Adult Newsletter: September 2022

Up And Coming For Submission

FICTION

When May “Mother May I” Iverson’s mansion burns down with her newlywed husband inside, friends, neighbors, media, and the Iversons’ fans and enemies alike begin speculating and investigating faster than detectives. May is a social media sensation, glamorous-yet-relatable, but the key to her enduring fame is her daughters, who featured in videos from their births through adorable childhoods, difficult adolescences, and terrible teens. But the girls are all grown up now, and their lingering anger and resentment from childhoods stolen by the camera have started to spill over into public view. April is a businesswoman feuding with her mother over IP; June and July are influencers themselves, possibly threatening May’s dominance; January is a theater tech who steers clear of her mother and the limelight; and March…well, March has somehow completely disappeared. Could it be one of the girls who murdered May’s less-than-charming new groom? Or could online sweetheart Mother May I have killed the man she’d just recently married and then burned down her dream home to cover it up? Or could it be one of us, the fawning yet fickle mob of media consumers? THE INFLUENCERS is award-winning YA author Anna-Marie McLemore’s first novel for adults, told in the collective voice of the online audience watching the family’s every move, reminiscent of The Virgin Suicides, and in the vein of other compulsively readable family dramas, like The Family Fang and Dava Shastri’s Last Day. (Please note, Michael Bourret is the agent on this project.)

When Guy’s ex-BFF Mal desperately texts him for help out of the blue, Guy drops everything to go find him—not that he has much to drop. The once-inseparable pair haven’t been together much after a horrific, fatal accident in high school; and in the seven years since, Mal has seemingly thrived, while Guy has withered. Desperate to reconnect, Guy heads off to Hortorum Co-Op, where Mal has been living for the past year. Trouble is, Mal is nowhere to be found, but the co-op’s members don’t want Guy to leave. Even worse: there’s more to this isolated agricultural utopia than its oddly cheery and attractive farmshare residents. At Hortorum, the entire co-op subscribes to the wisdom of a strange hermetic alchemy, led by an unseen academic prophet. Offerings are made to the elements, crops are composted in the fertilized remains of human flesh, and the dead don’t stay dead. Here, the hidden traumas and unspoken secrets between Guy and Mal can’t remain buried for long. Guy unwittingly stumbles further into an occult nightmare that will force him to re-examine everything that went unspoken in his friendship with Mal — if he can survive the harvest. After all, the only thing scarier than living through the empty intimacy of young male friendship is finally confronting it. Debut novelist Alex Trivilino’s THE BAPTIZED is a folk horror novel about the fraught relationships between men and the sometimes bloody search for inner healing. (Please note, Michael Bourret is the agent on this project.)

Rhoda Janzen, author of the #1 New York Times Bestselling Mennonite In A Little Black Dress, knew one day that she’d write about the grand yet derelict mansion she grew up in and its former inhabitants. In 1890s California, three women come together through chance and risk everything to live the lives they desire. Irish immigrant Delia has put herself under the care of an older benefactor who tucks her away outside San Francisco in a mansion in Sunnyvale, purchased for the ease and convenience of hiding a mistress. But Delia is hiding a secret of her own that will soon be making headlines. Uppercrust Isabella’s reality as a rancher’s wife is decidedly not what she expected when she emigrated from Heaton Reddish. She finds Americans boorish and uncouth, but she also has a bigger problem: she has married the wrong brother. She spins the dial on her moral compass, staring down an inquest even as she reinvents herself as a leader of the exclusive, civic-minded Wednesday Club. And then there’s the woman who marries Isabella’s son, Helen. Though college-educated, her father encourages her to look for a rich husband—Helen can’t argue with sound advice. But her husband’s depression requires her to find a unique way to circumvent it—inspired by the real-life brass of the infamous madam Ah Toy. The women’s stories interweave with an untold past, an unsolved murder, and a shocking salvo into the public sphere—defiant measures that suggest, when taken together, happiness may be more of a gamble than a choice. THE WEDNESDAY CLUB nods at the ladies who grieve, the ladies who miscalculate, the ladies who, in spite of everything, pin on flower and veil and try their luck again. (Please note, Michael Bourret is the agent on this project.)

Thirty minutes before a high-profile radio interview, a celebrated historian gets a call from an unlisted number. “I’m looking at you through a rifle scope. Don’t hang up.” He can tell from her accent that the caller is San Maran, an exile from the Caribbean nation he’s been writing about for decades, and when she shoots the coffee cup out of his hand he starts to listen. She has a score to settle with Omar Basto, San Mara’s former dictator and focus of the historian’s work. Assumed dead for decades, Basto has just reappeared via a shaky YouTube video. The sniper, who as a girl fought against the genocidal regime, holds the historian responsible for lionizing Basto’s legacy of violence and destruction, and demands he use his upcoming interview to denounce his life’s work. As the minutes tick down, their phone call is spliced with high-adrenaline flashbacks exploring Basto’s rise to power—the vibrance of the land he terrorized, and the resistance of those he banished from home—delving fearlessly into the darkness and the beauty of human nature while the question of Basto’s return thrums in the background. Drawing on a heavily researched reimagination of the Cuban revolution as well as his family’s personal story of escaping Fidel Castro’s regime, Alexander Sorondo’s ambitious, scorching debut CUBAFRUIT explores pains of displacement, the allure of power, and the tensions between those who make history and those who tell it. Don Winslow meets Junot Diaz in this deeply intelligent, breathtakingly paced literary thriller by the host of the Thousand Movie Project podcast. (Please note: this project is represented by Sharon Pelletier.)

