A SONG OF LEGENDS LOST by M.H. Ayinde

Apr 082025
 

A SONG OF REBELLION. A SONG OF WAR. A SONG OF LEGENDS LOST.

The people of Nine Lands know their history. The kingdom once belonged to the Scathed people, until their greyblood servants rose up and slaughtered them. King Ahiki and his warlords laid claim to the realm by defeating the rebels and driving them out to the Feverlands.

Now, thousands of years later, attacks by the greybloods are rebuffed by the invoker clans, warriors of noble blood who summon their ancestors to fight with them in battle. But the war has gone on too long. A general draft is called to take the battle to the Feverlands and defeat the greybloods once and for all. A plan that seems doomed to fail.

When Temi, a commoner, accidentally invokes a powerful spirit, she believes it could be the key to ending the centuries-long war. But not everything that can be invoked is an ancestor, and some of the spirits that can be drawn from the ancestral realm are more dangerous than anyone can imagine.

DON’T TRUST FISH by Neil Sharpson

Apr 082025
 

cover for Don't Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson, illustrated by Dan SantatWhy, dear reader, must you NEVER EVER trust fish?

1) They spend all their time in the water where we can’t see them.
2) Some are as big as a bus—that is not okay.
3) We don’t know what they’re teaching in their “schools.”
4) They are likely plotting our doom.

This nature-guide-gone-wrong is a hilarious, off-the-rails exploration of the seemingly innocent animals that live in the water.

March Translation Deals

Mar 312025
 

Bulgarian rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells’ NETWORK EFFECT and FUGITIVE TELEMETRY, the fifth and sixth books in The Murderbot Diaries, plus “Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory,” to Studio of A, by Milena Kaplarević at Prava i prevodi in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

Finnish rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells’ FUGITIVE TELEMETRY, the fifth installment in The Murderbot Diaries series, to Hertta Kustannus Oy, by Vere Bank at Sebes & Bisseling Literary Agency in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

French rights to USA Today bestselling author Cassandra Khaw’s THE LIBRARY AT HELLEBORE, to Eilean Books, in an auction, by Sarah Dray at Anna Jarota Agency in association with Michael Curry.

German rights to K Webster’s CINDERELLA SERIES and DECEPTION DUET, to Digital Publishers, in a five-book deal, by Sarah Knofius at Thomas Schlueck Agency, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

Hungarian rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells’ ALL SYSTEMS RED, ARTIFICIAL CONDITION, ROGUE PROTOCOL, EXIT STRATEGY, and NETWORK EFFECT, the first five books in The Murderbot Diaries, to Fumax, by Milena Kaplarević at Prava i prevodi in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

Polish rights to Kel Kade’s KNIGHT OF SHADOWS, to Fabryka Slow, by Milena Kaplarevic at Prava I Prevodi, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Cameron McClure.

Ukranian rights to Sue Burke’s SEMIOSIS, to Lobster, by Milena Kaplarevic at Prava I Prevodi, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Jennie Goloboy.

2024 Nebula Award Nominations

Mar 142025
 

The nominations for the 2024 Nebula Awards were announced, and we’re thrilled to see the following DMLA authors on the list! Congratulations all around!

Best Novel

  • Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera, published by Tordotcom
  • Asunder by Kerstin Hall, published by Tordotcom

Best Novella

Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction

Best Game Writing

  • A Death in Hyperspace for which Kate Heartfield is one of the writers, published by Infomancy.net

February Subsidiary Rights Deals

Feb 282025
 

a pair of black ear budsAudio rights to David Jones’ MISS UNIVERSE, to Kim Budnick at Tantor Media, by Katie Shea Boutillier for Jennie Goloboy (World English).

Audio rights to J.S. Fields’s FOXFIRE IN THE SNOW, to Kim Budnick at Tantor Media, by Katie Shea Boutillier (world English).

Audio rights to Katherine Addison’s THE ORB OF CAIRADO, a novella set in the world of THE GOBLIN EMPEROR featuring an unlikely hero in historian Ulcetha Zhorvena, to Kim Budnick at Tantor Media, by Katie Shea Boutillier on behalf of Cameron McClure (world English).

Locus 2024 Recommended Reading List

Feb 142025
 

We are ecstatic to see so many of our DMLA authors and titles on the Locus Recommended Reading List for 2024! Congratulations to all our authors for being named in the following categories:

Novels – Science Fiction

Rakesfall, Vajra Chandrasekera (Tordotcom)
Exordia, Seth Dickinson (Tordotcom)
Remember You Will Die, Eden Robins (Sourcebooks Landmark)

Novels – Fantasy

The Tainted Cup, Robert Jackson Bennett (Del Rey; Hodderscape UK)
Metal from Heaven, August Clarke (Erewhon)
The Nightward, R.S.A. Garcia (Harper Voyager US)
Asunder, Kerstin Hall (Tordotcom)
The Tapestry of Time, Kate Heartfield (Harper Voyager UK)
Blackheart Man, Nalo Hopkinson (Saga)
The Siege of Burning Grass, Premee Mohamed (Solaris UK)

Novels – Horror

Small Town Horror, Ronald Malfi (Titan UK)

Young Adult Novels

The Feast Makers, H.A. Clarke (Erewhon)
Sheine Lende, Darcie Little Badger (Levine Querido)

Collections

Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions, Nalo Hopkinson (Tachyon)

Novellas

The Butcher of the Forest, Premee Mohamed (Tordotcom)
Countess, Suzan Palumbo (ECW)

Novelettes

‘‘A Stranger Knocks’’, Tananarive Due (Uncanny 9-10/24)
‘‘By Salt, By Sea, By Light of Stars’’, Premee Mohamed (Strange Horizons 6/9/24)

Short Stories

‘‘The Night Birds’’, Premee Mohamed (Northern Nights)

British Science Fiction Association Awards – Longlist!

