WILL THEY, WON'T THEY
Young Adult Fiction
Zareen Jaffery at Kokila has acquired, in a multi-bidder, six-figure auction, Will They, Won't They, the debut YA from Stonewall Honor and Lambda Award-winning author Maulik Pancholy, an enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy that follows an Indian-American teen from Queens and the son of an internationally renowned Bollywood actor when they meet at a glitzy gay wedding in Mumbai and get swept up in a "will they/won't they" media circus full of high-profile, romantic sizzle. Publication is planned for summer 2026; Jessica Regel at Helm Literary sold North American rights.*****
OPAL WATSON PRIVATE EYE
Children's Middle Grade
Brittany J. Thurman's OPAL WATSON PRIVATE EYE, the book adaptation of kids and family podcast platform Pinna/Realm's mystery series, which follows an 11-year-old Black girl with a degenerative eye disease who has a thriving detective business, but she is pushed to her limits when her sleuthing uncovers a family secret, to Ben Rosenthal at Harper Children's, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in February 2025, by Jessica Regel at Helm Literary for Pinna/Realm, and Marietta Zacker at Gallt and Zacker Literary Agency for the author (world).
*****
NOT EXACTLY A SMALL-TOWN ROMANCE
Adult: Romance
JJ Knight's NOT EXACTLY A SMALL-TOWN ROMANCE, a romantic comedy where a Hollywood casting assistant uses movies as the blueprint to find a small-town, flannel-wearing husband, while trying not to fall for her big-city co-worker, to Maria Gomez at Montlake, by Jessica Regel at Helm Literary (world).*****
THE GREATEST LIE OF ALL
Adult: Fiction
USA Today bestselling author Jillian Cantor's THE GREATEST LIE OF ALL, the story of an actress who is offered the role of a lifetime, the opportunity to play the world's biggest romance writer in a movie based on the great love she had and tragically lost, a love that inspired her bestselling novels, but what she discovers is a secret that could ruin them both, by Jessica Regel at Helm Literary to Erika Imranyi at Park Row Books (NA).
I'M GOING THROUGH SOMETHING
Young Adult: Graphic Novel
Intersex activist Hans Lindahl's I'M GOING THROUGH SOMETHING, following a 16-year-old artist navigating an adolescence in which puberty never happens, illustrated by cartoonist Chan Chau, to David Levithan at Scholastic, in an exclusive submission, for publication in summer 2027, by Jessica Regel at Helm Literary for the author, and by Molly O'Neill at Root Literary for the illustrator (world).
*****LEMON AT FIRST SIGHT
Young Adult Fiction
Author of AND THEY LIVED... Steven Salvatore's LEMON AT FIRST SIGHT, a romance pitched as loosely inspired by My Best Friend's Wedding with a gay twist, about a budding TikTok food blogger who schemes to win back the love of his life at a family wedding in an Italian lemon grove on the Amalfi Coast, to Camille Kellogg at Bloomsbury Children's, by Jessica Regel at Helm Literary (world English).*****
THE MANOR OF DREAMS
Fiction: Debut
Author of middle grade novels and a forthcoming YA novel Christina M. Li's adult debut THE MANOR OF DREAMS, pitched as MEXICAN GOTHIC meets EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU, in which rival Chinese American families gather after the mysterious death of a trailblazing Chinese Hollywood matriarch to fight over her lavish California garden estate, only to discover that the house has a secret past of its own and may be haunted by more than just their memories, to Margo Shickmanter at Avid Reader Press, by Jessica Regel at Helm Literary (NA).
*****
MIND THE GAP
Children's: Young Adult Fiction
Brenda Janowitz's debut YA novel MIND THE GAP, a coming-of-age novel about a Jewish American teen on a European gap year adventure, pitched as 13 LITTLE BLUE ENVELOPE meets LOVE AND GELATO, to Brittany Rubianofor Melissa De La Cruz Studio, for publication in fall 2025, by Jessica Regel at Helm Literary (world).
THE BEST DAY
Children's: Picture Book Fiction
Disability activist Adiba Nelson's THE BEST DAY, about a girl's excitement getting to celebrate her and her friends at a Disability Pride Parade with her family and how the neighborhood's accessibility makes it safe and healthy for all, illustrated by DeAnn Wiley, to Emily Settle at Feiwel and Friends, in an exclusive submission, for publication in winter 2026, by Jess Regel at Helm for the author, and by James McGowan at BookEnds Literary for the illustrator (world).
*****
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.
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).
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.
*****
HBO Max Lands Adaptation of Maulik Pancholy’s YA Novel ‘The Best At It’ (The Hollywood Reporter)
*****
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.