New York Times: The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of 2024!

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.

NPR Best Books of 2024!

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

November Translation Deals

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.

The Washington Post’s 11 Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of 2024!

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!

2024 Ignyte Award Winners!

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)

October Translation Deals

Oct 312024
 

Chinese (complex) renewal rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells’ ALL SYSTEMS RED, ARTIFICIAL CONDITION, ROGUE PROTOCOL, and EXIT STRATEGY, the first four books in The Murderbot Diaries series, to Global Group, by Lucy Su at Grayhawk Agency in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

Czech rights to Katherine Addison’s THE GOBLIN EMPEROR, to Dobrovsky (Czech Republic), by Milena Kaplarevic at Prava i Prevodi, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Cameron McClure.

Danish rights to Vonda N. McIntyre’s DREAMSNAKE, to A Mock Book (Denmark), by Vere Bank at Sebes & Bisseling on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Jennie Goloboy.

French rights to Miranda Lyn’s TILL DEATH, to Eilean Books, in a preempt, by Sarah Dray at Anna Jarota Agency, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

French renewal rights to New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop’s MURDER OF CROWS, the second book in the Others series, to Bragelonne, by Sarah Dray at Anna Jarota Agency in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

French rights to LJ Andrews’s THE EVER QUEEN and THE MIST THIEF, to City Editions, in a two-book deal, by Sarah Dray at Anna Jarota Agency, on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier.

German rights to Margaret Doody’s ARISTOTLE DETECTIVE, to Kampa, by Bastian Schluck at Thomas Schlueck Agency on behalf of Katie Shea Boutillier for Donald Maass.

Italian rights to New York Times bestselling author Tamsyn Muir’s PRINCESS FLORALINDA AND THE FORTY-FLIGHT TOWER, to Mondadori, by Stefania Fietta at Donzelli Fietta Agency in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

Swedish audio rights to New York Times bestselling author Martha Wells’ ALL SYSTEMS RED, ARTIFICIAL CONDITION, ROGUE PROTOCOL, EXIT STRATEGY, NETWORK EFFECT, FUGITIVE TELEMETRY, and SYSTEM COLLAPSE, the first seven books in The Murderbot Diaries series, to Recorded Books, by Vere Bank at Sebes & Bisseling in association with Michael Curry for Jennifer Jackson.

2024 World Fantasy Awards Winners!

Oct 252024
 

The winners of the 2024 World Fantasy Awards were announced and we are so excited to share that DMLA authors, Tananarive Due and Premee Mohamed, have been announced as winners!

Best Novel

  • The Reformatory, Tananarive Due (Saga; Titan UK)

Best Collection

  • No One Will Come Back for Us and Other Stories,  Premee Mohamed (Undertow)

CRITICAL ROLE: BELLS HELLS – WHAT DOESN’T BREAK by Cassandra Khaw

Oct 082024
 

Uncover the lost years of Critical Role’s unrelentingly upbeat undead spellcaster in this original prequel novel to Laudna’s adventures with Bells Hells.

For as long as she can remember, Laudna has had a friend. A mentor. A little voice whispering in her cropped ear, promising that, no matter how monstrous she becomes or how far she wanders, there will always be someone to guide her.

And so, Laudna is content.

But the thought of more—of life, of love, of the magic stirring in her still veins—is unrelenting in its familiarity. More is the dream of the young girl trapped behind the bloodstained walls of Whitestone, and the nightmare of the woman who now stalks the woods outside them. More, Laudna’s little voice reminds her, is dangerous. From Tal’Dorei to Marquet, the world is infested with heroes destined to rid their kingdoms of creatures like Laudna.

The little voice is right, she knows.

But still, she thinks of more. And when she reaches for that dream, what reaches back will change everything.

Written by USA Today bestselling author Cassandra Khaw, Critical Role: Bells Hells—What Doesn’t Break delves into the unexplored years before Laudna joined up with the crew of Bells Hells, chronicling her departure from Whitestone and her solo adventures on the road to Jrusar.

Review: RAKESFALL by Vajra Chandrasekera

Sep 132024
 

New York Times: Rakesfall is Vajra Chandrasekera’s second book after last year’s magnificent “The Saint of Bright Doors,” and is fully as exciting though nowhere near as straightforward. A book in 10 parts, “Rakesfall” shifts wildly in structure and narration. Sometimes an audience watches a television show that is perhaps reality or perhaps a window to something beyond it. Other times different omniscient narrators cede to a play featuring beings who reincarnate over thousands of years. Or a cybernetically enhanced near-immortal wakes from an ancient sleep to solve a murder mystery.

Uniting these threads is a kind of oscillating theme: Souls return over time, sometimes as two people, sometimes four or more, engaged with each other over the thorny question of how to endure fascism and kill kings. The novel’s composition, too, has an element of reincarnation to it: Six of its chapters began life as short stories in various genre periodicals from 2016 to 2021. In an interview, Chandrasekera called the project’s initial phase a “patchwork,” and the finished work is very tongue-in-cheek about the need to “maintain narrative continuity and protect genre boundaries” while careening from life to life and world to world.

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