Film/TV:

• M.D.F Productions has optioned the film and TV rights to Robert Rotenberg’s WHAT WE BURIED, the story of a Toronto homicide detective’s investigation into his brother’s murder, when he uncovers hidden links between a World War II Nazi massacre in an historical hill town in Italy, and criminals still at large and in positions of power in Canada today. The deal was arranged by Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists.

Foreign rights:

• Sandra Gulland’s THE JOSEPHINE TRILOGY renewed to S. Fischer Verlag (Germany), by Theresa Lang at Liepman, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Yann Martel’s SON OF NOBODY to Wydawnictwo Albatros (Poland), and LIFE OF PI renewed to the same publisher, by Tomasz Berezinski at Graal, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Leanne Betasamosake Simpson’s THEORY OF WATER to Stéphane Cormier at Prise de Parole (World French), by Nina Court at Anna Jarota Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Richard Wagamese’s RAGGED COMPANY to Guylaine Girard at Editions XYZ (French North America), by Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for John Pearce and Chris Casuccio.  

• House of Anansi’s Shivaun Hearne has acquired Canadian rights to Jane Park‘s debut novel, INHERITANCE, in which a Korean Canadian woman returns to the prairies to revisit her childhood and confront a haunting guilt, while seeking to overcome a rift that crosses generations. Publication is expected for Winter, 2026. The deal was arranged by Chris Casuccio of Westwood Creative Artists. World English (ex Canada) rights previously sold to Jessica Case at Pegasus Books.

Foreign rights:

• Yann Martel’s LIFE OF PI renewed to XYZ Editeur (Quebec), by Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Ann Y.K. Choi’s ALL THINGS UNDER THE MOON to Giunti (Italy) at auction, by Elisa Beretta at The Italian Literary Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Rohinton Mistry’s A FINE BALANCE to Sichuan Tiandi Publishing House (China), by Andrew Nurnberg Associates Beijing, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists.

• Kim Fu’s THE VALLEY OF VENGEFUL GHOSTS to Héliotrope (French), by Megan Husain at Anna Jarota Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Marc Lewis’ THE BIOLOGY OF DESIRE to Herald (Romania), by Thomas Kessler at Kessler Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Michael Levine.

• Emily Feinberg at Roaring Brook Press has acquired, at auction, MY BUFFALO DREAM, the debut picture book from Métis-Cree poet, actor and theatre creator PJ Prudat, in which a child’s nighttime imaginings lead to a joyful road trip with a buffalo-speaking grandpa at the wheel and an ice-cream loving buffalo in the back, celebrating imagination and wonder and families of all kinds. Aly McKnight will illustrate. Publication is slated for spring 2027. Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists represented the author and the illustrator represented herself in the deal for world rights.

• Stephanie Smith at HarperOne has acquired world rights to author of MOTHER TERESA: A SIMPLE PATH and pilgrimage guide Lucinda M. Vardey‘s THE GREEN SOUL: DISCOVERING GOD IN NATURE, an exploration of our modern exile from sacred belonging with the earth and a new vision for rewilded spirituality through the grand inheritance of the great outdoors. Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists represented Vardey in the deal.

• Ken Whyte from Sutherland House has acquired world rights to James King’s biography of the renowned Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky. Burtynsky’s stunning images of fractured landscapes have established his reputation as one of the greatest photographers of our time, and this biography tells readers not only of his adventures around the globe, but the deeply personal story of how he came into being as an artist, by Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists for publication in Spring 2026.

• Insight Productions has optioned the film and TV rights to Cathy Gildiner’s novel, SEDUCTION, a fast-paced, intellectual thriller that follows Kate Fitzgerald, a woman who has spent a decade in prison, as she works with a private detective to uncover secrets and solve a murder. Full of snappy dialogue, exotic settings, and fast-paced twists, the book combines a detective story with mysterious intricacies of Freudian theory. The deal was arranged by Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists on behalf of Hilary McMahon.

• Robin Cass of Cass & Co and Robert Munroe of Blacktop Recess have optioned the film and television rights to Ian Hamilton’s bestselling Ava Lee series and Uncle Chow Tung series. The deal was arranged by Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists.

• Editorial director David A. Robertson at Swift Water Books, an imprint of Tundra Book Group, has acquired world rights to acclaimed Ojibwe author Richard Wagamese’s CANADA, to be illustrated by Anishinaabe artist Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley. The picture book is based on a poem by the late Richard Wagamese in which an Indigenous child struggles with a school assignment that asks, “What makes you proud to be Canadian?” and calls on the strength of their ancestors to find the answer. The poem speaks to a new generation of Indigenous children, and welcomes everyone to honour the past, find belonging here and now, and look toward the future in this place now called Canada. Publication is expected for March 2026. Chris Casuccio and John Pearce at Westwood Creative Artists represented Wagamese, and Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists represented Pawis-Steckley.

• Knopf Canada executive editor Kiara Kent has acquired Canadian English rights to Wayne Johnston’s THE NOVICE OF HOLLOWAY HALL. The novel is described as a tragicomic tale about a large, wealthy Newfoundland family in which the iconoclastic youngest daughter, Vivvy, finds herself in a battle with her siblings, not just for her own survival, but also for that of a five-year-old orphan named Ivan. Publication is slated for April 2026. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists.

