Harper Collins UK has announced a New Adult imprint, Wildlit. The imprint will publish “unabashedly bold, commercial and page-turning fiction,” with “romance as the thread that ties” their titles together. Publisher Lindsey Heaven and publishing director Sarah Levinson will run the new imprint, with first titles expected June 2027. This comes after the July announcement of the MoonFire imprint.
Heavens said,
Establishing our New Adult imprint, Wildlit, and bringing such exciting talent on to the list has been a long-held dream of ours and we’re thrilled to seize this perfect moment to launch. Wildlit will be bold, commercial and dedicated to irresistibly addictive stories that capture the intensity of New Adulthood. With an exceptional roster of authors already in place and an ambitious acquisition program underway, we’re hugely excited about the big impact we know that Wildlit will have on the New Adult market.
From more information, including the imprint’s initial list of authors, see the Wildlit announcement.
Reactor Magazine has announced its first podcast, Read Receipts, “a weekly show about speculative fiction, genre, and nerd culture.” The podcast will be hosted by senior books editor Christina Orlando. Among weekly episodes will be monthly “author roundtable discussions,” “themed book clubs, media recommendations with the Reactor staff, and more.”
Reactor editor-in-chief Chris Lough said,
Now you get to hear the funniest and most galaxy-brained takes on genre literature that were—until now!—locked away in Reactor’s Slack threads and editorial meetings. Christina Orlando is very good at this and I am running out of ways to say that I’m excited to see this podcast finally out in the world.
Orlando said,
Talking about books with friends is one of life’s greatest joys, and that’s exactly what I wanted this podcast to feel like. And fortunately all my friends are nerds, writers, and critics, so we can really dig into it together. With the help of audio producer Gaby Iori, who has a background in book publishing, Read Receipts feels like a natural extension of what Reactor does best—being enthusiastic and deeply, wonderfully weird about SFF.
The podcast will begin publishing episodes on October 28, 2026 and will be available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and the Reactor website. For more, see the official announcement.
REBECCA MATTE has joined kt literary. She was previously at Bradford Literary Agency.
MEGAN LALLY is now represented by Joanna Volpe of New Leaf Literary & Media. Lally’s “romantic gothic horror” To Death, We Dance and another title went to Vicki Lame at Wednesday Books at auction via Mandy Hubbard of Emerald City Literary Agency. UK rights sold to Pan Macmillan.
AWARDS
Death of the Author by NNEDI OKORAFOR and The Rush by BETH LEWIS are among the five titles shortlisted for the eighth annual Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award. The winner will be announced October 1, 2026 and receives a handmade glass bell and a cash prize of £2,000.
BOOKS SOLD
MARISSA LINGEN’s SF That Fatal Discontent sold to Ardyce Alspach at Union Square & Co via Kurestin Armada of Root Literary.
SARATOGA SCHAEFER sold Zeroth, “in which a chronically lonely artist signs up for an AI boyfriend beta test,” to Stephanie Manova at Podium Publishing via Amy Giuffrida of Belcastro Agency.
Tamsyn Muir (2018)
TAMSYN MUIR sold standalone fantasy Floralinda, “a subversive fairy tale blended with a desperate dungeon crawl” and expansion of novella Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower, to Carl Engle-Laird at Tor Books via Jennifer Jackson of Donald Maass Literary Agency. UK rights sold to Tor UK.
AI JIANG sold dark fantasy Vessel Eater, “pitched as Mulan meets The Ghost Bride,” to Viengsamai Fetters at Erewhon via Danai Christopoulou of The Tobias Literary Agency.
MICHAEL F. FLYNN’s The Shipwrecks of Time, “in which a man who has stayed alive since the early Middle Ages will stop at no length to keep his immortality a secret,” went to Shahid Mahmud at Caezik SF & Fantasy.
Four books in DEVNEY PERRY’s dystopian City of Saint series went to Susan Barnes at Bramble for eight figures at auction via Georgana Grinstead of The Seymour Agency. UK rights went to Gillian Green at Bramble UK for seven figures at auction.
WILL WIGHT’s Overworld went to Lindsey Hall at Tor in a pre-empt via Seth Fishman of The Gernert Company (NA).
J.S. MERESMAA’s short story collection Tears for the Sea, translated by Greta Katz and Christina Saarinen, went to Wizard’s Tower.
SARAH BETH DURST sold “cozy fantasy” The Ninth Life of an Erstwhile Witch and the fifth and sixth books in the Spellshop series to Ali Fisher and Dianna Vega at Bramble for seven figures via Andrea Somberg at Harvey Klinger. UK rights sold to Gillian Green at Tor UK via Chris Scheina at Macmillan.
AR FREDERIKSEN sold “coastal gothic horror novel” Portrait of Two Women and another book to Daniel Carpenter at Titan Books via Christine Goss of FinePrint Literary Management.
CHARLIE N. HOLMBERG sold A Charm for Mythical Beasts, “a cozy fantasy version of All Creatures Great and Small” to Julia Elliott at Voyager; Holmberg’s contemporary fantasy romance Willow Vane went to Bria Ragin at Delacorte, both via Hayley Nusbaum and Joseph Veltre of Gersh Agency.
EUGEN BACON sold short story collection Betwixt, Children of the Storm: Sauútiverse Stories, and “Norse murder mystery novella” Jintu to Nick Wells at Flame Tree Collections.
Shanna Miles (2020)
SHANNA MILES’s contemporary fantasy The Witch of Star Jasmine went to Elizabeth Agyemang at 47North via John Cusick of Folio Literary Management.
J.D. SOUTHWELL’s Ezra and the Forbidden Scroll, first in a dystopian epic fantasy series, plus two more books sold to Keisha Mennefee at Honey Blossom Press.
ANDROMEDA ROMANO-LAX’s Fixed Stars, a re-imagining of Sylvia Plath’s life, went to Alexa Wejko at Soho Press via Michelle Brower of Trellis Literary Management.
SARAH DAY sold Moonchaser, “a courier’s discovery of a forsaken body leads to a remote mining settlement strained by murder, ambition, and secrets,” to Mark Teppo at Underland Press.
LEGION20’s Supreme Magus and two more titles went to Rhett Bruno at Aethon & Vault. Damian Wassel will edit.
JKSMANGA sold My Vampire System and two more titles to Rhett Bruno at Aethon & Vault. Damian Wassel will edit. JKSManga sold The God Slayer with L.E. GRAVES to Bruno at Aethon & Vault in a separate deal with two more books via M.H.F. Saint of Achilles Literary Agency.
ANNA SHOMSKY’s The Abbey of Saint Zosimos went to Kayla Mullinax Puga at Ooligan Press. Isabel Matthews will edit.
REBECCA F. KENNEY’s Riftwalker duet sold to Kelly Smith at Zaffre via Nicole Resciniti of Alliance Rights Agency on behalf of Allyson D’Antonio at Midnight Rose.
ANNE BISHOP’s third book in the Isle of Wyrd series went to Anne Sowards at Ace via Jennifer Jackson of Donald Maass Literary Agency.
ANDREA BARTZ sold speculative thriller Delete Your Account to Hilary Rubin Teeman at Ballantine via Alexandra Machinist of CAA.
DIANA PETERFREUND sold Ghost/Writer to Susan Barnes at Wildthorn with another title in a pre-empt via Kate Schafer Testerman of kt literary.
MAX WALKER’s romantic fantasy Dating & Dragons went to Thaisheemarie Fantauzzi Pérez at Alcove Press via Kirsten Lang of Zeno Agency.
JAMES L. SUTTER’s Hearts Against the Machines, “a gay romance between a young medic and a newly paralyzed soldier in a field hospital for humanity’s doomed resistance after robots massacre civilization,” went to Marcy Harris at Alcove Press via Josh Adams of Adams Literary.
GRYFFIN MURPHY’s romantasy Ash’s Airborne Apothecary sold to Meg Hood at Bindery Books via Brent Taylor of TriadaUS Literary Agency.
CLAIRE WINN sold Shadecaller, first in a romantic dystopian fantasy duology, and a second title to Amanda Ferreira and Stephanie Alleyne at Random House Canada via Kaitlyn Katsoupis of Belcastro Agency.
