THE GRACE KELLY DRESS
Film Rights
Brenda Janowitz's THE GRACE KELLY DRESS, the story of an heirloom wedding gown and the hopes, dreams, and secrets of the three generations of women who were married in it, to Hallmark Channel, by Rich Green at The Gotham Group on behalf of Jessica Regel at Helm Literary.
*****
THE BOYFRIEND SUBSCRIPTION
Fiction: Romance
Steven Salvatore's THE BOYFRIEND SUBSCRIPTION, pitched as a steamy gay retelling of Pretty Woman with a financial flip, where the sex worker has the power; when the owner and top-earning performer of an app for queer sex workers needs a date for his sister's wedding, he hires a down on his luck horticulturist to be his fake date, but the terms of their agreement quickly become complicated by real feelings, to John Jacobson for a new unnamed imprint at Harlequin, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2024, by Jessica Regel at Helm Literary (world).
*****
LEGEND OF THE WHITE SNAKE
Children's: Young Adult
Sher Lee's LEGEND OF THE WHITE SNAKE, pitched as a gender-flipped reimagining of one of China's four famous folktales, in which a teen boy must hide his true identity as a white snake spirit when he falls in love with a prince hunting for a white snake for the antidote to cure his dying mother, pitched with the xianxia vibes of A MAGIC STEEPED IN POISON and the queer romance of DARK RISE, to Alexandra Cooper at Quill Tree, in a significant deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2024, by Jessica Regel at Helm Literary (NA).
Rights also to Emma Jones and Charlie Castelletti at Macmillan UK Children's (UK), at auction, in a two-book deal; to Urano (Spain), in a pre-empt; and to Eksmo (Russia), in a pre-empt, by Jenny Meyer at Jenny Meyer Literary Agency, on behalf of Jessica Regel at Helm Literary.
YADIRA AND HER BRAIDS
Children's: Picture Book
Adiba Nelson's debut YADIRA AND HER BRAIDS, celebrating Afro-Latin culture and self-love; as a girl gets her hair braided with cowrie shells, her mother tells her the story of Oshun, the Goddess of love and beauty, filling her with wonder and pride, and giving her the courage to face the first day of school, illustrated by Alleanna Harris, to Emily Settle at Feiwel and Friends, for publication in winter 2025, by Jessica Regel at Helm Literary for the author and Alexandra Gehringer at The Bright Group for the illustrator (world).
*****
THIS LAND
Children's: Picture Book
Kelly Delaney at Crown has bought, in an exclusive submission, This Land, a primer about Native lands that inspires curiosity in readers about who was here before them, written by Ashley Fairbanks and illustrated by Bridget George, both Anishinaabe. Publication is planned for summer 2024; Jess Regel at Helm Literary Agency represented the author and packager, Race2Dinner, and Nicole Geiger at Full Circle Literary represented the illustrator.
*****
THE GIRL WHO SANG
Children's Graphic Novel
Children's Graphic Novel
Mekisha Telfer at Roaring Brook has bought world rights to The Girl Who Sang: A Holocaust Memoir of Hope and Survival, a middle-grade graphic memoir written by survivor Estelle Nadel and Bethany Strout, illustrated by debut artist Sammy Savos. The memoir details Estelle's once-happy childhood growing up in a tight-knit Jewish family in a small Polish village, and its abrupt interruption when the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939. A harrowing story of survival, loss, new beginnings, and immeasurable acts of kindness. Publication is slated for winter 2024; Jessica Regel at Helm Literary represented the authors on behalf of In This Together Media, and Charlie Olsen at InkWell Management represented the illustrator.
*****
EXPOSURE
Fiction: Commercial
Fiction: Commercial
Author of ON ROTATION Shirlene Obuobi's EXPOSURE, about a 30-year-old doctor-influencer, who has it all online, but offline she's burned out professionally, struggling to manage her depression, and has just discovered her best friend is dating her nemesis. Then she falls in love. But will she be able to reveal her true authentic self to this man? This novel explores love and the disconnect between how people want to be perceived and how they feel inside, to Lucia Macro at Avon, in a good deal, in an exclusive submission, for publication in summer 2024, by Jessica Regel at Helm Literary (NA).