When the police inform Jenifer that her mother, Rita Hale, jumped from the top of her office building, Jenifer insists there must be foul play. But no one believes her. So she plunges into her own investigation—she doesn’t want sympathy; she wants answers. All she finds is a name: Jay Gainsborough. Across the country, Sam Broden meets a cute guy and there’s instant chemistry. But when Jay starts showing glimpses of a bizarre and secretive side, Sam worries he’s seeing someone else. When she probes, she discovers Jay’s dark secrets are connected to a dead woman named Rita Hale and a coworker named Gregory Jackson. Meanwhile, Monica Jones—haunted by guilt connected to Rita’s death, and the constant feeling of being watched—has a fling in a strange city’s hotel with Gregory. She’s planning to forget the night forever until she accidentally stumbles upon a connection between Greg and the dead woman she can’t forget. Now she’s compelled to find out if and what he knows. When the three women’s lives collide, what really happened to Rita points to a truth so reckless that if you tell someone how it ends, like Jenifer, no one will believe you. For fans of The Couple Next Door and Goodnight, Beautiful, Marjorie Brimer’s NO ONE’S FOOL is a breakneck-paced multi-POV thriller diving into the depths of how little we know each other, and what we are capable of when revenge is on the line. (Please note: this project is represented by Sharon Pelletier.)

After getting fired from his last job, Vance Travato thought working at a repair center for worker machines would give him the fresh start he needed. It’s away from the painful sham of his last relationship and the intense, but well-meaning, meddling of his family. And if SynthePro suffers the occasional backlash for their policies and there’s more than one odd individual or two, no workplace is perfect. The positive atmosphere and friendly coworkers are more than enough incentive to keep him there—especially if that friendly coworker is Grayson Sinclair. The two become close, first as friends, then as lovers, despite the disapproval of the company’s sinister head of operations and Vance’s tangled experiences with relationships. But just when things are most promising, SynthePro partners with a new company and employee life swiftly crumbles. Working hours are increased to untenable levels, consumer backlash grows worse, employee behavior becomes erratic, and a terrifying suspicion proves correct: people are disappearing. It’s obvious there’s more to SynthePro than meets the eye, especially with Grayson, whose relationship with the head of operations grows increasingly alarming. When Vance is dismissed over a made-up complaint, he convinces Grayson to leave SynthePro with him and start a new life together—leading to devastating consequences only one of them saw coming. PYGMALION by Rachel Kellis explores how society and capitalism can erode one’s right to exist, and combines the speculative nature of The School for Good Mothers with the emotional resonance of Klara and the Sun. (Please note: this project is represented by Amy Elizabeth Bishop.)

A local celebrity, Josie Babineaux has transformed her family’s modest Louisiana fish shack into a destination Cajun eatery known for a killer hot sauce and a quirky mascot--a rescued brown pelican named Gumbo. A profitable tourist season is predicted for the island until an oil spill threatens Grand Isle and everything Josie loves. Josie seeks salvation in her new hot sauce, a face-melting, Carolina Reaper chili she’s entering in the Ragin’ Cajun Hot Sauce Competition. The $25K prize would save her food business and her family from bankruptcy. But as she races to perfect the sauce before the deadline, troubles boil over with her teenaged daughter and estranged husband. Things can’t seem to get any worse until Hurricane Alex rips into the oil-battered community and wreaks unimaginable havoc. But as the women in her family have done for decades, Josie draws on her inner strength to fight for what matters most . . . her family and Gumbo whose now covered in the tar that washed ashore. Fans of Penguin Bloom and Susan Wiggs’ Sugar and Salt will find WHERE THE PELICANS ROOST by Sharon Wishnow a triumphant debut about hardship, redemption and love as a small Southern community redefines itself in the wake of man-made and natural disasters. (Please note, this project is represented by Ann Leslie Tuttle.)

Fei Lulu always aims to please. So, when her handsome, wealthy boyfriend gets on one knee in front of all their friends and family at the most glamorous restaurant in Shanghai, there’s no acceptable answer but “yes.” Nobody understands her reluctance—nobody, that is, except for her two best friends: Rina, a single career woman tired of being told she’s missing her childbearing years, and Jane, a sharp-tongued housewife whose longing for a luxurious lifestyle always leads to marital spats. Each of them desires something different: freedom, time, beauty. None of them can get it without money. Lulu’s wedding, they realize, is their opportunity. With Shanghai’s elite clamoring to attend, the cash gifts guests will bring will be more than enough to change the women’s lives. To steal the money, all Lulu and her friends need is a crew and a plan—one that doesn’t raise the suspicion of the groom’s vindictive mother, or his rakish but observant best man. But when Lulu realizes how many people’s lives will be upended by their scheme, the reality that they can’t have it all sinks in, and the women must decide if this heist is worth giving up everything, including their friendship. Perfect for fans of the feminist caper in Counterfeit by Kirstin Chen and the sharp humor in Dial A For Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto, THE LEFTOVERS by Sophie Wan provides a dazzling look into Shanghai society and the expectations that women must fight to overcome. (Please note, this project is represented by Michaela Whatnall.)

NON-FICTION

After 25 years as a single mom and decades of overcoming both personal and professional obstacles, Mary Fitzgerald shares her unique trajectory to becoming the breakout star of Netflix’s Top 10 hit reality series Selling Sunset and vice president at The Oppenheim Group, one of the most prominent real estate agencies in Los Angeles. In her new book, SELLING SUNSHINE, Fitzgerald reveals her fundamental principles for those who are determined to chase their dreams, attain success in business and life, and improve their overall well-being. She talks about conquering physical abuse and failed relationships as she worked tirelessly to support herself, her son, and to build a prosperous career. Fitzgerald emboldens those who are ready to work hard and prepared to face adversity with stamina, grit, and dedication. Her journey has been unpredictable, exhilarating, and emotionally and physically demanding at times, but the lessons she’s learned through her many experiences have been invaluable, and she communicates those lessons, along with the strategies she’s developed, as a means of inspiring people to tap into their inner strength and realize their own dreams. This compelling leadership manifesto is sure to draw readers in with its relatable and authentic advice, while offering a behind-the-scenes look at the exclusive and exciting world of reality TV stardom.