LEXI C. FOSS and ANNA FURY sold Rebel Bloodlines and an untitled book sold to Lizzie Poteet at Bantam Dell via Amy A. Collins of Talcott Notch Literary Services.
Brittany Ziegler writing as BRITTANY BADAHSS sold Salt Eden, “a selkie romantasy-eco thriller,” to Leah Wilson at Benbella Books via Amanda Elliott of Movable Type Management.
VICTORIA M. SORENSON sold An Immortal’s Grievance, “a gender-bent paranormal fantasy retelling of Dracula,” to Caroline Timmings at Alcove Press in a pre-empt via Liz Gettle of Myth Literary Agency (world).
E. CATHERINE TOBLER’s Sour Girl went to Tee Tate at City Owl Press via Jennie Goloboy of Donald Maass Literary Agency.
JENNIFER ASCIENZO’s The Golden Lord and The Butterfly Princess went to Tanya Anne Crosby at Primera.
ELIZABETH DEAR sold three books in the Shifter Guardians series to Sarah McCabe at Scarlett Press via Katie Reed of Katie Reed Literary.
ANASTASIA RYAN’s Ruin, first in the Daughters of the Black Tide trilogy, sold with two more titles to Meredith Wild at Page & Vine via Jess Gilbert of D4EO Literary Agency.
BREANNE RANDALL’s The Secret Society of Second Chance Magic went to Daniel Ehrenhaft at Blackstone Publishing via Natalie Lakosil of Looking Glass Literary & Media.
CHRISTINE WITCHER sold Congratulations, Your Fake Boyfriend Is Evil and another title to Kimberly Laws at Gallery via Brent Taylor while part of TriadaUS Literary Agency.
AMALIE HOWARD’s The Eclipse in the Mirror and another book went to Liz Berry and Jillian Stein at Blue Box Press via Thao Le of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.
JENNIFER NATALYA FINK sold A Mischief to Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore at Bunny Presse via Amanda Annis of Trident Media Group.
CATRIONA WARD sold The Solitude, “a supernatural tale in which a personal assistant aboard a superyacht must try to survive the voyage as the affluent passengers are murdered one by one,” and another book to Kelly Lonesome at Nightfire via Robin Straus of Robin Straus Agency on behalf of Jenny Savill of Andrew Nurnberg Associates. UK rights went to Sophie Robinson at Nightfire UK via Jenny Savill of Andrew Nurnberg Associates.
Mats Strandberg (2021)
MATS STRANDBERG’s “gothic folk horror” The Muse went to Michael Homler at St. Martin’s via Brittney Payer at Pan Macmillan on behalf of Elisabet Brannstrom of Grand Agency.
LUKE DUMAS sold Forever Home and Fury on the Waves to Loan Le at Atria via Maria Whelan of Mushens Entertainment.
BITTER KARELLA’s untitled gothic novel and another untitled campus novel sold to Angelica Chong at Run For It via Julie Gourinchas of Bell Lomax Moreton Agency.
MARIA TUREAUD’s Her Blood Is Ruin, pitched as reclaiming the folklore that inspired Dracula, to Elizabeth Trout at Kensington via Amy Giuffrida of Belcastro Agency.
M.I. MINAEVA’s Saint’s Hotel, “pitched as The Shining meets Silent Hill,” went to Bindery Books via Miriam Cortinovis of Ki Agency.
JEAN-BAPTISTE DEL AMO sold The Ravaged Night to Christopher Richards at Scribner via Laurence Laluyaux of Rogers, Coleridge & White.
JOSHUA BLACKWOOD sold Our Boy to Cassandra Thompson at Quill & Crow. Mathew Reyes will edit.
PHILIP FRACASSI sold short fiction collections Behold the Void, Beneath a Pale Sky, and No One is Safe to Alan Lastufka at Shortwave via Elizabeth Copps at Confluence Literary Agency.
ANIA AHLBORN sold supernatural novel Valerie to Ed Schlesinger at Gallery via David Hale Smith of Inkwell Management.
STEVEN PATCHETT’s Flock for a Dead God went to Alex Woodroe at Tenebrous Press.
KRISTAL STITTLE sold The Devil’s Address to Alex Woodroe at Tenebrous Press.
CHRIS FORMANT and GARY M. KREBS’s Mortuary Tree, “where a scientist experimenting on combining human and plant DNA discovers an ancient ritual of burying humans inside hollowed trees to form a monstrous new hybrid species,” went to Anthony Ziccardi at Permuted Press.
TYLER JONES’s horror and supernatural short fiction collection Arson by Design sold to Mitch Hull at Rapture Trade via Elizabeth Copps of Confluence Literary Agency.
DAVID PEAK sold horror novel XLR8 to Benjamin DeVos at Apocalypse Party.
AIDEN THOMAS’s Remember Me, “a twist on Disney Pixar Coco for the Twisted Tales series,” went to Heather Knowles at Disney-Hyperion via Jennifer March Soloway while part of Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
I.V. MARIE sold Cursed and Crowned, first in a romantic high fantasy duology for young adults and another title to Lydia Gregovic at Delacorte via Ariele Fredman and Gwen Beal of UTA. UK rights sold to Sarah Levison at Electric Monkey via Stephanie Thwaites of Curtis Brown UK.
ALEXIS AURIGEMMA’s fantasy Sisters of Sun and Shadow went to Tamara Grasty at Page Street Kids via Elizabeth Copps of Confluence Literary Agency. Kumari Pacheco will edit.
A.K. LIM sold YA fantasy Garden of Venom and another book to Hoda Agharazi at Mayhem Books via Emily Forney of BookEnds. UK rights went to Rebecca Hilsdon at Michael Joseph.
EMMA CLANCEY sold YA contemporary fantasy This Blood Will Betray Us to Claire Stetzer at Amulet via Jim McCarthy of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.
LOLA STVIL sold Rage of Angels and at least one other book to Kwame Alexander at Kwame Alexander Books via Allison Remcheck of Stimola Literary Studio. Margaret Raymo will edit.
OLIVIA SUN’s paranormal fantasy We Rose from the Sea and another book went to Alvina Ling at Alvina Ling Books in a pre-empt via Gwen Beal of UTA.
SCOTT REINTGEN sold Titanos, an SF retelling of the Titanic, to Kate Prosswimmer at Margaret K. McElderry Books via Kristin Nelson of Nelson Literary Agency.
JULIA ALEXANDRA sold duology Hunt the Wild Night and Tame the Vengeful Dark to Eileen Rothschild at Wednesday Books via Ellen Goff of HG Literary.
HELEN COMERFORD’s The Cafe at the End of the World went to Amber Flame at Generous Press via Christabel McKinley of David Higham Associates. Elaina Ellis will edit. UK rights went to Bloomsbury UK Children’s.
Sayantani DasGupta (2020s)
SAYANTANI DASGUPTA’s Daughter of the Sun and another title went to Alexandra Cooper at Quill Tree via Brent Taylor while part of TriadaUS Literary Agency.
EMMA LORD sold MJ Loves Spider-Man to Brittany Rubiano at Random House Children’s via Lucienne Diver of The Knight Agency.
RENA BLAKE sold debut novel Nostalgia, “in which a woman living in a world engineered to erase overstimulation discovers a forbidden word—nostalgia,” to Jen Monroe at Berkley at auction via Emma Leong of Janklow & Nesbit UK.
CONSTANTIN FLORIN BOSNEAG’s debut, space opera House of Wolves went to Lawrence Knorr at Hellbender Books.
CORVIN A. DOUPAGNE’s debut, “queer dark academia fantasy” The Academy of Macabre Arts went to Elana Gibson at Alcove Press via Rebecca Podos of Neighborhood Literary.
MICHELLE DENHAM’s debut Hell Princess and another book sold to Amy Baxter at Avon UK via Michelle Hauck of Storm Literary Agency.
S.H. CARE’s debut, romantasy The Edge of the Blade sold to Maxine Shen at Alcove Press via Laura Bennett of Liverpool Literary Agency.
