Dec 202024
 

Photo By Lisa Blaschke

“Martha Wells created one of the most iconic characters in 21st-century science fiction: Murderbot, reluctant savior of humanity. Then she faced an existential threat of her own…”

Congratulations and respect to DMLA author, Martha Wells, for this amazing feature of her and the Murderbot series in Wired Magazine! Read it here!

Dec 182024
 

Excited to see so many DMLA titles on the New York Times Best Science Fiction and Fantasy for 2024! Check out these spotlights!

Rakesfall
By Vajra Chandrasekera
Chandrasekera’s second novel shifts wildly in structure and narration to dazzling result. Souls recur in various combinations and circumstances, organized around how to endure fascism and kill kings. A TV show that is perhaps reality gives way to a play about beings who reincarnate over thousands of years, which gives way to a murder mystery involving a cybernetically enhanced near-immortal who wakes from an ancient sleep. Ambitious and kaleidoscopic.

Exordia
By Seth Dickinson
Dickinson’s science-fiction debut is a first-contact story about a Kurdish war orphan and the warmongering six-headed snake alien she meets in Central Park. Scrutinizing ethics, theoretical physics and the military-industrial complex, “Exordia” is so brilliant that I’m including it in this list despite its decidedly non-stand-alone ending, for which I feel the publisher owes me either an apology or the next two volumes in quick succession.

Those Beyond the Wall
By Micaiah Johnson
This is a stand-alone sequel to “The Space Between Worlds,” Johnson’s postapocalyptic debut. Here, travel through the multiverse is possible but comes with the risk of being crushed to death by a cosmic “backlash.” But someone has figured out how to shift that risk from the traveler to others, and innocent people are being killed. Stopping this will require old nemeses and unlikely friends to unite against a common enemy.

The Tainted Cup
By Robert Jackson Bennett
Bennett’s perfectly executed fantasy mystery novel introduces two dynamic detectives in a strange world, as if Nero Wolfe were solving mysteries in Area X. Dinios Kol is an “engraver,” able to remember crime scenes in perfect detail; his employer, Ana Dolabra, is an ostracized investigator whose sensory sensitivity often requires her to wear a blindfold. When a wealthy man is spectacularly murdered, Ana and Din are called in to solve the crime.

Dec 162024
 

We are so thrilled to see so many DMLA titles on NPR’s Best Books of 2024! Huge shoutout and many congratulations to Vajra Chandrasekera (RAKESFALL), Micaiah Johnson (THOSE BEYOND THE WALL), Robert Jackson Bennett (THE TAINTED CUP), Premee Mohamed (THE BUTCHER OF THE FOREST), Nalo Hopkinson (BLACKHEART MAN), Darcie Little Badger (SHEINE LENDE), and august clarke (METAL FROM HEAVEN)!

Cover images for 7 books: Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera, THose Beyond the Wall by Micaiah Johnson, The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bebbett, The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed, Blackheart Man by Nalo Hopkinson, Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger, Metal from Heaven by August Clark

Dec 032024
 

Library Journal: Marney lost her family and her best friend when their employer, ichorite baron Yann Chauncey, broke their strike with a massacre. She, the sole survivor, is lustertouched, a hallucinatory illness that develops in ichorite workers. After building a career as a bandit, Marney sees a chance for revenge when Chauncey’s daughter invites eligible suitors to compete for her hand in marriage. She’ll have to fake a noble identity and conceal her past long enough to outlast the competition, charm an heiress, and strike her enemy down. This novel is a rollicking, anti-capitalist fever dream with vivid prose that grows hallucinogenic at points from Marney’s illness and all-encompassing grief. The worldbuilding is as intricate as the language, with vying factions and different religious traditions that complicate her quest for vengeance. 

VERDICT: Clarke’s (“Scapegracers” series, writing as H.A. Clarke) adult debut, an irreverent queer fantasy novel, will thrill readers and appeal to fans of the “Locked Tomb” series by Tamsyn Muir, while the fusion of technology and magic and clash between industrialists and outlaws is reminiscent of Netflix’s Arcane.

Nov 302024
 

a pair of black ear budsAbridged/dramatic audio rights to New York Times bestseller Tamsyn Muir’s The Locked Tomb series including GIDEON THE NINTH, HARROW THE NINTH, NONA THE NINTH and ALECTO THE NINTH, to Anji Cornette at Graphic Audio by Jennifer Jackson.

Audio rights to USA Today bestseller, Alta Hensley’s HEATHENS HOLLOW SERIES and GODS AMONG MEN SERIES, to Kerri Buckley at Dreamscape Media, in a multi-deal, by Katie Shea Boutillier (NA).

Audio rights to Hugo-winning Elizabeth Bear’s ANGEL MAKER, a new sequel her acclaimed novel Karen Memory, to Brian Sweany at Recorded Books, by Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

Audio rights to J.M. Kearl’s ALLIED KINGDOMS ACADEMY SERIES, to Emily Loughran at Tantor Media, in a four-book deal, by Katie Shea Boutillier (World English).

Audio rights to Jess K Hardy’s SUNASTARA AND THE VENUSIAN, plus two more books in the Space Cruise Romance series, to Kerri Buckley at Dreamscape Media, in a three-book deal, by Katie Shea Boutillier (NA).

Nov 302024
 

Arabic rights to World Fantasy Award winner Premee Mohamed’s THE BUTCHER OF THE FOREST, to Dawen Publishing House, by Gana Galal at Bears Factor Literary Agency, in association with Michael Curry.

French rights to Tashan Mehta’s MAD SISTERS OF ESI, to L’Atalante, by Sarah Dray at Anna Jarota Agency on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Cameron McClure.

French rights to Miranda Lyn’s THE UNMARKED TRILOGY, to City Editions in a three-book deal, by Sarah Dray at Anna Jarota Agency, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

Greek rights to New York Times bestselling author Tamsyn Muir’s GIDEON THE NINTH, the first book in the Locked Tomb trilogy, to Philip Psihalos and Co Publishing, by Sanja Stefanjesko at Prava i prevodi in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

Russian omnibus rights to Martha Wells’ ALL SYSTEMS RED, ARTIFICIAL CONDITION, ROGUE PROTOCOL, and EXIT STRATEGY, the first four installments in the New York Times bestselling Murderbot Diaries series, to Eksmo, by Igor Korzhenevski at Alexander Korzhenevski Agency in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

Nov 272024
 

We’re thrilled to share that two DMLA titles, THE BUTCHER OF THE FOREST by Premee Mohamed and METAL FROM HEAVEN by august clarke, were part of the Washington’s Posts line-up for the 11 best science fiction and fantasy books of 2024!

Nov 142024
 

The winners of the 2024 Ignyte Awards were announced and we’re thrilled to share that two DMLA authors have won in the following categories!

OUTSTANDING NOVEL: ADULT

  • The Saint of Bright Doors – Vajra Chandrasekera (Tordotcom)

OUTSTANDING ANTHOLOGY/COLLECTED WORKS

  • No One Will Come Back for Us – Premee Mohamed (Undertow Publications)