Bestselling children’s author Linda Bailey has multiple publishers in place for her new middle grade novel The Tiny Hero of Ferny Creek Library, about a book-loving bug named Eddie who devises a clever-though-perilous plan to save the school library, inspired by characters in his favorite books. Tara Walker at Tundra Books acquired Canadian rights, and Virginia Duncan at Greenwillow Books acquired world excluding Canada, and in turn did a deal for Turkish rights with Alfa. Hilary McMahon of Westwood Creative Artists is Bailey’s agent. The book will be published in summer 2017.
We are pleased to announce that Beth Powning’s novel, A Measure of Light, has been longlisted for the 2017 International Dublin Literary Award.
Books are nominated for the Award by invited public libraries in cities throughout the world – making the Award unique in its coverage of international fiction. Titles are nominated on the basis of ‘high literary merit’ as determined by the nominating library.
Congrats to Susan Juby on her Amy Mathers Teen Book Award for The Truth Commission! The jury said, “This book delivers a thoughtful reflection on the nature of truth in a package that is smart and funny and utterly original.”
The Amy Mathers Teen Book Award, established in 2014, honours excellence in teen/young adult fiction. The prize was established following the fundraising efforts of Amy Mathers through her Marathon of Books. Now in its second year, the award is sponsored by Sylvan Learning.
We are thrilled for Lynne Kutsukake whose The Translation of Love won the Canada Council’s 2016 Canada-Japan Literary Award. In her debut novel Kutsukake tells the story of Aya Shimamura, a newly repatriated girl, as she helps a classmate find her missing sister in war-devastated Tokyo.
The Canada-Japan Literary Awards recognize literary excellence by Canadian writers and translators who write, or translate from Japanese into English or French, a work on Japan, on Japanese themes or on themes that promote mutual understanding between Japan and Canada.
We are excited to announce two WCA authors have been longlisted for the 2017 BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction. From award-winning journalist Alexandra Shimo comes Invisible North: The Search for Answers on a Troubled Reserve, an intimate portrait of a place that pushes everyone to their limits. Also longlisted is Marc Raboy’s Marconi: The Man Who Networked the World, a biographical account of the father of wireless communication.
Launched in 2005, the BC National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction celebrates a genre that stimulates our national conversation and shares knowledge about the complex world in which we live. Now in its 13th year, it is one of Canada’s largest book prizes, with one hundred thirty-seven books by 35 publishers nominated from across the country for the $40,000 prize.
Congratulations to Sara O’Leary and Julie Morstad (illustrator), whose stunning children’s book, This is Sadie made the shortlist for a 2016 Quebec Writers’ Federation Award. Nominated in the category of Children’s Literature: Picture Books with Text and Beginner Readers, This is Sadie introduces readers to a little girl with a big imagination.
Every year, The Quebec Writers’ Federation shines the spotlight on the best English-language writers to emerge from Quebec. The QWF Awards include six $2,000 book prizes for Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poetry, First Book, Translation, and Children’s and Young Adult Literature. The winners of these book prizes are announced at QWF’s Gala each year, making it indisputably the most important literary event of the year for Quebec’s English-language writers and their readers.
Icelandic rights to Alice Kuipers‘s debut 2007 novel Life on the Refrigerator Door have been sold to Odinsauga in a deal arranged by Monique Oosterhof at Mo Literary Services with Carolyn Forde, on behalf of Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists.
World French-language rights to Roz Nay’s debut thriller Our Little Secret, forthcoming from Simon & Schuster Canada in June, have been sold to Hugo et Cie by David Camus at Anna Jarota Agency with Carolyn Forde at Westwood Creative Artists.
German rights to Glenn Dixon’s 2017 bestseller Juliet’s Answer: One Man’s Search for Love and the Elusive Cure for Heartbreak have been sold to Kiepenheuer & Witsch by Hannah Fosh at Liepman Agency and Carolyn Forde, on behalf of Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists.
Russian rights to filmmaker and journalist Alexandre Trudeau’s 2016 debut title Barbarian Lost: Travels in the New China have been sold to Ivan Limbakh in a deal arranged by Natalia Sanina at Synopsis Literary Agency with Carolyn Forde, on behalf of Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists.
Arabic rights to Jay Ingram’s 2015 non-fiction title The End of Memory: A Natural History of Aging and Alzheimer’s have been sold to King Saud University in a deal arranged by Carolyn Forde, on behalf of Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists.
Latvian rights to Marc Lewis’s 2015 non-fiction work The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction Is Not a Disease have been sold to Lietusdarzs by Tatjana Zoldnere at Andrew Nurnberg Associates Baltic with Carolyn Forde, on behalf of Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists.
Managing Editor Anna Comfort-O’Keefe at D&M has acquired North American English rights to Bill Gaston’s seventh short-story collection THE MARINER’S GUIDE TO SELF-SABOTAGE. Though an accomplished novelist—The World, Sointula, The Good Body, The Cameraman—it’s his short fiction for which he gains the most critical acclaim. His previous collection, Juliet Was A Surprise, earned a Governor General’s Award nomination, as did the collection previous to that, Gargoyles. The one prior to that, Mount Appetite, was shortlisted for the Giller Prize. Publication is planned for Fall 2017. The deal was arranged by Carolyn Forde of Westwood Creative Artists.
Taryn Boyd has acquired World rights to Julie Roorda’s A THOUSAND CONSOLATIONS for Brindle & Glass. The story of Paula, a maker of wish-laden candles grappling with the grief of loss, and her relationship with a charming and witty new immigrant from Mexico, Hector, whose past may not be exactly as he’s portrayed it. This is Roorda’s first adult novel (she’s published 3 volumes of poetry and a YA novel previously). Publication is set for Fall 2017. The deal was arranged by Carolyn Forde at Westwood Creative Artists.
St. Martin’s Press Senior Editor Daniela Rapp has acquired US rights to Roz Nay’s debut psychological thriller OUR LITTLE SECRET, for publication in early 2018. Simon & Schuster Canada VP and Editorial Director Nita Pronovost and Assistant Editor Sarah St. Pierre will publish in Canada in June 2017. Dutch rights were acquired by Xander and audio rights by Audible. The deal was arranged by Carolyn Forde of Westwood Creative Artists.