Dawn Davis at 37 Ink won world rights, at auction, to This Is the (After)Life with Denise, Heaven’s Receptionist, by TikTok content creator Taryn Delanie Smith (pictured l.), from Kathy Schneider, who brokered the deal independently. The book, illustrated by Maria Krasinski, is written from the perspective of Smith’s “viral alter ego, heaven’s straight-talking receptionist, as she welcomes the recently departed to their new home ‘upstairs,’ ” per the publisher, with the aim of “offering comfort and humor to anyone coping with the loss of a loved one.” A fall 2026 pub date is set. (Photo: Jelani Rice)

Rebecca Brewer at Bloomsbury Archer took North American rights to Callum Broadway-Bennett’s Duskborn from Ariana Philips at Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency on behalf of Judith Murray of Greene & Heaton. The debut novel was acquired with two other books in what the publisher called “an epic fantasy series about a holy warrior battling the vampiric empire, who must become the thing he hates most in order to save humanity.” A 2027 release is planned.

Katherine Nintzel and Sean deLone at Atria, Jason Pinter at the S&S audio imprint Simon Maverick, and Adrienne Kerr at Simon & Schuster Canada bought North American rights to Allen Levi’s Theo of Golden from Suzanne Gluck at WME. The debut novel, about “a stranger’s arrival in a small Southern city and the power of small everyday acts of connection and grace,” was self-published in 2023 and will be released by S&S this fall.

Liz Frances at Street Noise netted world English rights to Camila Kerwin’s Soft Targets: On Guns in America and the Kids Caught in the Crossfire from Gordon Warnock at Fuse Literary. The debut work of graphic journalism “unpacks the history of American gun culture and legislation to
analyze how guns became the leading cause of death for children in the U.S.,” per the publisher. A summer 2026 release is planned.

Tricia Narwani at Del Rey picked up North American rights to Elizabeth Lim’s Fishbone Cinderella from Gina Maccoby, who has an eponymous agency, in a two-book deal. The YA author’s adult debut, per the publisher, is a “family saga with a shimmer of magic” that tells “the intertwined stories of a mother and daughter in 1940s Hong Kong and 1960s San Francisco.” A 2026 release is set.

Kate Seaver at Berkley preempted North American rights to Jaclyn Moriarty’s Time Travel for Beginners from Jill Grinberg, who has an eponymous agency, on behalf of Tara Wynne at Curtis Brown Australia. The novel, per the publisher, follows three strangers who are “all drawn to a mysterious shop claiming to have unlocked the secret to time travel.” Release is set for August 2026.

In Brief

  • Aranya Jain at DAW landed world English rights to screenwriter Jason Kaleko’s debut novel The Joplin Horror, about a crew of grave robbers who target a mausoleum only to find themselves trapped in a labyrinthine nightmare, from Kirby Kim at Janklow & Nesbit, for a spring 2027 publication.

  • Angelin Adams at Clarkson Potter acquired world rights, in an exclusive submission, to Regina Linke’s The Tao of Nature, “a collection of more than 50 modern interpretations of classic Taoist texts illustrated with Linke’s distinctive, contemporary Chinese gongbi-style brush painting,” from Liz Nealon at Great Dog Literary, for a spring 2027 release.

  • Cara Bedick at Little, Brown Spark preempted world rights to clinical psychologist Raquel Martin’s Burn the Cape, a mental health guide for Black women based on Martin’s nationwide support group, from Lauren Abramo at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret, for a spring 2027 publication. Bedick will edit with Peyton Young.

  • Rick Rinehart at Lyons Press secured world English rights to Inside the SEC: How One NCAA Conference Came to Dominate College Sports by Rick Burton and Norm O’Reilly from Jennifer Unter, who has an eponymous agency, for an August 2027 release.