in Bull Durham at, yep, McCormick Field). They formed the foundation for three players who would ultimately make it the big leagues. From James the Mountain Man, who was paid to fight off snakes behind the outfield wall to retrieve foul balls, to the teenage outfielder who was the nephew of Roberto Clemente, to the pregame spectacle known as Captain Dynamite and his Exploding Coffin of Death, the characters of THE INCIDENTAL TOURIST created memories for thousands of fans—and helped transform a kid (the author) into a man.

There is something temptingly tidy about the idea of adoption; a family with extra love and resources meets a child in need of both.  Angela Tucker, America’s most well-known voice in transracial adoption was herself adopted into a loving family, yet she is not fully claimed by the Black community and is given an honorary membership status within the white community. Angela’s birth mother placed her for adoption due to poverty, subsequently catapulting Angela into an idyllic upper-middle class life. Angela code-switches masterfully in order to broker a relationship between her adoptive parents and her biological mother, a woman who had never met a white person who wasn’t racist. Ultimately, Angela is well positioned to help bridge America’s racial divide, as both a victim of the system of white supremacy and a beneficiary of the system of white supremacy. She skillfully uses her brown skin and familiarity with whiteness to serve as a source of education and fodder for America’s white healing. In a bold and fresh addition to the national conversation about race, THE ADOPTED LIFE goes beyond the fairy-tale narrative of adoption, demonstrating through Angela’s experiences how systemic racism, not poverty, was the cause for her adoption and how white guilt fuels transracial adoption and is twisted to look like a strategy to rectify the racial ills of America’s past. 

Flowers are a gesture of kindness that stir a flurry of emotions. The simple act of gifting fresh blooms can inspire a smile, re-kindle an old connection, or bring laughter to the calamity of life. When receiving flowers, one instantly reaches for the note tucked gently among the petals. Who is it from? What does it say? This anticipation is invariably met with joy. That little message accompanying a bundle of hydrangeas or a triumphant mix of ranunculus tells a story, one short tale between two people. With The Bouqs Co.’s signature warmth and humor, ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE NOTES, curated by Bouqs founder John Tabis, delivers a parcel of those moments told through the brevity of bouquet notes. After a trying year, the unwavering sentiment of flowers has not waned nor has the millions of missives submitted with each Bouqs order. In fact, both blossomed as a staple of social-distance connection. Full of beautiful photos and illustrations, the collection taps into these sincere human interactions—some between lovers or old chums, others playful notes to self, a peek into a struggling poet searching for words that rhyme with “roses are multicolored”, or hugs when they cannot be given. We naturally crave an authentic look into life’s most honest moments and this book offers a glimpse into those truths and the exchanges that represent the comedies and gravities of everyday life. Like cute little Shakespearean sonnets among peonies, this collection will be a gift to celebrate and savor, much like the blooms themselves. (Please note: this project is represented by Stacey Glick.) 

While tropical drinks are at their most popular point in fifty years, it hasn’t been that way very long. A decade ago, Garret Richard was a college student deeply into ’50 and ’60s lounge music, with a budding curiosity about the forgotten cocktails they sometimes saluted. It was a time when classic recipes were not yet readily available in bars, and sourcing the real recipes and ingredients for home bartending was beyond easy reach. Garret had to become a researcher, and a bartender, just to try these storied beverages for himself. Today, Garret is a well-respected practitioner of bar arcana in craft cocktail settings across New York, as well as his own pop-up known as Exotica, which since 2017 has drawn capacity crowds of cocktail fans, bartenders, and industry insiders. In TROPICAL ITCH: REINVENTING THE RETRO COCKTAIL CANON—ESSENTIAL TECHNIQUES FOR THE NEXT WAVE OF PRO AND HOME BARTENDERS, Garret and co-author Ben Schaffer (The Dead Rabbit Drinks Manual) reveal 60 recipes, reimagined and original, that demonstrate how to apply updated techniques and technologies to the tropical genre—acid adjusting, nitro infusing, brix adjusting, blender tricks—delivering both new flavors and the easy-to-follow processes, suitable for home bartenders and pros alike, that bring them about. By showing the thinking behind every drink’s development, the book offers a rare window on a top bartender’s creative process, and an advance look at the next wave of ingenious imbibing. (Please note: this project is represented by Stacey Glick.)