Short men often feel like they are doomed. Tall men are perceived to be stronger, more powerful and intelligent. They are more likely to hold higher-ranking positions in the workplace and earn more. It also seems to be a clear advantage in their romantic life: most women prefer tall men. While being tall is often beneficial for women too, height stereotypes are less clear-cut. In THE PSYCHOLOGY OF HEIGHT, science journalist Sandrine Ceurstemont explores where these perceptions might stem from by talking to prominent researchers and psychologists and examining recent scientific studies, combined with compelling first-person accounts. She probes whether they may be innate, biologically-driven or a result of social conditioning. There may be clues in our evolutionary past, as tall people might have better survived encounters with predatory animals, for example, or because tallness may be an indicator of good health. On the other hand, height stereotypes differ across cultures which suggests they may be learned from our environment. The book also investigates how to come to terms with our own height. In extreme cases, psychological interventions such as virtual reality therapy may help even as leg-lengthening surgery is also a growing trend among short men. Social movements which aim to combat traditional perceptions of height may be changing the way we think about height and could pave the way to a more inclusive future.

Science journalist Kristin Hugo has always dearly loved animals. But live animals have the inconvenient habit of running away. So, as a runner who spent countless hours in nature, Hugo started searching for the remains of dead animals. In the shade of deep ravines between the dry yellow hills of California, she found, collected, cleaned, photographed, studied and loved hundreds of dead animals. Unfortunately, carcasses get a bad rap. People think animal remains are “gross” and “dangerous,” and they want the carcasses destroyed. Turned to ash, pollution and landfill. Yet, as you’ll learn in Hugo’s book CARCASS: ON THE AFTERLIVES OF ANIMAL BODIES, we owe so much of our lives to the dead. Carcasses help fill our museums, soil, science labs, jewelry cabinets, wardrobes, stomachs, minds, and hearts. After years of writing about animals, biology, and bones for National Geographic, Newsweek, and PBS Newshour, among others, and gaining over 183,000 followers on her bone-themed TikTok account, Hugo is ready to peel back the flesh of this fascinating, critically important and weird world.

UNMASKED: A PANDEMIC DOCTOR’S STORY OF LOVING, LOSING, AND LEAVING MEDICINE explores the journey of an ER doctor who, at the height of the pandemic, nearly destroys herself to save her patients. Months before a vaccine would become widely available, Dr. Molly Phelps supervises “the tent,” a Covid field hospital crowded with patients struggling to breathe. In the darkest days, she feels like Willy Wonka with a single golden ticket, forced to choose the one patient sick enough to jump the line when a rare bed opens up inside the hospital itself – at times because its prior occupant just died from the virus. But as the most brutal wave recedes, Dr. Phelps is left to confront the harsh truth that American healthcare is not the noble calling she believed it to be, emphasizing profitability over the welfare of its dedicated, battered workforce. For readers of When Breath Becomes Air, UNMASKED is part personal narrative and part harrowing inside view from the pandemic’s front lines as our medical system flirts with the brink of collapse. Award-winning clinician, teacher, and academic journal author Dr. Molly Phelps is a board-certified Emergency Physician who left clinical medicine in late 2021 after nearly two decades of service. She has been interviewed about her departure for NPR and by Pulitzer Prize winner Ed Yong for The Atlantic.

In THE SEVEN-LEGGED SPIDER: HOW WE JUST MIGHT ESCAPE THE WEB OF CHRISTIAN NATIONALISM, Tulane University Political Science Professor Andrew Ward presents the political, theological, and demonological foundations of a once-fringe evangelical movement known as the Seven Mountain Mandate (7MM). Increasingly mainstream from churches to congress, the 7MM holds that “true” Christians must occupy every position of power on the seven mountains of societal influence, namely: Religion, Family, Government, Education, Media, Economics, and Entertainment. To seize these summits, believers are imbued with supernatural powers that range from changing traffic lights to raising the dead. They wage “spiritual warfare” with demonic entities masquerading as school board officials, gay rights activists, and environmental protection agents. On occasion the style of combat becomes more mundane and events like the January 6th Insurrection unfold. The stated goal of 7MMers is the installation of a theocratic totalitarian regime based on a literal interpretation of every word in the Bible. On radio talk shows, at Christian rock concerts, anti-abortion rallies, and immigration hearings, 7MMers labor to establish the socio-political conditions necessary for Christ’s return. As eager as they are for eternal salvation, half the fun will be watching their earthly enemies suffer gruesome apocalyptic tortures. They are after all, not simply humans with opposing views to them, but rather the embodiment of Evil itself, and must be destroyed in Biblically appropriate ways. These beliefs and aspirations serve as the basis for public policy development and implementation for a growing number of conservative political operatives.

In GRIZZLY CONFIDENTIAL: A JOURNEY INTO THE WILD AND SECRET LIFE OF BROWN BEARS, Kevin Grange comes face-to-face with North America’s most fearsome predator, Ursus Arctos Horribilis. Thomas Mangelsen’s iconic wildlife photo of a grizzly catching a salmon in its jaws first piqued Grange’s curiosity about brown bears and his interest only deepened when he worked as a park ranger at Yellowstone and encountered them in the wild for the first time. When the number of human-bear conflicts around his home in Jackson Hole begins to rise, Grange embarks on a journey to learn everything he can about brown bears and answer a central question: can humans learn to coexist with these magnificent creatures? Grange’s quest takes him from his home in the Tetons to an eerie, island of gigantic bruins; from the Bear Center at Washington State University—where scientists believe the secrets of hibernation might help treat diabetes, heart disease and obesity in humans—to the dark underbelly of for-profit wildlife parks, illegal animal trade and black markets, hawking bear bile. Along the way, Grange meets fascinating biologists and activists and discovers everything he knew about grizzlies was wrong. Ultimately Grange’s odyssey leads him to a remote corner of the Alaskan Peninsula where, for the last fifty years, humans have coexisted peacefully alongside the largest gathering of brown bears on the planet. Part-science, part-travelogue and a passionate plea for bear conservation, GRIZZLY CONFIDENTIAL is a lively account for anyone who loves the outdoors and living with wild things.

