• Author of THE MEASURE OF MY POWERS and the host of the advice podcast YOU & I Jackie Kai Ellis‘s TO YOU, WHO WONDERS, pitched as advice column meets memoir, with fans submitting questions anonymously that the author answers for the first time in these pages; paired with each question, going deeper into her personal life with memoir-style vignettes on everything from becoming a mom in her forties, to getting back together with her ex-fiance, to the ever-evolving healing after divorce, to the reinvention of her identity, to Bhavna Chauhan at Doubleday Canada in an exclusive submission by Sara Harowitz at Westwood Creative Artists.

• Kyo Maclear’s UNEARTHING to Barambooks (Korea), by Tae Eun Kim at Shinwon, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Rohinton Mistry’s A FINE BALANCE to Book Club Publications (Arabic), by Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Bruce Westwood.

• Buffy Cram’s ONCE UPON AN EFFING TIME to NN Editore (Italy), edited by Eugenia Dubini, by Elisa Beretta at The Italian Literary Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Hilary McMahon.

• Shohini Ghose’s HER SPACE, HER TIME to YoungJin (Korea), by Tae Eun Kim at Shinwon Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for John Pearce.

• Elizabeth Hay’s SNOW ROAD STATION to Mountain Leopard Press (UK), edited by Elena Torres, by Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• House of Anansi Press’ Shirarose Wilensky has acquired World rights to Su Chang‘s THE TROUBLE WITH LEAVING. The debut novel is described as a generational story spanning from the Cultural Revolution to the start of Xi’s presidency in which a young immigrant is haunted by her painful Shanghai upbringing and must confront both her nationalist Chinese suitor and the dark past of her mother – a West-obsessed former Red Guard who leads a life of deception as a state journalist; pitched for readers of Celeste Ng, Madeleine Thien, Min Jin Lee, and Ayad Akhtar. Publication is expected for winter 2025. The deal was arranged by Chris Casuccio of Westwood Creative Artists. 

• Harbour Publishing has acquired North American rights to Sam Wiebe‘s OCEAN DRIVE. The book is described as a Pacific Northwest crime thriller, in which ex-convict Cameron Shaw infiltrates a cross-border crime syndicate, while the murder-by-arson of a young student leads small-town detective Meghan Quick to investigate the same organization; the pair soon find themselves unlikely allies against a sinister conspiracy reaching from the streets to the upper echelons of society. Publication is expected for spring 2024. The deal was arranged by Chris Casuccio of Westwood Creative Artists.

• Debut author Alison McGauley‘s KENZIE’S LITTLE TREE, in which a child and her family plant a beautiful tree together, and as the seasons change and the child cares for the tree, she learns to deal with the challenges that life brings and how to adjust her expectations, illustrated by Emilie Leduc, to Sarah Howden at Orca Books, by Emmy Nordstrom Higdon at Westwood Creative Artists.

• Canadian publishing house At Bay Press has purchased the world rights to a critical new title, HUNTING HISTORY: A WRITER’S ODYSSEY, by award-winning Canadian author, Erna Paris. The book presents the remarkable story of her lifelong quest to understand how people and societies cope with trauma. It blends her own vivid personal experiences with fascinating historical and political stories that reveal the best and worst of what makes us human. It begins by recounting a pivotal moment in the author’s life on November 11^th, 1960 when she came across a Nazi death camp hidden in the forests of the Vosges Mountains in France. This happenstance encounter would psychologically and culturally shape the rest of her life. Agent Michael Levine from Westwood Creative Artists arranged the deal with At Bay Press, who plans a May 2024 release date for the book.

• YouTube and TikTok influencer and autism advocate Paige Layle’s BUT EVERYONE FEELS THIS WAY!, part memoir, part self-help/self-acceptance manifesto, taking readers into the author’s life to help other autistic people see themselves on the page and to educate neurotypical people about autism, to Mollie Weisenfeld at Hachette Go, by Emmy Nordstrom Higdon at Westwood Creative Artists (world).

Foreign rights:

• Yann Martel’s THE HIGH MOUNTAINS OF PORTUGAL renewed to Presenca (Portugal), by Sandra Bruna at Sandra Bruna Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• John Geiger and Owen Beattie’s FROZEN IN TIME renewed to Piper (Germany), by Marc Koralnik at Liepman, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Hilary McMahon.

• Kyo Maclear’s BIRDS ART LIFE renewed to Ariel (Spain), by Sandra Brunna Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Craig Shreve’s THE AFRICAN SAMURAI to Muza SA (Poland), by Tomasz Berezinski at Graal, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Chris Casuccio.

• Kim Fu’s LESSER KNOWN MONSTERS OF THE 21^ST CENTURY to İthaki Yayıncılık (Turkey), by Atilla Izgi Turgut at Akcali Copyright Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Richard Wagamese’s INDIAN HORSE renewed to Editions Zoe (French), by Anna Jarota Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for John Pearce and Chris Casuccio.

• Shyam Selvadurai’s FUNNY BOY to Amok Ediciones (Spain), by Sandra Bruna at Sandra Bruna Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Bruce Westwood and Meg Wheeler.

• Cheuk Kwan’s HAVE YOU EATEN YET? to Kodansha (Japan), by Megumi Sakai at Japan Uni, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Chris Casuccio.  

Foreign rights:

• Yann Martel’s LIFE OF PI and FACTS BEHIND THE HELSINKI ROCCAMATIOS to Jakkajungsin (Korea), by Tae Eun Kim at Shinwon Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Richard Wagamese’s INDIAN HORSE renewed to XYZ (Quebec), by Anna Jarota Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for John Pearce and Chris Casuccio.

• Yann Martel’s LIFE OF PI, to Kossuth Radio (Hungary), by Zsófia Csurgai at Hofra Theatrical & Literary Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Debi Goodwin’s RAINS, AT TIMES HEAVY to Foliant (Russia), by Natalia Sanina at Synopsis Literary Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Chris Casuccio.

• Crooked Lane’s Marcia Markland has acquired World rights to Nolan Chase’s A LONESOME PLACE FOR DYING. The novel is described as a regional mystery in the tradition of LONGMIRE and JESSE STONE, in which Ethan Brand, the newly appointed chief of police of a small border town in Washington State, investigates the murder of a young woman connected to a cross-border smuggling ring, while also handling anonymous threats from someone who knows Ethan’s secrets—and wants him dead. Publication is expected for spring 2024. The deal was arranged by Chris Casuccio of Westwood Creative Artists.

• Lee Wade at Random House Studio has bought at auction Jamal Saeed (MY ROAD FROM DAMASCUS) and Jordan Scott (I TALK LIKE A RIVER)’s MY SISTER THE APPLE TREE in a two-book deal, illustrated by Zahra Marwan, a picture book about a child who, upon realizing that he must leave everything behind when war tears through his homeland, finds a way to take his beloved apple tree with him.  This poignant and poetic story explores loss, belonging, and the memory of home that people carry, inspired by Saeed’s experience. Publication is slated for Spring 2025; Chris Casuccio at Westwood Creative Artists represented Saeed and Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists represented Scott, and Anne Moore Armstrong at The Bright Agency represented the illustrator.