Published October 11, 2025 · The Digital Desk at America Publishers
Book Deals: Week of October 6, 2025, A Season of Surprises and Shifts in Publishing
The first week of October 2025 opened with an electric mix of acquisitions that reflect publishing’s constant evolution, a blend of powerhouse imprints, daring debuts, and cross-genre experimentation. From literary fiction to romantic horror, from historical translation to political reportage, the industry seems to be stretching in every direction at once, and readers are here for it.
At the center of attention is Pamela Dorman Books, securing The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson, a sharp and witty exploration of ambition and intimacy that travels from Manhattan’s pulse to the quiet tides of seaside Massachusetts. It’s a high-profile deal that signals how character-driven storytelling still commands major-house energy.
But the week didn’t stop at domestic drama. Across the Atlantic, Pluto Press shook the political shelf with A Moon Will Rise from the Darkness by Francesca Albanese, a United Nations special rapporteur whose reports on Palestine are collected here in full. With all royalties donated to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the acquisition merges activism and publishing in rare harmony.
Meanwhile, fantasy and romance readers were served something equally dramatic, Kresley Cole’s Immortals Untold series landed a four-book preempt at Bloom, igniting early buzz for its blend of dark magic and forbidden love.
This week’s deals don’t simply fill catalog slots; they redefine how publishers balance commercial appeal with cultural resonance.
Jenny Jackson’s The Shampoo Effect When Knopf executive editor turned novelist Jenny Jackson signs with Pamela Dorman Books, it’s more than a deal, it’s a statement. The novel follows an ambitious young woman who leaves New York for the quiet coasts of Massachusetts, only to find love, betrayal, and a moral reckoning that tests the meaning of loyalty. With rights already sold in Canada, Germany, Italy, and the U.K., it’s clear international readers are anticipating a fresh voice that bridges modern ambition and small-town nostalgia.
Francesca Albanese’s A Moon Will Rise from the Darkness. Over at Pluto Press, United Nations rapporteur Francesca Albanese’s work takes center stage in a collection of her damning reports on Israel’s conduct in Palestine. The acquisition, done through coeditors Mandy Turner and Lex Takkenberg, shows how global publishing continues to open doors for politically charged nonfiction. All royalties will be donated to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), adding moral weight to a project that bridges activism and publishing in rare harmony.
Kresley Cole’s Immortals Untold Series. The queen of supernatural romance, Kresley Cole, returns with Immortals Untold, a sizzling four-book saga at Bloom Books. The first installment, Ravenous, is slated for May 19, 2026, promising dark magic, forbidden love, and brutal twists in a universe parallel to her hit Immortals After Dark series. Early buzz suggests a shift toward more emotionally complex fantasy, reaffirming Cole’s reign in paranormal fiction.
Paul Verlaine’s Romances Without Words / In Solitary (Cellulairement). Sometimes the most surprising acquisitions come from the past. Livingston Press at the University of West Alabama preempted world rights to a new dual translation of Paul Verlaine’s midcareer masterpieces, Romances Without Words and Cellulairement, translated by poet-musician Larry Beckett. The pairing is as symbolic as it is scholarly, one written while Verlaine traveled with Arthur Rimbaud, and the other while imprisoned for shooting him. This edition restores Verlaine’s original dedication to Rimbaud for the first time and marks the first English-language translation of the original manuscript, positioning the release as both a literary revival and a human story of passion and regret.
Monique Hazel’s The Dreamwitch. Vicki Lame at Saturday bought North American rights, at auction, to Monique Hazel’s The Dreamwitch from Andrea Blatt at WME, who negotiated the deal on behalf of Francesca Ali. The book is the first in a romantic-horror duology about “a gifted dreamwitch and her brooding bodyguard, who uncover the dark secrets surrounding a decaying manor where nightmares bleed into reality and love may be the most dangerous thing of all.” The blend of romance and horror signals a broader trend: emotional depth entering darker fantasy spaces. With Hazel’s fresh voice and cinematic tone, The Dreamwitch is set to blur boundaries between genres, and between fear and feeling.
While the week’s headliners made noise across imprints, several other acquisitions added color and range to the publishing landscape.