On a warm September day in 2007 archaeologist Craig Lee noticed what looked like a branch poking through the snow while hiking in the mountains near Yellowstone National Park. The “branch” turned out to be the 10,300-year-old shaft of an ancient hunting weapon called an atlatl or throwing dart. Ice patches are unusual archaeological sites, but the chance discovery of a 5,300-year-old mummy melting out of the Alps in 1991 inspired Lee and many others to scour the edges of melting patches of ice in search of other clues to our past. Unlike the stones and bones archaeologists usually find, ice patch artifacts include leather shoes, fur clothing, wooden cups, and bows and arrows with bird feather fletching still attached. Organic artifacts like these decay in a few years if left exposed to the elements, but ice and snow has kept these objects in a state of suspended animation for hundreds or even thousands of years. That is until the ice began to melt. MELT: FINDING MEANING IN THE LOSS OF ICE uncovers our long-forgotten relationship to the alpine since the end of the last ice age. Through first-hand travels from the Alps to the Rocky Mountains, science writer Lisa Baril follows ice patch archaeologists as they race to recover these ancient relics before the ice melts and the objects within disappear forever. Lisa Baril is a science writer who works with national parks to help them better understand the ecosystems they manage. (Please note: this project is represented by Jessica Papin.)

What do chemotherapy, dialysis, blood transfusions, “stents,” strokes, and COVID 19 have in common? They all require a blood circulation to operate. Yet, that simple and familiar idea took over two thousand years to evolve to our present state of understanding and, when established, revolutionized the life sciences and inaugurated modern medicine. IN SEARCH OF THE WINE-DARK SEA WITHIN is the biography of an idea—an overlooked but crucial chapter of the Scientific Revolution. The book opens in ancient China, India, and archaic Egypt, moves to classical Greece and Rome, and proceeds through the Renaissance to end in Europe and the American colonies during the Enlightenment.  The narrative traces the psychology (and psychopathology) of the men who posited that the blood actually moves, those who fostered that idea into a circulation, those who supported it and those who labored hard to exterminate it, as well as those who manipulated it for personal gain.  Charting a course across time and geography, illuminating figures celebrated and obscure, author and physician Dhun Sethna leads readers on a remarkable journey that explores the discovery of the circulation, the development of a theory of animal heat, and the early physiology of respiration.  Epic in scope but human in scale, Sethna aims to do for the circulation what the Emperor of All Maladies did for cancer.  Dhun Sethna is a practicing academic and clinical cardiologist with a lifelong interest in the classics and in history, especially the history of medicine. (Please note: this project is represented by Jessica Papin.)

For the last three decades, journalist and historian Robert Strauss (author of JOHN MARSHALL: THE FINAL FOUNDER and WORST. PRESIDENT. EVER) has been collecting oral histories from those who lived in his hometown of Cherry Hill, New Jersey—perhaps the most prototypical suburb of the post WWII era. From these histories, Strauss uncovered a narrative that completely rebuts the stereotypical image of the suburbs as islands of lily-white conformity. In WE’RE HOME, Strauss posits that those who settled those suburbs were, in fact, pioneers like those who settled the American West. While they drove station wagons instead of Conestoga wagons, these settlers had to start everything, from Little Leagues and PTAs to community swimming pools and education systems. And rather than developing into a Stepford community, successful towns like Cherry Hill had their own oddments: a world-class horserace track; a Little League World Series team that was integrated before the nearby Philadelphia Phillies; the first shopping mall on the East Coast; and the Latin Casino, which hosted the Sinatras and Supremes, Steve and Eydie and Sammy Davis, Jr. WE’RE HOME will look at how life really was in the post-War suburb and bring the story forward to the present day to show where those suburbs have gone and what they will go through the 21stCentury. (Please note: this project is represented by John Rudolph.)

