Dear writers: Please be aware of ongoing scams by agent impersonators. Use extra caution with any unsolicited offers from agents. Reputable agents will not ask for upfront fees of any kind. For more information, look at sites such as Writer Beware (https://writerbeware.blog/). Please always check email addresses/spellings. All official emails from Donald Maass Literary Agency will come from an address that ends in @maassagency.com (2 A's, 2 S's in MAASS).

November Translation Deals

Nov 302025
 

Brazilian Portuguese rights to Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction winner Vajra Chandrasekera’s RAKESFALL, to Editora Companhia das Letras, by Cristina Purchio at International Editors’ Co. in association with Michael Curry.

Chinese (simplified) rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells’ ALL SYSTEMS RED, ARTIFICIAL CONDITION, ROGUE PROTOCOL, EXIT STRATEGY, NETWORK EFFECT, FUGITIVE TELEMETRY, SYSTEM COLLAPSE, and PLATFORM DECAY, eight books in The Murderbot Diaries, to Yilin, by Yichan Peng at Grayhawk Agency in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

German rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells’ PLATFORM DECAY, the eighth installment in the Murderbot Diaries series, to Heyne, by Sarah Knofius at the Thomas Schlueck Agency in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

German rights to Emily Blackwood’s Golden City series, to Mondlicht Verlag, in a three-book deal, by Sarah Knofius at Thomas Schlueck Agency, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

German rights to New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher’s TWELVE MONTHS and MIRROR MIRROR, Books 18-19 in the Dresden Files series, to Blanvalet, by Sarah Knofius at the Thomas Schlueck Agency in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

German rights to Melissa K. Roehrich’s The Legacy series to Vajona, at auction, in a four-book deal, by Sarah Knofius at Thomas Schlueck Agency,on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

Spanish rights to Vonda N. McIntyre’s DREAMSNAKE to Crononauta, by Elena Rodriguez at International Editors & Yanez, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Jennie Goloboy.

Spanish rights to Robert McCammon’s SWAN SONG to RBA by Elena Rodriguez at International Editors & Yanez, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Cameron McClure (world Spanish).

B&N Best Picture Books of 2025

Nov 032025
 

cover for Don't Trust Fish by Neil Sharpson, illustrated by Dan SantatCongratulations to DMLA author, Neil Sharpson as DON’T TRUST FISH has been listed as a Best Picture Book of 2025 by Barnes & Noble Reads!

October Translation Rights

Oct 312025
 

Chinese rights to Sue Burke’s SEMIOSIS, to Science Fiction World, by Yichan Peng at The Grayhawk Agency, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Jennie Goloboy.

Czech rights to Hugo and Nebula nominated author Thomas Ha’s UNCERTAIN SONS AND OTHER STORIES, to Planeta9, by Milena Kaplarević at Prava i prevodi for Michael Curry.

Japanese rights to Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction winner Vajra Chandrasekera’s THE SAINT OF BRIGHT DOORS, to Tokyo Sogensha, by Shreya De Sousa at The English Agency (Japan) in association with Michael Curry.

Portuguese (Brazil) rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells’ NETWORK EFFECT, FUGITIVE TELEMETRY, SYSTEM COLLAPSE, and PLATFORM DECAY, the next four books in The Murderbot Diaries series, to Editora Aleph, by Cristina Purchio at International Editors’ Co. in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

 

New York Public Library’s Top 20 Horror

Oct 172025
 

Enjoy the Spooky Season! Thomas Ha’s UNCERTAIN SONS and Neil Sharpson’s THE BURIAL TIDE lauded in the  New York Public Library’s 20 Best New Horror of 2025!

UNCERTAIN SONS:

Ha’s collection offers readers a subtle yet terrifying reading experience, highlighting the horror of humanity and the environment in which we live. Not for the faint of heart, but perfect for readers looking for a quieter horror read.

THE BURIAL TIDE:

After clawing her way out of her own grave, Mara Fitch is reacclimating to the life she barely remembers on the island of Inishbannock. As forgotten memories seep into her dreams, she begins to uncover secrets the townsfolk don’t want her to know.

 

 

THE BURIAL TIDE by Neil Sharpson

Sep 092025
 

Drawing on the creatures and horrors of Irish folklore, The Burial Tide unearths our darkest truths: how far we’d go to win our freedom, and how quickly our desires can become monstrous.

A woman who can’t remember her death.
On an eerily quiet island off the coast of Ireland, a woman with no memory claws her way out of her grave and back to life. But not everyone welcomes the return of Mara Fitch.

An island with a terrible secret.
Inishbannock. Where strange misshapen figures watch from the trees and the roads are covered in teeth. Where two brothers gamble for nothing, the doctor only treats one patient, and the pub owner speaks in riddles. Where a poet loses and finds his soul. And a man without a heart claims he’s the key to unlocking Mara’s secrets.

