• Doug Pepper, Publisher of Signal/McClelland & Stewart, has bought World (excl. French) rights to author of THE DUEL John Ibbitson’s CRUCIBLE, the first-ever comprehensive social, political and military history of Canada in the First World War, to be published in 2027. The deal was arranged by John Pearce at Westwood Creative Artists.

• Arthur Ellis Award winner Dean Jobb’s MURDER IN THE CARDS, a real-life whodunit investigating the unsolved murder of a famed Jazz Age bridge expert—at a time when the game was all the rage—that immerses readers in the high society glamor of Manhattan and Palm Beach and aims to answer the century-old question: Who killed Joe Elwell? to Amy Gash at Algonquin, in an exclusive submission, for publication in fall 2027, by Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists (world). Canadian rights sold to Janice Zawerbny at HarperCollins, by Algonquin.

Foreign rights:

• Craig Shreve’s THE AFRICAN SAMURAI to One More Page/Fabula (Ukraine), by Tatjana Zoldnere at Eastern European and Asian Rights Agency Ltd., on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Chris Casuccio.

• Roy Ratnavel’s PRISONER #1056 to Discovery Publications (India), by Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists.

• Josef Skvorecky’s THE MOURNFUL DEMEANOUR OF LIEUTENANT BORUVKA to Braumüller Verlag (Germany), by Susanne Schettler at Liepman, on behalf of Meg Wheeler.

• Yann Martel’s THE HIGH MOUNTAINS OF PORTUGAL renewed to Frassinelli (Italy), by Caterina Galimberti at The Italian Literary Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler for Jackie Kaiser.

• Bestselling children’s author and TV writer and showrunner (Family Law) Susin Nielsen’s laugh-out-loud adult debut SNAP about three unlikely people, a children’s author, an auto mechanic and a wardrobe assistant, who meet and bond in court-mandated anger management class and together decide what they’re going to do about the events that put them there – to move on or exact revenge, to Jennifer Lambert at HarperCollins Canada in a six-figure two book deal, for publication in Spring 2025 by Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists (Canada English).

• Scott McIntyre’s as yet untitled memoir covering his 50 year career in Canadian publishing, including founding and building Douglas & McIntyre, one of the country’s most important publishing houses, and much more, to Jack David at ECW Press, for Fall 2025 publication, by Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists (world).

• Clive Priddle at Public Affairs has acquired world rights to consultants Devin DeCiantis & Ivan Lansberg’s THE ENDURING ENTERPRISE: HOW FAMILY BUSINESSES THRIVE IN TURBULENT CONDITIONS, which draws on real cases in developing Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East to provide business leaders with new and unique adaptive strategies for a world of greater uncertainty and volatility. Publication is October 2024; Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists inked the deal.

Foreign:

• Yann Martel’s LIFE OF PI renewed to Exmo (Russia), by Natalia Sanina at Synopsis Literary Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Yann Martel’s LIFE OF PI renewed to Nha Nam Publishing (Vietnam), by Santo Manurung at Maxima Creative, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Yann Martel’s LIFE OF PI renewed to D.C. Books (Malayalam), by Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Jay Ingram’s THE SCIENCE OF WHY 3 renewed to Beijing Green Beans Book Co. Ltd. (China), by Conor Cheng at Andrew Nurnberg Associates, on behalf of Meg Wheeler for Jackie Kaiser.

• Yann Martel’s LIFE OF PI (Illustrated edition) renewed to Yilin Press (China), by Conor Cheng at Andrew Nurnberg Associates, on behalf of Meg Wheeler for Jackie Kaiser.

• Strange Light’s Haley Cullingham has acquired North American rights to Ailsa Ross’ HOVEL. The debut novel traces a year in the life of a restless woman who resists the temptation to run away from her dishevelled life, and tries instead to make a familiar world unfamiliar, and a small life big, for fans of Lauren Groff’s MATRIX, Claire-Louise Bennett’s POND, Kyo Maclear’s BIRDS ART LIFE, Sheila Heti’s MOTHERHOOD, and Doireann Ní Ghríofa’s A GHOST IN THE THROAT. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists.
  