The Bible is full of disability stories. Stories of Isaac’s blindness, Jacob’s limp, or Moses’ stutter have been told and retold by commentators who regard disability as misfortune, as a metaphor for spiritual incapacity, or as a challenge to be overcome. BREATH AND BONE: DISABILITY POLITICS AND THE BIBLE turns that perspective on its head. Drawing on her unique expertise as a scholar, rabbi, and disability activist, Julia Watts Belser reads biblical texts through the prism of her own life on wheels, cutting through objectification and inspiration alike to offer a powerful new account of disability in biblical narrative and contemporary culture. Braiding spiritual perspectives with wry activist insights, BREATH AND BONE combines a lyrical love of tradition with incisive political analysis and an unflinching refusal to turn away from violence done in the Bible’s name. Understanding disability politics and their importance in the broader movement for social justice, Belser argues compellingly, can transform our spiritual lives. An associate professor at Georgetown University and co-founder of their Disability Studies program, Belser is a leading expert on disability and religion and an articulate advocate for queer feminist religious ethics. A sought-after speaker in synagogues, churches, and universities around the world, she leads trainings for Christian and Jewish clergy at the Jewish Theological Seminary and Yale Divinity School. She held a prestigious Women's Studies in Religion fellowship at Harvard Divinity School and frequently collaborates on creative programs with artists and performers in Berlin, Scotland, and New York City. (Please note: this project is represented by Sharon Pelletier.)

During the summer of 2020, after the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and numerous other unarmed Black citizens, Dr. Aretina Rochelle Hamilton began to ponder the everyday horrors of anti-Black violence in the US. This violence is not new; it was baked into the landscape and psyche of this country. In THE FURIOUS PASSAGE OF A BLACK GEOGRAPHER, Dr. Hamilton provides historical context for racist violence. She maps her journey to becoming a cultural geographer beginning with her childhood observations of the changing landscape of her hometown, Louisville, Kentucky in the 1980s. From an early age, Hamilton was keenly aware of the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexuality reflected in school integration, recession, and urban revitalization. These early observations planted the seeds for being a critical scholar. Yet, this journey was rife with landmines and roadblocks—bumping up against barriers of being #blackintheivorytower while attending graduate school at a PWI, coming out and negotiating multiple identities in the Black mecca of Atlanta, and leading race & diversity work at elite institutions. Using a cultural geographic lens, Hamilton shows how one life story is always interwoven not just with those of the people who have come before us, but also the places and spaces that facilitate everyday racist violence in the United States. Ultimately, THE FURIOUS PASSAGE OF A BLACK GEOGRAPHER illustrates how violence is imprinted on lands, structures and bodies and how continued white placemaking practices result in the compulsive displacement of Black people from their homes and communities. (Please note: this project is represented by Amy Elizabeth Bishop.)

We hear “Just be yourself and you’ll be fine” from an early age—a simple truth that’s not so simple to execute, especially after we grow up and become accustomed to meeting other’s expectations, fulfilling roles we’ve been assigned, and in general, faking it until we make it. Turns out, our parents were right, because the path to every person’s biggest success starts with showing who they truly are. It’s the irreplaceable gift that sets them apart from the crowd that no one else can duplicate. But how do you do that and where do you even start? Seven-time Emmy winner and media personality Jeanne Sparrow shows you how to discover and express the value of what’s inside you in FEARLESS AUTHENTICITY: INSIDER SECRETS TO LEAD BETTER, SELL MORE AND SPEAK SENSATIONALLY. Jeanne shares her journey to uncovering her own fearless authenticity, mining the lessons of childhood from her parents, sharing the discoveries she made working closely with comedy legends like Bernie Mac, George Wallace and Steve Harvey, and the wisdom gleaned from countless interviews with celebrities, authors and titans of business that have kept her on television and radio for over 30 years. Whether you’re looking to move forward in your career or make better connections in your life, FEARLESS AUTHENTICITY is a real conversation about success and stepping into your personal power—an easy-to-follow guide whenever there’s a team to lead, a sale to close, a speech to deliver, or anytime you need to stand out, speak up and be heard. (Please note: this project is represented by Amy Elizabeth Bishop.)

Rights Round Up

Audible acquired audio rights to GOOD ENOUGH and STRONG ENOUGH by Kelly Elliott, as well as HEART BONES by Colleen Hoover, CHRISTMAS EVER AFTER by Karen Schaler, and DEAD PRETTY by Samantha Towle. Audio rights to SHATTERED by Kathryn Casey, THE TRUEST THING by Samantha Young, POPCORN AND POLTERGEISTS; GARTERS AND GARGOYLES; CAT’S PAWS AND CURSES; and TANGLES AND TREASONSby Nancy Warren went to Tantor. Recorded Books has audio rights to BETWEEN PERFECT AND REAL by Ray Stoeve and THE GIRL EXPLORERS by Jayne Zanglein.

