kt literary

I am so thrilled today to celebrate the release of START HERE by Trish Doller!!

Two teens go on a life-changing sailing trip as they deal with the grief of losing their best friend in this heartwrenching, hopeful novel from the author of Something Like Normal and In a Perfect World.

Willa and Taylor were supposed to spend the summer after high school sailing from Ohio to Key West with their best friend, Finley. But Finley died before graduation, leaving them with a twenty-five-foot sailboat, a list of clues leading them to destinations along the way, and a friendship that’s hanging by a thread.

Now, Willa and Taylor have two months and two thousand miles to discover how life works without Finley—and to decide if their own friendship is worth saving.

From acclaimed author Trish Doller comes a poignant tale of forgiveness, grief, and the brilliant discoveries we make within ourselves when we least expect it.

Booklist says, “Doller takes the classic road-trip trope and gives it a seafaring twist, following her characters mile by nautical mile as they learn to connect with each other and deal with their grief. Teens after summertime reads that tug at the heartstrings will be happy to take the journey with them.”

And Kirkus says “Doller effectively tackles the difficult emotions that come with losing your best friend. Clear and evocative descriptions of the mechanics of sailing and the many places the girls visit en route enhance the novel.”

Grab your copy today at your favorite independent bookstore, online retailer, or look for it at your local library!

Head on over to Refinery29 for the cover reveal and an exclusive excerpt for THE BOLD TYPE creator Sarah Watson‘s debut YA novel, MOST LIKELY! A quick tease:

In Sarah Watson’s YA book MOST LIKELY, out in March 2020, the future leader of the free world is just a high school senior with a crush and a crew of three inseparable best friends. Ava, CJ, Jordan, and Martha are all destined for great things — and one, for the presidency.

The creator of The Bold Type, the beloved Freeform show set in the world of glossy print magazines, Watson is pop culture’s foremost expert in creating cliques of lovable, ambitious young women.

MOST LIKELY is Watson’s first book, but it draws on the same themes of The Bold Type: “How women support each other, and how we make each other better,” Watson tells Refinery29 over the phone.

Click through to read more and pre-order your copy today!!

I’m thrilled to share the news that Ashley Hearn of Page Street has acquired world rights to Jamie Pacton’s next fantastic YA novel, LUCKY GIRL!

You’ll have to wait until Spring 2021 to read it, but we should have preorder information soon for Jamie’s debut novel THE LIFE AND (MEDIEVAL) TIMES OF KIT SWEETLY. Stay tuned!

It’s release day for Rebekah Crane’s POSTCARDS FOR A SONGBIRD! Be sure to pick up this beautiful YA contemporary story about the ache to belong and the joy of feeling understood.

Everyone eventually leaves Wren Plumley. First it was her mother, then her best friend, and then her sister. Now living with only her cop father and her upended dreams, Wren feels stranded, like a songbird falling in a storm.

When Wilder, a sickly housebound teen, moves in next door, Wren finally finds what she’s always wanted—a person who can’t leave. But a chance meeting with Luca, the talkative, crush-worthy boy in her driver’s ed class, has Wren wondering if maybe she’s too quick to push people away. Soon, Wren finds herself caught between the safety of a friendship and a love worth fighting for.

Wren starts to dream again. But when postcards begin arriving from her sister, Wren must ultimately confront why her mother left fourteen years before and why her sister followed in her footsteps. For her new life to take flight, Wren will have to reconcile the heartbreaking beauty of lost dreams and the beautiful heartbreak of her new reality.

You won’t want to miss this one! Pick up a copy of POSTCARDS FOR A SONGBIRD on Amazon!

Be sure to visit Rebekah Crane’s social media! She’s on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Please help us congratulate Rebecca Mahoney on the sale of THE VALLEY AND FLOOD!!

From PW Children’s Bookshelf:

Debut
Alex Sanchez at Razorbill has acquired Rebecca Mahoney‘s debut, The Valley and the Flood. The contemporary YA novel with shades of Twin Peaks follows Rose, whose car breaks down outside a small desert town where the people are bracing themselves for a disastrous flood. Her journey is thrown off course when she discovers that not only is she the prophesied bringer of said flood, but that the key to stopping it lies in confronting the accident that killed her best friend and the scars it left behind. Publication is set for fall 2020; Hannah Fergesen at KT Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.

