Publishers Marketplace: Jill Grinberg

New and Upcoming Titles (Winter 2021)

THE LION OF MARS by Jennifer L. Holm
THE EVIL PRINCESS AND THE BRAVE KNIGHT MAKE GOOD CHOICES by Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm
RECONSTRUCTION: STORIES by Alaya Dawn Johnson
THE KNOCKOUT by Sajni Patel
WHAT ZOLA DID ON THURSDAY, WHAT ZOLA DID ON FRIDAY by Melina Marchetta
MEET THE MATZAH by Alan Silberberg
SENTENCE: A PERIOD TO PERIOD GUIDE TO BUILDING BETTER READERS AND WRITERS by Geraldine Woods
THE STOLEN PRINCE OF CLOUDBURST by Jaclyn Moriarty
MIRROR'S EDGE by Scott Westerfeld
TAKE THREE GIRLS by Cath Crowley, Simmone Howell, and Fiona Wood
THE 130-STORY TREEHOUSE by Andy Griffiths (illus. by Terry Denton)
THE QUEEN OF IZMOROZ by Jon Skovron
DIAL A FOR AUNTIES by Jesse Q Sutanto

2021 Deals

TJ Alexander's CHEF'S KISS, an #OwnVoices LGBTQ+ rom-com starring a type-A pastry chef whose professional goals are interrupted by not only a career transition, but the introduction of her wildly attractive nonbinary kitchen manager, who happens to be undergoing a transition of their own, to Lara Jones at Emily Bestler Books, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2022, by Larissa Melo Pienkowski at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world).

Jenny Howe's THE MAKE-UP TEST, pitched as ONE TO WATCH meets BEACH READ, about a 20-something woman whose prestigious literature PhD program becomes a battle of wits (and lit) when she discovers that her college ex and biggest regret is now her rival TA for a once-in-a-life-time research opportunity, to Sarah Grill at St. Martin's, in a two-book deal, for publication in winter 2023, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world English).

Billy Sharff's WHEN SANTA CAME TO STAY, pitched as the offspring of THE GRINCH and SNOWMEN AT CHRISTMAS, the story of a family who learns the true meaning of Christmas when Santa (and sundry other holiday characters) outstay their welcome in an attempt to prolong the holiday magic, illustrated by Eda Kaban, to Jessica Garrison at Dial, at auction, for publication in fall 2022, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management for the author, and Shannon Associates for the illustrator (world).

Garth Nix's TERCIEL AND ELINOR, the latest in his Old Kingdom series, about a ploy by an ancient enemy of the Abhorsen that brings the Abhorsen-in-Waiting across the Wall to Elinor—who, after facing fire, death, and loss, finds herself on a path taking her away from her life of seclusion and into Terciel's, embroiling her in the struggle of the Abhorsen's against the dead; and a 25th-anniversary edition of SABRIEL, the series starter, to Katherine Tegen at Katherine Tegen Books, for publication in fall 2021, by Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (NA). Rights to Emma Matthewson at Bonnier Books UK (UK); and Eva Mills at Allen & Unwin (ANZ), by Fiona Inglis of Curtis Brown Australia.

Poet, Undocupoet fellow, and contributor to THE BREAKBEAT POETS VOL.4: LATINEXT anthology Aline Mello's MORE SALT THAN DIAMOND, an #OwnVoices debut poetry collection meditating on the visible and invisible fractures between the self, family, and memory as experienced by a Brazilian immigrant living in diaspora, determined to be authentically seen in a country that would either silence her or shape her into something politically palatable, to Patty Rice at Andrews McMeel, in a nice deal, for publication in spring 2022, by Larissa Melo Pienkowski at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world).

Cave Canem fellow, poet, and essayist Remica Bingham-Risher's SOUL CULTURE: BLACK POETS, BOOKS, AND QUESTIONS THAT GREW ME UP, a part-memoir, part-cultural artifact that intertwines personal essays and interviews with distinguished Black poets, such as Lucille Clifton, Sonia Sanchez, Patricia Smith, Natasha Trethewey, and others to explore the impact of identity, joy, love, and sociohistorical context on Black poetic craft and artistic process in the latter half of the 21st century, to Haley Lynch at Beacon Press, in a nice deal, for publication in summer 2022, by Larissa Melo Pienkowski at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world English).

