People & Publishing Roundup, June 2026

MILESTONES

C.J. Cherryh (2016)

CJ CHERRYH announced her retirement from writing on Facebook. She thanks her publisher Betsy Wollheim and wife “Jane, who is all things.”

KELLY MURASHIGE is now represented by Ashley Reisinger of Triada US. Murashige sold Milkiverse, in which a neurodiverse woman “discovers that drinking her customers’ leftover milk allows her to enter alternate worlds in which she is finally happy,” to Alexa Wejko at Soho Press via Savannah Brooks of kt literary.

LYSZ FLO and JEANÉ D. RIDGES have launched Spec Colorways In Verse, a “newsletter and community space” centering queer, BIPOC speculative poetry. It opened to submissions on May 16.

BOOKS SOLD

AKWAEKE EMEZI sold dark epic fantasy Eclipse & The Wolf and another book to Laura Schreiber at Voyager in a pre-empt via Jacqueline Ko of The Wylie Agency.

LYNN BUCHANAN’s Breeze Felt at Moonrise, first in a fantasy series with “a young woman growing mineral armor from her body who must leave home on a quest to prove herself to her people,” and another book went to Betsy Wollheim at DAW via Matt Bialer of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.

LAUREN DEDROOG sold Bloodlorn, “pitched as Carmilla meets The Serpent and the Wings of Night,” and Godscorn to Toni Kirkpatrick at Diversion Books via Melissa Vandeputte of Hamley Books Literary Agency. Nina Smetana will edit.

CHOI JIN-YOUNG’s Everything Happened at Once, translated from Korean by Soje and in which a virus sweeps away half the population overnight, went to Michael Reynolds at Europa Editions via Emma Thawley at Hachette UK. Lucrezia Lazzari will edit.

SHELBY CARLETON sold Sexpocalypse to Zach Phillips at Pantheon in a pre-empt via Charlie Olsen of Inkwell Management.

ARTHUR H. MANNERS’s Inworld, “pitched as The Three-Body Problem meets Annihilation,” and another book sold to Tim O’Connell at Saga Press via Brandi Bowles of UTA. UK rights sold to Chloe Gough at Voyager UK via Alexander Cochran while part of C+W on behalf of Mike Nardullo.

DULEY ANDERSON sold Saint of Despondent Pets, “in which a woman accidentally becomes a magical saint and must wrangle her newfound powers, and a love triangle between her boss and the saint of lost causes,” to Stefanie Chin at Union Square & Co via Hannah Andrade of Bradford Literary Agency.

Solar Hoàng (2025)

SOLAR HOÀNG sold River Runs Red in a historical fantasy duology set in Hanoi and another book to David Pomerico at Voyager via Angeline Rodriguez of WME.

MATT BELL sold Penitent, “a future-set novel cast in a medieval-like world,” to Thomas Gebremedhin at Doubleday via Kirby Kim of Janklow & Nesbit.

TRAVIS BALDREE’s Tales from the Territory, a five-story collection in the world of Legends & Lattes, went to Bill Schafer at Subterranean Press via Stevie Finegan of Zeno Agency. Jonathan Strahan will edit. UK rights went to Sophie Robinson at Tor UK.

SALLY SULTZMAN’s “dark fairy tale” They Are All Her Children sold to Darian Bianco at Apex.

CHARLENE CHALLENGER sold “cozy speculative novel” The Architect to Elsewhere and another book to Diana M. Pho at Erewhon Books via Kelvin Kong of K2Literary.

KAT COLLINS sold Jetsam, “the Murderbot Diaries meets Memento,” to Amy Borsuk at Rebellion via Brady McReynolds of JABberwocky Literary Agency.

DANIEL KALLA’s The Perfect Memory, “grounded in existing neuroscience, about a gene therapy that can erase traumatic memories,” and another book sold to Luisa Smith at Mysterious Press in a pre-empt via Liza Fleissig of Liza Royce Agency.

DETE MESERVE sold speculative mystery The Last Time She Saw and an untitled mystery to Melissa Rechter at Poisoned Pen Press via Christina Hogrebe of Jane Rotrosen Agency.

THOMAS PIERCE’s short story collection Do You Miss Earth? went to Meg Reid at Hub City Press via Jin Auh of The Wylie Agency.

BETH CATO’s A Manor Beyond the Mist, “weaving Arthurian lore and fae myth,” sold to Marilyn Brigham at 47North via Rebecca Strauss of DeFiore & Company.