OddBot, Inc. optioned film rights to AJ Hartley’s STEEPLEJACK series. Lauren Levine optioned film rights to Colleen Hoover’s HOPELESS. Molly Wizenberg’s THE FIXED STARS was optioned for film by Miramax Television. Charlotte McConaghy’s MIGRATIONS was optioned for film by Sunny March with Claire Foy producing. Sesame Workshop for Ghostwriter optioned film rights to Jewell Parker Rhodes’s BAYOU MAGIC. Yousef Bashir’s THE WORDS OF MY FATHER was optioned for film by MA Productions. Michael Arceneaux’s I DON’T WANT TO DIE POOR was optioned by HBO Max.

Zomer & Keuning acquired Dutch rights to LAYLA by Colleen Hoover, Topseller acquired Portuguese rights, Eksmo acquired Russian rights, Albatros acquired Albanian rights, Otwarte acquired Polish rights, IBIS acquired Bulgarian rights, dtv acquired German rights, Hugo acquired French rights, Naklada Neptun acquired Croatian rights, while Ephesus acquired Turkish rights to HEART BONES, dtv acquired German rights, IBIS acquired Bulgarian rights, Naklada Neptun acquired Croatian rights, and Otwarte acquired Polish rights. Otwarte also acquired Polish rights to her FINDING PERFECT, and Hugo acquired French rights to REGRETTING YOU, while Lindhardt & Ringhof acquired Danish rights. ,Burda acquired Polish rights to her VERITY and Laguna acquired Serbian rights.HarperCollins acquired German rights to Samantha Young’sBLACK TANGLED HEART, Ucila acquired Slovenian rights, and Burda acquired Polish rights, while Piatkus acquired UK rights to her THE TRUEST THING, Orange acquired Bulgarian rights, Ucila acquired Slovenian rights. Ikar also acquired Slovakian rights to her AS DUST DANCES. Bota Squiptare acquired Albanian rights to WHITE FRAGILITY by Robin DiAngelo, Klim acquired Danish rights, Akashi Shoten acquired Japanese rights, and Edita X acquired Portuguese rights. Albatros acquired Czech rights to FROM LUKOV WITH LOVE by Mariana Zapata, while Heli Kirjastus acquired Estonian rights, and Newton Compton acquired Italian rights to her LUNA AND THE LIE and Nemesis acquired Turkish rights to DEAR AARON. Bota Squiptare acquired Albanian rights to 13 THINGS MENTALLY STRONG PEOPLE DON’T DO by Amy Morin, Hermes acquired Bulgarian rights, and Storyside acquired Bulgarian audio rights. Editora Charme acquired Brazilian rights to EXISTENCE, PREDESTINED, CEASELESS, and LEIF by Abbi Glines, Maxim acquired Hungarian rights to FOREVER TOO FAR and HOLD ON TIGHT, while Futami Shobo acquired Japanese rights to FALLEN TOO FAR. Saga Egmontacquired Dutch rights to ON THE ISLAND and UNCHARTED by Tracey Garvis-Graves, and Eksmo acquired Russian rights to ON THE ISLAND. Ciela Norma acquired Bulgarian rights to Tarryn Fisher’s THE OPPORTUNIST and DIRTY RED, while Perseus acquired Turkish rights to I CAN BE A BETTER YOU. Saga acquired various Scandinavian rights to David Morrell’s LEAGUE OF NIGHT AND FOG, EXTREME DENIAL, and BURNT SIENNA, Finnish rights to FIRST BLOOD; RAMBO II; FRATERNITY OF THE STONE; THE FIFTH PROFESSION; and TESTAMENT, and Dutch rights to FIRST BLOOD; RAMBO II; RAMBO III; BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE; FRATERNITY OF THE STONE; LEAGUE OF NIGHT AND FOG; THE FIFTH PROFESSION; THE COVENANT OF THE FLAME; ASSUMED IDENTITY; DESPERATE MEASURES; EXTREME DENIAL; DOUBLE IMAGE; BURNT SIENNA; and LONG LOST. Ciela Norman acquired Bulgarian rights to Penelope Douglas’s PUNK 57, while AST acquired Russian rights to NIGHTFALL. Editio Red/Helion acquired Polish rights to Kendall Ryan’s DIRTY LITTLE SECRET and THE ROOM MATE, while Kobo acquired Dutch rights to the HITCHED series. Bou(k)tique acquired Hebrew rights to Samantha Towle’s BREAKING HOLLYWOOD and Newton Compton acquired Italian rights to FINDING STORM.Turkish rights to DAUGHTER OF SPARTA by Claire M. Andrews weresold to Yabanci. Krista Ashe’s THE PAIRING was sold for Italian publication to Newton Compton. A DEADLY TURN by Claire Booth will be published in Hungarian by Reader’s Digest Hungary. Jessica Brody’s SAVE THE CAT! WRITES A NOVEL, based on the books by Blake Snyder, went to Nour Books for Indonesian publication. Belas-Letras acquired Brazilian rights to STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN by Richard Cole with Richard Trubo. THEY NEVER LEARN by Layne Fargo went to Perseus for Turkish publication. Sydney Landon’s FRACTURED was sold to Konvymolykepzo for Hungarian rights. LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB by Malinda Lo went to Hodder for UK publication. Yabanci acquired Turkish rights to BLOOD WATER PAINT by Joy McCullough. THE ART OF RESISTANCE by Justus Rosenberg was sold to Shanghai Naquan Cultural Diffusion Co. for simplified Chinese rights. CHRISTMAS EVER AFTER by Karen Schaler went to Baronet for Czech rights. Tess Sharpe’s FAR FROM YOU was sold to Rocco for Brazilian rights. THE COMPLICATION by Suzanne Young went to Perseus for Turkish rights.

