WCA Deal Report for June 11, 2021

By Deals
  • Winner of the 2021 Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour and author of the #1 National Bestseller INDIANS ON VACATION and OBSIDIAN, Thomas King’s DEEP HOUSE, the sixth book in the award-winning DREADFULWATER series, featuring Cherokee ex-cop Thumps DreadfulWater who finds himself tangled once again in an inexplicable mystery when he unintentionally discovers a body at the bottom of a treacherous canyon and an unexpected visitor walks back into his life, to Iris Tupholme at HarperCollins Canada, for publication January 2022, by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists (Canada English).
  • Rohinton Mistry’s A FINE BALANCE to Mondadori (Italy), by Elisa Beretta at The Italian Literary Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Artists for Bruce Westwood.
  • Don Thompson’s THE CURIOUS ECONOMICS OF LUXURY FASHION to Jiangsu Kuwei Culture Development Co., Ltd. (China, excluding Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan), by Claire Qiao at ANA Beijing, on behalf of Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Artists for John Pearce.
  • Rohinton Mistry’s TALES FROM FIROZSHA BAAG, FAMILY MATTERS, and SUCH A LONG JOURNEY renewed to S. Fischer Verlag (Germany), by Hannah Nuspliger-Fosh at Liepman, on behalf of Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Artists for Bruce Westwood.

WCA Deal Report for May 28, 2021

By News
  • PEN/Hemingway Award finalist and author of THE LOST GIRLS OF CAMP FOREVERMORE, Kim Fu’s LESSER KNOWN MONSTERS OF THE 21ST CENTURY, a poignant, erotic, and darkly comic short story collection, to Alana Wilcox and Crystal Sikma at Coach House Books, for publication in winter 2022, by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists (Canada English). U.S. rights were previously sold to Masie Cochran at Tin House Books.
  • World rights to Governor-General’s Literary Award finalist Alison Hughes’s MORE OR LESS have been acquired by Andrea Spooner at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, with publication slated for winter 2024.  The picture book uses variations of just five words to celebrate living more sustainably, simply and generously, reinforcing that by having “less”, something “more” meaningful can be gained.  Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists represents Hughes, and Steven Malk at Writers House negotiated for Caldecott Honor recipient Oge More to illustrate.
  • Iris Tupholme at HarperCollins Canada has acquired Canadian rights to MINDFUL OF MURDER by Stephen Leacock Medal winner and Edgar-award nominee Susan Juby (The Woefield Poultry Collective). The comedic murder mystery features high-end domestic service, unusual spiritual pursuits, the Death Positive movement, and the best organized investigator you’ve ever met. Publication is planned for spring 2022; Hilary McMahon of Westwood Creative Artists represented the author.
  • Esteemed architect Jack Diamond’s memoir CONTEXT AND CONTENT, about his life from growing up in South Africa and his early experiences with anti-Semitism to designing iconic buildings around the globe, to Scott Fraser at Dundurn Press, for publication in Spring 2022, by Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists.
  • Former police officer and current crime reporter for CP24 Steve Ryan’s THE GHOSTS THAT HAUNT ME, about homicide cases he investigated as a detective and how they still affect him, to Scott Fraser at Dundurn Press, for publication in Spring 2023, by Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists.

Foreign deals:

  • Bobbi French’s THE LAST CHANCE OF FRANCES DELANEY to Kinneret (Israel), by Geula Geurts at Deborah Harris Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Artists for Hilary McMahon.
  • Yann Martel’s LIFE OF PI renewed to Presenca (Portugal), by Jordi Ribolleda, on behalf of Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

WCA Deal Report for May 14, 2021

By Deals
  • Jermey Matthews at The MIT Press has pre-empted World English (excluding Canada and India) rights to Wilfrid Laurier physics professor Shohini Ghose’s (IN)VISIBLE, telling the stories of over twenty frequently unseen, unheralded and under-rewarded  women physicists from around the world who transformed science and society despite often wearing a cloak of invisibility throughout their careers. Publication is expected in Spring 2023. The deal was arranged by John Pearce of Westwood Creative Artists. Canadian rights earlier to Random House Canada, also in a pre-empt. Indian rights to Jaico by Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists.
  • Oneworld’s Jenny Parrott has acquired World rights to books 7, 8 and 9 in Steve Burrows’ BIRDER MURDER MYSTERY series. The novels feature Detective Chief Inspector Dominic Jejeune, who divides his time between bird watching and policework as he uses his bird-related knowledge to solve crimes. Book 7 is scheduled to publish in spring 2022. The deal was arranged by Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists.

