• Neal Porter at Holiday House/Neal Porter Books has acquired world rights to BANANA DREAM by Iraqi-Canadian Hasan Namir (The Name I Call Myself), with Zainab Faidhi to illustrate.  The picture book is inspired by Namir’s own childhood enduring sanctions in Iraq, and explores a child’s coming to terms with his unusual name against a story of scarcity and want. Publication is planned for summer 2023; Hilary McMahon of Westwood Creative Artists represented the author and the illustrator represented herself.

• Author-illustrator of THE OUTLAW and THE RANGER Nancy Vo’s BOOBIES, a lighthearted journey into the world of boobies – the blue-footed avian sort and the more familiar kind that each of us has on our own bodies, to Karen Li at Groundwood Books, for publication in Fall 2022, by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists (World).

• Author of HARDY ROSES: THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE FOR HIGH LATITUDES AND ALTITUDES, Bob Osborne’s new book, HARDY APPLES, to Julie Takasaki at Firefly Books, for publication in Spring 2022, by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists (World). HARDY APPLES is a photographic guide to apple-growing in harsher climates with photography by Beth Powning.

• New York Times bestselling author of THE COLONY OF UNREQUITED DREAMS Wayne Johnston‘s JENNIE’S BOY MY MISFIT CHILDHOOD IN NEWFOUNDLAND, the story of a tragicomic childhood in a part of Newfoundland whose way of life is fast disappearing, to Anne Collins at Knopf Canada, for publication in Fall 2022, by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists (Canada English).

• Allan Levine’s DETAILS ARE UNPRINTABLE, chronicling the murder of a high society New York woman by her closeted husband, and the elements that culminated in this tragic event, to Three Film and Television Inc., by Michael Levine of Westwood Creative Artists for Hilary McMahon.

• Rohinton Mistry’s FAMILY MATTERS and SUCH A LONG JOURNEY to Gyldendal (Denmark), by Monique Oosterhoof at MO Literary Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Artists for Bruce Westwood.

• Kim Fu’s THE LOST GIRLS OF CAMP FOREVERMORE to Heliotrope (France), by Megan Husain of Anna Jarota Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Agency for Jackie Kaiser.

• Alice Kuiper’s ICE QUEST to Fiction Express (United Kingdom), by Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Eric Nicol’s DICKENS OF THE MOUNTED, a comic novel consisting of fiction letters by Charles Dickens’ son Francis, about his twelve years in Canada, to AWEN Entertainment, by Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists.

• Josef Skvorecky’s THE ENGINEER OF HUMAN SOULS, renewed to Fundacja Instytut Reportazu (Poland), by Tomasz Berezinski at Graal Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Bruce Westwood.

• Rohinton Mistry’s SUCH A LONG JOURNEY, to AST/Neclassics (Russia), by Natalia Sanina at Synopsis Literary Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Bruce Westwood.

• Yann Martel’s LIFE OF PI, to Dar Kalemat (Arabic), by Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

• Film and television rights to Tomson Highway’s PERMANENT ASTONISHMENT (Doubleday Canada), a joyful celebration of the author’s birthplace—the border between Manitoba and what is now Nunavut – with a sharp analysis of how the sly humour of Cree culture and the shape-shifting qualities of the language itself enabled the Cree people to survive conquest, to White Pine Pictures. The deal was negotiated by Michael Levine on behalf of Jackie Kaiser of Westwood Creative Artists. 

• Sam Cooper’s WILFUL BLINDNESS, an in-depth look into Chinese organized crime infiltration into Canada over the past 25 years, to Collective Pictures Inc., by Michael Levine of Westwood Creative Artists.

• Jim Gifford at HarperCollins Canada has acquired world rights in a pre-empt to Andrew Stobo Sniderman and Douglas Sanderson (Amo Binashii)‘s VALLEY OF THE BIRDTAIL, about the 140-year relationship between two neighbouring communities and what it tells us about racism and reconciliation. The deal was arranged by Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists.

• BC poet Jordan Scott has signed a new two-book, world rights deal with Neal Porter at Holiday House/NealPorter Books.  WORMS FOR BABA’S GARDEN , illustrated by Greenaway Medalist Sydney Smith (represented by Emily van Beek at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management) is the second picture book collaboration by Scott and Smith after the acclaimed I TALK LIKE A RIVER, and follows a child’s loving observations of his grandmother and the thriving garden beside her home. Publication is planned for spring 2023.  ANGELA’S GLACIER will be illustrated by Diana Sudyka and explores the way a child draws strength and tranquility from an ancient icefield.  Publication is planned for fall 2023; Andrea Morrison at Writers House represented the illustrator. Hilary McMahon of Westwood Creative Artists represented Scott in the deal.

