WCA Deal Report for June 14, 2019

Tundra Books’s Tara Walker has acquired world rights to Caroline Adderson’s debut graphic novel ONCE UPON A TIME. The book is described as a charming and inventive story about the value of punctuation, to be illustrated by Roman Muradov. Publication is expected in spring 2021. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists.

Knopf Canada’s Craig Pyette has acquired world rights to historian John Boyko’s THE DEVIL’S TRICK: HOW CANADA FOUGHT THE VIETNAM WAR. The book is described as a bold expose on the spinning of a secret web of diplomatic, military, and economic interdependence between the United States and Canada during the Vietnam War. Publication will be in April 2020 to coincide with the 45th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists.

Ten Speed Press’s Kaitlin Ketchum has acquired rights to Toronto photographer Ian Brown’s AMERICAN DREAMS in a six-figure deal at auction. The photography book is described as a powerful and bipartisan collection that features 175 portraits of Americans from all walks of life alongside their handwritten statements about their American dream. Publication is expected for spring 2020. The deal was arranged by Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists.

McClelland & Stewart’s Martha Kanya-Forstner has acquired Canadian English rights to writer Jenny Heijun Wills’s OLDER SISTER. NOT NECESSARILY RELATED. The debut memoir deals with rediscovered culture and the painful ripple effects following a child’s removal from a family. The book will be published in fall 2019. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists.

Penguin Random House Canada’s Anne Collins has acquired Tessa McWatt’s SHAME ON ME: AN ANATOMY OF RACE AND BELONGING. The book is an analysis of the race debate from a personal perspective. Publication is expected in winter 2020. The North American English rights were arranged by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists. Philip Gwyn Jones at Scribe U.K. acquired U.K. and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) for publication in fall 2019 in a prior deal.

Tundra Books’s Tara Walker has also acquired world rights to Sara O’Leary’s THIS IS RUBY. With illustrations by Alea Marley, the book is about a girl who loves paleontology. Publication is expected in Fall 2020. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists (World).

Pajama Press’s Gail Winskill has acquired Canadian English rights to Ailsa Ross’s THE GIRL WHO RODE A SHARK: AND OTHER STORIES OF DARING WOMEN. The book, illustrated by Amy Blackwell, tells inspiring stories of girls and women from around the world who were warriors, scientists, artists and athletes, explorers, and adventurers. Publication is expected for September 2019. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser of Westwood Creative Artists.

Portage & Main Press’s Catherine Gerbasi has acquired world rights to two more volumes in Tasha Spillett’s SURVIVING THE CITY graphic novel series. The series is about Indigenous kinship, resilience, cultural resurgence, and the anguish of a missing loved one. Publication is expected in Fall 2019 and Fall 2020. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser of Westwood Creative Artists.