Featured Deal
Levine Querido buys YA contemporary ONE OF THE BOYS in 24-hour pre-empt
In a 24-hour pre-empt, Irene Vázquez at Levine Querido has acquired Victoria Zeller’s debut novel One of the Boys. Jordan Hamessley at JABberwocky Literary Agency sold world English and world Spanish rights.
“As someone who represents a number of trans authors, I’ve seen the many ways trans representation has blossomed over the years in the children’s and teen space, but we are severely lacking in trans femme representation,” Hamessley said. “When I first read One of the Boys, my Friday Night Lights-loving heart was immediately on board and as I read Grace’s story my breath was taken away as I truly felt put in the character’s shoes when the sections of the book that take place pre-transition were told in second person. It was such a fresh approach to the trans YA reading experience and I could not put it down. I had a hunch it would find the right editor and was thrilled to hear from Irene within an hour of sending the manuscript that they were completely invested. It’s the perfect match.”
One of the Boys follows 17-year old Grace Woodhouse, a high school senior growing up in the suburbs of Buffalo. She used to have a great friend group, an amazing girlfriend, and a right foot set to earn her a Division I football scholarship—before she came out. As senior year begins, Grace is struggling to find her place in early transition, new social circles, and a life without football. But when her skills as the best kicker in the state prove to be vital, her old friends beg her to come out of retirement, dragging her back into a sport—into a way of life—she thought had turned its back on her forever. When a chance meeting cracks the door to college football back open, she has to decide how much of herself she’s willing to give up for the game she loves.
“I have been looking for a book like this since I started working at LQ,” Vázquez said. “The way Victoria portrays the interpersonal dynamics of sports teams and newly out queer friendships is so rich. I have never read a submission as fast, in part because of the incredible momentum of
Victoria’s storytelling, but also because I knew I would do whatever it took to be a part of this book’s life. One of the Boys is contemporary YA at its finest.”
Victoria Zeller is a trans writer born and raised in Buffalo, New York, where she still proudly resides. A former football player and lifelong fan, her initial focus was sports journalism before she made a sharp pivot to writing about queers who can’t stay out of trouble. Her sportswriting can be found at Defector, while her manic minute-by-minute sports analysis can be found on Twitter at @dirtbagqueer. One of the Boys is her debut novel.
“When I set out to tell a queer football story, I never, ever imagined myself reaching this point. One of the Boys is the book that would’ve been able to reach my teenage self, and it’s surreal that it’ll be able to reach so many more people than that. I’m beyond grateful to Jordan, Irene, and the team at Levine Querido for their faith in me, and I could not be more confident in thehands this story is in.”
Publication is scheduled for summer 2025.
Adult Fiction
Maren Chase‘sCRUELER MERCIES, pitched as inspired by Gentileschi’s painting Judith Slaying Holoferne, a story of grief and sapphic vengeance in which, a decade after a nine-year-old princess becomes prisoner after witnessing her mother’s murder at her father’s hand, she meets a lady in waiting who helps her face the horrors of war and discover that anything worth having is worth taking for yourself, toZoranne HostatBindery Books, for publication in spring 2025 (world English).
Creator of the Substack newsletter Mall GothRose Dommu‘sBEST WOMAN, pitched as My Best Friend’s Wedding meets DETRANSITION, BABY, in which a cosmopolitan trans woman returns home to Florida to be the “best woman” at her brother’s wedding, but a white lie that gets her closer to her high school crush, now the maid of honor, starts to threaten more than just the newfound connection they’ve kindled, toJesse ShumanatBallantine, in a pre-empt, byJessica SpitzatJanklow & Nesbit(NA).
Emily Rath‘sThe Jacksonville Rays series, an originally self-published hockey romance beginning with PUCKING AROUND, toJackie DinasatKensington by Susan Velazquez Colmant at JABberwocky Literary Agency (NA).
Maddie Martinez‘sTHE MAIDEN & HER MONSTER, a sapphic fantasy pitched as reimagining the Jewish myth of golem that follows a young woman forced to venture into a cursed forest to capture the monster that is hunting the girls of her village; instead, she discovers a disgraced golem ready to confess, but only if she agrees to help fulfill an ancient promise first—a bargain that unravels a much more dangerous threat to her people, and forces her to face growing feelings for the very creature she was taught to fear, toStephanie SteinatTorandGrace BarberatTor UK, in a significant deal, in a joint pre-empt, in a two-book deal, byVictoria MariniatHigh Line Literary Collective(world English).
Pitch Wars alumna Olesya Lyuzna’s GLITTER IN THE DARK, pitched as for fans of Megan Abbott’s QUEENPIN, a queer noir set in Roaring Twenties New York, in which an ambitious advice columnist who knows she’s capable of more than solving other people’s beauty problems witnesses the kidnapping of a famous singer at Harlem’s hottest speakeasy and manipulates a brooding detective into a reluctant partnership; they soon learn there’s more to the case than one missing singer; and PARADISE, a sequel about a blackmail scheme against the city’s elite, implicating a charismatic success coach whose radio show and self-help empire have surged in popularity, toLuisa SmithatMysterious Press, byChris BucciatAevitas Creative Management(world).