CLAIRE GAYLE and MIKE GAYLE sold debut Not Quite Myself to Leah Mol at Park Row Books in a pre-empt via Amy Mitchell of United Agents on behalf of Ariella Feiner. UK rights went to Clare Gordon at HQ at auction.
Christina Gonzales (2026)
CHRISTINA GONZALES sold debut Tongues, “a work of supernatural femgore and body horror,” to Ed Schlesinger at Gallery via Ron Eckel of CookeMcDermid.
JONATHAN MARX’s debut Bump in the Night went to Randall Lotowycz at Quirk Books.
SOPHIA ESCAJEDA sold debut Sins of Levaria to Jean Lowd at Creative James.
EMILY VALE’s debut Wild Thing went to Cassandra Thompson at Quill & Crow.
NATASHA MIHELL sold debut, “sapphic, gothic horrormance” Malivestra to Marcy Harris at Alcove Press via Clara Chuiton of The Rights Factory.
CLARE OGAWA sold debut This Town Will Eat You Alive to Dina Davis at Hanover Square Press in a pre-empt via Jenny Bent and James Mustelier of The Bent Agency.
ANNALEE NEWITZ sold novella Noodle Union, a sequel to Automatic Noodle, to Stephanie Stein at Tordotcom via Laurie Fox of Linda Chester Literary Agency.
CHERYL S. NTUMY, XAN VAN ROOYEN, and J. UMEH will edit Sauúti Love Songs for Nick Wells at Flame Tree Press via Bieke van Aggelen at African Literary Agency.
ELLEN DATLOW will edit anthology Dark End of the Street, featuring Dana Cameron, Clay McLeod Chapman, Rachel Harrison, Nick Mamatas, George Sandison, and others, for R.B. Wood at Ruadán via Merrilee Heifetz of Writers House. Datlow will also edit anthology Bad Sex for Tachyon Publications.
JOHN JOSEPH ADAMS and OLIVIE BLAKE will edit dark academia anthology Forbidden Knowledge, featuring authors such as Alix E. Harrow, Alexis Henderson, Ken Liu, and Emily Tesh, for David Pomerico at Voyager via Seth Fishman of The Gernert Company for Adams and Amelia Appel at TriadaUS Literary Agency for Blake.
THOMAS HA sold novella Sons of Nod to Avery Davis at Tordotcom via Michael Curry of Donald Maass Literary Agency. Ann VanderMeer will edit.
PUBLISHING
KIRSTY THOMAS is now the Assistant Publisher of Uncanny Magazine.
SHELDON TEITELBAUM has been appointed senior editor of BC BookWorld.
Must Read Magazines has issued a statement shared by Analog Science Fiction and Facton Bluesky in response to public criticism by John Picacio, Donato Giancola, Victoria Strauss, and others about its contract terms for artists.
According to the statement,
We previously commissioned illustrators to create covers as work-for-hire when they were asked to adapt authors’ original stories for elements such as cover art.
This will be changing.
The rights granted to MRM are limited, and therefore we can’t protect the intellectual property and rights of the original author of the story, if we at the same time grant the authors’ rights to the illustrator so that the illustrator can then retain an adaptation copyright. We don’t acquire rights from authors that allow us to grant illustrators broad unencumbered use of the worlds, characters, and other elements created by the author.
We’re planning to pause cover contracts based on specific stories for the foreseeable future while we figure out the best way forward with those kinds of commissions.
…
Regarding retention of “moral rights” in illustrations: our licensing agreements for original art and original fiction use language prepared by an international IP attorney based on notes we received from SFWA’s contracts committee. These kinds of agreements no longer include a waiver of moral rights.
We always appreciate when contributors to the magazines express their concerns.
The response comes after a public memo from Picacio shared to “strongly advise” against submitting stories to or creating art for any of Must Read’s magazines. Picacio has sent Locus a copy of the boilerplate contract he received. Elements he rejected read as follows:
Artist hereby waives the benefits of any provision of law known as “droit moral” and/or “moral rights” or any similar law in any jurisdiction of the universe and hereby agrees not to institute or support, maintain, or permit any action or lawsuit on the grounds that the The Work or any ancillary uses thereof violates any of Artist’s rights or is in any way a defamation or mutilation of the The Work. Company shall solely own the copyright in the The Work. Neither the suspension nor termination of Artist’s services nor the expiration of this Agreement shall in any way adversely affect Company’s ownership of the The Work.
Company or its divisions may be credited as the copyright holder of the work…
Workable files shall mean layered files suitable for use in Adobe Photoshop or such similar software.
At no additional cost, Company will be presented with at least Two (2) and at most Three (3) rounds of drafts of the The Work for review by Company. … Company may instruct Artist to make changes up to Three (3) times upon review of the The Work and drafts inclusive of Company’s notes on such drafts.
The contract sets the artist’s pay at $1,200. Giancola, who reported in a separate post that he rejected a cover art contract offering the same pay, described this as being “on the low side and the same fee they had offered six years before for similar work.” Giancola also strongly criticized the usage of a work-for-hire agreement, “NOT a contract structure I had worked under before for ANY of my previous Asimov’s covers,” as well as several other terms for “deviat[ing] far beyond” his contracts with other SF publications, including some of those quoted above.
I went back and forth in contract revisions with Asimov’s SF legal department five times over three months. Nearly as much time was spent on these negotiations, legal revisions, and emails then what I would put into creating art for a final illustration. All for a $1200 fee on a commission who’s legal contract issues were settled in a five minute digital handshake six years ago.
At the end of June, while their legal department was still soliciting me to supply a Non-Disclosure Agreement I would be fine signing after stating I would not sign one, I told Asimov’s SF to find another artist. Their legal department was not negotiating in good faith to get me to work on their magazine – they were looking for an artist to exploit.
Strauss commented on the subject on the SFWA-sponsored Writer Beware blog: “[E]ven if the publisher is willing to make changes, [writers] must think about what it says about the publisher, and its attitude toward its writers, that it would offer a bad contract to begin with. … [W]riters shouldn’t be afraid to negotiate, and publishers should be open to change. It’s just really important not to let the details obscure the big picture.”
Scott Edelman, who has previously written about his decision to withdraw all submissions to Must Read, also commented on the company’s statement: “This defense from the publisher of Asimov’s, Analog, and F&SF is no defense at all. I’d hoped those of us who’d protested rights-grab contracts last year had caused a change in the way the company dealt with creators, but sadly, all three dream markets must still be unacceptable outlets for me.”
David Shelley will give up his current role as head of an English language management structure on January 1 2027 to become executive chair of Hachette UK and Hachette Book Group. Accordingly, Ben Sevier is taking over as CEO of Hachette Book Group, moving on from his position as president and publisher of Grand Central Publishing.
Sevier stated, “My decade leading the spectacularly talented teams across the Grand Central Publishing Group has been equal parts exciting, challenging, and deeply rewarding, and I expect a super-charged version of all three in this next phase of our company and our industry…”
Richard Kitson has been named as COO for global English language at Hachette. Christine Ball will join HBG in November as president and publisher of Grand Central Publishing, replacing Sevier. Emily Meehan will become president of Union Square. Amongst staffing changes, HBG will form a new publishing program in Canada that will be overseen by Sally Kim.
Penguin Random House UK has announced an imprint for the new adult reader category, Dusk, focusing on “romance, fantasy and crossover fiction.” Carmen McCullough and Amina Parchment-Youssef will lead the imprint, which expects to publish it’s first titles fall 2026.
McCullough told The Bookseller, “Some of the most exciting energy in publishing today is coming from a generation of readers who don’t see themselves, or their reading tastes, in traditional categories… They move effortlessly between YA, new adult and adult fiction, between romance and fantasy, discovering books through friends, creators and online communities, and turning the stories they love into genuine cultural moments.”
Union Square & Co. has launched Singularity, a new line of paperback novellas led by Union Square editorial director Mika Kasuga. They plan to publish “10-12 titles each year” of “high-impact, one-sitting fiction.”
Works of genre interest scheduled for Fall 2026 include Zero Lives Remaining by Adam Cesare, a new edition of I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison, and The Waiter by Kwan Ann Tan. Those scheduled for early 2027 include You Just Have to Ask Me by Hadeer Elsbai, The Upper Tentacle by Amanda Helms, Sweet Saints by Cassandra Khaw, and Shouting Distance by Cherie Priest.