  
• Sarah Howden at Orca Book Publishers has acquired world rights to author of LITTLE NARWHAL, NOT ALONE Tiffany Stone’s THE DAY DANCER FLEW, a picture book inspired by real events, about a young girl who works to rescue her horse after a devastating flood, showing the power of a community to help both humans and animals during natural disasters. Brittany Lane has illustrated, for publication in spring 2024. Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists represented Stone in the deal.
  
  
• Deborah Gonzalez at NavPress has acquired world rights to Karen Stiller’s HOLINESS HERE: SEARCHING FOR GOD IN THE ORDINARY EVENTS OF EVERYDAY LIFE, in which Stiller (THE MINISTER’S WIFE) offers inspiring and practical ways to find holiness, weaving together captivating stories, theological insights and spiritual reflections. Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists negotiated the deal, for publication in spring 2024.

• Shivaun Hearne at House of Anansi Press has acquired world rights to Tasneem Jamal’s I NEVER SAID THAT I WAS BRAVE, a novel with an unreliable narrator who recounts the shifting dynamics of her intense friendship and ultimate betrayal of a woman who, like the narrator, struggles to navigate the space between her South Asian upbringing and the culture into which she immigrated in childhood. Publication is slated for fall 2024; Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists negotiated the deal.

• Jennifer DiDomenico from University of Toronto Press has acquired World rights to Harry Malcolmson’s THE SCENE, a lived account of the dramatic 1960s emergence of a Toronto Art Scene that revolutionized art in Canada, transitioning from an environment of isolated artists to a mature Canadian Art. The deal was done by Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists, for publication in 2025.
  
  
• Muslim author Charlene Smith’s work of middle grade non-fiction GAME CHANGERS: STORIES OF HIJABI ATHLETES FROM AROUND THE WORLD, profiling 13 trailblazing athletes in a range of sports, including Egyptian beach volleyball player Doaa Elghobashy, UAE hockey player Fatima Al Ali, Afghani soccer player Hajar Abulfazl and Syrian-American runner Rahaf Khatib, who fought against cultural traditions and institutional resistance to blaze the trail for Muslim girls to participate and compete, to Kirstie Hudson at Orca by Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists (world), for publication in winter 2025.

Foreign rights:

• Sima Samar’s OUTSPOKEN to Saqi Books (UK & Commonwealth, excl. Canada and ANZ, incl. Europe and the Middle East), edited by Elizabeth Briggs, by Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Hilary McMahon.

• Sima Samar’s OUTSPOKEN to HarperCollins Australia (ANZ), edited by Roberta Ivers, by Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Hilary McMahon.

• Marc Raboy’s MARCONI to Hoepli (Italy), by Elisa Beretta at The Italian Literary Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for John Pearce.

• Josef Skvorecky’s DVORAK IN LOVE renewed to Książkowe Klimaty (Poland), by Olga Więzowska at Graal Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Bruce Westwood.

• Kim Fu’s LESSER KNOWN MONSTERS OF THE 21^ST CENTURY to Marjin Kiri (Indonesia), by Santo Manurung at Maxima Creative Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Leanne Toshiko Simpson’s NEVER BEEN BETTER to Alta (Brazil), by JP Riff at Riff Agency, to Alta Books, edited by Illysabelle Trajano, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Pamela Murray at Random House Canada has acquired North American rights to OUTSPOKEN: MY FIGHT FOR FREEDOM AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN AFGHANISTAN by Sima Samar with renowned journalist Sally Armstrong, in which Samar, a doctor to the poor who created schools for girls in Afghanistan and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her activism and pursuit of justice, uncovers the true story of the collapse of the Afghan government in 2021 when the Taliban returned to power. Publication is slated for spring 2024; Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists negotiated the deal.

• Douglas & McIntyre has bought World English rights to Bob McDonald’s JUST SAY YES—a memoir by the host of CBC’s Quirks & Quarks and former science correspondent for CBC’s The National, detailing his lifelong drive to popularize science, along with anecdotes about the people and places he met along the way, to be published in Fall 2024. The deal was arranged by John Pearce at Westwood Creative Artists.

Film/TV:

• Wonderful Content has optioned the film and TV rights to Carrie Snyder’s GIRL RUNNER, an engaging and endearing story about family, ambition, athletics, and the dedicated pursuit of one’s passion—part historical page-turner, part contemporary mystery. Wonderful Content’s Cristina Molino and Michel Sassoon will lead the project. The deal was arranged by Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists for Hilary McMahon.