Sarah Glenn Marsh's THE MYSTERY OF THE LOVE LIST, the story of a lonely porcupine who feels lonelier than ever with Valentine's Day approaching, until she discovers her name on one of her classmate's love lists—a list of all the things they love best—and sets out to solve the mystery of who this potential friend might be, illustrated by Ishaa Lobo, to Tamar Brazis at Viking Children's, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2022, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management for the author, and by Jennifer Rofa at Andrea Brown Literary Agency for the illustrator (world).

Activist and founder of the Ella Mae Foundation Beverly Gooden's SURVIVING: WHY WE STAY AND HOW WE LEAVE ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, in which the author chronicles with unflinching vulnerability the steps she took to free herself from an abusive marriage and offers survivors guidance on overcoming barriers and rebuilding oneself after leaving abusive relationships, to Suzanne Staszak-Silva at Rowman & Littlefield, in a nice deal, for publication in spring 2022, by Larissa Melo Pienkowski at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (NA).

Lori Anne Goldstein's LOVE, THEODOSIA, about Theodosia Burr, a scholar with the skills of a socialite, who, in the midst of aiding her father, Aaron Burr, in his quest for the presidency in the pivotal election of 1800, falls for Philip Hamilton, the son of his greatest rival, and the two must choose between love and desire, family and loyalty, and preserving the legacy their powerful and flawed fathers fought so hard for—or creating their own, to Lilly Golden at Arcade, for publication in fall 2021, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world).

Jesse Sutanto's debut WELL, THAT WAS UNEXPECTED, about a girl whisked from L.A. to her mother's native Indonesia in order to "get back to her roots," who—through a comedy of errors and overzealous parents—finds herself fake dating the son of one of the wealthiest families in Indonesia, and is surprised when she actually starts to fall in love with the boy, with the country, and with the big family she never knew before now, to Wendy Loggia at Delacorte, in a pre-empt, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2022, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world English).

Shivaun Plozza's A RELUCTANT WITCH'S GUIDE TO MAGIC, about an ordinary girl who discovers she's not so ordinary after all, but instead is a witch prized by two terrible warring covens, and she must master her magic and choose a coven before her 13th birthday—or explode, to Nicole Sclama at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's, with Amy Cloud editing, for publication in spring 2022, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (NA).

Author-illustrator of A GREEN PLACE TO BE Ashley Benham-Yazdani's THE COMET, told from the perspective of Halley's Comet as it passes by Earth every 75 years, witnessing the evolution of human history and the many changes to life on Earth, to Hilary Van Dusen at Candlewick, in a nice deal, for publication in spring 2023, by Jessica Saint Jean at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world).

Britney Lewis's debut THE UNDEAD TRUTH OF US, pitched as a mix of SADIE, THE ASTONISHING COLOR OF AFTER, and WARM BODIES, which follows a young Black dancer who, after her mother's sudden death, has been seeing zombies, but when she meets an undead boy, he helps her unravel the truth about how love can change someone—for good or for dead, to Emily Meehan at Disney-Hyperion, with Brittany Rubiano and Christine Collins editing, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2022, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world).

Sajni Patel's MY SISTER'S BIG FAT INDIAN WEDDING, a rom-com in which a 17-year-old aspiring violinist with dreams of attending music college must secretly juggle the obligations of her sister's extravagant wedding week with auditions for a prominent music contest—all while trying to dodge her boisterous family's matchmaking schemes, to Anne Heltzel at Amulet, at auction, for publication in spring 2022, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world English).

2020 Deals

Jennifer Thorne's LUTE, which follows an American expat-turned-lady of the remote, idyllic island of Lute, on the cusp of what locals call "the day"—a once-every-seven-years event of strange rites, horror, reckoning, and grief, to Daphne Durham at Nightfire, in a good deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in spring 2022, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (NA).

ONE WAY OR ANOTHER author Kara McDowell's ANXIOUS GIRL SUMMER, pitched as a While You Were Sleeping-inspired YA romantic comedy, in which a teen girl with undiagnosed Social Anxiety Disorder rescues her longtime crush from drowning at a beach party, and when he ends up in a brief coma, she finds herself at the center of a misunderstanding about their relationship that quickly spirals out of her control, to Mallory Kass at Scholastic, for publication in spring 2022, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world English).