Senior vice president and publisher at Union Square Emily Meehan said,
The Singularity program was born out of conversations Mika and I had about reduced attention spans and the desire for more a more snack-sized reading experience that doesn’t compromise depth for length. We wanted to celebrate the novella as a format and use the program as yet another platform to showcase Union Square’s commitment to create books that resonate deeply with readers—especially ones looking for accessible, sophisticated stories in our ever more distracted, digital reality.
For more information, see the official announcement.
WENDY N. WAGNER is stepping down as editor-in-chief of Nightmare Magazine and senior editor of Lightspeed “to focus on her own writing.” Founding editor John Joseph Adams will resume the role at Nightmare starting with the January 2027 issue; in her place, associate publisher Christie Yant will assume the role of senior editor.
BOOKS SOLD
C. RHOAD ELLIS sold The Poison Vein, first in the Saga of Ruined Saints trilogy, with two more books to Anne Groell at Del Rey via James McGowan of BookEnds. UK rights sold to Delayna Spencer
GRACE D. LI sold You Bring Death to Our Shores, “an epic told in two timelines, the Trojan War and the Greek afterlife,” and another book to Ruoxi Chen while at Tor via Kate Schafer Testerman of kt literary. Stephanie Stein will edit for Wildthorn. UK rights sold to Daphne Tonge and Davi Lancett at Daphne Press (UK).
REBECCA TEMPLETON’s Lochbound, “a reimagining of The Little Mermaid set in 18th-century Scotland,” went to Jessica Case at Pegasus via Jessica Purdue at Little, Brown UK.
CHARLOTTE IDYLLWILD’s historical fantasy The Bottom of the Library and another book sold to Nate Lanman at Del Rey via Lauren Bajek of Liza Dawson Associates. UK rights went to Kate McHale at Del Rey UK.
MILES LYON sold The Price of Fear, first in a trilogy, and two more titles to Joe Monti at Saga Press via John Baker of Bell Lomax Moreton Agency. UK rights sold to Jorgie Bain at Michael Joseph.
CATELYN WILSON sold two dark fantasies to Rebecca Hilsdon at Michael Joseph via Stevie Finegan of Zeno Agency.
RICARDO MENÉNDEZ SALMÓN’s Ark, “blending noir, speculative fiction and metaphysical mystery,” went to Brian Etling at Knopf via Cristina Hidalgo of Grupo Planeta.
Helen Knott (2024)
JUSTIN SLOAN sold “military progression fantasy” Yokai Protocol to Daniel Ehrenhaft at Blackstone Publishing via Connor Smith of Hesperides Literary.
L.K. STEVENS’s The Kindling, “pitched as Fahrenheit 451 for the ChatGPT generation,” sold to Daniel Ehrenhaft at Blackstone Publishing at auction via Chloe Seager of Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency. UK rights went to Charlotte Trumble at Voyager UK.
JASON KASPER’s The Vesper Hour, “first in a post-apocalyptic thriller series,” and at least one other book sold to Andrew Watts at Severn River. Catherine Streissguth will edit.
HELEN KNOTT sold The Dreams We Remember and another title to Janice Zawerbny at Harper Canada at auction via Carolyn Forde of Transatlantic Literary Agency.
P.C. VERRONE’s The Blond, “a genre-bending historical thriller following queer communities from the 18th century and into the 22nd,” went to Elizabeth Pankova at Catapult via Alyssa Jennette of Stonesong.
P.C. Verrone (2025)
ALBERTO LAISECA’s Los Sorias, “pitched as the Latin American Gravity’s Rainbow,” translated by Max Lawton, sold to Will Evans and Sarah McEachern at Deep Vellum via Zacarías Lara Peláez of Barrett.
M. JOHN HARRISON’s post-apocalyptic adventure The End of Everything, “set in a drowned world where government barely functions and entire continents have been mislaid,” went to Parisa Ebrahimi at Riverhead via PJ Mark of Janklow & Nesbit on behalf of Will Francis. UK rights sold to Serpent’s Tail
JENNIFER DIARENZO sold An Act of Flesh and Fins, “in which a scorned marine biologist becomes queen of a hidden mermaid kingdom beneath the Bermuda Triangle,” to Lynn McNamee at Red Adept via Lindsay Guzzardo of Keystone Literary Agency.
M. John Harrison (2022)
JESSICA WIDNER sold In Residence, a ghost story about a married couple in Edinburgh who start an artist residency in a remote, luxurious house, to Caroline Zancan at Mariner at auction via Kate Johnson of Wolf Literary Services. UK rights went to Jenna Gordon at Verve Books, and Canadian rights to Shivaun Hearne at House of Anansi.
KEVIN MACK sold Glide Ratio, set in an alternate 1937 where Jim Crow rules the south and Florida is an independent nation, to Geoff Habiger at Shadow Dragon Press.
OFELIA J. VAZQUEZ sold fantasy Grave of Petals, “loosely inspired by the Mexican Revolution,” to Michael Kist at Bindery Books via Miriam Cortinovis of Ki Agency.
Ofelia J. Vazquez (2024)
JACK SHERWIN writing as JKSMANGA sold Return of the Legendary Dragon, “in which a sickly young man becomes host to the soul of an ancient dragon and enters a deadly game that the government has rigged against the underclass,” and two more books to Rhett Bruno at Aethon & Vault via M.H.F. Saint of Achilles Literary Agency. The First Vampire Punisher by Sherwin and L.E. GRAVES plus two more books also went to Bruno at auction via Saint.
BROOKE ABRAMS’s Annie Torres Checks In, “pitched as Jane the Virgin meets Practical Magic,” went to Selena James at Lake Union Publishing via Joanna MacKenzie of Nelson Literary Agency. Pippa White will edit.
GWENDOLYN WOMACK sold The Last Immortal, the final book in the Last Labyrinth duology, and another title to Elizabeth Agyemang at 47North via Alec Shane of Writers House.
KELLIE WALLACE’s Heavenly Bodies went to Jean Lowd at Creative James.
SARAH FOX sold Barking in a Winter Wonderland to Sara Porter at Severn House via Jessica Faust of BookEnds (world English).
TANYA GUERRERO sold Meet Me in the Future, “about a time-traveling Soviet space dog,” and another title to Wendy Wong at Bantam Dell via Amy Bishop-Wycisk of Trellis Literary Management.
SEREN ROSE sold “siren-pirate romantasy” The Song of Salt and Shadow and another title to Juliana Nador at Simon Maverick for six figures at auction via Angie Ojeda Hazen of Lunar Literary Agency.
ELIZABETH HELEN sold Her Dark Empire, first in a trilogy “set in a world ravaged by storms and divided by magic,” and two more titles to Christa Desir at Bloom Books via Susan Velazquez Colmant at JABberwocky Literary Agency. Kylie Hagmann will edit.
JESSIE SYLVA’s My Big Fat Halfling Wedding went to Tiana Coven at Orbit and Jenni Hill at Orbit UK via Maeve MacLysaght of Aevitas Creative Management.
PIXIE RELLA sold Blackheart, “first in a romantasy trilogy following a seamstress for the army and prisoner condemned for a crime she didn’t commit,” and two more books to Marilyn Kretzer at Blackstone Publishing for six figures via Jeanne De Vita of Martin-Newens Literary Management. UK rights sold to Rebecca Hilsdon at Michael Joseph via Stevie Finegan of Zeno Agency on behalf of JABberwocky Literary Agency.
RY HERMAN sold This Fairy Stabs Everyone, “based on the Kalevala, an epic poem recounting the myths and folktales of Finland,” to Katy Nishimoto at Dial Press via Michelle Hauck of Storm Literary Agency.
FINNEGAN MARCH’s “dark sapphic fantasy” What Crawls from the Forest went to Katie McGuire at Alcove Press via Katie Blagden of The Ampersand Agency.
MAX WALKER sold Dating & Dragons to Thaisheemarie Fantauzzi Pérez at Alcove Press via Kirsten Lang of Zeno Agency.