WCA Deal Report for May 7, 2021

By Deals
  • Neal Porter at Holiday House/Neal Porter Books has acquired world rights to BANANA DREAM by Iraqi-Canadian Hasan Namir (The Name I Call Myself), with Zainab Faidhi to illustrate.  The picture book is inspired by Namir’s own childhood enduring sanctions in Iraq, and explores a child’s coming to terms with his unusual name against a story of scarcity and want. Publication is planned for summer 2023; Hilary McMahon of Westwood Creative Artists represented the author and the illustrator represented herself.
  • Author-illustrator of THE OUTLAW and THE RANGER Nancy Vo’s BOOBIES, a lighthearted journey into the world of boobies – the blue-footed avian sort and the more familiar kind that each of us has on our own bodies, to Karen Li at Groundwood Books, for publication in Fall 2022, by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists (World).
  • Author of HARDY ROSES: THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE FOR HIGH LATITUDES AND ALTITUDES, Bob Osborne’s new book, HARDY APPLES, to Julie Takasaki at Firefly Books, for publication in Spring 2022, by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists (World). HARDY APPLES is a photographic guide to apple-growing in harsher climates with photography by Beth Powning.
  • New York Times bestselling author of THE COLONY OF UNREQUITED DREAMS Wayne Johnston‘s JENNIE’S BOY MY MISFIT CHILDHOOD IN NEWFOUNDLAND, the story of a tragicomic childhood in a part of Newfoundland whose way of life is fast disappearing, to Anne Collins at Knopf Canada, for publication in Fall 2022, by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists (Canada English).
  • Allan Levine’s DETAILS ARE UNPRINTABLE, chronicling the murder of a high society New York woman by her closeted husband, and the elements that culminated in this tragic event, to Three Film and Television Inc., by Michael Levine of Westwood Creative Artists for Hilary McMahon.

WCA Deal Report for April 30, 2021

By Deals
  • Rohinton Mistry’s FAMILY MATTERS and SUCH A LONG JOURNEY to Gyldendal (Denmark), by Monique Oosterhoof at MO Literary Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Artists for Bruce Westwood.
  • Kim Fu’s THE LOST GIRLS OF CAMP FOREVERMORE to Heliotrope (France), by Megan Husain of Anna Jarota Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Agency for Jackie Kaiser.
  • Alice Kuiper’s ICE QUEST to Fiction Express (United Kingdom), by Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.
  • Eric Nicol’s DICKENS OF THE MOUNTED, a comic novel consisting of fiction letters by Charles Dickens’ son Francis, about his twelve years in Canada, to AWEN Entertainment, by Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists.

WCA Deal Report for April 23, 2021

By Deals
  • Josef Skvorecky’s THE ENGINEER OF HUMAN SOULS, renewed to Fundacja Instytut Reportazu (Poland), by Tomasz Berezinski at Graal Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Bruce Westwood.
  • Rohinton Mistry’s SUCH A LONG JOURNEY, to AST/Neclassics (Russia), by Natalia Sanina at Synopsis Literary Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Bruce Westwood.
  • Yann Martel’s LIFE OF PI, to Dar Kalemat (Arabic), by Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.
  • Film and television rights to Tomson Highway’s PERMANENT ASTONISHMENT (Doubleday Canada), a joyful celebration of the author’s birthplace—the border between Manitoba and what is now Nunavut – with a sharp analysis of how the sly humour of Cree culture and the shape-shifting qualities of the language itself enabled the Cree people to survive conquest, to White Pine Pictures. The deal was negotiated by Michael Levine on behalf of Jackie Kaiser of Westwood Creative Artists. 
  • Sam Cooper’s WILFUL BLINDNESS, an in-depth look into Chinese organized crime infiltration into Canada over the past 25 years, to Collective Pictures Inc., by Michael Levine of Westwood Creative Artists.
  • Jim Gifford at HarperCollins Canada has acquired world rights in a pre-empt to Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii)‘s VALLEY OF THE BIRDTAIL, about the 140-year relationship between two neighbouring communities and what it tells us about racism and reconciliation. The deal was arranged by Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists.
  • BC poet Jordan Scott has signed a new two-book, world rights deal with Neal Porter at Holiday House/NealPorter Books.  WORMS FOR BABA’S GARDEN , illustrated by Greenaway Medalist Sydney Smith (represented by Emily van Beek at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management) is the second picture book collaboration by Scott and Smith after the acclaimed I TALK LIKE A RIVER, and follows a child’s loving observations of his grandmother and the thriving garden beside her home. Publication is planned for spring 2023.  ANGELA’S GLACIER will be illustrated by Diana Sudyka and explores the way a child draws strength and tranquility from an ancient icefield.  Publication is planned for fall 2023; Andrea Morrison at Writers House represented the illustrator. Hilary McMahon of Westwood Creative Artists represented Scott in the deal.

