Review: MAD SISTERS OF ESI by Tashan Mehta

Aug 152025
 

Wall Street Journal: Living in the depths of the black cosmic sea, there is a giant whale with an infinite number of worlds within its body. Wandering among them are two sisters: Laleh and Myung, neither of whom know their origins or how they wound up in the whale; only that both they and it were created by the Great Wisa. This is the mind-bending scenario dreamed up by Tashan Mehta for her unique fantasy novel “Mad Sisters of Esi.”

“Mad Sisters of Esi” is a great, sweeping fairy tale of a book, utterly different from most of the fantasy out now. While it could have benefitted from some paring, its world-building ambition is unmatched: The descriptions of the plants, food and animals of Esi are lush and memorable. So, too, is the examination of sisterly love, which is as complicated and deep as the black sea itself.

MAD SISTERS OF ESI by Tashan Mehta

Aug 052025
 

Ask for the story of the mad sisters of Esi, and you’ll get a thousand contradictory folktales. Superstitious sailors, curious children, and obsessed academics have argued over the particulars for generations. They have wondered about the mad sisters’ two greatest marvels: the museum of collective memory that sprawls underneath our universe, waiting for any who call for it, and the living, impossible, whale of babel.

Myung and her sister Laleh are the sole inhabitants of the whale of babel. They roam within its cosmic chambers, speak folktales of themselves, and pray to their creator, the Great Wisa. For Laleh, this is everything. For Myung, it is not enough.

When Myung flees the whale, she stumbles into a new universe full of people, shapeshifting islands, and argumentative ghosts. In her search for Great Wisa and her longing for her sister Laleh, Myung sets off on an adventure that will unravel the mystery that has confounded everyone for centuries: the truth about the mad sisters of Esi.

Fables, dreams and myths come together in a masterful work of fantasy full of wonder and awe, that asks: in the devastating chaos of the world, where all is in flux, and the truth is ever-changing, what will you choose to hold on to? And what stories will you choose to tell?

July Translation Deals

Jul 312025
 

Czech rights to Katherine Addison’s THE WITNESS FOR THE DEAD, to Dobrovsky, by Milena Kaplarevic at Prava I Prevodi, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Cameron McClure.

French rights to Robert Jackson Bennett’s The Founders series, omnibus edition, to Albin Michel, by Sarah Dray at Anna Jarota Agency on behalf of Katie Shea for Cameron McClure.

French rights to Annika Marin’s BREAKING THE BILLIONAIRE’S RULES, to BMR, by Sarah Dray at Anna Jarota Agency, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Cameron McClure.

French rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells’ QUEEN DEMON, the second book in The Rising World, to L’Atalante, by Sarah Dray at Anna Jarota Agency in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

French rights to Nebula Award finalist Kerstin Hall’s ASUNDER, to Eilean Books, by Sarah Dray at Anna Jarota Agency in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

Greek rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells’ ALL SYSTEMS RED and ARTIFICIAL CONDITION, the first and second books in The Murderbot Diaries, to Fantastikos Kosmos, by Milena Kaplarević at Prava i prevodi in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

Greek rights Robert McCammon’s SWAN SONG, to Klidarithmos, by Milena Kaplarevic at Prava I Prevodi, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Cameron McClure.

Hungarian rights to Gretchen Powell Fox’s SMOKE AND SCAR and SPLINTERED KINGDOM, to Konyvmolykepzo, by Milena Kaplarevic at Prava I Prevodi, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

Polish rights to LJ Andrews’ Ever Seas series, to KDW, in a five-book deal, at auction, by Prava I Prevodi, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

Romanian rights to LJ Andrews’ THE EVER KING and THE EVER QUEEN, to Litera, by Milena Kaplarevic at Prava I Prevodi, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

Spanish rights to LJ Andrews’ The Ever Seas series, to Atico de los Libros, in a three-book deal, by Elena Rodriguez at International Editors & Yanez, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

Spanish audio rights to LJ Andrews’ The Ever Seas series, to Roseann Lake at Recorded Books, in a three-book deal, by Elena Rodriguez at International Editors & Yanez, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

Review: DAEDALUS IS DEAD by Seamus Sullivan

Jul 302025
 

Publishers Weekly: Sullivan’s lovely debut puts an inventive spin on Greek myth. Master inventor Daedalus and his son, Icarus, attempt to escape imprisonment by the cruel King Minos using man-made wings. The plan ends disastrously when Icarus ignores his father’s warnings and flies too close to the sun, melting the wax attaching the feathers to the wings, and causing him to plummet to his death in the sea (“You fall in silence, as if the gods are waiting for the sound of impact”). From there, Sullivan’s tale veers into less familiar territory. Bereft at the loss of his only child, Daedalus starts a new life in Sicily, only to be tracked down by Minos; though he outsmarts the king and survives their confrontation, Daedalus dies shortly thereafter from an injury. He then endeavors to reunite with Icarus in the underworld, in the process encountering dead heroes and monsters. Daedalus narrates this quest in present tense and through direct address to his late son, creating a sense of intimacy and tenderness. (“Icarus, no good thing has happened to me that I haven’t wanted to share with you.”) Along the way, Sullivan gradually peels back the layers of Daedalus’s past, including several revelations that will shift readers’ views of the inventor significantly. In the crowded field of revisionist retellings, this stands out. (Sept.)

