Abramson, Neil: Unsaid, Center Street, August 2011 – As a veterinarian, Helena had mercifully escorted thousands of animals to the other side. Now, having died herself, she finds that it is not so easy to move on. So Helena haunts – and is haunted by – the life she left behind: David, her shattered attorney husband; her houseful of damaged but beloved animals; and Cindy, a chimpanzee to whom she helped teach sign language and who may just unlock the key to our own hearts and consciousness. When David takes on a legal case to save Cindy’s life, all the threads of Helena’s life entwine and explode – unexpectedly, painfully, beautifully.
Burchard, Brendon: Life’s Golden Ticket: An Inspirational Novel, HarperOne, 2006 – A troubled man visits an abandoned amusement park searching for clues into his fiancée’s disappearance. While at the park he experiences a series of miracles and meets people who help him discover what happened to his fiancée, and uncover the greatest gift of all—life’s golden ticket. [World rights sold] Rights sold in German, Italian, Korean, Brazil, Spanish, Hebrew, Swedish, Dutch, UK, Australia and New Zealand, Taiwan, China, Indonesia, Turkey, French, Japan.
Clinch, Jon: Finn: A Novel, Random House, 2007 – Finn takes us on a journey into the history and heart of one of American literature’s most brutal and mysterious figures: Huckleberry Finn’s father. The result is a deeply original tour de force that springs from Twain’s classic novel but takes on a fully realized life of its own. Awards: Booksense pick; “Top Ten” pick of 2007, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, & Christian Science Monitor; National Book Critics’ Circle “Most Recommended”; American Library Association’s “Notable Book 2007?; Winner of the Athenaeum Award 2008; runner-up in the Sargent First Novel Prize. Rights sold to: Australia/New Zealand (Scribe Publishing); Film rights optioned to Hit & Run Prdctns. Debut Author
Conklin, Tara: The House Girl, William Morrow, February 2013 – 1852: Josephine, a young house slave, runs away from a Virginia tobacco farm and its ailing mistress, Lu Anne Bell. 2004: Lina, an ambitious NYC attorney, discovers a controversy roiling the art world: are the paintings long attributed to Lu Anne Bell really the work of her house slave? An heir of Josephine’s would be the perfect plaintiff for her firm’s slavery reparations lawsuit. While following Josephine’s trail through old letters and plantation records, Lina probes her own family’s secrets in a story of art and history, love and mystery, and truth and justice.
Gynther, Dana: Crossing on the Paris, Gallery, November 2012 – It is 1921, and SS Paris leaves Le Havre on her maiden voyage. Traveling first class, elderly Vera is moving back to Manhattan after thirty years abroad. In second class, reveling in her freedom, Constance is returning to her family after failing to retrieve her bohemian sister from France. And below decks, young Julie seeks adventure by leaving behind her small working class French town and memories of war. At sea, these three women cross paths in a series of chance encounters. For each of them, the crossing will be a life-changing journey of the heart.
Hamamura, John: Color of the Sea, Thomas Dunne Books, 2004; Anchor Books, 2007 – Sam Hamada, a Japanese language teacher raised in Hawaii, meets American-born Yanagi Keiko. Yet while they are falling in love, their adopted and native lands are preparing for war. War begins and her family is incarcerated in internment camps while Sam is drafted into the U.S. Army. Debut Author
Hicks, Robert: A Separate Country, Grand Central, 2009 – Robert Hick’s second historical novel tells the story of General John Bell Hood, who gave up his command and sacrificed everything — including ultimately his life — to make a new start in New Orleans, where he fought against poverty, racism, and some of the most deadly epidemics ever.
Hicks, Robert: The Widow of the South, Warner, 2005 & 2006 – Based on the true story of a woman who, during the bloodiest five hours of the Civil War, overcomes the paralyzing loss of her own children to nurse the wounded and dying soldiers of the Confederacy, and later creates a cemetery for the dead which she will tend for the rest of her life. Awards: New York Times Bestseller; Alternate Selection, Book of the Month Club. Rights sold: U.K., French and Italian.
Hicks, Robert, Bohlinger, John & Stelter,Justin: A Guitar and a Pen: Stories by Country Music’s Greatest Songwriters, Center Street, 2008 – A collection of short stories by country music songwriters; a blend of fiction and nonfiction, humor, and poignancy, this is the compilation of some of the best storytellers in the world.
Ivey, Eowyn: The Snow Child, Little, Brown, 2012 – Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, especially for an aging childless couple. Jack and Mabel are drifting apart, but in a moment of levity, they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone, and Jack catches a glimpse of a little girl running away into the woods. This is the setup for a magical tale of heartbreak and hope, as Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this little girl who seems to come directly from the pages of a fairy tale. Awards: Pulitzer Prize finalist. Winner of the 2013 Indies Choice Award in the Adult Debut category. Author Eowyn Ivey won the 2012 UK National Book Award for International Author of the Year. THE SNOW CHILD was a finalist for the 2012 Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Prize and won the 2013 PNBA Book Award. It was also named one of Amazon’s 2012 Best Books of the Year, an Amazon Top Editors’ Pick: Print Edition, an Amazon Top Editors’ Pick: Kindle Edition, one of the Washington Post’s 50 Notable Works of Fiction, and one of the Houston Chronicle’s Best Books of 2012, as well as being named #1 on the Christian Science Monitor’s 6 Books You Should Read in 2012 and a Ladies’ Home Journal December Book Club Pick.
Jacobs,Rayda: Confessions of a Gambler, Overlook, 2007 – This gripping novel follows the downfall of a 49-year-old Muslim mother who, after being abandoned by her husband, becomes addicted to gambling, despite her religious beliefs. Rights sold in Italy, Portugal, Germany.