WCA Deal Report for April 16, 2021

By Deals
  • Anne Collins at Random House Canada has acquired Canadian English-language rights to Wilfrid Laurier Physics Professor Shohini Ghose’s (IN)VISIBLE, telling the stories of over twenty frequently unseen, unheralded and under-rewarded  women physicists from around the world who transformed science and society despite often wearing a cloak of invisibility throughout their careers. Publication is expected in Spring 2023. The deal was arranged by John Pearce of Westwood Creative Artists.
  • Jennifer Lambert from HarperCollins Canada has acquired North American rights to Bobbi French’s COME HOME, FRANCES DELANEY on exclusive submission from Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists.  The debut novel is a three-tissue read for fans of Jojo Moyes and Rachel Joyce, about a woman who is finally empowered to overcome her past and claim the life she deserves, which includes how and where it will end, for publication in spring 2022.  

WCA Deal Report for March 26, 2021

By Deals

Neal Porter at Holiday House/Porter has bought TADPOLES by Boston Globe-Horn Book and Governor General’s Award-winning author-illustrator Matt James, about a father and son’s walk to an ephemeral pond teeming with tadpoles, and the sense of wonder to be found in the natural world. Publication is slated for spring/summer 2023; Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Arts brokered the deal for world rights.

WCA Deal Report for March 19, 2021

By Deals

Michael Holmes at ECW Press has acquired Heather Tucker’s novel CRACKED POTS on exclusive submission from Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists.  The voice-driven novel features the beloved character of Ari Appleton and her imaginary seahorse Jasper from Tucker’s debut novel THE CLAY GIRL, as she joins the desperate search for a missing girl, struggles to protect her step-brother, and emerges from the ashes of a violent childhood to put the pieces of her broken life together. ECW acquired World English rights, and will publish in fall 2021.

First Nations broadcaster, activist and author of THE REASON YOU WALK Wab Kinew’s WALKING IN TWO WORLDS, the author’s debut young adult novel about an Indigenous teenage girl caught between two worlds both real and virtual, to Lynne Missen at Penguin Teen Canada, for publication in September 2021, in a two-book deal, by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists (World).

Author-illustrator of WHEN EMILY WAS SMALL Lauren Soloy’s A FIELD GUIDE TO GNOMES and DEAR PETAL: EMILY DICKINSON AND HER FLOWER FRIENDS, to Samantha Swenson at Tundra Books, for publication in fall 2022 and summer 2023, by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists (World).

WCA Deal Report for March 12, 2021

By Deals

Grand Central’s Haley Weaver has acquired World rights to Max Wallace’s AFTER THE MIRACLE: THE LONELY CRUSADES OF HELEN KELLER, in which the author explodes long-standing myths and taps newly uncovered material to focus on the powerful, underexplored story of Helen Keller’s adult life as a fervent advocate for racial justice, socialism, and disability rights. Publication is expected for spring 2023. The deal was arranged by Chris Casuccio and John Pearce of Westwood Creative Artists.  

Tamar Mays at HarperCollins has acquired world rights to WHEN YOU WERE NEW by Jennifer Harris, a love letter from a parent to a child celebrating all the surprising and important things the child has learned and discovered. Lenny Wen will illustrate; publication is planned for winter 2023. Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Arts represented the author, and Christy Ewers at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.