THE VALLEY AND THE FLOOD is like nothing else I’ve ever read. It invokes the same feeling of the uncanny created by shows like Welcome To Nightvale and Twin Peaks, and expertly delves into themes of mental health, found family, and loss. I cannot wait for readers to experience the strange world Rebecca has created!

Congratulations, Rebecca!!!

Happy Book Birthday to New York Times bestselling author Jason M. Hough whose GEARS OF WAR novel releases today!

GEARS OF WAR: ASCENDANCE
The official prequel to the action video game Gears 5!

Following Reyna Diaz’s death at the hands of the Swarm, Kait seals her mother’s tomb, swearing revenge. With her allies, including JD Fenix and Del Walker, she returns to New Ephyra to warn the Coalition of Ordered Governments:

The Swarm Is Coming!

However, First Minister Jinn requires proof of the threat. She also demands their utter loyalty, driving a wedge between the allies. Joined by Marcus Fenix, Kait strikes out on her own while JD and Del embark on a sanctioned mission to prove that the threat is real. With the fate of humankind hanging in the balance, it’s a race against time.

Learn more about Jason’s bestselling books: www.jasonhough.com

Say hi and congratulations on twitter @JasonMHough

Please join us in congratulating Jennifer Honeybourn on today’s release of JUST MY LUCK, a Junior Library Guild Selection and the perfect summer beach read!!!

About the book:

Learn more about Jennifer’s books on her website: http://jenniferhoneybourn.com/

Say hi and congratulations on twitter @Honeybourn!

Please help us celebrate with award-winning author L. Penelope as th special extended edition of SONG OF BLOOD & STONE hits stores today!

SONG OF BLOOD & STONE was named a “10 Best Fantasy Books of 2018” at Time Magazine!

And #1 New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews says, “Wonderful characters, unique setting, and an engaging romance set against the backdrop of ancient magic.”

SONG OF BLOOD & STONE
L. Penelope’s Song of Blood & Stone is a treacherous, thrilling, epic fantasy about an outcast drawn into a war between two powerful rulers.

The kingdoms of Elsira and Lagrimar have been separated for centuries by the Mantle, a magical veil that has enforced a tremulous peace between the two lands. But now, the Mantle is cracking and the True Father, ruler of Lagrimar and the most powerful Earthsinger in the world, finally sees a way into Elsira to seize power.

All Jasminda ever wanted was to live quietly on her farm, away from the prying eyes of those in the nearby town. Branded an outcast by the color of her skin and her gift of Earthsong, she’s been shunned all her life and has learned to steer clear from the townsfolk…until a group of Lagrimari soldiers wander into her valley with an Elsiran spy, believing they are still in Lagrimar.

Through Jack, the spy, Jasminda learns that the Mantle is weakening, allowing people to slip through without notice. And even more troubling: Lagrimar is mobilizing, and if no one finds a way to restore the Mantle, it might be too late for Elsira. Their only hope lies in uncovering the secrets of the Queen Who Sleeps and Jasminda’s Earthsong is the key to unravel them.

Thrust into a hostile society and a world she doesn’t know, Jasminda and Jack race to unveil an ancient mystery that might offer salvation.

Follow L. Penelope on her website: www.lpenelope.com

And say hi and congratulations on twitter @leslyepenelope

Happy Book Birthday to FOREVER NEVERLAND by Susan Adrian!! This amazing middle grade novel has been called “A fresh and worthy Neverland update for today’s young readers” by Booklist, and “A magical ode to childhood that updates the classic while keeping its flavor” by Kirkus Reviews!

Clover and Fergus are the great-great-grandchildren of Wendy Darling (yes, that Wendy). And now Peter Pan wants to take them to Neverland for the adventure of their lives! But Clover is a little nervous–she’s supposed to look after her brother. Fergus is autistic, and not everyone makes him feel welcome. What will happen to him in this magical world?

Fergus isn’t nervous at all. To him, Neverland seems like a dream come true! He’s tired of Clover’s constant mothering and wants some independence, like Peter and the Lost Boys have. He wonders, Why can’t the real world be more like Neverland?

Neverland is fun and free, but it’s also dangerous and even scary at times. Unfamiliar creatures lurk in the shadows, and strange sounds come from the waters. And then the mermaids start to go missing. . . .

In an imaginative and thoughtful continuation of the story of Peter Pan, Susan Adrian explores Neverland with a fresh perspective and indelible warmth, offering a new adventure based on a beloved classic!