Feb 132025
 

We love celebrating our authors! Check out the list of DMLA titles that have made the BSFA Awards Longlist for 2025!

Best Novel:

  • The Tapestry of Time, Kate Heartfield, Harpercollins
  • Rakesfall, Vajra Chandrasekera, Tordotcom
  • The Siege of Burning Grass, Premee Mohammed, Solaris
  • Asunder, Kerstin Hall, Tordotcom
  • The Nightward, R. S. A. Garcia, Harpercollins UK

Best Shorter Fiction:

  • The Limner Wrings his Hands,  Vajra Chandrasekera,  Deep Dream: Science Fiction Exploring the Future of Art (MIT Press)
  • Countess, Suzan Palumbo, ECW Press
  • The Rider, The Ride, The Rich Man’s Wife, Premee Mohammed, PS Publishing
  • The Butcher of the Forest, Premee Mohammed, Tordotcom

Best Fiction for Younger Readers:

  • Benny Ramirez and the Nearly Departed, Jose Pablo Iriarte, Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Review: DON’T TRUST FISH by Neil Sharpson

Jan 222025
 

School Library Journal: What makes a good unreliable narrator… in a picture book? One might argue that it’s very much the same qualities that make a good unreliable narrator in a work of fiction for older readers. There’s the choice the author must make as to whether or not to show their hand early or leave the reveal right up until the end. Then there are all the little details that appeared earlier in the book, leaving the reader to doubt everything they were told. That may sound a little heavy for a title whose intended audience is probably still a little unclear on the whole tying-your-shoes deal, but believe me when I say that when it comes to a book like Don’t Trust Fish, I feel inclined to pull out all my literary criticism tips and tricks. There are some picture books that you read that make you chuckle when you see the cover. There are some picture books where they might get one legitimate laugh out of the adult reader. There are some picture books that are funny to young readers. Now consider a book that makes everybody, and I do mean everybody, laugh from the cover onwards. THAT, my friends, is a picture book worth celebrating! That is a rarity! That… is I Don’t Trust Fish.

There are animals in this world that you can rely on. It has fur, is warm-blooded, and feeds its babies milk? That’s a mammal. Cold-blooded with scaly skin and lays eggs? Reptile. Feathers? Birds. Easy peasy. Then… there are fish. Fish don’t follow the usual rules, so you know what that means? “Don’t trust fish!” Don’t trust ‘em! Thanks to this book, you will learn the myriad reasons not to trust these sneaky denizens of the deep. Whale sharks? They’re the size of buses. “That is not okay”. Fish watch us. They plan. They scheme. With scintillating details and delightful art, young readers are given ample reasons not to trust our underwater brethren. But who, precisely, is imparting this information?

Starred Review: DON’T TRUST FISH by Neil Sharpson

Jan 172025
 

cover for Don't Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson, illustrated by Dan SantatPublishers Weekly: This animal guidebook send-up starts innocently enough, with a portrait of a dairy cow alongside a simple description of mammalian characteristics: “This animal has fur. This animal is warm-blooded.” Entries for a reptile and bird follow before a page turn reveals an outsize fish. “This is a FISH,” bold-faced type declares. “DON’T TRUST FISH.” Sharpson (When The Sparrow Falls) expands: “Fish don’t follow any rules…. They are rebels and outlaws.” A hint about the screed’s possible source soon appears: “Some fish eat poor, innocent crabs who are just trying to have a nice time in the sea.” Further sins are documented: “The angler fish attracts poor defenseless crabs by glowing. This is called ‘bioluminescence.’ It’s also called ‘cheating.’ ” Caldecott Medalist Santat fires up the comedy with goggle-eyed vignettes of crafty fish, spying fish, disguised fish, and more. “They may already be in your home,” attends an image of a goldfish surveilling a family’s children, then escaping down a tunnel to report to its boss. The claims push ever further into conspiracy territory before the hand-wringing, claw-waving crab is revealed in this rapid-fire comedy of piscine paranoia. Ages 3–7. (Apr.)”

INTO THE DARK by Patrice Sarath

Dec 102024
 

Patrice Sarath is an award-winning filmmaker and author living in Austin, Texas. Her novels include The Gordath Wood series (Gordath Wood, Red Gold Bridge, and The Crow God’s Girl), The Tales of Port Saint Frey (The Sisters Mederos and Fog Season), and The Unexpected Miss Bennet, a standalone sequel to Pride & Prejudice.

This, her debut collection, gathers her finest short fiction from the past two decades and more, adding a brand new story for good measure (which is currently being adapted into a film).

Into the Dark features stories set in the same milieu as the author’s Tales of Port Saint Frey novels (Angry Robot) alongside contemporary fantasies, deep space skulduggery and much much more; this collection is perfect for anyone who relishes great stories well told.

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