Emily Skrutskie’s LAST NIGHT BEFORE THE WAR WAS WON, a friends-to-lovers romance in which, after a last-chance hook-up on the night before the world was supposed to end, two soldiers must reckon with a romantic future they never could have imagined when the realm is unexpectedly saved by a plucky band of insufferable heroes, pitched for fans of Shannon Chakraborty’s THE ADVENTURES OF AMINA AL-SIRAFI and Travis Baldree’s LEGENDS & LATTES, toEmily ArchboldatDel Rey, in an exclusive submission, for publication in summer 2025, byThao LeatSandra Dijkstra Literary Agency(world).
Kundiman Fellow, Syracuse University MFA, and author ofWE’RE SAFE WHEN WE’RE ALONENghiem Tran‘sOUR HOURS ARE MARRIED TO SHADOW, the author’s debut poetry collection, a horror-tinged exploration of the love between two queer Vietnamese immigrants, one of whom undergoes electroconvulsive therapy to treat his PTSD, causing the couple to clash over memories and misunderstandings as they grapple with the haunting personal and political histories they thought they’d escaped, toJeremy DaviesatCoffee House Press, byMariah StovallatTrellis Literary Management(world).
Author of the forthcoming THE SINS ON THEIR BONESLaura R. Samotin‘sTHE WAY IT HAUNTED HIM, pitched as inspired by Jewish mysticism, about a young man grappling with his boyfriend’s sudden death by seeking to finish his research on demons, but strange occurrences at the mysterious research institute make him question his sanity and own role in his boyfriend’s death, toDaniel CarpenteratTitan Books, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2026, byHannah VanVels AusburyatBelcastro Agency(world).
Former Vanity Fair senior writerJosh Duboff‘sEARLY THIRTIES, following a newly engaged fashion entrepreneur and her best friend, a gay culture writer, as they lose and find each other in surprising, humorous, and poignant ways, pitched as Dolly Alderton meets Will & Grace, toJames MeliaatGallery, in a pre-empt, byElias AltmanatMassie & McQuilkin(world).
Author of A HARD SELL Jennifer Moffatt’s FLIRTY DANCING, a contemporary gay rom-com pitched as loosely inspired by Dirty Dancing, to Grace Gay at Griffin, for publication in summer 2025, by Jordy Albert at Booker Albert Agency.
Hugo Award nominee and entertainment journalist Linda H. Codega’s debut MOTHEATER, a queer Appalachian fantasy in which the last witch of the ridge and a newcomer investigating a string of coal mining deaths must choose sides in a clash between nature and industry 300 years in the making, to Sarah Guan at Erewhon, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2025, by Bridget Smith at JABberwocky Literary Agency (world).
Lambda Fellow in Fiction Syr Hayati Beker’s WHAT A FISH LOOKS LIKE, a queer climate novella in fairy-tale retellings, to Selena Middleton at Stelliform Press, in a nice deal, for publication in fall 2025 (world English).
Hugo Award nominee and entertainment journalist Linda H. Codega‘s debut MOTHEATER, a queer Appalachian fantasy in which the last witch of the ridge and a newcomer investigating a string of coal mining deaths must choose sides in a clash between nature and industry 300 years in the making, to Sarah Guan at Erewhon, in a two-book deal, for publication in 2025, by Bridget Smith at JABberwocky Literary Agency (world).
Author of HOUSE OF COTTON Monica Brashears‘s LONESOME HOLLER, a queer trailer park noir following the residents of the Better Tomorrow community, who become embroiled in the shocking and public murder of their loathed landlord, testing loyalties and the limits of romantic love and neighborliness, again to Nadxieli Nieto at Flatiron Books, by Hafizah Geter and PJ Mark at Janklow & Nesbit (NA).
Children’s and Middle Grade Fiction
Young Adult Fiction
Author ofWHEN IT ALL SYNCS UPand the forthcoming UNDER ALL THE LIGHTSMaya Ameyaw‘sSPIRALING OUT, pitched as SOME GIRLS DO meets SPINNING, about a young Black star figure skater who is forced to come to terms with her OCD, sexuality, and growing attraction to her ex-best friend throughout the countdown to nationals, toClaire CaldwellatAnnick Press, in an exclusive submission, byLesley SabgaatThe Seymour Agency(world English).
Elias Cold‘sTHE DUKE STEALS HEARTS (AND OTHER BODY PARTS), a regency fantasy, pitched for fans of A.J White and F.T Lukens, wherein a neurodivergent, trans teenager who steals and ransoms body parts with his trauma-based magic investigates a string of missing girls—all young, lower-class, and rumored-to-be undead—even as he begins to fall for one of them from afar, toTamara GrastyatPage Street, for publication in spring 2025, byAllegra MartschenkoatLadderbird Literary Agency(NA).
Author ofDOUGHNUTS AND DOOMand the forthcoming WOLFPITCHBalazs Lorinczi‘sA BITE OF PEPPER, a YA coming-of-age romance following a vampire who would rather focus on skateboarding than finding a bride so that they can become fully immortal, but when an enigmatic and artistic girl enters the picture, the protagonist starts thinking about her future in a new way, toKate ProsswimmeratMargaret K. McElderry Books, in a very nice deal, for publication in fall 2025, byBrent TayloratTriadaUS Literary Agency(world).