MICHAEL SIMON sold Fifth Horizon, fifth in the First Command series, to Rhett Bruno at Aethon & Vault via Michelle Hauck of Storm Literary Agency.

KURT SCHLICHTER sold American Warlord to Tony Daniel at Ark Press.

EMILIA HART sold The Enigmas to Sarah Cantin at St. Martin’s via Alexandra Machinist at CAA on behalf of Felicity Blunt at Curtis Brown UK. UK rights went to Amy Perkins at The Borough Press via Blunt.

TEOLINDA GERSÃO’s short story collection Alice in Thunderland & Other Stories went to Fernanda Viveiros at Arquipélago via Jennifer Thompson of Nordlyset Literary Agency.

JOHANNA VAN VEEN’s The Literary Remains of Cornelia Feyen, “a humorous epistolary novel pitched as intertwining Dutch faerie folklore with a sapphic love story,” sold to Rebecca Brewer at Bloomsbury Archer at auction via Kristina Pérez of Pérez Literary & Entertainment. UK rights sold to Delayna Spencer at Hodderscape.

ALTA HENSLEY sold dark romantic comedy Witchmoth in the Wake and another book to Laura Schreiber at Avon Impulse for six figures via Katie Shea Boutillier of Donald Maass Literary Agency.

CHARLAINE HARRIS sold adult romantasy Hold My Spellbook, “pitched as The Bachelorette with swords and magic,” to Joe Monti at Saga Press. UK rights to Hold My Spellbook and another title went to Gillian Green at Bramble UK in a pre-empt via Stevie Finegan of Zeno Agency on behalf of JABberwocky Literary Agency.

KATRINA KWAN sold Deathly Beloved, following two vampires who work to end a war between their families, to Candice Coote at Berkley in a pre-empt via Jim McCarthy of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.

KALIE REID’s “friends-to-lovers romantasy” Copperstitched went to Julia DeVarti at Little, Brown via Maddy Belton of Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency.

GUS KRIEGER’s romantic speculative The Seventh Ribbon, in which a widow finds typewriter ribbons that can ink a different reality, sold to Karen Kosztolnyik at Grand Central via Margaret Sutherland Brown & Jenna Land Free of Folio Literary Management.

ALYSSA PICKERING sold Princess of Lies and two more books to Rachel Winterbottom at Wayward TxF in a pre-empt via Juliet Mushens of Mushens Entertainment.

B. CELESTE sold Not Another Vampire Romance to Reina Galhea at Berkley XO at auction via Josi Beck of Beck Literary Agency.

JENNIFER ESTEP’s “Robin Hood-inspired” Queen of Foxes went to Liz Pelletier at Red Tower via Jessica Errera & Annelise Robey of Jane Rotrosen Agency. Rebecca Heyman will edit. UK rights went to Rebecca Hilsdon at Michael Joseph.

JENNA WOLFHART sold dark romantasy Forsaken Crown, first in a duology, and another title to Liz Pelletier at Red Tower via Susan Velazquez Colmant of JABberwocky Literary Agency. UK rights sold to Rebecca Hilsdon at Michael Joseph.

RACHEL ROBINSON’s Echoed Vow and Golden Oath in the Resonant Hunger series and another title went to Ellie Folden at Love N. Books Press. Kayla Ireland will edit.

TESSONJA ODETTE’s “standalone fantasy rom-com” Elegance & Espionage sold to Kelly Smith at Zaffre via Kimberly Whalen of The Whalen Agency.

HEATHER CARTER sold gothic paranormal romance The Echoes of Radfield Hall to Lisa Green at City Owl Press via Marisa Corvisiero & Katrina Lemaire of Corvisiero Literary Agency.

TORRI HEAT’s paranormal romance Heresy and three more books went to Jasmine Callaghan at Boldwood via Katie Monson of SBR Media.

LINDY RYAN’s Final Girl Forever, in which a washed-up scream queen ends up a resident ghost in a mansion “until a botched seance forces her to step back into the spotlight and fight one last time for survival,” sold to Alexandra Sehulster at Minotaur via Italia Gandolfo of Gandolfo Helin & Fountain Literary Management.

TAYLOR GROTHE sold “queer, dark academia horror-romance” Lethal Kiss to Gillian Green at Nightfire UK.

KATE COLLINS sold Saint Death, set at a decrepit hotel now chosen as the site for a TV show, to Gina Iaquinta at Liveright via Stephanie Delman of Trellis Literary Management on behalf of Sara Langham. UK rights went to Harriet Hirshman at Dead Ink via Sara Langham at David Higham Associates.