Jenoff, Pam: The Kommandant’s Girl, Mira Books, 2007 – When the Nazis invade Poland, Emma’s husband is forced to disappear underground and her already precarious situation is complicated by her introduction to a Kommandant, who insists that she come work as his assistant, allowing her to provide information to the resistance movement. World rights sold. Debut Author
Jenoff, Pam: The Diplomat’s Wife,Mira Books, 2008 – When the Nazi prison camp where Marta is being held is liberated, she meets a handsome young American named Paul and they fall in love. Following the war, Marta becomes involved in a mission to find an anti-communist operative who possesses a Soviet critical to the British government. World rights sold.
Maheu, Layne: Song of the Crow, Unbridled Books, 2006 & 2007 – As he looks down on Noah, the crow knows that these creatures called Man are trouble. He senses, too, that the natural order of things is about to change. This extraordinary debut asks us to linger in a masterfully rendered ancient world long enough to ponder the unsettled state of things. Debut Author
Maine, David: Monster, 1959, St. Martin’s Press, 2008 – A literary retelling of a 1950s style B-monster movie, exploring how America’s obsession with pop culture often blinds us to what’s going on in the rest of the world.
Maine, David: Book of Samson, St. Martin’s Press, 2006; St. Martin’s Griffin, 2007 – A dark re-imagining of the story of Samson and Delilah. In Samson’s own words, it is the story of “this worldly existence of men & brutes desire & unkindness.” Rights sold in UK.
Maine, David: Fallen, Gale Group, 2006; St. Martin’s Press, 2006 – A literary retelling of the story of Cain, Abel, Adam and Eve. Maine constructs a realistic portrait of this familiarly tragic family, making their struggles original with his wry observations and insight. Awards: Book of the Month Club selection. Rights sold in: UK, Germany, Russia, and Italy.
Maine, David: The Preservationist, St. Martin’s Press, 2004; St. Martin’s Griffin, 2005 – A literary retelling of the Noah’s Ark story in a brilliantly written, thought-provoking novel. The Noah’s Ark Story told from the point of view of Noah’s wife, three sons, and three daughters-in-law. Awards: Book of the Month Club selection. Rights sold in: UK, Germany, Spain, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia, Greece, and Italy.
McLarty, Ron: The Memory of Running, Viking, 2005 & 2006 – Smithson “Smithy” Ide’s life is turned upside-down by the sudden death of his parents in a car accident and his mentally troubled sister Bethany. In response, he gets on his old Raleigh bicycle, going through his memories of his family and growing up as he traverses America. Rights sold in Germany.
McLarty, Ron: Traveler, Viking, 2007 & 2008 – A complex neighborhood narrative of past and present that takes the reader on a rich and heartrending journey from Jono’s coming-of-age in the early 1960s to the shocking story that unfolds as he returns forty years later to uncover the cause of the death of his first love, Marie.
McLarty, Ron: Art in America, 2009 & 2010 – Bumbling Steven Kearney loses his NY apartment and becomes playwright-in-residence for a small town, where an ongoing dispute escalates into a national media event. Amid the tumult, Kearney pens an extraordinary play and, in the process, finds lasting love when he realizes that he’s too old to keep beating up on himself.
Poore, Michael: Up Jumps the Devil, Ecco, July 2012 – Meet John Scratch, aka the Devil. For millennia, John has been trying to lure his true love back to Earth from Heaven. Believing he’s found a new Eden (America) to tempt her, he shapes it into his pet nation. One dark night in the late 1960s, he strikes a deal with three broke musicians, granting them all they desire in exchange for their souls. The trio is soon helping the Devil push America to the height of civilization – or so he thinks.
Stein, Garth: The Art of Racing in the Rain, Harper, 2008 – A heart-wrenching, humorous and uplifting story about the family dog’s efforts to hold together a young family in the face of illness, death, and a divisive custody battle. Awards: Starbucks Pick. Booksense #1 June. Featured alternate in: Book of the Month; Literary Guild; Doubleday Book Club; Doubleday Large Print Club; Quality Paperback Book Club. Rights sold: Australia (Harper AUS), Brazil (Ediouro), Canada (HarperCanada), China (Thinkingdom), Czech Republic (JOTA), Finland (WSOY), France (First Editions), Germany (Droemer), Iceland (Tindur), Israel (Keter), Italy (Piemme), Japan (Villagebooks), Korea (Balgunsesang), Netherlands (Mouria), Portugal (Difel), Romania (Corint), Russia (AST), Spanish (SUMA), Sweden (Damm Forlag), Taiwan (Eurasian).
Stein, Garth: Raven Stole the Moon, HarperCollins, 2010 – When Jenna Rosen abandons her comfortable Seattle life to visit Wrangell, Alaska, it’s a wrenching return to her past. Armed with nothing but a mother’s ferocious protective instincts, Jenna’s quest for the truth about the mysterious disappearance of her son—and the strength of her beliefs—pulls her into a terrifying and life-changing abyss.
Trout, Nick: The Patron Saint of Lost Dogs, Hyperion, Spring 2013 – Heartwarming stories and lovable animals abound in this charming novel about a man who inherits his father’s failing veterinary practice and the unlikely friendships, adventures, and second chances that develop as he tries to save it.
Vonnegut, Norbert: Top Producer, Thomas Dunne Books, 2009 – Debut novel about Wall Street’s elite and the glad-handing and backstabbing that goes on at the highest levels of finance and how money covers up even the most glaring imperfections in relationships, and fools almost everyone.