Foreign:

• Patricia Finn’s SEVEN DAYS IN MARCH to C. Bertelsmann (Germany), by Hannah Nuspliger-Fosh at Liepman, and Fazi Editore (Italy), by Elisa Beretta at The Italian Literary Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Hilary McMahon.

• Josef Skvorecky’s THE COWARDS to Fundacja Instytut Reportażu (Poland), by Tomasz Berezinski at Graal Agency, for Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists.

• Yann Martel’s LIFE OF PI to Krishna Publications (India), by Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Yann Martel’s SELF to Phanbook Publishing (Vietnam), by Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

Film/TV:

• Zavafilms has optioned the film and TV rights to Marc Raboy’s MARCONI: THE MAN WHO NETWORKED THE WORLD, about the relationship between technology and political power, and the extraordinary man – largely unknown and misunderstood – who was the precursor to the connected world we live in today, Guglielmo Marconi. The deal was arranged by Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists on behalf of John Pearce.

• HarperCollins Canada editor-in-chief Jennifer Lambert has acquired Canadian English rights to Dennis Bock’s STRANGERS AT THE RED DOOR in an exclusive submission. The novel is described as featuring three characters who cross paths in a Chinese train station, and only two of whom are actually alive, including a foreign ghostwriter visiting Hong Kong, a blindfolded bookseller, arrested for smuggling the most dangerous novel in China into the mainland, and the disembodied spirit of the novel’s author, all of whom must aid each other in delivering the novelist’s spirit to his final resting place. Publication is slated for Fall 2025. The deal was arranged by Bridgette Kam at Westwood Creative Artists.

• Douglas & McIntyre’s Anna Comfort O’Keeffe has acquired North American English rights to Robert Hough’s ANARCHISTS IN LOVE. The novel is described as the story about Emma Goldman and Sacha Berkman, Russian immigrants ignited by their passion for each other and their mutual hatred of the powers that be, who famously join forces during New York’s gilded age to disrupt education, marriage, religion, and capitalism itself. Publication is planned for Fall 2025. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists.

• Simon & Schuster Canada’s Jim Gifford has acquired World English rights to Jay Ingram’s THE SCIENCE OF PETS. The non-fiction book is a scientific (and fun) look at the pets that populate our homes, with surprising insights into animals from cats and dogs to lizards and hydras. Publication is slated for November 2025. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists.

• Jennifer Lambert at HarperCollins Canada has acquired North American rights to Newfoundland and Labrador Reads winner for THE GOOD WOMEN OF SAFE HARBOUR Bobbi French’s THE BRINK OF SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL, a heart-stirring novel of healing, hope and redemption, centred on a new widow reimagining both her past and her future after a shocking revelation from her mother and an encounter with a vulnerable, pregnant teen. Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists inked the deal, for publication in spring 2026.

• Ken Whyte from Sutherland House has acquired World rights to Grammy-nominated musician Sue Foley’s book GUITAR WOMEN from Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists.  The book  is a compelling account of the cultural and personal struggles faced by women playing an instrument associated with masculine prowess in a male-dominated industry. Through personal essays and intimate interviews, Foley highlights the resilience, determination, and creativity of her six-string heroines, such as Joan Armatrading and Liona Boyd, celebrating their achievements and honoring their influence on her own life and career, for publication in fall 2025.

• Anne Collins at Random House Canada has bought English Canadian rights to author of GHOSTS OF WAR Eric Reguly’s ESCAPE FROM GAZA: A HEROIC DAUGHTER AND HER WOUNDED FATHER FLEE GAZA AND HOPE FOR RETURN, a dramatic family story and a searing portrait of Gaza under siege and of the Palestinian diaspora, to be published in 2027. The deal was arranged by John Pearce at Westwood Creative Artists.

• Groundwood Books’ Karen Li and Nan Froman have acquired world rights to author-illustrator Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley’s two follow-up picture books to BOOZHOO! / HELLO! written in Anishinaabemowin and English, to be translated by Mary Ann Corbiere and edited by Samantha Dewaele. The first book MOOZ / MOOSE is described as a humorous story about a cat named Mooz, introducing children to familiar animal vocabulary; the second book WIISINIDAA! / LET’S EAT! is described as a story about a child who delights in the sights and sounds of mealtimes, focusing on vocabulary related to foods, while reinforcing the child’s relationships with extended family. Publication is expected for Fall 2026 and Winter 2027 respectively. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists.

• Doug Pepper, Publisher, Signal (an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada), has bought World rights to authors of THE BIG SHIFT Darrell Bricker’s and John Ibbitson’s BREAKING POINT: HOW THE NEXT BIG SHIFT PUTS CANADA AT RISK, to be published in 2025. The deal was arranged by John Pearce at Westwood Creative Artists.

• Anne Collins at Random House Canada has bought English Canadian rights to Senior International Correspondent for The Globe & Mail and author of THE NEW COLD WAR Mark Mackinnon’s FEARLESS: AT WAR WITH UKRAIN’E ELITE SPECIAL FORCES, to be published in 2027. The deal was arranged by John Pearce at Westwood Creative Artists.