From Mychal Denzel Smith, the New York Times Bestselling author of Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching and Kirkus Prize-Winning Stakes Is High, comes FROM VIRGINIA: THE STATE THAT MADE A NATION, a historical, cultural and personal reckoning with a state that has been crucial to U.S. identity, yet perpetually overlooked. While it is the birthplace of many famous and influential people (Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Timbaland, Missy Elliott, Pharrell, Allen Iverson, Michael Vick, William Styron, Willa Cather, Nat Turner, Warren Beatty, Ella Fitzgerald, Patsy Cline, Ella Baker, and Steve Bannon, to name a few), as well as the site of important U.S. historical events (the first permanent colony in the Americas established by the British, genocide of the Susquehannock people, the end of the Revolutionary War, the election of the first black governor, and much more), Virginia holds little of the cultural and political cache afforded to places like New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, New Orleans, or Atlanta. By examining these key figures and moments, while also telling his personal story of growing up there ("It was where I was first called a n******, where I drove around listening to cocaine raps from Clipse; where I voted for the first black president"), Smith wrestles with the contradictions of his home state and their implications for understanding the nation as a whole. (Please note: Jessica Papin is the agent on this project.)

This is the story of climate violence, and it’s already far more rampant than most imagine. In large chunks of Africa and Central Asia, climate stresses are pitching farmers and herders against one another. In the Middle East, South Asia, Latin America, and beyond, they’re fueling everything from urban crime to old school piracy. Across many of the world’s most vulnerable landscapes, climate change and other environmental furies are destabilizing dozens of teetering states that can't afford additional crises. And that’s just the current toll. As these changes come thicker and faster, climate stresses threaten to exact the sort of bloodshed that even some rich countries will struggle to withstand. In THE HEAT AND THE FURY, environmental journalist Peter Schwartzstein draws on a decade of original on-the-ground reporting to show the full range of ways and places in which this phenomenon is playing out. Through a compelling cast of characters – soldiers, scientists, spies, farmers, and more, he will tell a vivid, approachable tale that has so far largely been contained within security and scholarly circles. Along the way, Schwartzstein will lay out precisely why climate change is contributing to conflicts both big and small, how that process transpires, and what can be done to disrupt it. Schwartzstein is a regular contributor to National Geographic; his work has appeared in the New York Times, Bloomberg, and the BBC among others. He is a research fellow at the Center for Climate and Security, a Global fellow at the Wilson Center, and a TED fellow. (Please note: Jessica Papin is the agent on this project.)

Alíx Dick and Antero Garcia’s THE COST OF CONVENIENCE tallies the inhumane math of surviving in America as an individual labeled as undocumented. Rather than account for the perspectives of the roughly 11 million people labeled as undocumented in this country, this is a portrait of one individual, Alíx. Built from a crucible of hard-earned trust, the collaborative nature of this book is unlike any other research partnership. Alíx, a filmmaker, worked as a nanny, caretaking for the twin daughters of Antero, a Stanford professor. Embarking on an awkward experiment, Antero remained Alíx’s employer for the first year that the primary research in this book was conducted, a sometimes-uncomfortable power dynamic that they continued to acknowledge even while interviewing experts, engaging in deeply personal dialogue, and reflecting on the sociopolitical ills that harm individuals like Alíx every day. Built from a relentless pursuit of justice and birthed from a shared love for two growing toddlers, this book cast new light on undocumented life in the 21st century. At the heart of this book is a story about Alíx’s flight from her home in Mexico, her journey across America as someone who became undocumented, and the ways that she survived and kept her brother safe. It is a narrative arc about loving and leading in a land that doesn’t love you back. There is a distinctly American tradition of treating people as less than human. The price of not seeing someone–seeing Alíx–as human enough: that’s the cost of American convenience. (Please note: Jessica Papin is the agent on this project.)

What’s your Interview Style? Are you a Charmer, Challenger, Examiner or Harmonizer? After a career in HR hiring thousands of employees, Anna Papalia started Shift Profile in 2011 to teach job seekers and hiring mangers how to interview better. In consulting with Fortune 500 companies, teaching at the Fox School of Business and working with thousands of clients, she discovered that conventional interviewing advice doesn’t work. Her groundbreaking book, THE FOUR INTERVIEW STYLES: DISCOVER THE POWER OF YOU TO MAKE THE BEST IMPRESSION will completely revolutionize the way we interview by identifying the four interview styles, which are based on personality and behavioral factors. For instance, a Charmer goes into interviews thinking, “I want to be liked”, while Challengers think, “I want to be me”, Examiners “I want to get it right” and Harmonizers “I want to adapt”, which sets each of them up for very different experiences. No other interviewing book addresses these sometimes subtle but incredibly important differences. Anna shares her research and client stories to unpack each style in detail and teach their strengths and weaknesses. THE FOUR INTERVIEW STYLES offers a dynamic, scientifically validated approach that provides pragmatic actionable tips and insightful self-awareness that will revolutionize how hiring managers and job seekers alike communicate in an interview. Simply put, there’s no interview prep book like this on the market (think Strengths Finder for interviews), and it is sure to be a category defining blockbuster. (Please note, Stacey Glick is the agent on this project.)