• Anne Collins at Random House Canada has acquired Canadian English-language rights to Wilfrid Laurier Physics Professor Shohini Ghose’s (IN)VISIBLE, telling the stories of over twenty frequently unseen, unheralded and under-rewarded  women physicists from around the world who transformed science and society despite often wearing a cloak of invisibility throughout their careers. Publication is expected in Spring 2023. The deal was arranged by John Pearce of Westwood Creative Artists.

• Jennifer Lambert from HarperCollins Canada has acquired North American rights to Bobbi French’s COME HOME, FRANCES DELANEY on exclusive submission from Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists.  The debut novel is a three-tissue read for fans of Jojo Moyes and Rachel Joyce, about a woman who is finally empowered to overcome her past and claim the life she deserves, which includes how and where it will end, for publication in spring 2022.  

Neal Porter at Holiday House/Porter has bought TADPOLES by Boston Globe-Horn Book and Governor General’s Award-winning author-illustrator Matt James, about a father and son’s walk to an ephemeral pond teeming with tadpoles, and the sense of wonder to be found in the natural world. Publication is slated for spring/summer 2023; Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Arts brokered the deal for world rights.

Michael Holmes at ECW Press has acquired Heather Tucker’s novel CRACKED POTS on exclusive submission from Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists.  The voice-driven novel features the beloved character of Ari Appleton and her imaginary seahorse Jasper from Tucker’s debut novel THE CLAY GIRL, as she joins the desperate search for a missing girl, struggles to protect her step-brother, and emerges from the ashes of a violent childhood to put the pieces of her broken life together. ECW acquired World English rights, and will publish in fall 2021.

First Nations broadcaster, activist and author of THE REASON YOU WALK Wab Kinew’s WALKING IN TWO WORLDS, the author’s debut young adult novel about an Indigenous teenage girl caught between two worlds both real and virtual, to Lynne Missen at Penguin Teen Canada, for publication in September 2021, in a two-book deal, by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists (World).

Author-illustrator of WHEN EMILY WAS SMALL Lauren Soloy’s A FIELD GUIDE TO GNOMES and DEAR PETAL: EMILY DICKINSON AND HER FLOWER FRIENDS, to Samantha Swenson at Tundra Books, for publication in fall 2022 and summer 2023, by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists (World).

Grand Central’s Haley Weaver has acquired World rights to Max Wallace’s AFTER THE MIRACLE: THE LONELY CRUSADES OF HELEN KELLER, in which the author explodes long-standing myths and taps newly uncovered material to focus on the powerful, underexplored story of Helen Keller’s adult life as a fervent advocate for racial justice, socialism, and disability rights. Publication is expected for spring 2023. The deal was arranged by Chris Casuccio and John Pearce of Westwood Creative Artists.  

Tamar Mays at HarperCollins has acquired world rights to WHEN YOU WERE NEW by Jennifer Harris, a love letter from a parent to a child celebrating all the surprising and important things the child has learned and discovered. Lenny Wen will illustrate; publication is planned for winter 2023. Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Arts represented the author, and Christy Ewers at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.

Ken Whyte at Sutherland House has acquired North American English rights to Bow Tie Partners Chairman Charley Moss’ MAGIC IN THE DARK, about the Moss family’s journey from its arrival as Jewish immigrants in the US early in the 20^th century to becoming one of the most influential families in film exhibition, with the start and growth of the motion picture industry as it’s backdrop. The deal was arranged by Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists, for publication in Fall 2021.

Thomas King’s bestselling novel INDIANS ON VACATION has been optioned for an opera by composer Ian Cusson and librettist Royce Vavrek. The deal was arranged by Michael Levine for Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists.

From one of Canada’s leading writers and public intellectuals, Michael Ignatieff’s timely meditation ON CONSOLATION: FINDING SOLACE IN DARK TIMES about how you can find solace in a secular age without the support of organized religion to Anne Collins at Random House Canada (Canadian English rights), Sara Bershtel at Henry Holt (US English rights), and Ravi Mirchandani at Picador (English language rights excluding North America), in addition to foreign sales in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Taiwan, organized by Meg Wheeler, scheduled for Fall 2021 publication. The deal was arranged by Michael Levine at Westwood Creative Artists.

Thomas King’s BORDERS, a middle grade adaptation of the author’s short story of the same name, with themes of identity, nationality, justice, and belonging from an Indigenous perspective, illustrated by Natasha Donovan, to Susan Rich at Little, Brown Children’s, for publication in fall 2021, by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists. Rights to Suzanne Sutherland at Harper Canada.