Eli Rallo’s I Hope Eden Reads This. At Grand Central, editor Karen Kosztolnyik won an auction for nonfiction author Eli Rallo’s debut novel, I Hope Eden Reads This. Known for her sharp, honest commentary on relationships and self-growth, Rallo’s first fiction work is described as “an incisive, heart-wrenching portrait of female friendship, how it blossoms, fractures, and competes with romantic love.” The buzz positions Rallo as a next-generation voice in contemporary women’s fiction.
Lisa Rinna’s You Better Believe I’m Gonna Talk About It. Over at Dey Street, Drew Henry secured rights to Lisa Rinna’s forthcoming memoir, a tell-all expected to stir both Hollywood and reality-TV circles. Scheduled for February 2026, the book promises candid reflections from Rinna’s decades-spanning career across Days of Our Lives and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, equal parts glamour and grit.
Alexander Boldizar’s Ride or Die Girl. Chantelle Aimée Osman at Simon Maverick nabbed world English rights to Alexander Boldizar’s “darkly absurdist crime novel,” Ride or Die Girl. The project follows the author’s Locus Award win earlier in 2025, hinting that readers can expect another genre-bending trip through morality and mayhem.
E.K. Weaver’s Shot & Chaser. Finally, Tess Banta at 23rd Street took world rights to E.K. Weaver’s graphic novel Shot & Chaser, a whirlwind love story unfolding over 24 storm-chasing hours. The acquisition underscores how webcomic creators are increasingly bridging digital audiences into traditional publishing.
If this week’s signings reveal anything, it’s that 2025 publishing is leaning into contrast, the intimate and the political, the nostalgic and the speculative, the real and the surreal. The stories making waves are not just about escapism; they’re about expansion.
Take Jenny Jackson’s The Shampoo Effect and Kresley Cole’s Immortals Untold, on opposite ends of the genre spectrum, yet both orbit themes of identity and transformation. Readers want depth in their entertainment, and publishers are responding by marrying commercial appeal with emotional resonance.
On the nonfiction side, Francesca Albanese’s A Moon Will Rise from the Darkness stands out as a daring act of literary conscience. Its acquisition by Pluto Press, with proceeds pledged to UNRWA, reflects a global readership increasingly drawn to social accountability. Political nonfiction is finding renewed momentum, less textbook, more testimony.
Even the revival of Paul Verlaine’s works signals something larger. Translation projects are thriving again, especially those that restore context and authorship rather than merely replicate classics. Pair that with Monique Hazel’s The Dreamwitch and you get a snapshot of where publishing’s heart lies: fearless storytelling that bridges centuries, cultures, and realities.
Cross-genre experimentation also seems to define the season, poetic memoirs, horror-romance fusions, digitally born graphic novels. Add recent religion and poetry deals, like Decentering David and This Gift Card Has Already Been Redeemed, and it’s clear that editors are hunting for authenticity over predictability.
In short, this isn’t just a season of book deals, it’s a season of artistic recalibration.
The week’s deals show an industry both stabilizing and reinventing itself. Big publishers continue to bet on recognizable names and proven genres, but smaller and university presses are carving out space for voices that push beyond convention. That balance, commercial might paired with creative risk, may well define publishing’s trajectory heading into 2026.
For authors, this moment signals opportunity across all scales. Emerging voices like Monique Hazel and E.K. Weaver are breaking through alongside established figures such as Kresley Cole and Lisa Rinna. The appetite for diversity, genre-blending, and multimedia storytelling gives room for experimentation that once felt risky.
Publishers, meanwhile, are reasserting global ambition. The number of foreign-rights sales and translation projects suggests that storytelling now transcends borders faster than ever. Partnerships between imprints across continents, from Pamela Dorman Books in the U.S., to Pluto Press in the U.K. hint at a renewed confidence in literature’s global economy.
And for readers, this eclectic mix means one thing: choice. From romantic horror to poetic memoir, political essays to supernatural sagas, the 2025 book landscape invites everyone to find their story in the noise.
As autumn settles in, the publishing world feels anything but quiet. The deals of early October prove that boldness still sells, whether it’s an author transforming personal history into art, or a press taking a moral stand in print. With the October 13, 2025 round of acquisitions already underway, expect to see more genre crossovers, political reflections, and debut voices breaking through the noise.
In a market often obsessed with trends, this week reminded us that books still move the heart before they move the charts. Stay tuned for next week’s round of Book Deals, where ambition, artistry, and timing continue to dance in unpredictable rhythm.
Source: Publishers Weekly. For more information, visit publishersweekly.com.