As another year winds down, we take pause to admire our clients’ accomplishments in 2024 — they never cease to amaze and inspire us with their work, and while we’re highlighting milestones, bestsellers, awards, and recognition, we cannot overstate our pride in our entire list, and our gratitude that these creators have entrusted our agency with their work.
DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN DEALS
Our authors’ work generated hundreds of deals across foreign, domestic, audio, film, and other subsidiary rights, including 110 foreign licenses and over a dozen deals closed in the UK and Australia alone.
Our titles hit a number of foreign milestones this year:
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q Sutanto hit 18 languages; Lightlark by Alex Aster has now been licensed in 17 languages; Leil Lowndes, whose work has now been published in over 40 languages, added Croatian and Armenian to the list; in 2024, Heartless by Marissa Meyer was licensed for the first time in Italian, German, Polish, and Hebrew
The books listed below — a wonderful mix of forthcoming and backlist titles — received their first foreign language deals in 2024:
The Mortons by Scott Westerfeld and Justine Larbalestier (French, German), A Harvest of Hearts by Andrea Eames (French, Polish, Russian), Let it Glow by Marissa Meyer and Joanne Levy (Brazilian Portuguese), The Afterlife of Mal Caldera by Nadi Reed Perez (Czech), The Traitor of Sherwood Forest by Amy S. Kaufman (Hungarian), Tenderly, I Am Devoured by Lyndall Clipstone (Czech), The Happy Writer by Marissa Meyer (Korean), We Do Not Welcome Our Ten Year Old Overlord by Garth Nix (Russian), The Worst Perfect Moment by Shivaun Plozza (Czech), Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch by Codie Crowley (Polish), Bite Me, Royce Taslim by Lauren Ho (Brazilian Portuguese, Russian), The Grimsbane Family Witch Hunters by Joan Reardon (Russian), A Cruel Thirst by Angela Montoya (French, Russian, Spanish), You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q Sutanto (Arabic), Deep is the Fen by Lili Wilkinson (Russian), A Rose by Any Other Name by Mary McMyne (Ukrainian), Unstuck by Barbara Dee (Persian)
Among our new deals announced in 2024 were a number of exciting debuts across several genres and age categories:
Adult Nonfiction
–The New Rules for Ambition by Stefanie O’Connell Rodriguez
–NIMBY Nation by Jacob Anbinder
Adult Fiction
–It’s All in Your Head by Sabina Nordqvist
-Cafe Euphoria by Zara Marielle
–A Fate Worse Than Drowning by Sarah L. Hawthorn
Children’s & Young Adult
–Prodigal Tiger by Samantha Chong
–Twin Tides by Hiền Nguyễn
–What We Did To Each Other by Josuee Hernandez
–The Ten Tins, illustrated by Taylor Adams-Bass
FILM, TV, AND AUDIO
This year saw the release of the highly-anticipated adaptation of Uglies by Scott Westerfeld on Netflix in September; the film was #1 on Netflix in 60 countries, and was in the top 10 globally for over a month, and in 2025, Netflix will release an anime adaption of the Leviathan series
We did exciting option deals for This Might Get Awkward and One Way or Another by Kara McDowell, Jaclyn Moriarty’s forthcoming adult novel, and Alison Goodman’s popular Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies series
We closed over a dozen audio deals this year, including our first deal with Spotify for Shauna Robinson’s The Townsend Family Recipe for Disaster, first time audio releases for backlist titles like Alyssa Palombo’s The Violinist of Venice and Colin Woodard’s The Lobster Coast, as well as exciting new deals for Garth Nix’s We Do Not Welcome our Ten-Year-Old Overlord, Nadi Reed Perez’s The Afterlife of Mal Caldera, and Andy Griffiths and Bill Hope’s The Land of Lost Things
Our clients’ audiobooks were also recognized at this year’s Audie Awards: No One Leaves the Castle by Christopher Healy (narrated by Jessica Almasy) was nominated for Best Humor, while Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q Sutanto (narrated by Eunice Wong) won the award for Best Mystery
BESTSELLERS
Marissa Meyer’s With A Little Luck debuted at #6 on the New York Times Bestseller list; it also hit the IndieBound bestseller list
Let It Glow, Marissa’s middle grade debut written with Joanne Levy, also hit the New York Times Middle Grade Paperback bestseller list at #2 for December 2024, and was also an IndieBound, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller
Two additional JGLM titles hit the USA Today bestseller list this year: Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q Sutanto and Diavola by Jennifer Thorne
Nightbane by Alex Aster has spent a total of 49 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list — including 43 weeks in 2024 alone, and Lightlark returned to the bestseller list in November 2024, and hit a collective 54 weeks as a bestseller from 2022 to 2024
AWARDS, NOMINATIONS, AND STARRED REVIEWS
Our clients and books were honored with a number of prestigious awards and nominations this year:
JGLM had a wonderful showing at this year’s ALA awards, where illustrator Briana Mukodiri Uchendu won the John Steptoe Award for New Talent, for her work on We Could Fly, written by Rhinanon Giddens; Wrath Becomes Her by Aden Polydoros was named a Sydney Taylor Honor Book; She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran was a Morris Award finalist, and Once There Was by Kiyash Monsef was both Morris Award finalist and an Odyssey Award Honor for its audiobook, narrated by Nikki Massoud