Society has been indoctrinated by alcohol. Booze holds a monopoly on the human experience. From rites of passage, holidays, entertainment, and mood management, it’s a common denominator of humanity. Alcohol is not only accepted but actually expected from people as they navigate adulthood; a social category so nuanced -- almost nothing else can stand with it. That’s horrible news for those emotionally or chemically prone to problematic drinking. On the heels of the pandemic, an alarming number of adults are relying on booze as their co-pilots and emotional support beverages. The well-educated, the stay-at-home mom, the newly-corporate etc., are equally susceptible to entering into an unhealthy relationship with alcohol. The road to recovery is paved with fear, shame, secrets, and often unkept promises. It’s a daunting endeavor -- and an industry that has become quite polarized by cost, labels, and one-size-fits-all pedagogy. Enter BURYING BOOZE from former high school principal, coach, entrepreneur, speaker, and podcaster Daniel Patterson. With twenty-plus years in education, currently a therapeutic school director for multiple schools in LA, coupled with his near-decade of sobriety, Daniel invites readers to evaluate their relationship with alcohol through an equally integral part of humanity: grief. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. The big five. They are ubiquitous., inescapable, and shape-shifting. BURYING BOOZE curates raw introspection and evokes achievable, actionable changes in readers by focusing on the parallels between sobriety and grief. Void of judgment, lush with anecdotes, and reader-specific activities, BURYING BOOZE will reshape the conversation around chosen sobriety. (Please note: this project is represented by Stacey Glick.)

Dr. Mireya Mayor, known as “the female Indiana Jones” was an NFL cheerleader before becoming a world-renowned primatologist, National Geographic Explorer, Fulbright Scholar, and TV wildlife correspondent. At age 23, she set off to the most remote and unexplored region of the Amazon, and over the last two decades, she’s been charged by gorillas, chased by elephants, and survived a plane crash in Congo. The daredevil daughter of Cuban immigrants has led expeditions up vertical cliffs, trekked 1000 miles across Africa and is the resident scientist on a hit TV series searching for evidence of Bigfoot. A highly sought out speaker, Mireya has inspired hundreds of audiences across the nation. In HER WILDNESS, a powerfully emotional saga of exploration, love, loss, motherhood, risk, failure, acceptance and forgiveness, this explorer and mother of six takes readers on a journey, beginning on the colorful streets of Little Havana, where her obsession with animals and adventure began, to remote and unexplored jungles across the globe. Mireya entwines her story as a beautiful woman, struggling to hold onto her femininity in the male dominated world of exploration, driven by the personal desire to find the father who rejected her as a baby, and with sharing lessons learned from leading dozens of expeditions, including the importance of grasping opportunities, owning stereotypes, taking risks, using fear as a superpower, not setting limits on yourself, balancing a family and career and never giving up despite how impossible it may all seem. (Please note: this project is represented by Stacey Glick.)

The pandemic proved our food system was as fragile as a house of cards. Slaughterhouse workers, deprived of basic protections to keep them safe from the virus, began to fall ill and even die. The resulting plant slowdowns rippled down the food chain: animals destined for slaughter had no place to go. Despite record demand at food banks, farmed animals were exterminated en masse, their bodies piling up in freezers or ground into pulp. Farmers, already among the most likely to die by suicide, were driven deeper into darkness. During this time of loss, the people closest to factory farming—farmers, slaughterhouse workers, and adjacent communities —saw a chance for a new start. Tired of being vulnerable to the fragility and oppression of factory farming, they begin to build a new way. Thought leader, writer, and activist Leah Garcés, in her book TRANSFARMATION: A FIGHT FOR FREEDOM AND FARMING IN RURAL AMERICA, gives readers a front-row seat to an inspiring movement of farmers and rural communities standing up to big animal agriculture. Readers will fall in love with unsung heroes, from struggling farmers who switch to growing hemp and mushrooms to slaughter-bound farmed animals who are rescued to become beloved pets. Garcés illuminates how policies have failed farmers, marginalized rural communities, and farmed animals for decades, and elucidates how we fix a food system that has harmed so many. This is a groundbreaking story of transfarmation, not just of the farms themselves, but of the spirit of rural America. (Please note: this project is represented by Stacey Glick.)

The Battle of Gettysburg may be the most-written-about battle in American history, yet readers rarely hear the actual voices of those who fought there, Union and Confederate. Unless you are willing to plough through the 128-volume Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies or track down the musty volumes of reminiscences and regimental histories which appeared after the War, those voices are only heard indirectly, and sometimes not at all. To fill this need, author of Robert E. Lee: A Life and the New York Times bestseller Gettysburg, Allen C. Guelzo has complied THE GETTYSBURG READER, which brings together seventy-seven first-hand documents from the battle. Sources include generals, line officers and ordinary soldiers; a surgeon, a theologian, and a concert pianist on tour; Abraham Lincoln, drummer-boy Bill Kiefer, Robert E. Lee, Almira Hancock and Baron von Fritsch. Organized into eleven chapters each framed by brief introductions and maps, readers can now follow the battle like never before through the eyes and ears of those who were there. (Please note: this project is represented by John Rudolph.)

In 1992, Guns N’ Roses and Metallica were the two biggest bands in the world. A co-headlining stadium tour seemed like a no-brainer for these multi-platinum superstars. But each band had taken a wildly different path to reach the top of the hard-rock heap, and their conflicting personalities and etiquette would quickly result in dysfunction and disaster on the road. In THRASH OF THE TITANS: HOW GUNS N’ ROSES AND METALLICA SEALED THEIR FATES ON THEIR JOINT TOUR, music journalist Bryan Rolli (Ultimate Classic Rock, Billboard, Forbes) explores how G&R and Metallica clawed their way to chart-topping success, and how their ill-fated joint trek foreshadowed the radically different trajectories they would both take over the next 25 years. Rolli will deliver an equally salacious and sympathetic account of one of the most disaster-prone tours in rock history, one on which legacies were cemented, relationships were shattered and both musicians and audiences were brought to their knees. (Please note: this project is represented by John Rudolph.)

