‘Master of romantic comedy Jenny Colgan’
Through the year, The Bookseller receives hundreds of rights deals across all genres. One strange quirk is that in the middle of summer reporters can find themselves writing a book about Father Christmas, jingle bells and general festive cheer. So, to celebrate the festive season, the news team has dug through our rights archive from over the last year to find the most festive books acquired this year.
Puffin to publish “charming and heart-warming” Christmas picture book by Coelho and Shah
On November 22 2023, The Bookseller reported on Puffin’s acquisition of a “charming and heart-warming” Christmas picture book by Waterstones Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho and debut illustrator Farah Shah.
Georgiana Deutsch, editor, acquired text world rights from the Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency and, with art director Keren Greenfeld, acquired illustration world rights from Susan Penny at The Bright Agency. The Christmas Tree Mouse was published in paperback on 3rd October 2024.
Granta triumphs in 11-way auction for Clegg’s book on the “dark side of Christmas”
Less than two weeks later, it was announced that Granta had triumphed in an 11-way auction for Sarah Clegg’s The Dead of Winter, a book about “the dark side of Christmas”.
Associate publishing director Laura Barber acquired world language rights on proposal, at auction, from Hayley Steed at Janklow & Nesbit. The book, which explores the folklore, traditions and rituals of the festive period, was also published on 3rd October 2024.
Amazon Original Stories signs festive novel from “master of romantic comedy” Colgan
On a lighter note, on 16th January 2024 Amazon Original Stories, an imprint of Amazon Publishing, announced the signing of a festive comedy romance from Jenny Colgan.
World English language rights were acquired by senior editor Victoria Haslam from Jo Unwin at the Jo Unwin Literary Agency. The Christmas Book Hunt was published on 1st October 2024 in e-book and audio.
Annie Atkins to pen Christmas book for Magic Cat
As the weather got warmer, Magic Cat was still thinking about the winter; on 24th April, it announced it had acquired Letters from the North Pole, an illustrated book from designer Annie Atkins.
Rachel Williams, co-founder and publisher at Magic Cat, acquired rights from Olivia Triggs at Breed London. Atkins, best known for her work designing on various Wes Anderson films, wrote and art-directed the book, designed by Stephanie Jones and edited by Katie Cotton. With illustrations by Fia Tobing. The book was published on 8th October 2024.
Choc Lit falls for two contemporary romances from Ellie Henderson
On 13th August, Choc Lit announced it had signed two contemporary romances from Ellie Henderson, the first of which is distinctly Christmassy.
Becky Slorach, head of Choc Lit, acquired world rights directly from the author. A Christmas Wish on Arran, the first book in the deal, was published 15th October 2024. The second will follow in spring 2025.
This post was originally published on here
