After she was dropped by her agent, Alex Aster turned to a books-obsessed corner of TikTok to gauge interest in her YA novel … and now Lightlark is one of the most eagerly anticipated releases of the yearHaving finally published her first novel, Alex Aster was feeling disheartened. The book had tanked during the pandemic and she had been dropped by her literary agent. Then, on 13 March 2021, she decided to take to TikTok, asking her followers if they would: “read a book about a cursed island that only appears once every 100 years to host a game that gives the six rulers of the realm a chance to break their curses.” One of the rulers must die, the short video revealed, “even as love complicates everything” for the heroine, Isla Crown.Aster didn’t expect much, especially when she checked in a few hours later to see that her post had only clocked up about 1,000 views. Maybe the books world was right, she thought. Maybe there wasn’t a market for Lightlark, a young adult story she had been writing and rewriting for years, to no interest from publishers. The next day, however, she woke up to see her video had been viewed more than a million times. A week later, Lightlark had gone to auction and she had a six-figure deal with Amulet Books. Last month, Universal preemptively bought the film rights for, in her words, “more zeros than I’ve seen in my life”. Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2022-08-16 13:32:30 UTC ]
Novelist Alice Peterson has moved from Quercus to Simon & Schuster in a six-figure deal. S&S publishing director Jo Dickinson bought world rights to two novels from The Agency Group’s Diana Beaumont, in the latter’s first deal since joining the company from the Rupert Heath Literary Agency. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Film rights for Helen Macdonald’s H is for Hawk (Jonathan Cape) have been acquired by actress Lena Headey, who stars in the hugely successful television series “Game of Thrones”. The deal was brokered by Emily Hayward-Whitlock at Knight Hall Agency Ltd on behalf of Jessica Woollard at The... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Macmillan has acquired an autobiography by “one of the greatest boxers who ever lived” in a six-figure deal. Roberto Duran, nicknamed Hands of Stone, held four world titles at four different weights and fought boxers including Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns and Marvin Hagler. Macmillan... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Transworld has bought five books by Meredith Wild, who was originally self-published, in a “significant six-figure deal”. Editorial director Harriet Bourton acquired British Commonwealth rights to all five books in the Hacker series from Grand Central Publishing in the US. The first four books... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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An unlikely trio—a literary agent, a singer/songwriter, and an investment banker—are bringing the first general independent bookstore in over a decade to this New Jersey city. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Alcon Entertainment has acquired the film rights to Darkmouth, the newly released children’s fantasy novel by Irish author Shane Hegarty, for a "very high" six-figure dollar sum. The book, published today (29th January) by HarperCollins Children’s Books, is the first in a monster-hunting... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pan Macmillan has won a six-figure auction for Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, an author previously published by Amazon Publishing. Editorial director Julie Crisp acquired UK and Commonwealth rights to the book from Alexis Hurley at Inkwell Managements, after seeing a 140-page partial. The book... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Olivia Morris will be assistant editor of Pan Macmillan’s new lifestyle imprint headed up by Carole Tonkinson. Morris comes to Pan Macmillan from Simon & Schuster, where she held the role of Editorial Assistant. She previously worked as assistant to literary agent at Diane Banks... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hodder imprint Yellow Kite has acquired a book about The Whole30 programme. Publisher Liz Gough bought UK and Commonwealth rights to The Whole30: The 30-day Food Programme to Transform Your Health and Your Life by Melissa Hartwig and Dallas Hartwig. Gough pre-empted rights in a six-figure deal... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-12-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Angry Robot has signed a six-figure deal for three more novels by Wesley Chu. The deal is the biggest that the sci-fi publisher has done. World English rights to the the new series, beginning with The Rise of Io, were signed from agent Russell Galen, Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Newly formed production company Monumental Pictures has acquired the film rights to Caitlin Moran’s novel How to Build a Girl (Ebury Press). Moran and John Niven will adapt the book for the big screen, with Film 4 backing the project. Moran’s debut novel follows teenager Johanna Morrigan, who... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Film rights to Greg Mitchell’s new work of nonfiction, tentatively titled 'The Tunnels: JFK vs. CBS & NBC,' have already sold to FilmNation Entertainment. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-11-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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HarperCollins has signed a six-figure deal for two novels by TV presenter Dawn O'Porter. Commercial women's fiction director Kimberley Young signed a deal for world rights in all languages with Adrian Sington at Sington & Co Ltd. The books will be O'Porter's first adult novels. She has... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Claudia Wittman, literary agent and founder of the Wittman Agency in Germany, talks about how her rights business manages the massive changes in the book publishing industry. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Madeleine Millburn, a literary agent from London, offers her view on which international markets offer the most opportunities and how digital publishing has impacted the rights business. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-09-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In his long history in Christian publishing, Steve Laube has played many roles--bookseller, editor, literary agent. Now he adds publisher to that resume, joining what seems to be an emerging trend among agents. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Taryn Fagerness, a literary agent in Washington, talks about her recent success with author Matthew Dicks and how she's optimistic about the digital future of publishing. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-08-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tor UK’s Julie Crisp has pre-empted World English Language rights for a new novel called... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2014-07-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Literary agent Marly Rusoff is re-releasing, through her publishing imprint Maiden Lane Press, a debut novel by Jonathan Odell. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-07-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Sedef Ilgiç, a literary agent at the Kalem Agency in Turkey, on selling Turkish books to publishers abroad and representing international authors in Turkey. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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