• Putnam’s Kate Dresser has acquired World English excluding Canada rights to Leanne Toshiko Simpson’s NEVER BEEN BETTER. The debut novel is pitched as My Best Friend’s Wedding meets The Silver Linings Playbook, about the “three musketeers of the psych ward” who reunite one year later for a picture-perfect destination wedding in Turks and Caicos, where the third wheel must hold it together while deciding whether to confess her feelings for the groom. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists.

Foreign rights:

• Annabel Lyon’s THE SWEET GIRL and THE GOLDEN MEAN renewed to Editions de la Table Ronde (France), by Marie-France Heinic at Anna Jarota Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Yann Martel’s 101 LETTERS TO A PRIME MINISTER renewed to ThinKingdom Media Group Ltd. (China), by Jackie Huang at Andrew Nurnberg Associates Beijing, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Thomas Trofimuk’s THE ELEPHANT ON KARLUV BRIDGE to Laguna (Serbia), by Nada Perisic at Plima, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Hilary McMahon.

• Josef Skvorecky‘s THE ENGINEER OF HUMAN SOULS to Dritan Editions (Albania), by Vuk Perisic at Plima, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists.

• Creators of THE BIG BATH HOUSE, author Kyo Maclear and illustrator Gracey Zhang’s NOODLES ON A BICYCLE, about Tokyo’s bicycle food deliverers, to Ann Kelley at Random House Studio, for publication in fall 2024, by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists for the author, and Hannah Mann at Writers House for the illustrator (world).

Foreign rights:

• Kyo Maclear‘s UNEARTHING, to Laura Macaulay at ONE at Pushkin Press, by Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists on behalf of Jackie Kaiser (UK/Commonwealth, excl. Canada).

• Shyam Selvadurai’s MANSIONS OF THE MOON to Penguin India, by Millie Hoskins at United Agents, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Meg Wheeler and Bruce Westwood.

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

• Josef Skvorekcy’s THE COWARDS to Matica hrvatska (Croatia), by Vuk Perisic at Plima, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Bruce Westwood.

• Craig Shreve’s THE AFRICAN SAMURAI to MTS (Russia – digital) and Arkadia (Russia – print), by Natalia Sanina at Synopsis, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Chris Casuccio.

Film/TV:

• Netflix has acquired TV/film rights to Craig Shreve’s THE AFRICAN SAMURAI, based on the true-life story of Yasuke, Japan’s first and only samurai of African descent, for development as a five-part event series, to be written by Nick Jones Jr. and produced by 21 Laps’ Shawn Levy, Paige Simpson, Moera Ainai and Josh Barry along with Significant Productions’ Forest Whitaker and Nina Yang Bongiovi, by Jerry Kalajian at IPG, on behalf of Chris Casuccio at Westwood Creative Artists.

• Anne Shone at Scholastic Canada has acquired world rights to AT THE SPEED OF GUS by co-author of AUTUMN BIRD & THE RUNAWAY Richard Scrimger. The insightful middle grade novel follows the comically escalating adventure of charismatic 13-year-old Augustus Constantine whose mind (and mouth) operate at a different speed due to his ADHD, showing readers there’s more than one way to see the world. Publication is slated for summer 2023; Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists negotiated the deal.

• Lindenwood University MFA graduate Marissa Eller‘s JOINED AT THE JOINTS, in which a socially anxious, baking-obsessed teen more comfortable with pies than people meets a charismatic and super-attractive boy with the same diagnosis as her (juvenile arthritis) at a support group for sick kids, meaning sparks fly—for the first time in her life—outside of her kitchen, in this whip-smart romcom debut based on the author’s experience of chronic illness, to Mora Couch at Holiday House, for publication in summer 2024, by Emmy Nordstrom Higdon at Westwood Creative Artists (world).

Film/TV:

• Mike Sheerin at Nikki Ray Media Agency has optioned two properties from Westwood Creative Artists: Jennifer Robertson’s memoir BITCOIN WIDOW: LOVE, BETRAYAL, AND THE MISSING MILLIONS, and Dean Jobb’s true crime THE CASE OF THE MURDEROUS DR. CREAM. Hilary McMahon represents both Robertson and Jobb.

Foreign:

• Alice Kuipers‘s LIFE ON THE REFRIGERATOR DOOR renewed to Martin Fontes (Brazil), by JP Riff at Riff Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Yann Martel’s LIFE OF PI renewed to Editions Gallimard (France), by Marie-France Heinic at Anna Jarota Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Yann Martel’s LIFE OF PI renewed to Editura Polirom (Romania), by Marina Adriana at Simona Kessler Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Shohini Ghose’s HER SPACE, HER TIME to Paidos (World Spanish), by Sandra Bruna at Sandra Bruna Literary Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for John Pearce.

