WCA Deal Report for January 24, 2025
- 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.
