News
Associates, follows three dancers who are reunited in adult-
hood after meeting at the Paris Opera Ballet School as
teenagers and must “reckon with old betrayals and new
secrets.” Kapelke-Dale is the coauthor of a 2014 memoir
about female friendships called Graduates in Wonderland
and trained as a ballet dancer for years. She has an MA
from the Université de Paris VII and currently lives in
France.■ Charles Gets ‘Muted’ for Scholastic
After an auction, Scholastic’s Amanda Maciel and David
Levithan won North American rights to Tami Charles’s
YA novel Muted. The six-figure deal for the novel in verse
was brokered by Lara Perkins at Andrea Brown Literary
Agency. Charles (Like Vanessa) was inspired to write the
book, Scholastic said, by the #MeToo movement and her
experience being in an all-girl R&B group. The publisher
added that the novel is “a fearless exploration of the dark
side of the music industry, the business of exploitation, and
how a girl’s dreams can be used against her—and what it
takes to fight back.” Muted is set for a 2021 release.■ Benedict Re-ups at Sourcebooks
Shana Drehs at Sourcebooks signed her current author
Marie Benedict (Lady Clementine) to a new two-book,
North American rights deal. The six-figure agreement was
handled by Laura Dail at Laura Dail Literary Agency.
Sourcebooks said the novels, like Benedict’s previous
work, will tell stories of “women in the shadows of history.”
The first book will be about Rose Vallard, a Paris museum
curator who, the publisher explained, “passed information
about art stolen from Jewish collectors to the French Resis-
tance during the Nazi occupation.” The second book is
about British scientist Rosalind Franklin.■ Mundy’s ‘Sisterhood’ to Crown
Liza Mundy (Code Girls) sold two new books to Crown in a
North American rights deal. Paul Whitlatch acquired
the books—The Sisterhood and a currently untitled work—
from Todd Shuster and Justin Brouckaert at Aevitas
Creative Management. The Sisterhood, Crown said, was
pitched “in the tradition” of books like Legacy of Ashes and
The Looming Tower, and is “a narrative-driven history of
women in the CIA.” In it, the publisher went on, Mundy
offers “the most comprehensive account yet of women
intelligence officers’ crucial contributions to American history.” The Sisterhood
is set for a 2022 publication; the release date and topic of the second book
has not yet been determined.10 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ MARCH 2, 2020
MOVIE DEALS
INTERNATIONAL
DEALS● Rebecca Roanhorse’s short
story “Welcome to Your Authentic
Indian ExperienceTM” has been
optioned by Amazon Studios.
Roanhorse’s literary agent, Sara
Megibow at KT Literary, said the
story “follows a Native man working
for a virtual reality company that
offers ‘authentic’ Indian experiences
to dark ends.”
● The Residence by Andrew
Pyper (Skybound, Sept.) has been
optioned for series development
by Skybound Entertainment and
RadicalMedia. Skybound called
the work a “haunted White House
novel” that follows the loss of
President Franklin Pierce’s child in
a tragic accident.● The Spanish book El infinito en
un junco (Infinity in a reed) by
Irene Vallejo has been acquired
in Denmark, France, and Russia,
with, at press time, offers in from
publishers in several other coun-
tries. Sandra Pareja at Casanovas
& Lynch Literary Agency, who’s
handling foreign rights for the
narrative nonfiction title, said it is
about the history of the book and
is “a journey through the life of
this fascinating artifact.” She
added that Vallejo takes readers
“on a hypnotic journey... through
time and space, bringing exciting
life to ancient Rome and Greece.”
The title, first published in Spain
in September 2019, is on its ninth
15,000-copy print run there,
according to Pareja.Kapelke-DaleCOURTESYOF
THEAUTHORCharles© KRISANNBINETTIMundy©
ANNACARSONDEWITTBenedict