Foreign:

• Jay Ingram’s THE SCIENCE OF WHY 2 renewed to Beijing Green Beans (China), by Claire Qiao at Andrew Nurnberg Associates, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Michael Ignatieff’s THE ORDINARY VIRTUES to Shanghai Sanhui Culture & Press Ltd. (China), by Claire Qiao at ANA Beijing, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Michael Levine.

• Thomas Trofimuk’s THE ELEPHANT ON KARLUV BRIDGE to China Times (complex Chinese), by Whitney Hsu at Andrew Nurnberg Associates on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Hilary McMahon.

• Margaret Visser’s THE RITUALS OF DINNER to Antoni Bosch Editor (Spain), by Sandra Bruna at Sandra Bruna Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Bruce Westwood.

• Yann Martel’s 101 LETTERS TO A PRIME MINISTER renewed to Jakkajungsin (Korea), by Tae Eun Kim at Shinwon Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.  

• Knopf Canada’s Martha Kanya-Forstner has acquired Canadian English rights to Kyo Maclear‘s UNEARTHING: A STORY OF TANGLED LOVE AND FAMILY SECRETS, a memoir for readers of Michelle Zauner, Olivia Liang, Katherine May, and Cathy Park Hong. A transformative story about life, love, plants, and a woman’s discovery of a long-held family secret, Unearthing was inspired by the author’s search for the story of her birth after learning that her British father was not biologically related to her, a search both illuminated and hampered by her Japanese mother’s developing dementia. Publication is planned for April 2023. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists. U.S. rights have been sold to Kathy Belden at Scribner.

• Karen Boersma and Jennifer Stokes at Owlkids have acquired world rights to MALAIKA series author Nadia Hohn’s PATTY DREAMS, a picture book about a child who emigrates from Jamaica, and helps his parents launch a business selling the filled pastries to remind them of their southern home and build a bridge to their new one. Sahle Robinson will illustrate.  Publication is slated for spring 2025; Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists represented Hohn and the illustrator represented himself.

• Queer writer/performer, theatre maker and neuro-divergent/mad activist JD Derbyshire‘s MERCY GENE: THE MAN-MADE MAKING OF A MAD WOMAN, a powerful, genre-smashing debut work of auto-fiction inspired by Derbyshire’s critically acclaimed and award-winning stage play, “Certified,” that explores themes of queerness, gender confusion, institutionalization, addiction, and abuse through kaleidoscopic bursts of erratic recollections, daydreams, poetry, and lists, to Bethany Gibson at Goose Lane Editions, for publication in March 2023, by Emmy Nordstrom Higdon at Westwood Creative Artists (NA English and World French).

• Tundra Books’ Samantha Swenson has acquired world rights to Zenia Wadhwani’s ONCE UPON A SARI in an exclusive submission. The picture book about a girl who learns the stories that each of her mother’s saris tell will be illustrated by Avani Dwivedi. Publication is set for spring 2024. Jackie Kaiser and Bridgette Kam at Westwood Creative Artists represented the author, and Shadra Strickland at Painted Words represented the illustrator.

• Kallie George at Greystone Kids has acquired world rights to author of KNOT CANNOT Tiffany Stone’s SUPER SMALL, a book of poetry and comics that introduces readers to miniature marvels of the natural world. Ashley Spires, creator of the bestselling THE MOST MAGNIFICENT THING, will illustrate. Publication is slated for spring 2023; Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists represented Stone and the illustrator represented herself.

Foreign:

• Jack Wang and Holman Wang’s COZY CLASSICS to Rieder Verlag (Germany), by Hannah Nuspliger-Fosh at Liepman, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Bob McDonald’s THE FUTURE IS NOW to China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd (China), by Claire Qiao at Andrew Nurnberg Associates Beijing, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for John Pearce.

• Craig Shreve’s THE AFRICAN SAMURAI sold at auction to Alta Books (Brazil), by Laura and JP Riff at Agencia Riff, and Vulkan izdavaštvo (Serbia), by Nada Perisic at Plima on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Chris Casuccio.

• Simu Liu’s WE WERE DREAMERS to Bengono Bessala at HarperCollins (UK), by Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser, and for Cindy Uh at CAA.

• M.G. Vassanji’s THE GUNNY SACK to Black Star Books (UK) by Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Bruce Westwood.

• Anna Comfort O’Keeffe at Douglas & McIntyre has acquired World Rights to Dan Needles’ A GUIDE TO RURAL LIVING, a whimsical and timely observation of the customs and traditions of rural and small town life, as well as the culture clash between villagers and the recent influx of urbanites who discovered during the Pandemic that working from home was something they could do anywhere. Publication will be in Fall 2023. The deal was arranged by John Pearce and Chris Casuccio at Westwood Creative Artists.