On a March morning in 1942, Elaine Buchman Yoneda, leftist activist and daughter of Russian Jews, stared up at the Los Angeles building where she’d been ordered to relinquish her three-year old son for transport to a concentration camp. The order to transport him, alongside anyone on the West Coast with even “one drop of Japanese blood,” had been signed by another Jewish American, Colonel Karl R. Bendetsen, a man whose ambition led him to hide, deny, and eventually erase his own ethnicity. Elaine’s Japanese-American husband, Karl, was already in Manzanar, but would soon go to war on the Pacific front, meaning their son would go to Manzanar’s orphanage unless Elaine convinced the government to imprison her, too, though it would mean abandoning her white daughter from a previous marriage. A WHITE WIFE IN MANZANAR: THE TRUE STORY OF PASSION, BETRAYAL, MURDER & “MIXED BLOOD” IN A JAPANESE-AMERICAN CONCENTRATION CAMP by Tracy Slater, follows the explosive path of the only Jewish-Japanese-American family imprisoned in the U.S. WWII mass incarceration, from entry to escape to aftermath, as well as Bendetsen’s legacy, which descends into infamy. A WHITE WIFE IN MANZANAR uncovers the untold story of thousands of mixed-race-family members, the devastating family separations they endured, and the depth of racial obsession behind our government’s efforts to imprison them. Through the Yonedas’ story, Slater examines the human struggle to face our complex identities, the dangers of denying them, and the power they can fuel. (Please note: this project is represented by Amy Elizabeth Bishop.)

Parodied and mimicked in the tapestry of pop culture, The Bachelor’s impact on our media landscape is undeniable. Spread across the nation, engaged viewers create mounds of content, from memes to thinkpieces to searing critiques and capital-d Discourse. Yet a persistent judgment exists around reality TV in general, and dating shows in particular, which are considered by many to be “trashy,” a term that reeks of sexism and snobbery. Ilana Masad, culture writer, book reviewer, and author of the critically acclaimed novel All My Mother’s Lovers and Stevie Seibert Desjarlais, assistant professor and pop culture scholar, are proud to admit that they belong to #BachelorNation, the fandom that devotedly (though not uncritically) follows the ABC franchise’s many offshoots. Contestants have launched influencer careers and there are millions of dollars in product placement at stake, and yet it is the fans who fuel the economy of the franchise. HERE FOR ALL THE REASONS: VOICES OF #BACHELORNATION, edited by Masad and Seibert Desjarlais, is the first anthology of its kind, dedicated to amplifying the loyal fandom and all its criticisms, foibles, fantasies, alternative readings, humor, and drama using this singular pop culture phenomenon. Many wonder: why do we watch this show, really? Why do we keep coming back? Contributors to this anthology offer their personal, political, and critical reasons via essays and other media. In doing so, HERE FOR ALL THE REASONS illuminates the larger cultural implications of reality television viewership and the communities and conversations that emerge from active audience participation. (Please note: this project is represented by Amy Elizabeth Bishop.)

Dreams are the key to powerful transformation. THE SECRET MIND: UNLOCK THE POWER OF YOUR DREAMS TO TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE uses a little known, ancient system of imagery and dreaming, together with insights from modern neuroscience, to guide you to overcome mental blocks, break old stuck patterns of thought and behavior, and change your life. Internationally recognized psychologist and creative dreamwork expert Dr. Bonnie Buckner is one of the few individuals trained in this system -- and the only one to adapt it to dream interpretation for contemporary life. Now after teaching her method privately for over twenty years to creative individuals and business organizations, Dr. Buckner makes it widely available for the first time in THE SECRET MIND. With a Life Plan that includes exercises for understanding the body-basis of dreams and solving their mysteries, and fascinating stories of personal and client dreams, THE SECRET MIND will enhance your creativity, help you manifest and finish projects and conceive imaginative solutions to personal, social, and global challenges. Bonnie Buckner, PhD, is founder and head of the International Institute for Dreaming and Imagery, where she trains practitioners, incubates social change works with performers and artists, develops programs for leadership and government, and works with young dreamers in the Dream Your World Kids program. She is lead faculty and senior fellow at George Washington University’s Center for Excellence in Public Leadership, where her work is used in the eCo Leadership Coaching Certification Program. (Please note: This project is represented by Leslie Meredith.)

In INFECTED: LIFE LESSONS FROM A PARASITE, preeminent parasitologist John Janovy, Jr., reveals startling facts about parasites – the most common way of life among animals on Earth – and explains how their behavior can help us understand our own lives and risks. Parasite Rex meets Black Swan in these absorbing tales from the field, written with an Aldo Leopold-like evocation of the natural world and the philosophical issues that face us today. Humanity’s most difficult problems stem from infective agents in general, including words and ideas that go viral, enter our minds, and alter behavior. The most dangerous germs are actually ideas: the Big Lie, global warming is a myth, vaccines’ side effects are worse than the diseases they prevent. INFECTED answers two important questions: First: What can humans learn from the most reviled yet misunderstood animals on Earth, parasites such as lice, tapeworms, and maggots that can eat a lizard from inside? And second: How can these lessons help us negotiate a world characterized by pandemic disease, ethnic hatred, climate change, mass migration, war, and internet-driven political chaos? The scientific take-home lessons of these parasites are clearly applicable far beyond the laboratory or field. Prize-winning scientist and teacher, author of Keith County Journal, among other works of natural history, and more than 100 scientific papers, John Janovy, Jr., PhD, is emeritus professor of biology of the University of Nebraska and lives in Lincoln. (Please note: this project is represented by Leslie Meredith.)