Please join me in congratulating Susan on her book’s release, which is available from Random House Children’s Books today at bookstores everywhere!!

I’m thrilled that Entertainment Weekly hosted the exclusive cover reveal for the final book in Maureen Johnson‘s Truly Devious series, THE HAND ON THE WALL. Check it out here, along with an exclusive excerpt!

Speaking with EW, Johnson wastes no time confirming that readers will get some answers. “In The Hand on the Wall, all answers are revealed — everything about what is happening in the present day, everything that happened in the past,” she says. “You’ll find out what happened to Alice Ellingham. You’ll find out who the murderer is at Ellingham Academy. You’ll find out how the past and the present have a deadly link.”

Enjoy!!

If you saw our recent post about closing to queries and are worried that means you won’t have a chance to get your manuscript in front of us this summer, don’t fret! T’m truly thrilled to announce that we are partnering with the Word, a local Denver non-profit organization working to build a publishing community that will fight for inclusivity, for the first ever Voices Heard project. The Voices Heard project is a special opportunity to query to be taken on as a new client with KT Literary’s experienced agents—an opportunity open specifically to writers from underrepresented backgrounds!

Throughout the month of July, KT agents will be closed to all submissions outside of the Voices Heard project.

If selected through the project, writers have the chance to learn from the knowledge of these experienced agents by having a sample of an unpublished manuscript read by an agent and receiving feedback within 2 weeks of submission. And of course (let’s not forget this part!) selected writers may be taken on as new clients with KT Literary!

For more information, please go to the Voices Heard website. There you’ll find information on how to apply, tips and resources, an interview with Kate, and soon, recaps of Twitter Q&As with all of the agents of KT Literary, as well as our manuscript wish lists, backgrounds, and more.

Our first live Twitter #AskAgent Q&A will be tomorrow, Thursday, June 12th at 2pm Mountain. Follow @ktliterary and @wordisdiversity, as well as the hashtag #VoicesHeard for all the news and information!!

And get those fantastic queries ready!

Happy Summer! KT Literary is cooking up some fun summer plans, but in the meantime, we wanted to give you a heads up on queries. Kate, Hannah, Hilary and Renee will be closed to queries for the months of July and August.

Sara will close only for July, and will reopen in August to get a jump start on the rest of us.

As always, please check our submission guidelines for further details and specifications.

“An enthralling adventure replete with spellbinding characters, a slow-burning love story, and a world worth staying lost in.” – Kirkus, starred review

Congratulations to New York Times bestselling author Margaret Rogerson on today’s release of SORCERY OF THORNS!

SORCERY OF THORNS
From the New York Times bestselling author of An Enchantment of Ravens comes an imaginative fantasy about an apprentice at a magical library who must battle a powerful sorcerer to save her kingdom.

All sorcerers are evil. Elisabeth has known that as long as she has known anything. Raised as a foundling in one of Austermeer’s Great Libraries, Elisabeth has grown up among the tools of sorcery—magical grimoires that whisper on shelves and rattle beneath iron chains. If provoked, they transform into grotesque monsters of ink and leather. She hopes to become a warden, charged with protecting the kingdom from their power.

Then an act of sabotage releases the library’s most dangerous grimoire. Elisabeth’s desperate intervention implicates her in the crime, and she is torn from her home to face justice in the capital. With no one to turn to but her sworn enemy, the sorcerer Nathaniel Thorn, and his mysterious demonic servant, she finds herself entangled in a centuries-old conspiracy. Not only could the Great Libraries go up in flames, but the world along with them.

As her alliance with Nathaniel grows stronger, Elisabeth starts to question everything she’s been taught—about sorcerers, about the libraries she loves, even about herself. For Elisabeth has a power she has never guessed, and a future she could never have imagined.

Learn more about Margaret and her magical books: www.margaretrogerson.com

Say hi and congratulations on twitter @MarRogerson

Please help us give a warm welcome to kt literary’s newest client, Laura Southern!

I am thrilled to welcome Laura into the kt literary family! Laura’s dark fantasy is a lyrical, feminist look into a world suffering the effects of climate change and the monstrous wrath of a Goddess betrayed by her people. Monster girls and wicked boys populate the pages of this gorgeous novel, which is perfect for fans of Princess Mononoke, V.E. Schwab, and WICKED SAINTS.