ERIC SMITH

Literary Agent & Young Adult Author

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Book Deals: Tawny Lara's DRY HUMPING to Quirk Books

June 01, 2022 by Eric Smith

I remember calling Tawny when this book proposal hit my inbox, because I needed it immediately. Her voice, her message, her history of tackling this topic… she was THE person to write this book, and a writer I desperately wanted to work with.

And now, just a few months later, here we are.

So happy to say that Tawny Lara’s debut book, DRY HUMPING, will be published with Quirk Books next year. Here are some details about the perfectly titled book:

Contributor to Playboy, Men's Health, HuffPost, and cohost of the Recovery Rocks podcast Tawny Lara's DRY HUMPING: A BOOZE-FREE GUIDE TO SEX, DATING, AND RELATIONSHIPS, a how-to guide on navigating relationships, dating, and sexuality while living a sober or sober-curious life.

Watch out for it. It’s an important, funny, and wonderful book, that I think will help a lot of people. Congrats, Tawny!

June 01, 2022 /Eric Smith
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Book Deals: Adam Sass' Your Lonely Nights are Over to Viking!

May 25, 2022 by Eric Smith

When Surrender Your Sons hit the Young Adult scene, the vibrations could be felt. That debut novel racked up the best of lists and won a bundle of well-deserved awards.

I loved watching the book world celebrate when Adam landed his major deal with Viking for his rom-coms, and well… he wasn’t going to leave thrillers behind.

His latest, YOUR LONELY NIGHTS ARE OVER, has been scooped up by the team at Viking, and oh boy, it is great. Here’s some details from Publisher’s Marketplace:

Adam Sass's YOUR LONELY NIGHTS ARE OVER, pitched as Scream meets Clueless, in which two gay teen BFFs find their friendship tested when one of them is accused of being the mysterious killer who has been stalking their school's queer club.

Keep an eye out for this one. And trust no one, dearie.

May 25, 2022 /Eric Smith
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Book Deals: Sophie Saint Thomas' WEED WITCH to Running Press!

April 25, 2022 by Eric Smith

Well, Sophie Saint Thomas is revving up to publish her FIFTH book, my friends. With Glamour Witch publishing earlier next year and this latest title, she is continuing to be an unstoppable force.

Sophie’s newest book, WEED WITCH, will be published with Running Press next year.

Here’s a bit more about it from Publisher’s Marketplace:

Author of FINDING YOUR HIGHER SELF and SEX WITCH Sophie Saint Thomas's WEED WITCH, a witch's guide to all things cannabis: spells and rituals using weed, consuming cannabis to enhance tarot and other magical practices, incorporating CBD into a wellness routine, and much more.

Congrats Sophie! You constantly keep me busy in the best way possible, and I can’t wait until book number six. Let’s go!

April 25, 2022 /Eric Smith
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Book Deals: Alison Stine's DUST to Wednesday Books!

April 15, 2022 by Eric Smith

Working with Alison Stine has been such a career highlight for me. Her novels, from Road Out of Winter to Trashlands, have shocked and awed me, as well as readers! Road Out of Winter scooped up the Philip K. Dick Award, Trashlands has been nominated for a bundle of things (including the Mark Twain prize!). And with good cause. Her books are stunning.

And well, now she’s entering the world of YA, and I’m beyond thrilled.

Her novel, DUST, was scooped up by St. Martin’s Press / Wednesday Books, and will be in bookstores everywhere next year. Here’s a bit about it from Publisher’s Marketplace:

Philip K. Dick Award-winning author Alison Stine's DUST, about a partially deaf girl in a strict, reclusive family who meets someone else in the Deaf community for the first time, finding connection amidst a land ravaged by climate change, and when a second Dust Bowl of apocalyptic proportions approaches, she and the boy who has begun to secretly teach her sign language must convince their skeptical rural community to flee to safety.

I can’t wait for kids to experience Alison’s powerful voice, with a story that’s so wildly close to her.

Congrats Alison!

April 15, 2022 /Eric Smith
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Book Deals: Aidan Moher's Fight, Magic, Items to Running Press!

February 21, 2022 by Eric Smith

I’ve been a fan of Aidan Moher for a while.

It’s been a real joy, following his essays. Whether he’s writing about fantasy or sci-fi novelists, classic video games, or how those things intersect, his work is something really special and spectacularly geeky.

And now, you’ll get to read his first published non-fiction book.

FIGHT MAGIC ITEMS is Aidan’s deep dive into the history of JRPGs, and how they’ve influenced so much of pop culture. If you’ve never read any of Aidan’s work in that space, I highly recommend checking out his piece that digs into Chrono Trigger. It’s a long, brilliant read, and full of the love and attention to detail you can expect from a full book.