RECENT SALES 

Zoe Sivak’s SEASON OF ASHES went to Berkley in a World rights deal by Amy Elizabeth Bishop.

World English rights to IN MY FATHER’S HOUSE by Daniel Black went to Hanover Square Press in a deal by Jim McCarthy.

Viking Books for Young Readers bought World rights to I GUESS I LIVE HERE NOW and BOOK 2 by Claire Ahn in a deal by Jim McCarthy.

World rights to Remy Lai’s GHOST BOOK were sold to Henry Holt Books for Young Readers in a deal by Jim McCarthy.

Mark Johnson’s KENNEALLY CENTER went to Bancroft Press in a World rights deal.

Michael Bourret sold CHASING AFTER KNIGHT and BOOK 2 by Heather Buchta to Penguin Workshop in a World rights deal.

World rights to Matt Paxton’s AARP’s KEEP THE MEMORIES, LOSE THE STUFF were sold to Portfolio.

North American rights to VANQUISHING OUR MONSTERS by Sarah Rose Cavanagh sold to Beacon Press in a deal by Jessica Papin.

HEALING GROUNDS by Liz Carlisle went to Island Press in a World English rights deal by Jessica Papin.

John Pavlovitz’s HIGH: A LENT DEVOTIONAL was sold to Chalice Press in a World rights deal by Sharon Pelletier.

North American rights to BRONX ZOOM by Bryan Hoch went to Triumph Books in a deal by Stacey Glick.

Evan Griffth’s MANATEE SUMMER was sold to Quill Tree Books for World English rights by Michael Bourret.

WEAPONIZING RELIGIOUS FREEDOM by Andrew Seidel was sold to Sterling in a World rights deal.

Rebecca Barone’s ENIGMA was sold to Henry Holt Books for Young Readers in a World rights deal by Michael Bourret.

YOUR PERFECT NURSERY by Naomi Coe went to Tiller Press in a North American rights deal by Sharon Pelletier.

North American rights to LAID AND CONFUSED by Maria Yagoda went to St. Martin’s Press in a deal by Sharon Pelletier.

Jim McCarthy sold World rights to Tehlor Kay Mejia’s PAOLA SANTIAGO AND THE SANCTUARY OF SHADOWS to Rick Riordan Presents/Hyperion.

Joy McCullough-Carranza’s ENTER THE BODY was sold to Dutton in a World English rights deal by Jim McCarthy.