*****
TRUE LOVE AND OTHER IMPOSSIBLE ODDS
Children’s: Young Adult
Children’s: Young Adult
Alexandra Cooper at HarperCollins/Quill Tree has acquired Clues to the Universe authorChristina Li's debut YA novel, True Love and Other Impossible Odds. Pitched as Nina LaCour meets The Half of It, the story follows a first-year college student Grace Tang who invents a class algorithm that pairs people with their perfect romantic campus match, only to have everything thrown into question as she explores questions of love, identity, and her past. Publication is slated for spring 2024; Jess Regel at Helm Literary brokered the deal for North American rights.
*****
Pinna’s popular podcast series Quentin & Alfie’s ABC Adventures will be adapted into a series of books for young readers from Farrar, Straus, and Giroux Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Macmillan. The series of hardcover titles will launch in early 2023, with books to follow in multiple formats.
*****
GHOST CIRCUS
Children’s: Middle Grade Graphic Novel
Children’s: Middle Grade Graphic Novel
Christopher Duffy at Union Square Kids has acquired debut MG graphic novel Ghost Circus by Adrienne Kress, illustrated by Jade Zhang, the story of a 12-year-old boy, a creepy ghost girl, an adorable polterghost, and a group of spirited circus performers, as they spend one freaky night trying to evade the Headless Horseman and solve the mystery of the Ghost Circus. Publication is planned for 2025; Jessica Regel at Helm Literary represented the author, and Erin Casey Westin at Gallt and Zacker represented the illustrator.
*****
THE FICTION WRITER
Fiction
Fiction
USA Today bestselling author Jillian Cantor's THE FICTION WRITER, pitched as THE PLOT meets THE CHRISTIE AFFAIR, in which a fiction writer is hired by a handsome billionaire to write about a stunning family secret — that Daphne du Maurier plagiarized REBECCA from his grandmother — leading her to question the boundaries of creative freedom, to Laura Brown at Park Row Books, in a pre-empt, by Jessica Regel at Helm Literary (NA).
*****
FEARLESS (Books 3 & 4)
Children’s: Middle Grade Fiction
Children’s: Middle Grade Fiction
Hamilton and Broadway star Mandy Gonzalez's next two books in her Fearless middle grade series, about a group of child actors coming of age in New York City, co-written with Sushil Preet Cheema on book 3, and Brittany Thurman on book four, to Alyson Heller at Aladdin, in a two-book deal, by Jessica Regel at Helm Literary (NA).
*****
HBO Max Lands Adaptation of Maulik Pancholy’s YA Novel ‘The Best At It’ (The Hollywood Reporter)
*****
RACE2THETRUTH SERIES
Children’s: Middle Grade Non-Fiction
Children’s: Middle Grade Non-Fiction
The middle grade series Race2theTruth, packaged by Regina Jackson and Saira Rao of Race2Dinner, which gives an unflinching account of America’s history while celebrating underrepresented BIPOC heroes and achievements, and where each book aligns with curriculum topics and represents a period of American history from a specific point of view. The first four books are: The Truth About Indigenous People: First Contacts, Settlement and Colonization in New England by Linda Coombs, The Truth About African Americans: Slavery and the Making of the United States by Patricia Williams Lessane, The Truth About Chinese Americans: Exclusion and Belonging by Sarah-SoonLing Blackburn and The Truth About Mexican Americans: Borderlands and the Forgotten People by David Dorado Romo, and have sold to Kelly Delaney at Knopf by Jessica Regel at Helm Literary (World).
*****
AN ACCOUNT OF HER OWN
Non-fiction: Narrative
Non-fiction: Narrative
Journalist Grace Williams’s AN ACCOUNT OF HER OWN, about a group of women who fought back against sexist financial institutions and came together in 1978, just years after women earned the right to hold a line of credit without the signature of a man, to establish and operate the Women's Bank of Denver, to Laura Van der Veer at Little A.