SAMANTHA DEVEREAUX’s Healer’s Touch and two more titles in the Gifted Legacy fantasy romance series sold to Ajebowale Roberts at Macmillan via Stevie Finegan of Zeno Agency.
DANI RAANAN sold The Crafter’s Wife to Ian Whates at NewCon Press via John Jarrold of John Jarrold Literary Agency.
JENNA LEVINE sold Accidental Main Character and another title to Kristine Swartz at Berkley via Gaia Banks of Sheil Land Associates.
MEGHAN LE FAY sold Twisted Fates, “a series of interconnected yet standalone dark fairy tale retellings,” and two more books to Meredith Wild at Page & Vine via Diego Harrison of SBR Media.
E.A. Noble (2020s)
E.A. NOBLE sold “sapphic dark fantasy” Blessed Be the Fall, following an immortal mermaid and a priestess, to Cassandra Thompson at Quill & Crow.
HAYLEY REESE CHOW’s House of the Chosen, a dark fantasy with a side of romance, went to Cassandra Thompson at Quill & Crow via Kristen Terrette of Martin-Newens Literary Management. Lisa Morris will edit.
HEATHER HEAL’s Crown of Void and Starlight went to Lisa Green at City Owl Press.
H.M. WOLFE resold originally self-published The Book of Cin and Blood Rains Down and sold an untitled third book to Sarah McCabe at Scarlett Press via Angie Ojeda Hazen of Lunar Literary Agency.
NOAH BODIE sold I Think I’m in Love With the Villain’s Son to Lisa Green at City Owl Press.
CHRISTA CARMEN’s Threshing Rock, “in which a pregnant doomsday prepper/influencer discovers her every fear can be banished via a ritual atop a threshing rock,” and another title went to Mika Kasuga at Union Square & Co at auction via Jill Marr of Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency.
REBECCA MAHONEY’s Otherling, “pitched for fans of Jordan Peele’s Us and Severance,” sold to Olivia Zavitson at Hyperion Avenue via Michaela Whatnall of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.
CARLIE ST. GEORGE sold We Were Meant to Rot, “in which a distraught mother embarks on the last road trip she’ll ever take with the body of her dead daughter,” and another title to Rachel Gilmer at Poisoned Pen Press at auction via Lucienne Diver of The Knight Agency.
V. CASTRO sold “erotic horror Latinx novel” Jaguar Nights to Christoph Paul at Clash via Jessica Berg of Rosecliff Literary
ERIK HANSON’s Wake the Mariner, in which an expedition to the wreck of the Titanic inadvertently frees an ancient vampire from its grave, sold to Michael Dolan at Winding Road Stories.
ROBIN BECKER sold “Southern gothic horror” Dear Connie to Dan Franklin at Cemetery Dance via Connor Smith of Hesperides Literary.
WENDY DALRYMPLE sold Liquid Gold, in which a young mother becomes trapped in a cult of lactation specialists, to Cassandra Thompson at Quill & Crow.
SHANNON IVES’s We Have Ruined Each Other with Our Love, “pitched as Lovecraft meets Little House on the Prairie,” went to Alexandra Murphy at Page Street Horror via John Baker of Bell Lomax Moreton Agency.
ARIES AMIAN sold Boycraft, “a Filipino folkloric retelling of Frankenstein through the hands of a trans girl,” to Alexandra Murphy at Page Street Horror.
Mathew L Reyes’s Its Hour Come Round at Last sold to Cassandra Thompson at Quill & Crow. Lisa Morris will edit.
SANDRA BECERRIL sold The Unspeakable to Cassandra Thompson at Quill & Crow. A.L. Garcia will edit.
RAMSEY CAMPBELL sold Embrace the Dark to Don D’Auria at Flame Tree Press via John Jarrold at John Jarrold Literary Agency (world English).
EMILY SHINER sold My Summer Camp Slasher to Ariana Sinclair at William Morrow via Logan Harper of Jane Rotrosen Agency.
DENNIS MAHONEY’s Dear Demon, “about the cat-and-mouse game of a battle-hardened exorcist and the demon desperate to possess her,” sold to Taz Urnov at Hell’s Hundred via Stacia Decker of Dunow, Carlson & Lerner.
STEPHANIE SANDERS-JACOB’s Nothing Gentle Walks Here went to Cassandra Thompson at Quill & Crow. Lisa Morris will edit.
DANE ERBACH’s Skitters sold to Cassandra Thompson at Quill & Crow.
HOLLY HAMMOND’s Doll Eyes sold to Cassandra Thompson at Quill & Crow. Lisa Morris will edit.
SHAWN SELDERS sold Shark Rising to Marcia Markland at Crooked Lane via Jess Gilbert of D4EO Literary Agency.
STACI LAYNE WILSON’s short story collection The World’s Oldest Baby went to Jarret Keene at Dark Wolf.
BLAINE DAIGLE sold The Devil’s Keeper to Rhett Bruno at Wicked House. Andrew Najberg will edit.
AMBER HAMILTON’s “dark academia romantasy Little Mermaid retelling” Three Wicked Lies sold to Mary Kate Castellani at Bloomsbury Children’s via Caitlin Blasdell of Liza Dawson Associates.
LINDSAY RIBAR sold We Brought Her Back, in which a girl resurrects her girlfriend but learns “that the demon who caused her death has hitched a ride back to the land of the living,” to Clare Vaughn at Avon A via Brenda Bowen of The Book Group.
HAILIE KEI’s Tokyo Shadow Games, about a group of teens taken to a parallel Tokyo and forced to compete in a tournament to win a wish from the gods and a chance to go home, went to Lauren Knowles at Page Street Kids via Saffron Dodd of ASH Literary.
ANNA MERCIER’s YA fantasy romance Scatter the Night sold to Carina Licon at Holt Children’s via Michaela Whatnall of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.
BRANDIE JUNE sold “dark gothic Slavic fairy tale” Ruler of the Dead City and an untitled standalone to Tamara Grasty at Page Street Kids in a pre-empt via Connor Smith and Jennifer Pien of Hesperides Literary.
GINA BANKS sold debut novel We Have So Many Problems, “pitched as The Martian but with kissing,” and another title to Ghjulia Romiti at Forever at auction via Joanna MacKenzie of Nelson Literary Agency. UK rights went to Sanah Ahmed at Orion in a pre-empt.
TYLER WEST’s debut novel A Covenant of Starlight sold to Delayna Spencer at Hodderscape via Daisy Arendell of CAA.
IRIS ANDERSI’s debut “cozy fantasy” Potions Unincorporated, “following a chronically ill witch who sells her excess pain management potions to a greedy corporation” until the company pushes her too far, sold to Thaisheemarie Fantauzzi Pérez at Alcove Press via Mara Hollander of Azantian Literary Agency.
NATALIE S. PAGOLA sold debut, “cozy fantasy” The Garden of Otherworldly Delights to Maya Guthrie at Little, Brown in a pre-empt via Andie Smith of Creative Media Agency.
ANNEKE SCHWOB sold debut, “queer fantasy… with a folk horror flavor” and another title to John Morgan at Grand Central and Jenni Hill at Orbit UK in a pre-empt via Martha Perotto-Wills of David Higham Associates. Cassie DeNicola will edit for Grand Central.
LARA SLABBER’s debut, post-apocalyptic romance Zombies to Lovers and another book went to Jess Verdi and Eugenie Szwalek at Afterglow via Saskia Leach of Kate Nash Literary Agency UK.
SOPHIA ZHAO sold debut, supernatural horror Sleeping Beasts and another book to Angelica Chong at Run For It at auction via Paul Lucas of Regal Hoffmann & Associates.
ANDREA ANDERSON’s debut They’ll Eat You Alive sold to Olivia Zavitson at Hyperion Avenue via Aurora Fernandez of Trident Media Group.
LIZ PINTO’s debut Melbourgh Manor, “pitched as The Housemaid meets The Haunting of Bly Manor,” went to Cassandra Thompson at Quill & Crow.
TERI DEDERER’s debut young adult romantic fantasy Feast of Hearts sold to Mallory Kass at Scholastic via Alexandra Machinist of CAA. UK rights sold to Tom Bonnick at Harper Fire.
