Agents' key Frankfurt Book Fair titles: Part Two

PFD has début psychological thriller Burnt Paper Sky by Gilly Macmillan, with Piatkus in the UK. The Half-Way World by Emily Elgar is a female suspense début, narrated partly by a patient with locked-in syndrome, and partly by the nurse treating her. 438 Days: One Fisherman’s Will to Survive 14 Months at Sea by Jonathan Franklin is the story of Salvador Alvarenga, a fisherman who was adrift in the Pacific. Max Hastings’ The Secret War 1939-1945 is an examination of intelligence and espionage away from the battlefield. UK and Commonwealth rights are with William Collins.

Ed Victor brings John Banville’s The Blue Guitar, about a painter and petty thief, with Penguin in the UK. The Little Red Chairs by Edna O’Brien, with Faber in the UK, is about a woman who falls in love with a wanted war criminal who is masquerading as a healer. Memoirs by Damien Hirst (written with James Fox; Viking has it in the UK), tells the story of the artist’s life. Rights have sold in France, Brazil and China, among others. Bofs: Busting the Ripper by Bruce Robinson promises to reveal the true identity of Jack the Ripper; it is with Fourth Estate in the UK. Gus & Me is Keith Richards’ picture book, illustrated by his daughter Theodora. It is with Orion Children’s Books in the UK.

The Sophie Hicks Agency has Public Lives by Amanda Reynolds, about allegations concerning a pupil and teacher. It also has haunting coming-of-age story Weightless by Sarah Bannan, with Bloomsbury in the UK. The Wonders by Paddy O’Reilly, with Atria in the US, is about a misfit trio who become international stars. For teenagers, Cleo by Lucy Coats, with Orchard in the UK, is the untold story of the young Cleopatra, set in Ancient Egypt. The Walker’s Guide by Tristan Gooley, with Hodder in the UK, is about the power of nature. It has sold in the US and Korea.

Pollinger Limited has Brian Blessed’s autobiography, and Sportosophy by philosopher and sport addict David Papineau, which examines the link between sports and philosophy. The Great Christmas Knit-off by Alexandra Brown, with Harper in the UK, is the first in a series set in the fictional village of Tindledale. The Wronged (also Harper) is the latest gritty crime saga by Kimberley Chambers. Inspector Abberline and the Gods of Rome by Simon Clarke, with Severn House UK, is the first in a new series of historical crime thrillers based on the real-life Scotland Yard detective who investigated the Ripper murders. Circle of Stones by YA fantasy author Catherine Fisher, with Hodder in the UK, is a time-slip novel that is set in the present day, the 18th century and pre-historic Bath.

WME has Virtual Reality by Jaron Lanier, an autobiography that also encompasses science and business. E J Locke’s Follow Me is about Aiden, who sets out to find his friend, who goes missing after talking to a stranger on Facebook. Locke is the pseudonym of Nicci Cloke, and this is her first YA novel. Weathering by Lucy Wood, with Bloomsbury in the UK, is a début novel about memories, mothers and ghosts. The Familiar by Mark Z Danielewski follows multiple characters, including two scientists on the run in Texas. Spare and Found Parts by Sarah Griffin follows Nell Crane, who finds a stray prosthetic hand, which she thinks may help her create a creature that will understand her.

Felicity Bryan Associates has Villa America by Liza Klaussmann, a novel set in the Cap D’Antibes, based on the real-life inspirations for F Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night. It is with Picador in the UK. In non-fiction, the agency has Messy: How to be Creative and Resilient in a Tidy-Minded World by Tim Harford, about the benefits of being messy. A History of Sicily by J J Norwich traces the fortunes of the island; it is with John Murray in the UK. Eugene Rogan’s The Fall of the Ottomons, with Penguin Press in the UK, recreates one of the most important fronts of the First World War. The Silk Roads: A New History of the World by Peter Frankopan is an epic history; it is with Bloomsbury in the UK.

United Agents has The Death of Rex Nhgongo by C B George, while Tightrope by Simon Mawer, with Little, Brown in the UK, sees war veteran Marion Sutro drawn back into espionage as the Cold War dawns. The Letters of Ivor Punch by Colin MacIntyre, a début set on an island, tells the story of fathers and sons. It is with Weidenfeld & Nicolson in the UK. Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner, with Borough Press in the UK, introduces a new heroine in Detective Sergeant Manon Bradshaw. In non-fiction, Jon Ronson’s So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed is with Picador in the UK. First Bite: How We Learn to Eat by food historian Bee Wilson explores where our food habits come; it will be published in the UK by Fourth Estate. Historian Ian Mortimer’s Centuries of Change is a tour of Western history, with Bodley Head in the UK.

Luigi Bonomi Associates has The Way You Look Tonight by Richard Madeley, with Simon & Schuster in the UK, about a young British student recruited by President John F Kennedy to solve a series of murders. David Gibbins’ Pyramid, with Headline in the UK, is about an underwater archaeologist on a quest to uncover an ancient Egyptian secret. Carol Morley’s 7 Miles Out is a semi-autobiographical novel about a girl who is coming to terms with her father’s suicide. Christmas in the Snow by Karen Swan, with Pan Macmillan in the UK, follows Allegra Fisher as she becomes involved in the discovery of a long-lost mountain hut in the Alps. Come Back to Me by Mila Gray is a story about love, friendship, family and heartbreak. End Game, by Anthony Barnosky, professor of integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley, and Liz Hadly, professor of biology at Stanford University, explores how rapidly the planet’s natural resources are running out. It is with HarperCollins in the UK.

