Hey y’all!
It’s been a few months since I’ve done a news feature on the blog. Although I love them, reading through publishing outlets takes a lot of time – which I’ve definitely had less of while I’ve transitioned into college life.
Last year, I started The Grind a year or so ago as a way to condense some of the last bookish news in YA for my readers. I hope to make it a Skimm-like picture of what all’s been going on in publishing, especially for people interested in the genres I like.
When I decided that I really wanted to get involved in the publishing industry, I turned towards more sources. Now, I read a lot of Publishers Weekly and GalleyCat and Publishing Trendsetter, and I try to always keep up-to-date with both current events and trends that’ll pop up in a few years from deals.
Without further ado, here’s what’s been going on in publishing (especially in YA)…
The News
Bob Dylan got the Nobel Prize in Literature
So that happened. And yet he still hasn’t released a statement about it, despite being the first American to win the award since Toni Morrison (the woman, the legend.) His website did change to reflect the award, but people are clamoring for some more recognition. Bonus award news: Paul Beatty won the Man Booker Prize, and he’s the first American to do so since its conception 48 years ago.
Christopher Marlowe Named Co-Author on Three Shakespearean Plays
I’m in a Shakespeare class at the moment, so this just absolutely blew my mind. I know there’s always been debate about how much of Shakespeare’s work was original, but I never realized they’d reached a conclusion about it. In any case, the Oxford University Press will now credit Christopher Marlowe with a co-writing credit on Henry VI editions coming out soon.
A Shipping Company Bankruptcy Messes Up Publishers’ Routes
“A Korean shipping company is causing some headaches for U.S. publishers. The Hanjin Shipping Company, which filed for bankruptcy in August, has seen dozens of its ships—some carrying significant orders from trade houses—stranded at sea or seized by creditors. Affected publishers range from St. Martin’s Press to W.W. Norton to Lee & Low.” Read more at Publishers Weekly and Melville House.
Most Authors in the UK Make Minimum Wage
Hey, hey, hey. That’s not cool.
BookExpo Changes to Appeal to Booksellers
As y’all may know, I love attending BookExpo America – which will now simply be known as BookExpo. So essentially I need to go back and rename my recap posts. Organizers are hoping that the name change, in conjunction with new focus on (independent) booksellers, will revamp the show and help their target audience.
Publishing Houses and Imprint Updates
Abrams is launching a nonfiction imprint. Swoon Reads is opening to non-romance reads (submissions of all genres.) St. Martin’s Press is starting a political imprint. And this is perhaps worthy of a heading of its own: Jolly Fish Press is shutting down – but also somehow opening to submissions? A lot of people within the industry are not happy with the way the press is handling this news.
Good Articles
Daily Show Writer’s Reaction Letter on Censorship Goes Viral | GalleyCat
Bookstore Owner Featured on Invincible Iron Man Cover | GalleyCat
Video Explores Difficulties of Translating the Harry Potter Books | GalleyCat
Dos Equis Commercial Actor Lands Book Deal | GalleyCat
Spanish Police Arrest Their First Ever eBook Pirate | Torrent Police
Authors Guild Opens Membership to New and Unpublished Writers | Digital Book World
ELLE.com Has a New Boss and She’s 11 Years Old | Elle
Fox Animation Picks Up ‘The Girl Who Drank The Moon’ For ‘Kubo And The Two Strings’ Writer Marc Haimes | Deadline
Someone Reading a Book is a Sign of Order in the World | Brain Pickings
Barbershop Cuts Prices For Kids Who Read Aloud During Appointment | HuffPost
Read a chilling excerpt from the Black Lives Matter-inspired YA novel The Hate U Give | EW
‘Don’t ask what’s wrong with the reader, what’s wrong with the books?’: writing for readers with dyslexia | Guardian Books
The Deals
from Publishers Weekly
Sarah Dotts Barley at Flatiron Books has bought North American rights toMelissa Albert‘s debut novel, The Hazel Wood, in a mid-six-figure preempt. Billed as The Magicians for YA readers, the novel follows 17-year-old Alice, who has spent her whole life fleeing the long shadow of her grandmother’s cult collection of pitch-dark fairy tales. When Alice’s mother is taken by the world behind the stories, Alice must journey there to retrieve her. It’s slated for spring 2018; Faye Bender at the Book Group negotiated the deal.