ADWITIYA CHOWDHURY sold debut romantasy We Burn by Starlight, “inspired by Indian mythology,” to Lauren Knowles at Page Street Kids via Kristina Pérez of Pérez Literary & Entertainment on behalf of Anuj Bahri of Red Ink Literary Agency.
MIA DALIA sold “sapphic horror novella” A Witch to Live to David-Jack Fletcher at Slashic Horror Press.
BOOKS RESOLD
LIV ZANDER’s previously self-published duology Crown Me Dead and Crown Me Yours resold to Lisa Yoskowitz at Requited at auction via Pete Knapp and Stuti Telidevara of Park, Fine & Brower Literary Management. UK rights went to Kate Byrne at HQ at auction via Safae El-Ouahabi of Rogers, Coleridge & White on behalf of Olivia Malesco at Park, Fine & Brower Literary Management.
GUILLERMO DEL TORO and CHUCK HOGAN resold previously serialized “fairy-tale thriller” The Boy in the Iron Box, “soon to be a Netflix movie,” to Joe Monti at Saga Press via Richard Abate at 3 Arts Entertainment.
B. CELESTE resold Not Another Vampire Romance to Puffin UK on behalf of Kim Ryan of Penguin Young Readers.
PUBLISHING
LISA GREEN has been promoted to senior editor at City Owl Press.
KIRSIAH DEPP has been promoted to senior editor at Grand Central
MEDIA
Film rights to REBECCA YARROS’s forthcoming Peculiar Stars, “for development as a series,” went to Apple TV in a pre-empt via Weintraub Tobin and Untitled Entertainment on behalf of The Fury Agency. Yarros’s Full Measures Productions will be executive producer.
The HWA (Horror Writers Association) has undergone several changes throughout August and early September. Many of these changes were announced via video message by the organization’s president, Lisa Wood, as well as a September 6 text update on their Facebook page.
Due to timing conflicts with World Fantasy convention, the HWA general meeting has been moved to 3:30pm, October 3.
Wood stated, “We have dissolved the Executive Director position and will now be taking strides to determine how to move forward with the very good work that needs to be done from a position like that but from a different trajectory and a different focus as it suits our organization.” Following this, it appears that Maxwell Gold is no longer the HWA Executive Director.
Michael Bailey has been brought on as the organization’s new Treasurer. He has begun posting information of HWA finances on their Facebook page.
The HWA has made the text of their “standard Non-Disclosure Agreement for HWA Volunteers, Trustees, and Executive Officers” public.
The HWA has dissolved it’s Grievance Committee. They stated that “In conversation with MWA, SFWA, and our attorney, it was made clear to us that any HWA Grievance Committee had no legal standing and the committee we had in place did not make that clear.”
Sèphera Girón has been removed from the HWA board of trustees. This comes following backlash to her opinion piece published in the HWA newsletter, which condemed anti-AI “gatekeepers.” The HWA board stated that, “the column in question fails to uphold the principles of the organization, (and) does not reflect the consensus of leadership and membership alike on the subject…”
KUZHALI MANICKAVEL is now represented by Michael Curry at Donald Maass Literary Agency.
KATH RICHARDS is now represented by Bethany Weaver at Weaver Literary Agency. Fangs with Benefits resold to Sam Brody at Forever via Jessica Purdue at Sphere.
The Horror Writers Association will partner with Raw Dog Screaming Press to publish HWA Poetry Showcase Volume XIII and future volumes.
KATHERINE LOCKE is president of the executive board of Authors Against Book Bans as of July 1, replacing Maggie Tokuda-Hall after her term.
BOOKS SOLD
CLAIRE MCKADE sold The Bridge to Nowhere and Everywhere, set in a postapocalyptic world with a mysterious skyscraper stretching into space with a televised gauntlet, and two more books to Laura Schreiber at Voyager at auction via Laura Rennert of Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
JAMIE CASS’s Starfall, first in the historical fantasy Oxford Book of Magick series, and two more titles went to Chelsea Villareal at Podium Publishing for six figures at auction via John Baker and Julie Gourinchas of Bell Lomax Moreton Agency.
TRINITY MONTOYA’s “feminist techno-thriller” Kitsune 2.0 sold to Gemma Creffield at Solstice in a pre-empt via Barbara Zitwer of Barbara Zitwer Agency.
ANTOINETTE VAN SLUYTMAN sold The Red Then to dave ring at Neon Hemlock via Julie Crisp of Julie Crisp Literary Agency.
R.A. SANDPIPER resold romantic fantasy To Touch a Silent Fury and sold an untitled sequel to Gretchen Durning at Berkley XO via Alyssa Morris of Trellis Literary Management. UK rights sold to Alexa Allen-Batifoulier at Del Rey UK via Maddalena Cavaciuti of David Higham Associates on behalf of Tori Clayton and Allison Malecha of Trellis Literary Management.
REBECCA ZAHABI sold The Monkey Queen, “a gender-flipped retelling following the trickster god Sun Wukong,” and another title to Toni Kirkpatrick at Diversion Books via Alice Speilburg of Speilburg Literary Agency.
CASSANDRA KHAW’s “cozy fantasy” Sweet Saints sold to Mika Kasuga at Union Square & Co via Michael Curry of Donald Maass Literary Agency.
MICHAEL SIMON sold Dark Passage, Lost Nexus, and Chosen Destiny in the Stellar Crossing series to Marilyn Kretzer at Blackstone Publishing at auction via Michelle Hauck of Storm Literary Agency.
CAMILA URIOSTE’s “speculative literary novel” Fearsick, set in a Midwestern town on the anniversary of a school shooting, went to Jim McCoy at University of Iowa Press via Veronica Goldstein of Dunow, Carlson & Lerner.
JAMIE KILLEN sold The War of Hours, “an anti-capitalist time-travel novel,” and its sequel to Nidhi Pugalia at Viking at auction via Elizabeth Pratt of Trellis Literary Management.
JANNA MILLER’s contemporary fantasy Blessings from War Island sold to Darian Bianco at Apex.
ANNE BISHOP sold the third novel in the Isle of Wyrd series to Anne Sowards at Ace via Jennifer Jackson of Donald Maass Literary Agency.
ASHLEY POSTON sold Elodie and the Dark Lord, first in a fantasy duology, and another book to Amanda Bergeron at Berkley via Holly Root of Root Literary. UK rights went to Priyal Agrawal at HQ.
ELLIOT GISH’s “historical speculative novel” Ruby and Jude, set in an underground 1960s lesbian bar, went to Jen Sookfong Lee at ECW Press via Geffen Semach of Westwood Creative Artists.
ZANDER WOOLLEY’s How to Raise a Human, “set in a galaxy rebuilding after a devastating war,” sold to Peter Joseph at Crown via Sarah Scarlett of Penguin Random House UK. UK rights went to Jorgie Bain at Michael Joseph via Sam Edenborough of Greyhound Literary.
KHALIA MOREAU’s Tainted, about a cursed young woman whose attempt to defect from her militarized unit goes wrong, sold to Ashlyn Inman at Keylight via Sara Megibow of Megibow Literary Agency.
J.D. ROBINSON sold When Tomorrows End, about a man who is stuck in time and must ally with a fellow time-traveler to escape a temporal storm and get home, to Marilyn Brigham at 47North via Brandi Bowles and Ethan Schlatter of UTA.
JOANNA RUSS’s The Collected Stories went to Jeanne Thornton at Feminist Press via Diana Finch of Diana Finch Literary Agency.
LASHAWN M. WANAK sold collection The Works of Her Hands to Patrick Swenson at Fairwood Press via Kristopher O’Higgins of Scribe Agency.
WILLIAM SHUNN’s collection Scouring the Deep Skies sold to Patrick Swenson at Fairwood Press via Barry Goldblatt of Barry Goldblatt Literary.
JAMES VAN PELT’s collection Slow Dance at the High School and Other Imaginings went to Patrick Swenson at Fairwood Press.
CALLIE ROWLAND sold Gate of Nightmares to Elizabeth Agyemang at 47North via Safae El-Ouahabi of Rogers, Coleridge & White.