Newbery Honor winner Kirby Larson's SHAKE FOR THE SUMMER, in the Shermy and Shake series, illustrated by Shinji Fujioka, the first book in a new chapter book series, in which two boys, thrown together by circumstance, navigate their differences and forge an unlikely friendship, to Kaylan Adair at Candlewick, in an exclusive submission, in a two-book deal, for publication in spring 2023, by Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary Management for the author, and by Lori Kilkelly at LK Literary Agency for the illustrator (world).

2019 Lambda Fellow J K Chukwu's THE UNFORTUNATES, pitched in the vein of Luster, Queenie, and My Year of Rest and Relaxation, about a queer, half-Nigerian college student enraged and exhausted by the racism, tokenism, and indifference to the Black experience at her elite college, who pens a no-holds barred thesis ("to my advisors: Mr. White Supremacy, Mr. Capitalism, Ms. Racism") documenting her search for the truth about The Unfortunates, an unlucky subset of her Black classmates who keep dying at the hands of white supremacy, to Millicent Bennett at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, in a pre-empt, for publication in spring 2022, by Larissa Melo Pienkowski at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world).

Science fiction and fantasy writer and media critic K. Tempest Bradford's RUBY VS. THE ROBO-BUG, in which an 11-year-old Black girl passionate about entomology finds an alien bug in her backyard and has to rely on her friends, the scientific method, and her instincts to help the alien get home safely, to Grace Kendall at Farrar, Straus Children's, in a very nice deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in fall 2022, by Larissa Melo Pienkowski at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world English).

Shauna Robinson's OUT OF PRINT, pitched as THE BOOKISH LIFE OF NINA HILL meets SUCH A FUN AGE in an #OwnVoices ode to the perils of the 20-something experience, featuring the last editorial assistant standing at an old-school publisher who begins moonlighting for a rival house to make ends meet and, in the process, starts falling for an author no one can afford to lose, to MJ Johnston at Sourcebooks, in a two-book deal, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (NA).

Nora Raleigh Baskin and Gae Polisner's THE GREAT PGP, an environmental farce that begins when a soon-to-be seventh grader, forced to join his mother aboard a research ship stationed near the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, mistakenly invites a 12-year-old newbie podcaster rather than a world-renowned marine biologist with the same name to an emergency global summit—and the podcaster, hoping to avoid summer camp, accepts, to Julia Sooy at Holt Children's, for publication in winter 2022, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management for Baskin, and by Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret for Polisner (world English).

Jesse Sutanto's DIAL A FOR AUNTIES, in which a woman gets the help of her meddlesome mother and aunts to hide the body of her blind date while trying to pull off an opulent wedding for a billionaire client on the same day, to Katie Seaman at HQ, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in April 2021, by Sam Farkas at Jill Grinberg Literary Management on behalf of Katelyn Detweiler (UK/Commonwealth, excl. Canada).

Senior editor at Nature and author of ACROSS THE BRIDGE and THE ACCIDENTAL SPECIES Henry Gee's A (VERY) SHORT HISTORY OF LIFE ON EARTH: 4.6 BILLION YEARS IN 12 PITHY CHAPTERS, a tale of survival and persistence, illuminating the delicate balance within which life exists and drawing on the latest scientific understanding, to George Witte at St. Martin's, in a pre-empt, for publication in fall 2021, by Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (NA).

Rabbi, activist, and author of SURPRISED BY GOD and NURTURE THE WOW Danya Ruttenberg's UNREPENTANT: MAKING AMENDS IN AN UNAPOLOGETIC WORLD, which shows how the steps in an ancient Jewish framework of repentance and repair can move our society away from an emphasis on forced forgiveness (which all too often puts the onus on the victim), and transform how we address harm in key areas of our lives, our institutions, and beyond, from #MeToo to genocide, from personal disputes to the criminal justice system, to Amy Caldwell at Beacon Press, for publication in 2022, by Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (NA).

Author of IMMACULATE and THE UNDOING OF THISTLE TATE Katelyn Detweiler's THE PEOPLE WE CHOOSE, about a girl who decides to find her sperm donor father the summer she turns 18, and the shocking, unfathomable truth that shatters her perfect world and forces her to redefine family in all its different forms, to Margaret Ferguson at Margaret Ferguson Books, for publication in summer 2021, by Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (NA).