A past that refuses to stay buried.
As Mara returns to her life on this upside-down island, her memories begin to leech their way back to the surface. The more she remembers, the more the village will do anything to stop her . . .

But the sea remembers it all.

Review: THE BURIAL TIDE by Neil Sharpson

Aug 192025
 

Booklist: Sharpson (Knock Knock Open Wide, 2023) presents another homage to Irish folklore and the creatures that inhabit it, though this time he takes a different approach. On the first page of The Burial Tide, readers meet a woman who is quite literally fighting her way out of a buried coffin. She escapes but has no memory of herself or her life and must rely on those living on an out-of-the-way Irish island to help her. However, Mara (and the reader) quickly realizes that things are not what they seem and that these people are dangerous . . . but Mara herself might be even worse. Sharpson uses horror tropes in new and exciting ways to meditate on the themes of what makes a monster and how a simple adjustment to perspective can change someone’s life for the better, or worse. His prose perfectly encapsulates the isolation of the island and the desperate needs of the people on it, and his fans will love it, as will those who like T. Kingfisher’s dark fairy tales.

Review: THE BURIAL TIDE by Neil Sharpson

Aug 142025
 

Publishers Weekly: A remote Irish island with an insular community of crusty locals provides the perfect backdrop for this riveting splice of suspense and folklore from Sharpson (Knock Knock, Open Wide). Inishbannock is just recovering from a deadly “outbreak” (though an outbreak of what goes unspecified) when one of its victims, Mara Fitch, claws her way out of her grave, having been mistakenly buried alive. At least that’s what her caretakers tell her, since Mara has no memory of the life she lived before. But as Mara tries to rebuild her identity from the stories fed to her by locals, she uncovers inconsistencies that lead her to suspect she’s being gaslighted about both her life and her death. Even more mysterious, she chances upon a series of photos spanning nearly a century of a person who closely resembles her. While Mara tries to make sense of these discoveries, something slaughters the island’s sheep, prompting residents—who seem to know more than they tell—to take up arms. Sharpson marshals a large cast of distinctive characters and weaves the subplots spun from their individual motivations for hiding the truth into a dark history leavened with Irish myth and legend. The result is sure to enchant readers with a taste for folk horror.

THE LAST VIGILANT by Mark A. Latham

Jun 242025
 

Shunned by the soldiers he commands, haunted by past tragedies, Sargent Holt Hawley is a broken man. But the child of a powerful ally has gone missing, and war between once peaceful nations is on the horizon. So, he and his squad have been sent to find a myth: a Vigilant. They are a rumored last survivor of an ancient and powerful order capable of performing acts of magic and finding the lost. But the Vigilants disappeared decades ago. No one truly expects Hawley to succeed.

When he is forced to abandon his men, he stumbles upon a woman who claims to be the Last Vigilant. Enelda Drake is wizened and out of practice, and she seems a far cry from the heroes of legend. But they will need her powers, and each other, to survive. For nothing in the town of Scarfell is as it seems. Corrupt soldiers and calculating politicians thwart their efforts at every turn.

And there are dark whispers on the wind threatening the arrival of an ancient and powerful enemy. The Last Vigilant is not the only myth returning from the dead.

PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS by Peter McLean

Jun 192025
 

Eline is a mother, a wife, and a survivor. But her life is about to change dramatically. Following an act of horrific – if righteous – vengeance, Eline is blackmailed into the service of the Queen’s Men. She knows it will be a hard life of violence and fear. But Eline will do what it takes to survive, and to protect her children . . . and if she’s lucky, she won’t die in the process.

But the Queen’s Men aren’t just asking her to risk herself. They’re asking her to risk everything she knows and loves. And if she fails . . . civil war and the deaths of everyone she loves will be just the beginning.

Starred Review: THE LAST VIGILANT by Mark Latham

May 222025
 

Booklist: Hawley is a soldier with terrible secrets in his past and a sense of honor despite a tarnished reputation. He has been sent with a company of men to try and find a missing child, but when that company attempts to kill Hawley and are instead killed by an unknown creature of the forest, Hawley seeks the help of Enelda, a wise, no-nonsense old woman whom he soon realizes is a person of legend—one of the famed Vigilants, who can commune with the immortal realm and use magic. Enelda is out of practice and disturbed at finding herself on a journey, but despite a rocky start, she and Hawley work together to survive. Latham (The Red Tower, 2018) uses his incredible world-building skills and all-consuming storytelling style to bring the reader deep into the village of Scarfell, where politics, magic, and corruption collide in a world-shaking explosion, and where Enelda is not the only legend to emerge from the shadows. In a genre where tropes can be overused, Latham is an adept at creating sympathetic characters and reinventing fantasy in a way that will have influence on many books after The Last Vigilant.

 Older Entries  Newer Entries