CHARLEIGH FREDERICK’s Pete Versus the Heroes, following a notorious antihero in a world where superheroes have absolute power, and two more titles went to Anna Stileski at Bow’s Bookshelf.
LEE A. EVERETT’s The Oaths that Bind Us went to Gwyn Jordan at Rogueheart Press via A.J. Van Belle of Booker Albert Agency. Chelsea Karol will edit.
PAUL CORNELL sold historical fantasy Oh Fortuna!, set in an alternate Britain, and another book to Marcus Gipps at The Broken Binding Press via Stacia Decker of Dunow, Carlson & Lerner.
BASIL TALBOT sold Soulstones to Hannah Graves at Olive Press. Kelley York will edit.
KYLIE CHEUNG sold “speculative, autofictional, literary novel” Genesis to Christoph Paul at Clash.
N.E. Davenport (2020)
N.E. DAVENPORT’s Immortal Empire, first in a dark romantasy duology, and a second title sold to David Pomerico at Voyager for six figures via Emily Forney of BookEnds.
BRITTNEY ARENA sold Prince of Night and another title, a romantic fantasy duology “about a chronically ill sculptor caught dreaming in a land where dreams are forbidden,” to Viengsamai Fetters at Erewhon at auction via Jennifer Azantian of Azantian Literary Agency. UK rights went to Vicky Leech Mateos at Bloomsbury Archer UK for six figures; Sam Bradbury will edit.
TIFFANY DAUNE sold Love is Dead, first in a five-title paranormal romance series with a vampire hunter, and four more books to Jasmine Callaghan at Boldwood via Kayla Bramante of Storyteller Talent Agency.
KRISTINA FOREST sold The Unrequited Love Department, “a workplace romance with a light speculative twist,” to Emilia Rhodes at Atria via Sara Crowe of Sara Crowe Literary.
BETH MERLIN and DANIELLE MODAFFERI’s A Kingdom of Skyscrapers and Fire Escapes went to Marilyn Kretzer at Blackstone Publishing via Mark Gottlieb of Trident Media Group.
CORAL VEGA’s A Dance of Fire sold to Jean Lowd at Creative James.
MILA FINCH resold previously self-published Runebreaker and sold two more books to Alessandra Roche at Bloom Books at auction via Haley Heidemann of WME. UK rights sold to Calah Singleton at Voyager UK in a pre-empt via Kimberley Atkins of WME.
RUBY RUNE’s “dark academia romance” A Game of Cat and Witch and another book went to Ghjulia Romiti at Forever in a pre-empt via Angie Ojeda Hazen of Lunar Literary Agency.
TASHA SOLOMONS’s Blood Goddess, first in a dark academia romantasy duology, went to Sydney Collins at Delacorte Press in a pre-empt via Ariele Fredman and Kelly Karczewski of UTA on behalf of Sue Armstrong at C+W.
JENNY L. HOWE, writing as LUCY HELEN HOWELL, sold A Frenzy of Fae and Feelings and Kaiju and Kisses to Elora Hartway at Titan Books via Katelyn Detweiler of Jill Grinberg Literary Management.
SOFIA AVES’s That Time I Fell for a Sea Monster and at least one other book went to Emma Grundy Haigh at Boldwood via Nicky Lovick of WGM Atlantic Group.
LILY X’s “sapphic time-slip rom-com” Loched in Time and another book sold to Junessa Viloria at Forever at auction via Patrice Caldwell of The Caldwell Agency.
ALEXANDRA KENNINGTON, writing as A.A. KENNINGTON, sold “sapphic horromance” The Minotaur Project to Gabrielle Pachon at Ace via Bethany Hendrix of Spencerhill Associates.
LORA SENF sold Death No. 114 to Ardyce Alspach at Union Square & Co via Ali Herring of Spencerhill Associates.
KEALAN PATRICK BURKE’s Nightlights for Eyes, set against the Satanic Panic and following a group of teenagers who “mess with the occult in the ruins of an abandoned church,” sold to Alan Lastufka at Shortwave.
GABE CONVERSE sold The Body Remembers, “in which a trans man’s pre-transition body washes up on the beach in his hometown and is coaxed back to life by his transphobic family,” to Rebecca Brewer at Bloomsbury Archer via Mara Hollander of Azantian Literary Agency.
Rudy Ruiz (2014)
RUDY RUIZ’s “Southern gothic horror” Diablo Creek went to Marilyn Kretzer at Blackstone Publishing via Laura Strachan of Strachan Literary Agency.
TR ROWE sold “queer horror romance” Backsliders to Katie McGuire at Crooked Lane via Dorian Maffei of Kimberley Cameron & Associates.
SARAH UNDERWOOD’s The Changeling Rule and another book went to Kristin Daly Rens at Storytide for six figures via Catherine Cho of Paper Literary. UK rights to both books and a third went to Sarah Levison at Electric Monkey, also for six figures.
BRIDGETTE WAY sold How to Seduce a Dark Lord, “about a famous necromancer hell-bent on becoming the trophy husband to the most dangerous man in New York,” and another title to Esi Sogah at Berkley and to Stephanie Alleyne at Random House Canada on behalf of Amanda Ferreira at auction via Cheyenne Faircloth and Courtney Miller-Callihan of Handspun Literary. UK rights went to Elora Hartway at Titan Books via Tawanna Sullivan at Berkley.
TESSA STONE sold “paranormal suspense” book Strange Neighbors and at least one other title to Kreceda Tyler at Black Odyssey Media in a pre-empt.
JOE KOCH sold “cosmic-erotic slasher and queer anti-murder mystery” Dead Boys Don’t Cry to Christoph Paul at Clash.
NEAL SHUSTERMAN’s second and third books in the First Blades series sold to Justin Chanda at Simon & Schuster Children’s via Andrea Brown of Andrea Brown Literary Agency.
ANN LIANG sold speculative novel The Lost Life of Sylvia Song to Claire Stetzer at Harper Children’s via Kathleen Rushall of Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Sara Schonfeld will edit.
SASHA PEYTON SMITH sold The Fox Bride and another title to Erica Sussman at Harper Children’s via Hillary Jacobson of CAA. UK rights sold to Sarah Levison at Farshore via Sarah Mitchell of CAA.
R.M. GRAY sold The Bloodwolf Trials, “pitched as Spirited Away meets Wednesday,” and another book to Alexandra Hightower at Little, Brown Children’s via Gwen Beal and Peter Steinberg of UTA.
ROZ MACLAREN’s Burning Skye, second in the fantasy trilogy Ruined Skye, went to Sofia Aves at Evernight Teen.
S.M. DAVIS’s Disconnected, set in a future of shared knowledge through neural implants when a teenager finds his connection is failing, went to Sofia Aves at Evernight Teen.
SADIE SUKSIRI’s The Undoing, in which girls are born with a magical gift they must give up in adolescence, sold to Katherine Harrison at Knopf Children’s at auction via Molly Ker Hawn of David Higham Associates.
MARISA URGO sold The Midnight Coven, involving a celestial curse at a haunted boarding school, to Afua Antwi at Puffin UK via Moe Ferrara of TriadaUS Literary Agency.
S.G. PRINCE’s YA fantasy No Glory for Thieves went to Kortney Nash at Godwin Books via Haley Casey of Creative Media Agency.
MARIANNA SHEK’s “time-traveling dystopian adventure” The Wrangler’s Daughter sold to Shalu Vallepur at Chicken House.
GABRIELA MARTINS’s Love at First Bite sold to Carolina Mancheno Ortiz at Avon A.
DANA GRICKEN sold paranormal fantasy Ghost Game and mystery The Lost Pharaoh to Sofia Aves at Evernight Teen.
SASHA HIBBS and CHRISTINA HOOKER sold paranormal romance The Wicked Door to Sofia Aves at Evernight Teen.
Vickie Lan (2020s)
VICKIE LAN’s debut But First Take Off Your Shoes, “in which a biracial daughter and her estranged Vietnamese mother try to reconcile as cities crumble, green laser beams rain down, and old grudges reemerge,” and another title went to Ardyce Alspach at Union Square & Co in a pre-empt via Ali Herring of Spencerhill Associates.