Contributing Editor of the anthology WE MOSTLY COME OUT AT NIGHTRob Costello‘sAN UGLY WORLD FOR BEAUTIFUL BOYS, a queer coming-of-age novel about a deep betrayal between secret lovers and the dangerous collision course that changes both their lives forever, toSteve BermanatLethe Press, for publication in April 2025, byMarie LambaatJennifer De Chiara Literary Agency(world English).
Author ofI FEED HER TO THE BEAST AND THE BEAST IS MEJamison Shea’s ROAR OF THE LAMBS, in which a clairvoyant 16-year-old girl discovers a mysterious box that triggers a vision of the apocalypse and must partner with the irresistible heir of a powerful local family to stop them from unleashing an evil that could destroy the world, toJess HaroldatHolt Children’s, in a good deal, in an exclusive submission, for publication in fall 2025, byJennifer March SolowayatAndrea Brown Literary Agency.
Suzana Harcum and Owena White’s TRIPPING OVER YOU, a YA adapted from their webcomic of the same name, about the secret romantic relationship between an energetic theater kid and his withdrawn classmate, to Kiara Valdez at First Second, in a three-book deal, for publication in June 2025 (world).
Author of MADE IN KOREA, GATSBY, and VIRTUALLY YOURS Jeremy Holt’s THE GRAVESTONE SESSIONS, which follows a nonbinary high school student and sculptor struggling with their senior art thesis of identity that requires them to connect with their estranged parents; when they find a way to communicate with the dead, they become obsessed with exploring their lineage to try to lend context to their present in order to graduate, illustrated by Dave Cole, to Charlotte Greenbaum at Surely, with Mariko Tamaki editing, in an exclusive submission, for publication in 2027, by Jessica Mileo at Inkwell Management for the author, and by Jessica Mileo at InkWell Management for the illustrator (world).
Author of SEVEN WAYS WE LIE and ALONE OUT HERE Riley Redgate‘s COME HOME TO MY HEART, a sapphic novel about queer self-acceptance and homelessness, in which two girls in the rural Southeast find each other—one a Christian who has been kicked out of her home, and one a cynic who can’t wait to leave their small town, to Laura Schreiber while at Union Square & Co, in a pre-empt, for publication in spring 2025, by Caryn Wiseman at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (world).
Stonewall Honor and Lambda Award-winning middle grade author Maulik Pancholy‘s WILL THEY, WON’T THEY, an enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy that follows an Indian American teen from Queens and the son of an internationally renowned Bollywood actor when they meet at a glitzy, gay wedding in Mumbai and get swept up in a “will they/won’t they” media circus that will force them to question their place in the world, to Zareen Jaffery at Kokila, at auction, for publication in summer 2026, by Jessica Regel at Helm Literary (NA).
Michael Mendez Guevara’s debut THE CLOSEST THING TO A NORMAL LIFE, in which a student journalist living a charmed life with his foreign correspondent parents moves to Texas for his senior year after his parents are killed in a terrorist attack, forcing him to confront hidden family secrets as he deals with bigotry, censorship, and his own sexuality, all while trying to find something close to normal, to Nicolas Kanellos at Arte Publico Press, for publication in spring 2025, by Shari Maurer at Stringer Literary Agency (world).
Non-Fiction
Sex activist and researcher Dr.Jaime M. Grant, PhD’sPOLYAMORY FOR DUMMIES, presenting accessible, how-to tips for novices and the curious on modern practices of ethical non-monogamy, with a focus on multi-partner love, kinship, and family, toAlicia SparrowatWiley, for publication in December 2024, byKara RotaatThompson Literary Agency.
Coauthored by staff from LGBTQ organization Campaign for Southern Equality Alexis Stratton, Adam Polaski, and Jasmine Beach-Ferrara’s TRANS YOUTH, OUR YOUTH: STORIES AND RESOURCES FROM THE FRONTLINES OF THE MOVEMENT FOR TRANSGENDER YOUTH, sharing stories of transgender youth and their families, exploring the choices they are making to survive in today’s environment, and giving voice to the medical providers, activists, teachers and faith leaders who are leading the resistance efforts, toRobert LasneratIg Publishing, in an exclusive submission, for publication in September 2024, bySusan RameratDon Congdon Associates(world English).
SingerDavid Archuleta‘s DEV/OUT, in which the author unveils his struggles growing up as a devout Mormon, achieving fame as a 17-year-old teen on American Idol, putting his music career on pause for a Mormon mission in Chile, and a “lifesaving decision” to come out as a member of the LGBTQ community during the pandemic, to Dey Street Books, in a significant deal, at auction.
Actress and content creatorJames Rose‘sSORRY I KEEP CRYING DURING SEX, following the author’s healing from sexual assault while they transition genders as their grandfather is dying of Alzheimer’s; an exploration of grief, sanity, survivorship, and dark humor, toSarah RobbinsatAbrams Image, byMollie GlickatCAA(NA).