BENEDICT ANNING’s Atomic Coffin, “blending deep-sea dread and psychological horror,” and another title went to Joe Monti at Saga Press at auction via John Baker of Bell Lomax Moreton Agency. UK rights sold to Simon Taylor at Transworld.

DAVE V. RISER sold Not Only Will this Kill You but It Will Hurt the Whole Time You Are Dying, following “a trans street kid turned necromancer,” to Alex Woodroe at Tenebrous Press.

HAILEY SPENCER’s Epiphyte, in which a grad student and her childhood friend are trapped in a story controlled by the rules of fairy tales, went to Amanda Manns at Creature via Marisa Corvisiero & Gabrielle Harbowy of Corvisiero Literary Agency. Krysta Winsheimer will edit.

CAITLIN CHISLING sold fantasy What the Wind Said, in which “a hungry wind uses impossible wishes to devour the living,” to Alyza Liu at Simon & Schuster Children’s via Bridget Smith of JABberwocky Literary Agency.

HILARY FILKINS sold The Living Half, following a girl and her mother after a zombie apocalypse, and another book to Alex Borbolla at Bloomsbury Children’s for six figures at auction via Elizabeth Bennett of Transatlantic Literary Agency.

CINDY PON sold Sheen, “in which a young woman lives among a traveling troupe of performers with illegal magic,” to Jenny Bak at Viking Children’s via Eric Smith of Neighborhood Literary.

KATHLEEN KITT’s fantasy romance Crown & Captive went to Jennifer Klonsky at Putnam Children’s via Lanie Davis & Viana Siniscalchi of Alloy Entertainment. Simone Roberts-Payne will edit.

ERICA SAGE’s Dead Things, “in which a girl discovers the rotting body of the most popular girl in school,” sold to Sofia Aves at Evernight Teen.

KYLIE LEE BAKER’s Infernally Yours, in which a teenage girl competes for the hand of the prince of hell to avoid being stuck as a yokai forever, went to Holly West at Feiwel & Friends via Mary C. Moore of Aevitas Creative Management.

DANA SCHWARTZ sold YA gothic historical fantasy Down Came a Blackbird and another book to Sara Goodman at Wednesday Books via Dan Mandel of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.

ADRIANA MATHER sold A Curse of Stolen Time to Holly West at Feiwel & Friends via Rosemary Stimola of Stimola Literary Studio.

MEGAN FLETCHER’s YA “post-apocalyptic sapphic romance” Where Time Ends went to Kristie Choi at Atheneum via Juliana McBride of Rebecca Friedman Literary.

EMILY THIEDE’s YA fantasy romance Gilded Wings and another book sold to Vicki Lame at Wednesday Books via Chelsea Eberly of Folio Jr.

HAZEL CROSS’s YA paranormal romance Roses & Ruin sold to Jennifer Klonsky at Putnam Children’s via Lanie Davis & Viana Siniscalchi of Alloy Entertainment. Simone Roberts-Payne will edit.

VALERIE NORTON sold debut, fantasy adventure The Darkness Beneath, “pitched as inspired by The Mummy,” to Elana Gibson at Alcove Press via Bethany Hendrix of Spencerhill Associates.

S.J. CRISTEA sold debut, “fantasy rom-com” How to Save a Dog from the Underworld and another book to Julia Elliott at Avon in a pre-empt via Kiya Evans of Paper Literary. Canadian rights went to Mikaela Roasa at Harper Canada, and UK rights went to Phillipa Walker at Michael Joseph at auction, via Evans.

JUNE HARRINGTON sold debut Merely a Matter of Time, in which two scientists skilled in magic “accidentally fall 200 years back in time, only to fall for each other,” and another title to Ali Fisher at Wildthorn in a pre-empt via Aurora Fernandez of Trident Media Group. UK rights sold to Bella Pagan at Tor UK at auction on behalf of Marley Johnson of Trident Media Group.

CHARLOTTE PETERS’s debut, “swashbuckling western romantasy” The Silver Bounty and another book went to Alexandra Sehulster at Saturday Books at auction via Lisa Grubka of UTA. UK rights went to Saida Azizova at Renegade Books via Susan Armstrong of C+W.