THE TASTE OF GINGER and a second untitled book by Mansi Shah were sold to Lake Union/Amazon in a World rights deal by Lauren Abramo.

Jim McCarthy sold World English rights to Maria Romasco Moore’s KRAZYTOWN to Delacorte.

Maya Kaimal’s TOASTING, TARKA & MASALA was sold to Clarkson Potter in a World rights deal.

Triumph Books bought North American rights to UNTITLED BASEBALL SCOUTING BOOK by Jonathan Mayo in a deal by Stacey Glick.

Jessica Papin sold MOSTLY DEAD by Lisa Bailey to Chicago Review Press for World rights.

Viking Penguin bought World rights to LIBERATION LOGIC: THE PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE by Arianne Shahvisi in a deal by Jessica Papin.

Nancy Jooyoun Kim’s next UNTITLED book was sold to Park Row Books in a World rights deal by Amy Elizabeth Bishop.

World rights to OUT THERE edited by Saundra Mitchell went to Inkyard Press in a deal by Jim McCarthy.

Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s bought World English rights to WHEREFORE ART THOU BEATRICE QUINN? by Serena Kaylor.

Hawon Jung’s FLOWERS OF FIRE was sold to BenBella Books in a World rights deal by Amy Elizabeth Bishop.

Jim McCarthy sold STILETTO SISTERHOOD by Fallon DeMornay to Wattpad Publishing for World rights.

World rights to BRIDGES AND ISLANDS by Ismée Williams and Rebecca Bálcarcel went to Inkyard Press in a deal by Jim McCarthy. 

Erin Soderberg Downing’s CONTROLLED BURN was sold to Scholastic in a World rights deal by Michael Bourret.

World rights to TECHNO-SOCIAL SPACE TIME by Cecilia Saixue Watt were sold to Dutton in a deal by Jessica Papin.

Stacey Glick sold THE VEGETABLE BUTCHER by Cara Mangini to Workman for World rights.

Chicago Review Press bought AFTERSHOCKS by Lori Polydoros in a World rights deal by Ann Leslie Tuttle.

Ullas Karanth’s AMONG TIGERS was sold to Chicago Review Press in a World rights deal.

Jim McCarthy sold CHAMP AND MAJOR by Joy McCullough-Carranza to Dial Books for Young Readers in a World rights deal.

St. Martin’s Press bought THE METH LUNCHES by Kim Foster in a North American rights deal by Stacey Glick.

WINDFALL by Erika Bolstad went to Sourcebooks in a World English deal by Jessica Papin.

Daniel Black’s BLACK ON BLACK was sold to Hanover Square Press in a World English rights deal by Jim McCarthy.

World rights to BLACK WOMEN’S WELLNESS by Dr. Melody T. McCloud were sold to Sounds True in a deal by Stacey Glick.

Chicago Review Press bought AMONG TIGERS by Ullas Karanth in a World rights deal.

World rights to Book 4 in the FORTUNES OF TEXAS series by Nancy Robards Thompson were sold to Harlequin in a deal by Ann Leslie Tuttle.

Tara Taylor Quinn’s untitled fourth book in the FUREVER YOURS series went to Harlequin in a World rights deal by Ann Leslie Tuttle.

Jessica Papin sold RACE RULES by Fatimah Gilliam to McGraw-Hilll in a World rights deal.

Atheneum bought LET US MARCH ON! by Yohuru Williams and Michael G. Long in a World rights deal by John Rudolph.

WINDFALL by Sandra SG Wong went to HarperCollins Canada in a North American rights deal by Lauren Abramo.

Michael Arceneaux’s I HOPE I ALWAYS STAY THIS COUNTRY was sold to Harper in a World rights deal by Jim McCarthy.

World rights to YOUNG RICH WIDOWS by Layne Fargo (with Vanessa Lillie, Kimberly Belle, and Cate Holahan) were sold to Audible Originals, with Sharon Pelletier representing Layne Fargo.

1932: FDR, HOOVER AND THE DAWNING OF A NEW AMERICA by Scott Martelle went to Kensington in a World rights deal.

Atheneum bought ONCE UPON A BOOK by Joy McCullough in a World rights deal by Jim McCarthy.

BECOMING “WE” by Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers went to Revell in a World rights deal by Sharon Pelletier.