Eric Chinski and Alex Star at Farrar, Straus and Giroux bought world English rights, at auction, to The AGI Chronicles by New York Times tech columnist and Hard Fork podcast cohost Kevin Roose (pictured l.) from Sloan Harris and Kari Stuart at CAA. The publisher called the book “an unprecedented insider’s account of the race to develop artificial general intelligence through firsthand reporting and interviews with AI industry leaders.” Foreign rights have sold in the U.K., as well as in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain. Publication date TBD.

Nicole Otto, Sierra Stovall, and Hayley Wagreich at Slowburn preempted North American rights to Autumn Woods’s Sorrowsong University duology from Daisy Chandley and Rebecca Wearmouth at Peters Fraser and Dunlop. The publisher called the duology “a dark academia romance in which a young woman enrolls in an elite Scottish university to seek revenge against a powerful family only to find herself entangled with the mysterious son of her enemy.” Kinza Azira at Pan Macmillan preempted U.K. rights, with foreign rights sold in 12 other territories. The first, previously self-published title, Nightshade, is set to hit shelves this spring.

Rachel Page at Feminist Press acquired world English rights to Feral by Gabriela Jauregui, translated from the Spanish by Heather Cleary, from Carles Masdeu at Agencia Literaria Carmen Balcells. In the work of debut fiction, the publisher said, “a group of future archivists narrate the story of four friends whose lives are thrown into disarray when one of them is murdered while working on an archeological dig.” Publication is set for fall 2026.

Miriam Khanukaev at Random House picked up world rights, in an exclusive, to Jewish Currents contributing editor Maia Ipp’s debut novel, Sugar Truck, from Alia Hanna Habib at the Gernert Company. The book, per the publisher, is about “an overthinking young academic who blows up her carefully curated life to follow a Lithuanian exchange student to the place her grandparents survived the Holocaust, setting off a series of destabilizing, funny, and revelatory misadventures.” No publication date has been set.

Simon Spanton at Angry Robot took world English rights to Peter F. Hamilton’s Arkship trilogy from Antony Harwood at the eponymous agency. The publisher called the sci-fi trilogy “a fast-moving coming-of-age series where life on an expansive generation ship on a centuries-long journey to a new world takes a turn for the worst when the delicate cycle of life is disturbed.” The three books in the series—A Hole in the Sky, The Captain’s Daughter, and Queens of an Alien Sun—hit shelves next January, June, and December, respectively.

In Brief

  • Kevin Doughten at Crown picked up Insomnia by the late Robbie Robertson of the Band, billed as the “story of his wild ride with Martin Scorsese—as friends, adventure-seekers, and boundary-pushing collaborators,” for publication in November.

  • Matt Inman at Ten Speed secured world rights to Dolly Parton’s photo book, Star of the Show: My Life on Stage, from Jeff Kleinman and Steve Troha at Folio, for a November release.

  • Alexandra Merkel at HarperAlley acquired world rights to Sam Bragg’s Hooves of Death, a YA graphic novel previously published as a webcomic, from Lara Allen at Wattpad Webtoon, for release in September.

  • Ardyce Alspach at Union Square bought world rights, excluding Canada, to Joanna C. Keenan’s debut romantasy, Heart of the Dragonslayer, at auction, from Steven Salpeter at 2 Arms Media, for a fall 2026 publication.

  • Rakesh Satyal at HarperVia netted North American rights to Harriet Evans’s “multigenerational family saga,” The Treasures, the first title in a planned trilogy, from Ariele Fredman and Christy Fletcher at UTA on behalf of Steph Thwaites at Curtis Brown. Publication is slated for September, with the second volume set to follow next year.