Kwame Mbalia Heading New Imprint for Disney
Kwame Mbalia, the bestselling author of the Tristan Strong trilogy, is heading a new imprint for Disney. Freedom Fire will feature stories of Black resilience and Black joy, written by Black creators. “Working with Kwame on the Tristan Strong series has been pure joy for the entire team at Disney-Hyperion, and we couldn’t be more excited about broadening our partnership with this incredible talent,” said Kieran Viola, Disney-Hyperion’s editorial director. “Kwame’s mission for Freedom Fire is right in line with our mission to publish unputdownable stories that reflect the diverse world around us, and we can’t wait to amplify his vision of an inclusive and equitable future for readers everywhere.” The imprint is tentatively scheduled to debut in spring 2024.
Kit Steinkellner, Danny Strong, and Darren Aronofsky Score Pilot Order for The Answers
Kit Steinkellner, Danny Strong, and Darren Aronofsky have scored a pilot order for The Answers, an adaptation of Catherine Lacey’s novel of the same name, at FX. Gillian Robespierre (A Teacher, And Just Like That…) is attached to direct and executive produce the pilot. Kit Steinkellner (Sorry for Your Loss) will write and executive produce. Strong and Aronofsky will executive produce with Mandy Safavi with Danny Strong Productions and Ari Handel and Elizabeth Gesas with Aronofsky’s Protozoa Pictures.
Anna-Marie McLemore’s First Adult Novel to be Published by Dial Press
Anna-Marie McLemore, author of YA novels such as Lake Lore and The Mirror Season, will be publishing their first adult novel with Dial Press. According to the announcement from Publisher’s Marketplace, McLemore’s The Influencers is a novel “about two generations of a social media influencer family whose many secrets lurking behind the Instagram veneer come to light when the matriarch’s home mysteriously burns down with her murdered husband inside.”
Prison Memoir Banned from Florida Prisons
A memoir by a reporter who experienced incarceration and rehabilitation may be banned from Florida state prisons.