Bea and the New Deal Horse by L.M. Elliott won the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction
Leah Chang’s Young Queens was longlisted for the inaugural Women’s Prize for Nonfiction in the UK, after having been a finalist for the 2023 Los Angeles Times Book Prize
She is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran was named the winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in Young Adult Fiction, awarded by the Horror Writers Association
Jesse Q Sutanto’s Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers won the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original, and also won the inaugural Libby Book Award for Best Mystery
Chef’s Choice by TJ Alexander was shortlisted for the Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ+ Romance & Erotica
Several of our titles were Junior Library Guild Selections this year, including Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi, Rougarou Magic by Rachel M Marsh, A Cruel Thirst by Angela Montoya, The Things We Miss by Leah Stecher, We Do Not Welcome Our Ten Year Old Overlords by Garth Nix, and Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin, adapted by Eric Singer
JGLM had three Indie Next Picks in 2024: Sarah Glenn Marsh’s Bigfoot’s Big Heart, O.O. Sangoyomi’s Masquerade, and TJ Alexander’s Triple Sec
Three of our authors were finalists at the Locus Awards, in the category of Best YA Novel: The Library of Broken Worlds by Alaya Dawn Johnson, A Song of Salvation by Alechia Dow, and The Sinister Booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix
At the Goodreads Choice Awards, Diavola by Jennifer Thorne was a finalist for Readers’ Favorite Horror, and Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi was longlisted for Readers’ Favorite Debut
Taleen Voskuni‘s Sorry, Bro was honored with the California Golden Poppy Award for Best Romance
In Australia, A Hunger of Thorns by Lili Wilkinson won the Victoria Premier’s Literary Award; at the Indie Book Awards, The Impossible Secret of Lillian Velvet by Jaclyn Moriarty won the award for Best Children’s Fiction, and The Sinister Booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix was shortlisted for the Best Young Adult award; Sinister Booksellers was also the winner of the 2024 Ditmar Award for Best Novel
Ruth Whiting’s debut picture book, Lonely Bird was honored with the ILA Children’s and Young Adult Book Award for Primary Fiction
The Library of Broken Worlds by Alaya Dawn Johnson was shortlisted for the prestigious Ursula K. LeGuin Prize
Sally Susman’s Breaking Through won the Gold Medal at the 2024 Nautilus Awards, in the category of Relationships + Communication
Our clients received 38 starred trade reviews this year across 26 individual titles. Three novels— Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi, The Things We Miss by Leah Stecher, and A Drop of Venom by Sajni Patel received three starred reviews each
Diavola by Jennifer Thorne, The Worst Perfect Moment by Shivaun Plozza, A Rose by Any Other Name by Mary McMyne, You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q Sutanto, The Night Market, illustrated by Briana Mukodiri Uchendu, The Starlets by Jennifer Thorne and Lee Kelly, and Unhallowed Halls by Lili Wilkinson, and We Do Not Welcome Our Ten-Year-Old Overlord by Garth Nix received two starred reviews each
We also saw our books on a variety of year-end, best-of, editor’s picks, and honor lists for 2024:
Shivaun Plozza’s The Worst Perfect Moment was a Kirkus Best Book of the Year
Angela Montoya’s A Cruel Thirst was recognized by Kirkus as a Best Book of the Year and by Amazon as an Editor’s Pick
The Afterlife of Mal Caldera by Nadi Reed Perez and The Design of Us by Sajni Patel were both named Amazon Editor’s Picks
Leah Stecher’s The Things We Miss was named a Best MG of the Year by Shelf Awareness
Masquerade by O.O. Sangoyomi was a a Best New Books pick by People, and named “SFF Debut of the Month – April 2024” by Library Journal
TIME named TJ Alexander’s Chef’s Choice a top 50 Best Romance Novel, and Parade named Chef’s Kiss one of their best romance novels of all time; TJ’s latest novel Triple Sec was an Amazon Editor’s Pick, named a Best Book for Adults by the New York Public Library, and was on Electric Literature’s Best Books of Spring 2024, Apple’s Best Books of the Month (June 2024), and featured by Hudson News in June 2024
Unstuck by Barbara Dee was named of one of the Child Mind Institute’s Best Kids’ Books on Mental Health of 2024, and her forthcoming novel Tear This Down was named one of School Library Journal’s Teen Librarian Toolbox’s Most Anticipated Middle Grades of 2025
Jennifer L. Holm’s bestselling The Lion of Mars has now appeared on over 18 state award lists, including three in 2023-2024, and it won the 2024 Nutmeg Award from the Connecticut Library Association
Though we can never list every single client accomplishment or milestone, some highlights of 2024 include the following:
We closed new deals from dynamic author duos in 2024:
-The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer and Tamara Moss, an escape room YA thriller, sold to Putnam for seven figures in a thrilling auction, with UK and Australian auctions forthcoming in the new year