Women's lives have been intertwined with textile production for as long as there was string. Cloth has served critical protective and economic functions throughout history, but it has also been a way for women to develop and express intellectual and creative abilities, improve their quality of life, engage in political discourse, process difficult experiences, nurture relationships, and transmit cultural practices. That may explain why, for millennia, women have gone well beyond what was necessary for survival to dye yarn, create complex designs, and knit, crochet, and embroider beautiful textiles that represent more than just a piece of fabric. For many women across time and place, making cloth has been central to their ability to create meaning and purpose in life. Textiles moved women's ideas beyond the domestic sphere to give them a voice in the world; it is with thread that women wrote. In WITH HER OWN HANDS: CRAFTING A MEANINGFUL LIFE THROUGH FIBER WORK, psychologist Nicole Nehrig explores women's experience creating textiles drawing on existing and original research and firsthand accounts from fiber artists, art historians, feminist theorists, and indigenous people who continue traditional textile practices today. With a sweeping historical perspective starting from the invention of string approximately 20,000 years ago and ending with the present resurgence of fiber crafts as a hobby, career, and a form of feminist artistic expression, Nicole expands readers' understanding of women as creators of cloth and of fiber work as an expression of the great capacities of our hearts and our minds. (Please note: this project is represented by Kendall Berdinsky.)

Rights Round Up

Lorene Cary’s BLACK ICE and IF SONS, THEN HEIRS went to Recorded Books. Maria Eftimiades’ SINS OF THE MOTHER went to Tantor Media. Suzy Spencer’s WAGES OF SIN and WASTED went to Tantor Media. Samantha Young’s ALWAYS YOU and BE WITH ME went to Tantor. Penelope Douglas’ HELLBENT series went to Blackstone. Colleen Hoover’s SLAMMED and POINT OF RETREAT went to S&S Audio. RL Mathewson’s ANOTHER CRISTMAS FROM HELL, THE PROJECT, and UNTITLED PYTE/SENTINEL #8 went to Audible.

Diana Urban’s ALL YOUR TWISTED SECRETS was optioned for film by The Mediapro Studio. Elizabeth Hunter’s 7TH AND MAIN series was optioned for film by Muse Entertainment and Nicolette Entertainment. NOW I SEE YOU by Nicole C. Kear and BLACK BROTHER, BLACK BROTHER by Jewell Parker Rhodes were optioned for film by EMJAG Productions.

SAVE THE CAT! WRITES A NOVEL by Jessica Brody went to Sira Yayinlari for Turkish rights. Elizabeth Cummins-Munoz’s MOTHERCOIN went to China Worker Publishing House for simplified Chinese rights. Stephanie Foo’s WHAT MY BONES KNOW went to Gom Books for Korean rights and Penguin Random House Culture Development Co for Chinese rights. Kim Holden’s GUS and FRANCO went to Filia for Polish rights. LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB by Malinda Lo went to Desrotino/Infinito Particular for Portuguese rights. Avi Loeb’s NOAH’S SPACESHIP went to Utopia for Greek rights. Tilar Mazzeo’s IRENA’S CHILDREN went to Athra for Arabic rights. David Morrell’s CREEPERS, SCAVENGER, ASSUMED IDENTITY and DESPERATE MEASURES went to Storytel for Polish rights. THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE, THE FRATERNITY OF THE STONE, and THE LEAGUE OF NIGHT AND FOG went to Polaris for Swedish rights. RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II went to Tympanum for Czech rights. Emily X.R. Pan’s AN ARROW TO THE MOON went to Puck/Urano for Spanish rights. James Riley’s THE STOLEN CHAPTERS and SECRET ORIGINS went to Terra Publica for Lithuanian rights. Diana Urban’s THESE DEADLY GAMES went to Dobrovsky for Czech rights. Samantha Young’s THINGS WE NEVER SAID and THE TRUEST THING went to Fokus for Croatian rights. HERE WITH ME and THERE WITH YOU went to Orange for Bulgarian rights. ALWAYS YOU went to Burda Media for Polish rights. Mariana Zapata’s ALL RHODES LEAD HERE went to Newton Compton for Italian rights and Niezwykle for Polish rights. FROM LUKOV WITH LOVE and THE WALL OF WINNIPEG AND ME went to Matica Makedonska for Macedonian rights. FROM LUKOV WITH LOVE went to Presenca for Portuguese rights. WAIT FOR IT went to Albatros for Czech rights. Juliet Blackwell’s LETTERS FROM PARIS went to The Armchair Publishing House/Modan for Hebrew rights. June Hur’s THE RED PALACE went to CroCu/Cross Cult Verlag for German rights. Rebecca Mix’s THE ONES WE BURN went to Intrinseca for Portuguese rights and Mongatori Editorial for Spain rights. Tammara Webber’s EASY went to Knigoholicari for Macedonian rights. Naomi Wolf’s THE BODIES OF OTHERS went to Hikaruland for Japanese rights. Richelle Mead’s VAMPIRE ACADEMY, FROSTBITE, and SHADOW KISS went to Poradnia K for Polish rights. Colleen Hoover’s REMINDERS OF HIM went to Living Publishing for Albanian rights, Naklada Neptun for Croatian rights, Topseller/2020 for Portuguese rights, Euromedia for Czech rights. HEART BONES went to Zomer & Keuning for Dutch rights. REGRETTING YOU went to Pegasus for Estonian rights. VERITY, REGRETTING YOU, REMINDERS OF HIM, and HEART BONES went to Wsoy for Finnish rights. VERITY went to Biblio Co. for Thai rights. HOPELESS went to IBIS for Bulgarian rights. LAYLA went to Kayan Publishing for Arabic rights. TOO LATE went to Aser el-Kotob for Arabic rights. REGRETTING YOU, FINDING PERFECT, and HOPELESS went to Dioptra for Greek rights. VERITY and HEART BONES went to Bokabeitan for Icelandic rights. FINDING PERFECT went to Otwarte for Polish rights. REMINDERS OF HIM and LAYLA went to Epica for Romanian rights. MAYBE NOW went to Planeta for Spanish rights. Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher’s NEVER NEVER, NEVER NEVER: PART II, and NEVER NEVER: PART III went to Al Rewaq for Arabic rights and Euphoria/Aryeh Nir Publishing for Hebrew rights. PUNK 57, BIRTHDAY GIRL, and CREDENCE by Penelope Douglas went to Konyvmolykepzo for Hungarian rights. TRYST SIX VENOM went to Crossbooks/Planeta for Spanish rights. BIRTHDAY GIRL and CREDENCE went to Euromedia for Czech rights. FALLS BOYS went to Niezwykle for Polish rights. CREDENCE went to Crossbooks/Planeta for Spanish rights.

