New Book Deal!!!

NEW BOOK DEAL!!! I'm super excited to announce that I sold three new cozy fantasy books to my editors at Bramble/Tor in the US and the UK! The first one, set in a brand new fantasy world, is about a 28-year-old retired war sorceress and her rescued magical cats! So. Many. Magical. Cats. Think Galadriel goes cottagecore! It's called THE NINTH LIFE OF AN ERSTWHILE WITCH and is coming out in July 2027!!! And did I mention it's going to have gorgeous stenciled edges!!! The other two books are the fifth and sixth books in the Spellshop series, both of which are planned for publication in 2028! I'm so thrilled that I get to play in a new world while also diving deeper into the world of THE SPELLSHOP! It's literally the best of both worlds! NINTH LIFE is currently available for preorder from some retailers (including Bookshop.org and BN.com) and will become available for preorder from others over the next month or so!

http://sarahbethdurst.com/NinthLife.htm

Announcing THE IMAGITORIUM!!!

NEW BOOK DEAL!!! I'm super excited to announce that I sold a new book! For kids! Welcome to THE IMAGITORIUM! Coming in March 2027.....

Announcing THE FARAWAY INN!!!

I have been bursting at the seams to share this news with you! So excited to announce that I'm writing a YA cozy fantasy!!! It's called THE FARAWAY INN, and it will be coming out in spring 2026 from Delacorte / Penguin Random House in the US and from First Ink / Macmillan Children's in the UK, plus it will be translated into four other languages (so far!). I can't wait to fling open the doors to my definitely-not-ordinary Vermont inn and invite you all inside!

SEA OF CHARMS + Untitled on Publishers Marketplace

And now it's Publishers Marketplace official!!! So much yay!!!

 

SEA OF CHARMS + Untitled Announcement!

So excited to share the news that there will be TWO MORE BOOKS in the world of The Spellshop and The Enchanted Greenhouse!!! I love writing in this world! And I love working with the incredible team at Bramble and Tor UK! 

See the announcement on Reactor here:

https://reactormag.com/book-announcement-sea-of-charms-by-sarah-beth-durst/

After The Enchanted Greenhouse (which will be out this July), there will be Sea of Charms in 2026 and then an untitled book in 2027. Sea of Charms brings cozy to the high seas, where a sailor, a musician, and a sea serpent -- along with a sentient shrub -- find companionship and love in a changing world.

Very happy and grateful and thrilled to continue sharing my cozy world with you!

Announcing THE WILLOW AND THE WARBLER!!!

Very excited to announce that I sold a new book! It's called THE WILLOW AND THE WARBLER, upmarket book club fiction about a woman who can't stay, who comes to a town she cannot leave. Coming in 2025 from Lake Union. Yay!!!

Announcing THE SPELLSHOP!!!

My BIG news is out! I'm outrageously excited to announce that I sold a new book, a cozy romantasy called THE SPELLSHOP, to the amazing Ali Fisher at Tor's new Bramble imprint! Can't wait for you all to meet Kiela (a rogue librarian) and her best friend Caz (a talking sentient spider plant)! Coming 7/9/24!

Announcing THE LIES AMONG US!!!

Very excited to announce that I sold a new book! A big departure for me -- my first adult, upmarket, book-club, sort-of-literary-but-more-commercial-than-that, whatever-you-call-those-kinds-of-books book! THE LIES AMONG US. Coming in 2024. Yayyyyyyy!

Announcing SPY RING!!!

I'm super excited to announce that I sold a new book, SPY RING, my first ever contemporary middle-grade novel, to my wonderful editor Anne Hoppe at Clarion Books, via my amazing agent Andrea Somberg! It's about two modern-day kids on a treasure-hunt adventure inspired by real-life Revolutionary War hero Anna Smith Strong, America's first female spy!

 

Announcing THE LAKE HOUSE!!!

So excited to be able to share my big news! I sold a new book -- my first ever YA thriller -- to the fabulous Kristen Pettit at HarperTeen, via my incredible agent Andrea Somberg! It's called THE LAKE HOUSE and will be coming out in spring 2023! I can't wait for you all to meet Claire, Reyva, and Mariana!

Announcing 2 new MG books!!!

I am over-the-moon excited to announce that I sold two new middle-grade fantasy novels, EVEN AND ODD and a second untitled book, to my phenomenal editor Anne Hoppe at Clarion Books / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, via my incredible agent Andrea Somberg! So excited to play in two new worlds!!!

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/81139-rights-report-week-of-september-9-2019.html

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.