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 ]
Film rights to Andrew Michael Hurley’s The Loney (John Murray) have been optioned by DNA Films, with the support of Film4, after a five-way auction. The gothic novel is set on the Lancashire coast and follows a Catholic family who make an Easter pilgrimage from London to try and cure their mute... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Crime writer James Oswald has signed a “significant six-figure” deal for two new books in his Inspector McLean series with Michael Joseph. Publishing director Alex Clarke bought UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, to the books from Juliet Mushens of UTA. Oswald’s first Inspector... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The feted US literary agent on addiction, attempted suicide, and having his first novel longlisted for the Booker prizeBill Clegg is a leading New York literary agent and the author of the bestselling memoirs Portrait of an Addict As a Young Man and Ninety Days, which describe respectively his... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-09-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Head of Zeus has struck a six-figure deal for a thriller series by Stefan Ahnhem. Laura Palmer, publishing director at Head of Zeus, bought UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada to the first three books of the Fabian Risk Series from Jolise Beaton and Gillian Fizet at House of Anansi... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Robin Stevens’ children’s detective series Murder Most Unladylike has been optioned for television and film by independent production company Pilot Media. Pilot Media optioned the rights from Emily Hayward Whitlock, head of book to film at The Artists’ Partnership, who was acting on behalf of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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MGM has optioned the film rights to upcoming YA novel Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. The production company struck a deal with publisher Penguin RandomHouse Children’s and has already hired J Mills Goodloe, the scriptwriter for Age of Adaline, to develop the project. The novel, which... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Penguin Random House UK Children's has acquired a teen book by Emily Barr in a six-figure deal. Editorial director Ruth Knowles bought world rights to The One Memory of Flora Banks, along with a second stand-alone novel, from Lauren Pearson at Curtis Brown. The book is about Flora, a teenage... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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As a literary agent, Frankfurt has been a launch pad for some of the most powerful women’s voices from around the world. This year will be no different. The post How Can Women Change the World? Book by Book appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Julie Crisp has signed up her first author as a literary agent following her departure from Pan Macmillan. Crisp will represent Sam Hawke, an Australian fantasy writer from Canberra, who has written a novel called Proof, described as “intelligent fantasy concentrating on issues of race, gender... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film Agency is expanding with the addition of two new agents this summer. Thérèse Coen will join the business as a rights agent in July, with Sarah O'Halloran joining as a literary agent in August. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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One of the few literary agents focusing on Arabic, Yasmina Jraissati, discusses the non-existent role of the literary agent in the Middle East. The post Why Are There No Literary Agents in the Middle East? appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-06-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Pan Macmillan has acquired a new epic fantasy series in a six-figure deal. Senior commissioning editor Bella Pagan bought world rights to John Gwynne’s standalone trilogy from agent John Jarrold. The trilogy will be set in the same stirring Celtic-inspired world as Gwynne’s first quartet, the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Kimberley Young, publisher of women's fiction at HarperCollins, has signed world English language rights in three novels by Kimberley Chambers The six-figure deal with Tim Bates at Pollinger Ltd will see HC publishing Chambers until 2020. Young said: "Kimberley Chambers is a legend as are her... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
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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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