WCA Deal Report for June 21, 2017

By Deals

Deborah Willis at Freehand Books has acquired English-Canadian rights to TWIN STUDIES, a novel centring around twins and gender issues and set in Vancouver between 2009 and 2010, by Keith Maillard, former Chair of the Creative Writing Program at UBC. Publication is slated for Fall 2018 and the deal was arranged by John Pearce of Westwood Creative Artists.

Polish rights to Roz Nay’s debut psychological thriller have sold to Czarna Owca, for their crime and thriller “black series”.  The deal was arranged by Tomasz Berezinski of Graal Literary agency on behalf of Carolyn Forde at Westwood Creative Artists.

WCA Deal Report for June 14, 2017

By Deals

Vietnamese rights to Yann Martel’s The High Mountains of Portugal have been acquired by Tre Publishing House, bringing the number of territories sold to 28. The deal was arranged by Carolyn Forde of Westwood Creative Artists on behalf of Jackie Kaiser.

Arabic rights to Jaspreet Singh’s Chef have been acquired by Al-Rafidain Publication, based in Beirut.  The deal was arranged by Carolyn Forde of Westwood Creative Artists on behalf of Jackie Kaiser.

Arthuss have acquired Ukrainian rights to Don Thompson’s The Supermodel and the Brillo Box.  The deal was arranged by Tatjana Zoldnere of Andrew Nurnberg Associates Baltic and Carolyn Forde of Westwood Creative Artists on behalf of John Pearce.

Apply for a Fall Internship at WCA!

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Westwood Creative Artists, Canada’s largest literary agency representing more than 400 writers, is looking for a candidate to fill a full-time 12 week internship position, beginning Monday August 21st and ending Friday November 10th, with possible flexibility for the right candidate.

A considerable amount of time during this internship will be spent working with WCA’s international rights director and rights assistant in preparation for the Frankfurt Book Fair in October. There will also be the opportunity to work with other WCA agents and at the reception desk. In the rights department, the intern will be involved in catalogue proofreading, general preparation and follow-up for the London Book Fair. There will also be some data entry and other administrative tasks. While working with individual agents, the intern will understand how the agent manages his or her authors, learn about Canadian and US submissions, and provide needed support in a varied number of capacities. At the reception desk, the intern will really be at the “nerve centre” of the agency. Tasks will include daily administration work, reading submissions, and receiving authors and publishers as they arrive at the agency.

We offer a competitive honorarium of $1500, a lively and congenial work environment in Toronto’s Annex neighbourhood, and an excellent opportunity to gain an overview of the publishing industry in Canada and abroad through the lens of the literary agent and the writers we represent.

The ideal candidate will be eager to learn, highly organized, energetic, and have a positive outlook. Strong proofreading and computer skills required; previous office experience and knowledge of the publishing industry an asset; passionate attention to detail and accuracy a must. Please send your cover letter, resume, and references to the attention of Carolyn Forde at Carolyn@wcaltd.com at your earliest convenience or by July 12th. We appreciate all applications but will only reply to candidates selected for an interview.

 

Martel, Herriot Among 2017 Saskatchewan Book Awards

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Martel - THMOP coverHerriot - AtonementCongratulations to 2017 Saskatchewan Book Awards winners Yann Martel and Trevor Herriot! Martel’s The High Mountains of Portugal won the Regina Public Library Book of the Year Award and the City of Saskatoon and Public Library Saskatoon Book Award. Through different characters – a Portuguese pathologist, a Canadian senator, and our protagonist Tomas – Martel weaves a contemporary fable offering a haunting exploration of great love and great loss.

Herriot’s Towards a Prairie Atonement won the City of Regina Book Award. With the help of a Metis Elder, Herriot revisits the history of one corner of the Great Plains and finds himself facing his own responsibility as a decedent of settlers.

Anticipated Summer Reads: Gowdy and Hynes

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Gowdy - Little SisterHynes - Burnt in our BedsBarbara Gowdy and Joel Thomas Hynes are in good company on The Globe and Mail’s most anticipated books of 2017. Gowdy’s Little Sister explores the limits of the human mind through Rose, who runs a small repertory cinema with her widowed mother. As a series of storms strike Toronto, Rose experiences vivid, ultra-realistic dreams about living someone else’s life. In Hynes’ We’ll All Be Burnt in Our Beds Some Night, scrappy Johnny Keough sets out on a cross-country road trip to scatter his girlfriend’s ashes on a B.C. beach and accept the man he needs to become.

Riel Nason is New Brunswick Book Awards Finalist

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Nason - All the things We Leave BehindWe’re excited for New Brunswick Book Awards Finalist Riel Nason! All the Things We Leave Behind, nominated in the category of fiction, takes place in 1977 and follows seventeen-year-old Violet whose brother has disappeared, leaving home without warning.

Now in its second year, the program celebrates books published in the four categories: poetry (sponsored by The Fiddlehead), fiction, non-fiction, and children’s writing (picture books). The competition is open to traditionally published and self-published authors who have lived in the province for three of the last five years, including the award year.

Charles Bronfman 2017 NBBA Nominee

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Bronfman - DistilledWe’re thrilled for Charles Bronfman whose memoir Distilled: A Memoir of Family, Seagram, Baseball and Philanthropy is a finalist for the 2017 National Business Book Award. Chronicling key events in the life of the heir to one of Canada’s greatest fortunes, Distilled provides an exclusive look at the Bronfman legacy.

The National Business Book Award is an annual celebration of Canadian authors of outstanding non-fiction business-related books. Now in its 32nd year the Award continues to gain attention from not only the Canadian business world, but also publishers, authors, journalists, academics, economists and business leaders internationally. The finalist authors will vie for a $30,000 prize that will be awarded to the author of the most outstanding Canadian business-related book published in 2016.

2017 BC Book Prizes: Nominees

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Little - Niagara MotelHeaviness of Things That Float - ManuelShaben - MarriottEmbers-WagameseCongrats to Ashley Little, Jennifer Manuel, Carol Shaben and Richard Wagamese on being finalists for 2017 BC Book Prizes. From Ashley Little, author of the award-winning novel Anatomy of a Girl Gang, comes Niagara Motel, a bittersweet story of a young boy forced to learn brutal lessons on his way to becoming a man. In her debut novel, The Heaviness of Things That Float, Jennifer Manuel explores the delicate dynamic between First Nations Communities and non-native outsiders. Mohamed Fahmy and Carol Shaben provide an exclusive glimpse into the closed world of Islamic fundamentalism in The Marriott Cell: An Epic Journey from Cairo’s Scorpion Prison to Freedom. And in Embers: One Ojibway’s Meditations  the late Richard Wagamese shares his hard-won wisdom on how to feel the joy in everyday things.

The BC Book Prizes, established in 1985, celebrate the achievements of British Columbia writers and publishers.

The Prizes are administered and awarded by members of a non-profit society who represent all facets of the publishing and writing community.