Here’s a bit more from Publisher’s Marketplace:

Non-fiction / Pop Culture: Hugo-award winner and contributor to Wired, Kotaku, and Electronic Gaming Monthly, Aidan Moher’s FIGHT, MAGIC, ITEMS, an exploration of the history of Japanese role-playing games through deep dive essays and personal interviews, and how their stories have transformed pop culture and won the hearts of gamers worldwide, to Britny Brooks at Running Press, for publication in October 2022.

Goodness I am so excited about this one. And to have another project with THE Britny Brooks, an editor who continuously understands all my spectacularly nerdy projects.

Congrats Aidan!

February 21, 2022 /Eric Smith
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February's Brain Pick: Chat with Video Game Writers & Authors Mary Kenney and Brittney M. Morris

February 09, 2022 by Eric Smith

It’s that time!

Last month’s virtual brain pick felt like a real success, and I’m happy to keep doing them like this. If you attended, thank you! If you didn’t, maybe come to this one? It’s fun, I promise.

This month’s brain pick will feature two special guests near and dear to me, Brittney M. Morris and Mary Kenney!

YA readers will recognize Brittney as the author of Slay and The Cost of Knowing. I’ve been lucky enough to get to know her over the years, as the two of us both write very nerdy books and have done some events together. Recently, she was brought on to work on Spider-Man 2 at Insomniac Games!

And speaking of Insomniac Games, Mary Kenney is a YA author, comics writer, and games writer at Insomniac! I’m lucky enough to represent her in my agent life, and her debut, Gamer Girls, publishes later this year with Running Press.

So, how DO these brain pick chats work?

Well, for the first half hour, we have a conversation. This one will be about writing and games, clearly. Me, Brittney, and Mary will chat about what they do, how it all works, a bit about their wonderful books, all that good stuff.

And then afterwards, we’ll have a solid 90 minutes of Q&A brain pick time. Sometimes it’s a little more, sometimes it’s a little less, depending on how many questions we get. And that’s on whatever you’re curious about. Are you logging on to ask questions about querying or publishing? Working with editors or agents? Or maybe you want to know strictly about gaming! Ask about how to get into writing for them, how the process is different from books, how they got their start? How YOU can get your start.

Well, now’s the time to get those questions answered.

As always, this is a completely free event. We’ll have a tip jar available. Last month we donated to Blue Stoop, and this month we’ll be donating towards Melody L. Simpson’s Melanin in YA.

Register below!

February Brain Pick

Feb 28, 2022 08:00 PM (EST)

Zoom Registration Link

February 09, 2022 /Eric Smith
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Book Deals: Helen Corcoran's Daughter of Winter and Twilight to O'Brien Press!

January 27, 2022 by Eric Smith

Get ready, Corcofans (fans of Helen Corcoran), there’s a new book on the horizon.

Helen Corcoran’s Queen of Coin and Whispers was such a delightful surprise in my agent life. I’ve talked a bit about how this gorgeous YA fantasy novel found its way to me before (read Helen’s original query letter for the story), and it’s been such a joy watching this book absolutely take off.

From starred reviews to an Irish Book Award nomination to having an audiobook narrated by THE QUEEN OF NARNIA, Helen’s debut made such a splash, and I’m so proud.

And it’s time to return to her world.

A sequel to Queen of Coin and Whispers has been greenlit! Get ready for DAUGHTER OF WINTER AND TWILIGHT, coming your way in 2023.

More here from Publisher’s Marketplace:

Helen Corcoran's DAUGHTER OF WINTER AND TWILIGHT, sequel to QUEEN OF COIN AND WHISPERS, which picks up fourteen years after the original, with a princess navigating her place in a politically incendiary realm, where the bonds of history and family grow increasingly frayed, especially when old magic returns to the land, to Kunak McGann at O'Brien Press, for publication in summer 2023, by Eric Smith at P.S. Literary Agency (world).

Watch out. There’s magic.

January 27, 2022 /Eric Smith
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Book Deals: Kate Fussner's O&E to Katherine Tegen Books!

January 13, 2022 by Eric Smith

It’s the first deal of the New Year, and my goodness, it’s a beautiful one.

I’m so thrilled to say that Kate Fussner’s lyrical, beautiful, in-verse debut, O&E, has been picked up by Katherine Tegen Books in a two-book deal. I completely fell apart reading this stunning Middle Grade novel, and I can’t wait for you to, as well.

Here’s a bit more from Publisher’s Weekly:

Sara Schonfeld at HarperCollins/Tegen has bought world English rights to O&E, Kate Fussner's middle grade debut. A queer in-verse retelling of "Orpheus and Eurydice," Fussner's debut follows the story of two middle school girls learning to love each other and themselves as they fight not to lose one another, pitched as What My Mother Doesn't Know meets Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World. Publication is planned for summer 2023; Eric Smith at P.S. Literary Agency brokered the two-book deal.

Get ready. Kate’s a powerful new voice in the kid-lit world. I can’t wait for you to meet her.

January 13, 2022 /Eric Smith
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