The Madeleine Milburn Agency brings “haunting” YA début The Cresswell Plot by Eliza West, in which six children are raised by their religious father. Disney Hyperion signed it for a six-figure sum in the US. The Memory of Swimming by Natalie Lucy is a début middle grade story set in post-war London, currently out on submission. Holly Bourne’s Am I Normal Yet? explores OCD, gender and first love; it is with Usborne in the UK. Mel Sherratt’s police procedural Follow the Leader is with Amazon Publishing in the UK. Recipes for Melissa, by former BBC News presenter Teresa Driscoll, is contemporary women’s fiction, currently out on submission.

Blake Friedmann has Sally Andrew’s Tannie Maria’s Recipes for Love & Murder, the first in a gentle crime series about an amateur sleuth/agony aunt/recipe columnist, with Canongate in the UK. More crime comes from Karin Brynard’s Weeping Waters, a South African bestseller, translated by Maya Fowler and Isobel Dixon; and Andrew Cartmel’s The Vinyl Detective trilogy of thrillers, detailing the pursuit of a rare jazz record, with Titan in the UK. Julian Stockwin’s The Silk Tree tells the story of silk production emerging from China, with Allison & Busby in the UK. Emer O’Toole’s feminist memoir Girls Will be Girls went to Orion at auction.

David Higham Associates takes fiction in the form of Guinevere Glasford’s début The Words in My Hand, about Descartes’ relationship with his maid. All Involved by Ryan Gattis, set amid the LA riots, was pre-empted by Picador, with several territories sold. Rachel Abbott’s Stranger Child sees a mysterious young girl interrupt a man’s carefully built life. Owen Jones’ The Establishment is a non-fiction look at Britain’s power structure, with Allen Lane in the UK, while in children’s, Julia Golding’s Monster Inheritance sees Frankenstein’s monster’s daughter emerge from the Arctic ice. Egmont has it in the UK.

Johnson & Alcock has Laura Hounsom’s début The Confectioner’s Tale, a book of love and scandal, which sold to Transworld. Alex Preston’s tale of resistance in 1930s Florence, In Love & War, is with Faber. Corvus has Night after Night by Phil Rickman, about a reality show set in a haunted house, while Live at the Brixton Academy by Simon Parkes and J S Rafaeli is prompting foreign interest, with a TV drama deal inked with film production company Working Title. Serpent’s Tail will publish. US and translation deals are being done for Tom Cox’s cat memoir The Good, The Bad and the Furry, and a follow-up title has already sold to Sphere.

The Wylie Agency has a memoir from General Michael V Hayden, the only man to lead both the NSA and CIA. Penguin Press has it in the US. Jim Yong Kim’s An Education in the World describes his career as president of the World Bank Group; it is with PRH in the UK. Granta has signed Archive Lush and Ghost Essays by Leslie Jamison—both books explore addiction and loneliness. In fiction, Amitav Ghosh’s Flood of Fire, the third book in the Ibis trilogy, is with John Murray in the UK; Miranda July’s The First Bad Man, will be released in the UK by Canongate.

Rogers, Coleridge & White has David Cesarani’s The Final Solution, a radical new account of the Holocaust, with Macmillan in the UK, and St Martin’s Press in the US. Anne Enright’s The Green Road sees an Irish family reuniting for Christmas; the book is with Jonathan Cape in the UK. Viking has Nick Hornby’s latest, Funny Girl, which explores comedy, class and fame. The Wolf Wilder is Katherine Rundell’s latest (with Bloomsbury in the UK); the Russia-set book sees the protagonist returning animals to the wild. Also set in Russia is Peter Pomerantsev’s Nothing is True and Everything is Possible, a portrait of Moscow in its Noughties oil boom, with Faber in the UK and under offer in Holland, Germany and France.

Aitken Alexander Associates has Clare Clarke’s We That are Left, already sold in the US, France and Germany, which is about how the First World War affects a family. The American Civil War-set Neverhome, by Laird Hunt, has sold in the UK and the US, among others. John Hotten’s My Life and Beautiful Music inhabits the world of rock music, blurring memoir, myth and reality. Andrew Wilson’s McQueen: Blood Beneath the Skin is described as the definitive biography of the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen. Paul Mason’s Post-Capitalism: A Guide to Our Future looks at how societies have coped with crises historically, and how the world is changing.

Marjacq Scripts has No Name Lane by Howard Linskey, an atmospheric crime thriller, with Michael Joseph in the UK, about two journalists and an outcast cop investigating a string of murders in a small town in north-east England only for their search for answers to uncover years of buried secrets. Viral by Helen FitzGerald, with Faber is a novel of moral dilemma and complex character, a thriller of sex, lies and viral videos as two sisters go on holiday to Magaluf and one is on the run after the release of an online sex tape. Tom Wood's Better of Dead, with Little, Brown in the UK and Penguin in the US (called No Tomorrow) sees Victor the Assassin return and on the run in the streets of London. Translated into 10 languages, with film in development with Pierre Morel (director of "Taken"). The Dying Place by Luca Veste, sees the return of DI David Murphy and DS Laura Rossi in a psychological thriller set on Merseyside in which vigilantes try and force teenage hoodlum to mend their ways with murderous results. TV rights are currently under option.