Review: THE MAD SISTERS OF ESI by Tashan Mehta

Jul 092025
 

Publishers Weekly: “Mehta (The Liar’s Weave) explores the bond of sisterhood in this ambitious, dreamlike epic….Mehta cleverly brings the plot full-circle in a satisfying finale. Readers are sure to be impressed.”

June Subsidiary Rights Deals

Jun 302025
 

a pair of black ear budsAudio rights to Athena Giles’ WAVES TAKE YOUR BONES, to Emily Loughran at Tantor Media, by Katie Shea Boutillier (world English).

Audio rights to P.S.C. Willis’ CRYING OUT FOR MAGIC, to Emily Loughran at Tantor Media, by Katie Shea Boutillier (world English).

Audio rights to Nicole Maggi’s A MURDER IN ZION and LOST IN YELLOWSTONE, to Emily Loughran at Tantor Media, in a two-book deal, by Katie Shea Boutillier for Anne Tibbets (World English).

Audio rights to Robert McCammon’s Matthew Corbett series, to Anji Cornette at Graphic Audio, in a multi-book deal, by Katie Shea Boutillier for Cameron McClure.

Audio rights to Melissa K Roehrich’s RAIN OF SHADOWS AND ENDINGS, STORM OF SECRETS AND SORROW and TEMPEST OF WRATH AND VENGEANCE, books 1-3 of the Legacy series,  to Anji Cornette at GraphicAudio, in a very nice deal, by Katie Shea Boutillier (NA).

Martha Wells renewed audio rights on novellas ALL SYSTEMS RED and ARTIFICIAL CONDITION, the first two books in the New York Times bestselling Murderbot Diaries, now an Apple+ series. Brian Sweany at Recorded Books secured the rights in a pre-empt in a major deal negotiated by Jennifer Jackson and Michael Curry.

June Translation Deals

Jun 302025
 

Chinese rights to Brent Weeks’s THE BURNING WHITE, to Gaea (Taiwan), by Alyssa Wu at The Grayhawk Agency, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Donald Maass.

Croatian rights to LJ Andrews’ THE EVER KING and THE EVER QUEEN, to Lumen, by Momčilo Mišković at Prava I Prevodi on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

French audio rights to LJ Andrews’s THE EVER QUEEN and THE MIST THIEF, to Noa Rosen at Theleme, by Sarah Dray at Anna Jarota Agency, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

German rights to Gretchen Powell Fox’s Shattered Crown series, to Vajosh, in a three-book deal, by Sarah Knofius at Thomas Schlueck Agency, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

Italian audio rights to LJ Andrews’ CURSE OF SHADOWS AND THORNS, to Egmont Saga, for audio rights, by Stefania Fietta at Donzelli Fietta, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

Spanish rights to Gretchen Powell Fox’s Shattered Crown series, to Ediciones SM, in a preempt, in a three-book deal, by Elena Rodriguez at International Editors & Yanez, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

Ukrainian rights to Robert Jackson Bennett’s The Founders Trilogy, to Apriori, in a three-book deal, by Milena Kaplarevic at Prava I Prevodi, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Cameron McClure.

Ukrainian rights to Eden Robins’ REMEMBER YOU WILL DIE, to Lobster, by Nada Popovic at Prava i Prevodi on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Cameron McClure.

2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction finalists!

Jun 262025
 

Ursula K Le Guin Prize for Fiction logoDMLA is proud to congratulate the following clients on the recognition of their talent as nominees of the 2025 Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction :

* Vajra Chandrasekera for RAKESFALL
* Nalo Hopkinson for BLACKHEART MAN
* Eden Robins for REMEMBER YOU WILL DIE

This award is intended to recognize those writers Ursula spoke of in her 2014 National Book Awards speech—realists of a larger reality, who can imagine real grounds for hope and see alternatives to how we live now.

This year, eight shortlisted books were chosen by the Ursula K. Le Guin Foundation following a public nomination process.

AJ TORRES AND THE TREASURE OF CAPTAIN GRAYSHARK by Jose Pablo Iriarte

Jun 242025
 

When AJ and Jayden discover a gold coin washed up on the shore of Miami after a hurricane, they think it might be the answer to all of their problems.They suspect the dingy old coin may be part of the long lost treasure of Captain Grayshark, whose loot was valued in the millions. That much money could help the Torres’s sinking family business and more importantly, allow Jayden to stay in Miami with his mom, instead of moving miles away from his best friend. The boys set out on a quest, along with resident ghost expert, Andrea Wade, to unearth the pirate’s treasure on a nearby haunted island.

But the pursuit of treasure might prove more perilous than they could ever imagine—with treacherous waters and a crew of angry ghost pirates waiting for them on Scream Island…

A slightly scary, laugh-out loud adventure about searching for gold, but finding much more along the way.

Review: THE TAINTED CUP by Robert Jackson Bennett

Jun 192025
 

New York Times: “Like an endearing fantasy version of “Knives Out,” “The Tainted Cup” follows an eccentric detective named Ana Dolabra and her new assistant, Dinios Kol — a disaster bisexual if there ever was one…. A great murder mystery is hard to pull off but Bennett structures his perfectly, and the fact that it’s in a fantasy setting only makes it better.”

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