Sloan, Wolitzer Go Together to Penguin Young Readers

In a North American rights agreement, Penguin Young Readers acquired To Night Owl from Dogfish, a middle grade novel cowritten by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer. The book was jointly acquired by Lauri Hornik, president and publisher of Dial Books for Young Readers, and Julie Strauss-Gabel, president and publisher of Dutton Books for Young Readers. It will be copublished in spring 2019. The deal was cobrokered by Amy Berkower at Writers House and Suzanne Gluck at William Morris Endeavor. Penguin described To Night Owl, which is told entirely through correspondence, as a “Parent Trap–with-gay-dads kind of story.” It explores what happens, the publisher went on, when “two very different girls on opposite sides of the country find themselves forced to become friends when their fathers fall in love.”

Debut Fantasy Goes to HBG

Hachette Book Group associate editor Sarah Guan acquired world English rights to a debut fantasy novel by Tasha Suri. According to HBG, Suri was inspired to write Empire of Sand by Mughal-Indian history. The novel, HBG said, “is the story of a nobleman’s illegitimate daughter and a vow-bound mystic who both possess the rare ability to compel the dreams of sleeping gods.” Suri was born in the U.K., but toured India during childhood holidays. She is now a librarian in London, and studied English and creative writing at Warwick University. Laura Crockett of TriadaUS brokered the deal. Empire of Sand will be released in the fall under HBG’s Orbit Books imprint.

‘Pet’ Finds a Home at Make Me a World

Christopher Myers acquired the young adult novel Pet by Akwaeke Emezi for his Make Me a World imprint, in partnership with Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers. Emezi’s first adult novel, Freshwater, was released last week by Grove. Jacqueline Ko at the Wylie Agency negotiated the Pet deal for U.S./Canadian rights. Pet, the publisher said, is about “finding monsters in a world that claims they don’t exist anymore.” Specifically, it follows “a teen who frees a creature from her mother’s painting.” Erin Clarke will edit Pet, and publication is set for fall 2019.

Polis Books Signs Olshan Literary Mystery

Joseph Olshan, editorial director of Delphinium Books, sold world rights to his new novel, Black Diamond Fall, to Jason Polis at Polis Books. Olshan is the also the author of Cloudland and Clara’s Heart, the latter of which was made into a film starring Whoopi Goldberg. Polis described Black Diamond Falls as a literary mystery based “on two real events that occurred at Middlebury College: the disappearance of a student during winter break, and the vandalism of the Robert Frost homestead located on one of the outer campuses.” Polis Books, which acquired the rights directly from Olshan, will release the book this fall.

McLean Explores Saudi America

Nicholas Lemann of Columbia Global Reports bought world rights to Saudi America: Fracking and the New Age of Oil, Money and Power by Bethany McLean. In the book, McLean, whose previous books include The Smartest Guys in the Room, examines, CGP said, “the cycles of boom and bust that have plagued the American oil industry for the past decade,” revealing “the true story of fracking’s impact—on the economy and on geopolitics.” CGP published McLean’s most recent book, Shaky Ground: The Strange Saga of the U.S. Mortgage Giants in September 2015. No agent was involved in the Saudi America deal, and CGP will publish the title in September.