Tamar Voskuni (2026)

TAMAR VOSKUNI’s debut Witch & Hunter, a romantasy in which a vampire bounty hunter targets a woman accused of witchcraft, and another book sold to Kate Roddy at akaSTORY for six figures at auction via Claire Friedman of Inkwell Management for Voskuni and via Stephen Barbara of Inkwell Management for Jenna Brickley of StoryGiants; and to Sophie Clarke at Wayward TxF at auction via Hannah Schofield of LBA.

ESME LEE WILMOT sold debut Parallel, “a domestic suspense novel with speculative elements,” and another title to Pippa White at Lake Union Publishing via Anjanette Fennell of Bookspark Literary.

GITA JACKSON’s debut, “LitRPG romance” Level Up for Romance! went to Emma Cole at Mira via Alex Land of Mad Woman Literary Agency.

MARIE CROKE’s debut, horror Hush Little Hauntings sold to Nivia Evans at Saga Press via Kaitlyn Katsoupis of Belcastro Agency.

TAUBIN DUPAVILLON’s debut, romantasy Ocean Eyes went to Frankie Vasquez at Olive Press.

CAITLIN CLEMENTS’s debut Every Stop Between Us, “a speculative coming-of-age romance,” and another book went to Kelsey Horton at Delacorte in a pre-empt via Renee Runge of Spencerhill Associates.

GARETH L. POWELL’s SF novella Downdraft sold to Jendia Gammon at Stars and Sabers.

AKUA LEZLI HOPE’s collection of speculative poetry Telepath went to Gnashing Teeth Publishing.

Hadeer Elsbai (2024)

HADEER ELSBAI’s horror novella You Just Have to Ask Me sold to Mika Kasuga at Union Square & Co in a pre-empt for publication in winter 2027, by Laura Crockett at TriadaUS Literary Agency (world).

JESSIKA FLECK’s ”Choose Your Own Adventure” The Hawthorne Vampire Society sold to Lizzi Middleman at Chooseco via Fiona Kenshole at Transatlantic Literary Agency. Eamon Dunn will edit.

BOOKS RESOLD

MICHAEL ROCH resold Lanvil, 2070, originally published in French, to Zach Phillips at Pantheon via Rebecca Wearmouth of PFD on behalf of Lucy Barry and Kieron Fairweather of PFD for La Volte. UK rights went to Christopher Sturtivant at Harvill Secker in a pre-empt via Barry and Fairweather.

ZOEY DRAVEN resold Desire in His Blood, Craving in His Blood, and Hunger in His Blood, the first three in “a sci-fi romantasy/monster romance series” to Emily Archbold at Del Rey via Kimberly Brower of Park, Fine & Brower Literary Management.

Three books in JENNIFER CHIPMAN’s Witches of Pleasant Grove series resold to Phillipa Walker at Michael Joseph via Valentine Grinstead of The Seymour Agency.

PUBLISHING

At DAW, Head of Marketing and Publicity LAURA FITZGERALD will add Associate Publisher to their title, MADELINE GOLDBERG is now Associate Editor, and GRACE BROWN will join as Junior Designer.

JUDITH CURR, HarperOne president and publisher, retired May 29 after eight years leading the imprint.

STEPHANIE FRYLING joined HarperCollins as president of sales beginning May 11. Fryling was previously at Barnes & Noble and Penguin Random House. ROXANNE FINKELSTEIN has been promoted to director of publishing operations in managing editorial, GINA MACDONALD to associate director in production editorial, and TARYN ORTOLAN and ERIN PINKSEN each to assistant manager in production editorial.

Senior staff at Curtis Brown Creative, including ANNA DAVIS, have bought a majority stake in CBC from Curtis Brown UK. JONNY GELLER has resigned as director of CBC and the company will vacate Curtis Brown’s offices but maintain a relationship with it.

LISA LITWACK has been promoted to executive director of art as Simon & Schuster.

MEDIA

Film rights to The Midnight Library by MATT HAIG went to StudioCanal and Blueprint Pictures. Matt Haig will produce along with Florence Pugh. Gareth Davis will direct.

Film rights to The Buried Giant by KAZUO ISHIGURO sold to Netflix as a stop-motion film. Guillermo del Toro will produce, ShadowMachine will produce animation, and Dennis Kelly and del Toro will adapt the script.

Film rights to The Barbie Mur­ders by JOHN VARLEY sold to FX Studios via Jon Levin of Sustainable Entertainment and the Virginia Kidd Agency on behalf of Kerry Varley for the Estate of John Varley.

Film rights to Rest Stop by NAT CASSIDY went to Coin Operated. Gary Dauberman and Mia Manis­calco will produce; Cassidy will adapt the screenplay.