–The Mortons, the debut novel of literary suspense by husband-and-wife team Scott Westerfeld and Justine Larbalestier, which sold in seven figure auction in the US, a six figure auction in Australia, and in six figure pre-empt in the UK
–My Fair Frauds, the next historical novel co-authored by Jennifer Thorne and Lee Kelly, authors of The Antiquity Affair and The Starlets
We announced Massif, a new adult science fiction novel from legendary author Garth Nix, as well as the third novel in the bestselling Booksellers series, to be published simultaneously in the US, UK, and Australia
We also announced a new three-book deal from #1 New York Times bestseller Marissa Meyer, starting with The House Saphir, a new take on the legend of Bluebeard, that will launch in Fall 2025
We closed an exciting new deal with Berkley for an adult novel from beloved author Jaclyn Moriarty
Among the highlights of our deals this year were new nonfiction titles from essential voices in their fields, including:
–The Decline and Fall of the Human Empire, a new book from author Henry Gee, author of the award-winning A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth
–Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer’s by Charles Piller, a new work of nonfiction in the vein of Empire of Pain and Dopesick, which has picked up steam ahead of publication, with major interviews, appearances and extensive coverage in the works
–How to Menopause by Emmy award-winning journalist Tamsen Fadal, which builds on her work, activism, and 3M+ social media following in the menopause space, with a major campaign and first run printing announced; this year, Tamsen also produced The M Factor, a groundbreaking documentary that premiered on PBS in 2024 and screened in over twenty cities across America
–NIMBY Nation by Jacob Anbinder, an important new work of political nonfiction by a Harvard PhD and Cornell Klarman Fellow which sold at auction for six figures
-Following the launch of Colin Woodard’s Nationhood Lab think tank at the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy at Salve Regina University in 2024, he will release a new work that draws on those findings; Nations Apart is slated for publication in Fall 2025
Jesse Q Sutanto was tapped to write a retelling of Mulan for Disney’s Meant to Be line of romance novels, joining series authors Julie Murphy, Jasmine Guillory, Zoraida Cordova, Christina Lauren; Worth Fighting For will be released in 2025
Goodreads Choice Awards finalist and USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Thorne sold her next genre-bending novel, Newbourne Park, to Putnam
O.O. Sangoyomi, author of the breakout and multi-starred reviewed debut novel Masquerade, was named to Forbes’ 2025 30 Under 30 list in Media
We announced a new novel from Lyndall Clipstone, author of Lakesedge, Forestfall, and Unholy Terrors — Tenderly, I Am Devoured has an extensive influencer campaign planned, with exciting new deals and opportunities to come in the new year
Briana Mukodiri Uchendu (The Night Market, Soul Step) and Hayden Goodman (The Heart Never Forgets) had their art showcased at the Society of Illustrators’ prestigious Original Art Show in NYC in 2024
We had several authors on tour this year to launch titles and meet readers on the road:
–Marissa Meyer and Joanne Levy hit the road in the US and Canada to promote their bestselling MG novel, Let It Glow; Marissa also led an exciting writing trip to France for thirty participants in the summer of 2024, and made tour appearances in the Netherlands and UK
–Garth Nix made appearances on three continents for the release of his middle grade novel We Do Not Welcome Our Ten Year Old Overlord including appearances at ComicCon in New York, WorldCon and GollaczFest in the UK, and a number of bookstore launches in his home country of Australia
–Scott Westefeld attended YALLWest 2024 and appeared on various panels to promote his work, including the newly released Uglies movie
-Australian superstar Andy Griffiths made another memorable US tour for the final book in the Treehouse series The 169-Story Treehouse, illustrated by Terry Denton, with hundreds of young readers attending his bookstore and school visits; in 2025, he’ll visit the US again to launch a brand new book and series, illustrated by Bill Hope
-Debut author Leah Stecher made several appearances to launch her debut novel The Things We Miss and the forthcoming A Field Guide to Broken Promises, including stops at NCTE, Tween Reads, and CALIBA’s Spring Forum
–Jennifer Thorne and Lee Kelly promoted their second jointly-authored novel The Starlets in tour appearances across several states
–Jesse Q Sutanto traveled from Indonesia to appear at the Los Angeles Times Book Fest, doing a panel and a signing at The Ripped Bodice
2025 will see the publication of at least 60 new client titles on the JGLM list. We’re thrilled to be seeing books from exciting debuts and new books from longtime favorites. Keep an eye on our website to see what we have coming up in Winter 2025 and beyond.
You will also be able to find us over on BlueSky actively starting in 2025.
We can’t wait to see what the new year has in store for all of our clients. In honor of our clients and the importance of the work they do, we have made a donation in their names to Unite Against Book Bans, a national initiative to empower readers everywhere to stand together in the fight against censorship.
Wishing everyone health and happiness this winter season.