Lyndall Clipstone's LAKESEDGE, pitched as a gothic fantasy for fans of Naomi Novik and Brigid Kemmerer, in which a girl is sent to live at the haunted estate of a notorious monster, only to be pulled into an unexpected romance and an impossible bargain that will have her fighting to save the ones she loves—and her soul; also a sequel, FORESTFALL, to Cat Camacho at Titan Books, in a two-book deal, by Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary Management. Rights to Claire Craig at Pan Macmillan Australia (ANZ).

Six-time Pushcart Prize recipient Brenda Miller's A BRAIDED HEART: ESSAYS ON WRITING AND FORM, a collection of essays on writing and the writing life exploring a range of topics from more technical aspects of craft and form to the idiosyncratic writerly experience, all illustrated with personal anecdotes, to Elizabeth Demers at University of Michigan Press, by Sophia Seidner at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world English).

Jesse Sutanto's THEO TAN AND THE FOX SPIRIT, in which a Chinese-American boy tries to solve a mystery with the help (and hindrance) of a mystical fox, to John Morgan at Imprint, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in early 2022, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world).

Senior editor at Nature and author of ACROSS THE BRIDGE and THE ACCIDENTAL SPECIES Henry Gee's A (VERY) SHORT HISTORY OF LIFE ON EARTH: 4.6 BILLION YEARS IN 12 PITHY CHAPTERS, a tale of survival and persistence, illuminating the delicate balance within which life exists and drawing on the latest scientific understanding, to Ravi Mirchandani at Picador, for publication in spring 2022, by Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary Management.

Jesse Sutanto's DIAL A FOR AUNTIES, pitched as CRAZY RICH ASIANS meets Weekend at Bernie's, in which a woman gets the help of her meddlesome mother and aunts to hide the body of her blind date while trying to pull off an opulent wedding for a billionaire client on the same day, to Cindy Hwang at Berkley, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in spring 2021, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (NA).

2020 Morris Award finalist Nafiza Azad's THE WILD ONES: A BROKEN ANTHEM FOR A GIRL NATION, a multi-perspective feminist narrative about a fierce band of magic-wielding girls—the Wild Ones—who have collectively survived unspeakable things, and together are determined to save other girls from the cruelties and tragedies they've had to endure in their own past lives, to Karen Wojtyla at Margaret K. McElderry Books, in a good deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2021, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world English).

Becca Andrews's NO CHOICE, based on her cover story in Mother Jones, on the past, present, and future of Roe v. Wade, offering testimonials of life before the pivotal Supreme Court decision, and reporting from the front lines of the current battle to protect a woman's right to choose before it's too late, to Colleen Lawrie at Public Affairs, in an exclusive submission, by Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world).

Jessica Ferri's SILENT CITIES: SAN FRANCISCO, the follow-up to SILENT CITIES: NEW YORK, chronicling the impact of cemeteries on American cities through the gold-rush development of San Francisco: the relocation of existing cemeteries and prohibition of burials within the city limits at the turn of the century, spawning America's first necropolis—the tiny town of Colma—and the culture of a place where death is exiled, to Amy Lyons at Globe Pequot, for publication in 2021, by Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (NA).

Author of The Empire of Storms trilogy and the forthcoming RANGER OF MARZANNA Jon Skovron's middle grade debut THE HACKER'S KEY, pitched as Alex Rider meets Ally Carter, about a girl raised by a criminal mastermind who must use her unique skill set to locate a dangerous weapon and keep it away from government agents and villainous syndicates alike, to Zack Clark at Scholastic, by Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world English).

Lyndall Clipstone's LAKESEDGE, a gothic romance pitched as Wintersong meets Naomi Novik's Uprooted in which a girl is sent to live at the haunted estate of the notorious "Monster of Lakesedge," only to be pulled into an unexpected romance and an impossible bargain that will have her fighting to save the ones she loves--and her soul, to Tiffany Liao at Holt Children's, in a good deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, for publication in winter 2021, by Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary Management on behalf of Lyndall Clipstone (NA).

Poet and memoirist Rachel Dewoskin's TWO MENUS, a debut poetry collection that explores the liminal spaces between youth and adulthood, safety and danger, familiarity and strangeness, humor and sorrow, to Randy Petilos at University of Chicago Press, by Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary Management (world).