KIRSTEN GARRISON’s The Godbound King, debut and first in a “dark quest fantasy duology,” and another title sold to Jela Lewter at Saga Press via Jane Chun of Transatlantic Literary Agency.
DANI RAANAN’s debut fantasy novel The Crafter’s Wife sold to Ian Whates at Newcon Press via John Jarrold of John Jarrold Literary Agency.
HELENA BAILACH ADSUARA’s debut Monstrous Alchemy, a “dark academia fantasy,” went to Kirsiah Depp at Grand Central at auction via Hayley Steed of Janklow & Nesbit UK. UK rights went to Sania Riaz at Harvill Secker via Steed.
SALLY HAMILTON sold debut fantasy The Greenglass Guide to Magical Antiques to Brianna Fairman at Putnam in a pre-empt via Sara Crowe of Sara Crowe Literary.
AUGUST PONTHIER’s debut Everywhere Isn’t Texas, “blending speculative, horror, sci-fi, and Western elements,” sold to Pilar Garcia-Brown at Dutton in a pre-empt via Julie Flanagan of CAA.
SHANNON RAMPE sold debut Gods of Sky and Dust, pitched as Empire of Silence meets Final Fantasy, and another title to Toni Kirkpatrick at Diversion Books via Susan Velazquez Colmant of JABberwocky Literary Agency.
CARRIE KWIATKOWSKI’s debut, historical fantasy The Bindery Guild went to Stephanie Stein at Wildthorn at auction via Alexandra Machinist of CAA. UK rights sold to Gillian Green at Wildthorn UK via Daisy Arendell of CAA.
SADIE NICOLE sold A Haunted House Is Not a Home, pitched as Get Out meets Practical Magic, and another book to Sam Brody at Forever via Jessica Faust and Keifer Ludwig of BookEnds.
SHAYA LIN SUSAN sold debut There’s Something Wrong with the Girls, pitched as “The Stepford Wives for the TikTok girls,” to Abby Knudsen at Gallery via Thais Afonso of Azantian Literary Agency.
CLAIRE WELLS sold debut, “apocalyptic rom-com” Shoot Prey Love, and another book to Maxine Shen at Alcove Press via Sandra Sawicka of Marjacq Scripts.
ALEXANDRA RENWICK’s debut Horn, “reimagining the unicorn myth,” went to Olivia Zavitson at Hyperion Avenue via Jennifer Weltz of Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency.
KRASH MEGIDDO’s debut, SF Pax Bin Yil sold to Bloom and Nectar Books.
J.I. LOCATELLI’s debut, YA horror Little Sisters, Big Lies, “about a freshman sorority pledge investigating a fellow pledge’s disappearance… as she begins to literally lose parts of herself in seductive sorority bonding rituals,” went to Tyiana Combs at Penguin Workshop via Rebecca Matte of Bradford Literary Agency.
NICOLE CREMEANS sold debut Deities and Calamities, Conquer Your Demons, and Bound by Law to Sabine Berlin at Roan & Weatherford via Bonnie Swanson of FinePrint Literary Management. Lindsay Flanagan will edit.
ZIN E. ROCKLYN delivered a novella tentatively titled Blue Plate to Claire Eddy and Oliver Dougherty at Tordotcom via Arley Sorg of kt literary. Mal Frazier will edit.
JAMES PATRICK KELLY, JOHN KESSEL & JONATHAN LETHEM sold Ninety Percent of Everything, which will contain the story of the same name, and “a separate new or rare story from each author,” to Patrick Swenson at Fairwood Press via John Silbersack of the Bent Agency.
Chesya Burke (2022)
CHESYA BURKE sold Let’s Play White, Too, “exploring the existence of Black women in America” with horror fiction and nonfiction essays to Jason Sizemore at Apex.
SILVIA MORENO-GARCIA and illustrator STEPH C. SOLIS sold a graphic novel adaptation of Mexican Gothic to Sebastian Girner at BOOM! Studios via Eddie Schneider of JABberwocky Literary Agency for Moreno-Garcia and via Jane Chun of Transatlantic Literary Agency for Solis. Maya Bollinger will edit.
K-MING CHANG sold “speculative essay” Ghostworld: On Girlhood to Lizzie Davis at Transit Books via Julia Kardon of HG Literary.
BOOKS RESOLD
KATE ASHER resold Crown of Olympus, Blood of Olympus, Blade of Olympus, and another book to Christine Ebbs at Penguin Australia via Saffron Dodd of ASH Literary.
MICHAEL SWANWICK’s fantasy book The Iron Dragon’s Daughter resold to Caroline Tew at Saga Press via Danielle Bukowski of Sterling Lord Literistic.
MARIAH MONTOYA and GRACE PEARCE resold the Guardians & Monsters duology to Alessandra Roche at Bloom Books via Rikki Bergman and Caitlin Mahony of WME. UK rights sold to Natasha Bardon at Voyager UK via Francesca Ali and Suzannah Ball of WME.
SHIM EUNJUNG and CHOI HYUNYU resold The 25:00 Magic Lantern Express, translated by Gene Png, to Anne Sowards at Ace in a pre-empt via Stella Giatrakou of Bonnier Books UK.
SAM MILLER resold previously self-published SF collection Still Lost to Nidhi Pugalia at Penguin at auction via Angeline Rodriguez of WME. UK rights went to Ben Brusey at Del Rey UK via Francesca Ali of WME.
JULIANN GAREY resold Grace, Falling to Mark Doten at Soho Press via Paul Bresnick of Bresnick Weil Literary Agency.
JIM BUTCHER resold The Law to Kate Runde at Podium Publishing via Jennifer Jackson of Donald Maass Literary Agency.
PUBLISHING
KATIE DENT has been appointed commissioning editor at Orbit UK. She was previously fiction editor at Titan.
FAYE IOSOTALUNO has been appointed as president and chief operating officer of Entangled. She was previously CEO of Tinder.
NINA LEON has joined Hardman & Swainson as literary agent, “focusing on romantasy, YA, upmarket, and contemporary romance.” Leon was previously at Pérez Literary & Entertainment.
GABRIELLE PACHON has been promoted to associate editor at Berkley/Ace Books. #noinsta
Following a “careful review,” Apex Magazinehas removed the story “Vigil of the Tenth Air” from Apex #153 amid skepticism around the author’s potential use of AI tools for its writing.
Though ultimately not selected for publication, a shortlisted story for Apex imprint Violet Lichen’s upcoming ECO25: the Year’s Best Speculative Ecofiction was also struck from website listings after it came to light that other work associated with the author’s pen name was “recently removed from several other short fiction publications under suspicion of AI usage.”
In response, Apex Book Company, Apex Magazine, and Violet Lichen announced plans to reevaluate their submission guidelines, including “refining the language” of its AI clause and “expanding” the team’s internal review processes to more ably respond to concerns around LLM usage. The editorial team clarified that they do not intend to use AI screening applications or request early drafting papers for evidence “in the event a piece is suspected of AI use after publication,” and will converse directly with the author(s) involved “to discuss the story in further detail” and come to an appropriate resolution.
The Apex team is resolved to apply the lessons learned both from our experience, and from the invaluable reports and statements compiled by fellow indie publishers, to fortify our submission process against AI-assisted work, and to continue uplifting strange, surreal, beautiful speculative fiction written with passion and care by humans, for humans.
This comes after the recent news covered by Locus concerning speculation that some of the regional winners of the Commonwealth Prize may have at least partially used AI to generate their work—the Commonwealth Foundation has since announced that they are “satisfied that AI was not used to write the winning stories” after an investigation—and Hachette’s March decision to pull horror novel Shy Girl by Mia Ballard from shelves after information alleging its contents were AI generated was shared with the company by the New York Times.
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Harper Collins UK has announced a New Adult imprint, Wildlit. The imprint will publish “unabashedly bold, commercial and page-turning fiction,” with “romance as the thread that ties” their titles together. Publisher Lindsey Heaven and publishing director Sarah Levinson will run the new imprint, with first titles expected June 2027. This comes after the July announcement of the MoonFire imprint.
Reactor Magazine has 