Sarah Shumway at Bloomsbury has acquired world rights to The Leaving author Tara Altebrando‘s next YA novel, The Opposite of Here, a Hitchcockian thriller about a girl who meets her dream boy on the first night of a Caribbean cruise – only to have him mysteriously vanish – and a second, untitled YA novel. Publication for The Opposite of Here is scheduled for spring 2018. David Dunton at Harvey Klinger brokered the deal.
Michael Strother at Harlequin Teen has bought A.R. Kahler‘s Runebinder, first in a post-apocalyptic fantasy series following Tenn, a Hunter fighting against the monsters that have overrun the world and those who control them. As he tries to learn more about his magic, he falls into a deadly game of love and power. Publication is planned for fall 2017; Laurie McLean at Fuse Literary did the three-book deal for world rights.
Sarah Dotts Barley at Flatiron Books has acquired If I Was Your Girl authorMeredith Russo‘s new novel, Birthday, following two very different teenagers meeting on their shared 13th birthday, setting into motion a series of events that will shape who they are and who they’re destined to become. Publication is set for summer 2018; Hayley Wagreich and Joelle Hobeika at Alloy Entertainment sold North American rights.
Vicki Lame at St. Martin’s/Wednesday Books has bought Gae Polisner‘s In Sight of Stars. It tells the story of Klee, a teenage artist reeling from the death of his father, who spends time in a psychiatric hospital where he must review the pieces of his life—what was true, what was real, and whether he can learn to function again. Publication is slated for winter 2018; Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret did the deal for world rights.
Ruta Rimas at McElderry Books has bought MacDowell Colony fellow Kit Frick‘s YA debut. Pitched in the tradition of E. Lockhart, Lauren Oliver, and Kara Thomas, See All the Stars tackles the thrills of first love, the pain of betrayal, and the complexities of female friendship, as an 18-year-old navigates her last year of high school in the wake of a mysterious accident for which she’s been blamed. Publication is slated for summer 2018; Erin Harris of Folio Literary Management/Folio Jr. brokered the two-book deal for world English rights.
Susan Chang at Tor Teen/Starscape has bought two standalone YA novels by Vassa in the Night author Sarah Porter. The first book, Never-Contented Things, slated for fall 2018, features two siblings trapped in an alternate reality that appears to be a precise replica of the college town where they’ve been living with their foster parents. The second book is currently untitled and is set for winter 2020. Kent D. Wolf at the Friedrich Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Michael Strother at Harlequin Teen has bought North American rights to Cadaver and Queen by Alisa Kwitney, pitched as feminist Frankenstein meets Grey’s Anatomy, about the first female student at a Victorian-era medical school, who uncovers gruesome secrets that some professors would kill to hide, plus a sequel. Publication of the first book is scheduled for fall 2017; Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency did the two-book deal.
Kristin Rens at HarperCollins’s Balzer + Bray imprint has acquired North American rights to librarian Megan Bannen‘s debut novel The Nameless Prince, inspired by the ancient Persian poem that gave rise to the opera Turandot. Narrated by Hua, a slave girl, it’s the story of a prince who will risk anything to save his kingdom, a princess whose impossible riddles have claimed the lives of all her would-be suitors, and the girl who brings them together with terrible consequences. Publication is planned for fall 2018. Holly Root at Waxman Leavell Literary represented the author in the five-house auction.
Annie Berger at Sourcebooks Fire has bought debut author Bridget Morrissey‘s YA novel, The Place Where We Exist, in which two high school seniors meet for the first time on graduation day and feel instantly connected. When an accident leaves him in a coma, she must piece together the fragments of his life before it’s too late. Publication is slated for winter 2018; Taylor Haggerty at Waxman Leavell negotiated the deal for world English.
Sylvie Frank at S&S’s Paula Wiseman Books has bought Kristin Halbrook‘s (writing as K.D. Halbrook) first middle-grade novel, Smoke and Mirrors. The story follows a girl who loses faith in her culture, family, and friends when bullying at school becomes overwhelming, and she embarks on a quest to discover the roots of a curse that plagues the magical cirque where she has grown up. Publication is planned for fall 2018; Brent Taylor at the TriadaUS Literary Agency negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Normally, I pick about five or so book deals I’m excited about – but over the past few weeks, there have been so many that I’m dying for. Sarah Dotts Barley is a favorite editor of mine, and I adore Brent Taylor. As for others, the taglines have me pining.