Announcing PIPSQUEAK!!!

I am very, very, very thrilled to announce that I sold a new middle-grade fantasy novel, PIPSQUEAK, to my amazing editor Anne Hoppe at Clarion Books / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, via my incredible agent Andrea Somberg!

Here's the announcement that ran in Publishers Weekly:

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/77699-rights-report-week-of-august-6-2018.html

Yay for giant kitties!!!

Announcing RACE THE SANDS!!!

I'm beyond excited to announce that I sold two new books, RACE THE SANDS and an untitled second novel, both epic fantasy standalones for adults, to my fantastic editor David Pomerico at Harper Voyager, via my amazing agent Andrea Somberg!!!

RACE THE SANDS is about two women, a disgraced trainer and her young student, who are vying to be champions of their sun-soaked land's most beloved sport, monster racing. They are drawn into the complex politics of the emperor's succession when they discover their monster is the murdered emperor reborn.

I've been wanting to write RACE THE SANDS for a long time now -- it's been one of those ideas that just kept tugging on my imagination -- and I can't wait to finally write it! It's monster racing time!!!

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/book-deals/article/77279-book-deals-week-of-june-18-2018.html

 

Announcing STORM GUARDIANS!!!

I've got news!!!!!

So happy to announce the sale of my next middle-grade book, STORM GUARDIANS, to my wonderful editor Anne Hoppe at Clarion Books / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt! It's about lightning beasts... and resisting injustice.

Announcing THE DEEPEST BLUE!!!

I'm thrilled to announce that there will be a 4th Renthia book! Sold THE DEEPEST BLUE, a companion novel to my Queens of Renthia series, to Harper Voyager, for publication in spring 2019!!!

 

Announcing THE HIDDEN ISLANDS!!!

I am very, very, extremely, stupendously thrilled to announce that I've sold my next middle-grade novel!!!  It's called THE HIDDEN ISLANDS, and it's a book that I've wanted to write for a long time.  It's one of those books that started as a little tiny seed of an idea and then grew and grew inside me until it finally burst out.

Here is the official announcement from Publishers Weekly Children's Bookshelf:

Anne Hoppe at Clarion has acquired Sarah Beth Durst's middle-grade fantasy The Hidden Islands, in which a magic barrier has shrouded the islands of Himitsu for centuries, keeping the kingdom safely hidden from all perils, but now the barrier is failing, and two princesses try to save their people. Publication is slated for spring 2017; Andrea Somberg at Harvey Klinger brokered the deal for world rights.

With some books, I can't remember the exact moment that they began.  With this one, I can.  I was in the kitchen, cutting slices of Muenster cheese (or "monster cheese," as we call it) for a midnight snack with my husband.  We were talking about something completely unrelated, and out of the blue I said, "I want to write a book with winged lions."  And he said, "Okay.  Do it.  How many crackers do you want for the cheese?"

So now I'm doing it!  My book with winged lions!  Also, two princesses, seven beautiful islands, one volcano spirit.....  Extremely excited to write this book and to share it with you!

Announcing THE QUEENS OF RENTHIA Trilogy!

I am so very, very excited to announce that I've sold a new trilogy of books for adults!!!  An epic fantasy trilogy!!!!!!!!!!!  In the biggest book deal of my career to date!  Series title is THE QUEENS OF RENTHIA and they will be published by HarperCollins / Voyager in 2016 and 2017.  Here's the announcement from this week's Publishers Weekly Book Deals:

Durst Delivers 'Queens' to Harper

In a three-book deal, Harper Voyager's David Pomerico preempted world rights to Sarah Beth Durst's fantasy trilogy, the Queens of Renthia. Durst, who was represented by Andrea Somberg at Harvey Klinger, said the series is set in a world "where everything in nature has a spirit -- and where those spirits are bloodthirsty killers who seek the death of all humans." Book one, The Queen of Blood, is set for a fall 2016 publication. Durst has written a number of fantasy novels for children and adults, including the YA title Chasing Power (Bloomsbury) and the adult title The Lost (Mira), both published in 2014.

I am doing a serious Snoopy dance of joy right now, complete with Muppet flailing arms and high-pitched squeals:  
Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

As mentioned in the PW announcement, Renthia is a world where everything has a spirit: the willow tree with leaves that kiss the pond, the stream that feeds the river, the wind that exhales fresh snow...  But these are not the sweet, frolicking nature sprites from a pastoral tale.  The spirits that reside within this land want to kill all humans, the way white blood cells want to kill a virus.  Only a few women are gifted with the power to control the spirits.  To defend their people, these women must fight to become queens... or die trying.

Tentative titles and publication dates are:

Book 1: THE QUEEN OF BLOOD -- October 2016
Book 2: THE RELUCTANT QUEEN -- February 2017
Book 3: THE QUEEN OF SORROW -- June 2017

I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am about this trilogy.  I love epic fantasy.  Really, really love it, as in spent an inordinate amount of my childhood pretending that I was a magical sword-wielding princess on a quest, drawing massive maps of nonexistent lands, and reading David Eddings's The Belgariad so many times that Polgara, Silk, and Durnik felt like real people.  So to be writing books born from this tradition...  Let's just say my ten-year-old self would be doing a lot of cartwheeling if she knew.

Right now, I'm in the middle of writing book one, and I am loving working on it so much.  It feels exactly like writing is supposed to feel, as if I have plunged through a portal into another world.  I feel so incredibly lucky and thrilled and overjoyed, and I can't wait to welcome you to Renthia and share this world's stories and people with you!

Just don't try to visit Renthia in person, because those trees... they'll totally kill you.