RECENT SALES 

THE TRAUMA BOND: HEAL OLD WOUNDS THAT ARE KEEPING YOU STUCK by Laura Copley, PhD went to Grand Central Balance in a North American rights deal by Leslie Meredith.

WHEN A WOMAN BURNS HERSELF by Salar Abdoh went to Viking Penguin in a World rights deal by Jessica Papin.

A CURE FOR WHAT AILS YOU and A BIRD IN HAND by Elizabeth Everett went to Berkley in a World rights deal by Ann Leslie Tuttle.

THE HEARTBREAK HERBALIST by Lauren Kung Jessen went to Grand Central Forever in a World rights deal by Ann Leslie Tuttle.

UNSETTLING by Brian O’Donoghue went to Sourcebooks in a World English rights deal.

THE LOST SISTERS OF MUSCADINE by Laura Barrow went to Lake Union in a World rights deal by Ann Leslie Tuttle.

LATIN-ISH by Marisel Salazar went to Countryman in a World rights deal by Stacey Glick.

UNTITLED MIDDLE GRADE NOIR, UNTITLED BOOK 2, and UNTITLED BOOK 3 by J Scott Savage went to Shadow Mountain in a North American rights deal by Michael Bourret.

THE BOYS OF RIVERSIDE by Thomas Fuller went to Doubleday in a North American rights deal.

WILD AT HEART by Evan Griffith went to Sleeping Bear Press in a World rights deal by Michael Bourret.

SONG OF FREEDOM, SONG OF DREAMS by Shari Green went to Andrews McMeel in a World rights deal by Amy Elizabeth Bishop.

WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO BE ABOUT RACE? by Keith Boykin went to Public Affairs in a World rights deal.

A FIRE SO WILD by Sarah Ruiz-Grossman went to Harper in a North American rights deal by Sharon Pelletier.

CHATEAU CATASTROPHE and UNTITLED BOOK 2 by Juliet Blackwell went to Berkley in a World rights deal by Jim McCarthy.

ADHD FOR SMART ASS WOMEN by Tracy Otsuka went to Harper/Morrow in a North American rights deal by Stacey Glick.

WON’T LET NOBODY TURN ME ‘ROUND: CHALLENGING WHITE POWER by Clyde Ford went to Amistad in a World rights deal by Leslie Meredith.

THESE STILL BLACK WATERS and JESS LAMBERT #2 by Christina McDonald went to Thomas & Mercer in a World rights deal by Sharon Pelletier.

THE GARDINS OF EDIN and UNTITLED BOOK 2 by Rosey Lee went to Waterbrook Multnomah in a World rights deal by Amy Elizabeth Bishop.

CHASING THE INTACT MIND by Amy Lutz went to Oxford University Press in a World English rights deal by Jessica Papin.

PRESERVATION MATTERS: HOW I RESTORED AN OLD HOUSE WITH 6 MATERIALS AND REDISCOVERED WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HAPPY by Lee McColgan went to Country man in a World English rights deal by Leslie Meredith.

UNLEARNING RACISM by Fatimah Gilliam went to Berrett-Koehler in a World rights deal by Jessica Papin.

ANIMAL BONE DETECTIVES by Suzanne Pilar Birch went to Candlewick in a World rights deal by Ann Leslie Tuttle.

RETENTION REVOLUTION by Erica Keswin went to McGraw-Hill in a World rights deal.

UNTITLED HELLO MR. by Ryan Fitzgibbon was sold to Abrams in a World rights deal by Michael Bourret.

SHIMMER by Sarah Schulman went to Fordham University Press in a North American rights deal by Michael Bourret.

Evan Griffith’s THE STRANGE WONDERS OF ROOTS and UNTITLED BOOK 2 went to Quill Tree Books in World English rights deal by Michael Bourret.

Kelly McWilliams’ YOUR PLANTATION PROM IS NOT OK and UNTITLED YA BOOK to Little Brown Books for Young Readers in a World rights deal by Michael Bourret.

Anica Mrose Rissi’s WISHING SEASON was sold to Quill Tree Books in a World rights deal by Michael Bourret.

North American rights for Cory McCarthy’s THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO GABRIEL went to Dutton Children’s Books in a deal by Jim McCarthy.

Nathan Canestaro’s UNDERDOGS went to Twelve in a North American rights deal.

Brandy Lain’s NETHERLEIGH and UNTITLED BOOK 2 went to Hanover Square Press in a World rights deal by Jessica Papin.

Ieva Jusionyte’s EXIT WOUNDS went to University of California Press in a World English rights deal by Jessica Papin.