The Rights Factory

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Toronto, ON
The Rights Factory

Literary agency representing fiction, nonfiction, children's and YA books since 2004. Learn more abo

Sam Hiyate - President and CEO
Stacey Kondla - Literary Agent
Natalie Kimber - Literary Agent
Lindsay Leggett - Associate Agent
Haskell Nussbaum - Associate Agent
Kathryn Willms - Associate Agent
Tim Moore - Associate Agent
Wayne Arthurson - Associate Agent
Trisha Telep - Associate Agent
Tasneem Motala - Assistant Agent
Jennifer Chevais - Assistant Agent
Kaitlin Sooklal - Assistant Agent
Natasha M

ihell - Assistant Agent

Milly Ruggiero - Foreign Rights Manager
Karmen Wells - Associate Agent, Film & TV

Diane Terrana - Executive Editor
Tamanna Bhasin - Associate Editor
Talya Pardo - Editorial Assistant

Anne Sampson - Brand Manager

01/07/2026

🩸🔥 Pre-Order Now 🔥🩸

BLOOD RISING by —book two in The Blood Saga (following BLOOD SLAVES)—is now available for pre-order, ahead of its August 25 release.

A ferocious blend of supernatural horror and alternate history, BLOOD RISING imagines a vengeful vampire tribe formed of formerly enslaved Africans waging war across the Southern colonies in a battle of blood, betrayal, and liberation. With echoes of Ryan Coogler’s Sinners (2025) and in conversation with the work of Victor LaValle, Tananarive Due, and Stephen Graham Jones, this is a bold, terrifying continuation of an unforgettable series.

As Kwadzo Okoro fights external enemies and internal reckoning alike, the fate of freedom itself hangs in the balance—and the colonies will never be the same.

🔗 Pre-order here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/818137/blood-rising-by-markus-redmond/9781496753199

01/06/2026

📖✨ New Book Feature ✨📖

Russell Smith’s novel SELF CARE has been featured in Zoomer as one of the buzzy, under-the-radar books worth reading right now.

An electric examination of women and men, s*x and love, self-loathing, and twenty-first-century loneliness. Gloria—a columnist juggling meds, dating apps, and almost-relationships—meets Daryn during a protest and pursues a “story” on the incel movement that becomes a charged, transgressive entanglement that she may not be able to control. SELF LOVE is sharp and unflinching and continues to spark conversation.

We love seeing it get this spotlight!

🔗 Read the feature here: https://zoomer.com/zed-book-club/literati/2025/11/18/8-buzzy-and-under-the-radar-books-were-recommending-right-now

01/05/2026

TRF client Finnian Burnett has launched a Substack called The Q***r and Sweary Writer's Survival Guide!

Expect mental health adventures, craft of writing tips, and the occasional bout of them standing on their desk yelling about interiority. 📚

Subscribe here: https://substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-page

01/02/2026

📚✨ Deal Announcement ✨📚

We’re excited to share a new deal for our client Chris Gudgeon! His middle-grade nonfiction book EARLY HUMANS, which explores the often overlooked history of early hominids, has been acquired by Ruth Linka at Orca Book Publishers for publication in spring 2029.

Covering recent discoveries of new species, cutting-edge techniques in paleoanthropology, and enduring mysteries yet to be solved, EARLY HUMANS brings deep time to life for young readers. The deal was negotiated by Kathryn Willms of The Rights Factory for world rights. Congratulations to Chris, Kathryn, and the team at Orca!

01/01/2026

✨ Happy New Year from The Rights Factory! ✨

Here’s to bold stories, powerful voices, and exciting journeys ahead.

Thank you for being part of our world of words! Cheers to a year filled with new deals, new reads, and new possibilities. 📚🎉

#2026

12/31/2025

New anthology! 🖤🧪

We’re thrilled to celebrate our client, Jennifer Lewis, on the release of POISONED SOUP FOR THE MACABRE, DEPRAVED, & INSANE, published by Brigids Gate Press. Jenny’s story, “Memory Is a Viewfinder,” appears alongside a stellar lineup of horror writers in this deliciously dark anthology.

Congratulations to Jenny and everyone involved in bringing this spooky collection to life—perfect reading for lovers of the strange, unsettling, and unforgettable.

Get your copy here: https://a.co/d/1m5obvo

12/29/2025

🔔 Deal Announcement 🔔

We’re excited to share a new deal for our client J.M. Berger! His thriller THE POPE’S HITMAN—pitched as John Wick meets Conclave, for fans of The Da Vinci Code—has been acquired by Marcia Markland at Crooked Lane Books.

Set against the high stakes of Christmas midnight mass in Rome, the novel follows a beloved Boston pastor forced to confront his former life as the Pope’s personal assassin in order to stop a global conspiracy targeting the Catholic Church.

The deal was negotiated by Wayne Arthurson of The Rights Factory for World English, Audio, and Foreign Translation rights.

Congratulations to J.M. and everyone involved—we can’t wait for readers to get their hands on this one.

12/23/2025

✨ Happy Holidays from all of us at The Rights Factory! ✨

Wishing you a season filled with great stories, warm moments, and well-earned joy.

Thank you for being part of our community—here’s to closing the year with inspiration and looking ahead to new chapters. 📚

12/22/2025

✨ Congratulations to our client, Howard Pearlstein! ✨

THE WORRIED BOOK has been longlisted in the 12 Books of Christmas Picture Fiction for Early Readers category of the Spark Book Awards—a wonderful recognition for this thoughtful and reassuring book for young readers. We’re so pleased to see it getting this well-deserved attention!

👏 Huge congrats, Howard!

🔗 Get your copy here: https://a.co/d/hs7VNYZ

12/19/2025

J.Y.H. Ng’s debut novel ANDALUSIA has been acquired by Marc Côté at Cormorant Books, in a deal arranged by Natasha Mihell at The Rights Factory (world)! ✨

ANDALUSIA follows a young Chinese woman in downtown Toronto as she navigates the complexities of her secret past relationship with a Muslim Kuwaiti man and the cultural differences within her engagement to a Jewish Canadian—a layered, intimate novel about identity, love, and the spaces between cultures.

Stay tuned for more updates as this powerful work makes its way into the world.

12/18/2025

We’re delighted to celebrate TRF client Tara Isabel Zambrano, whose story “Mother, False” has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Fractured Lit!

A huge congratulations to Tara and to all the nominees—an outstanding lineup of writers recognized for their exceptional work.

Read Tara’s nominated story here: https://fracturedlit.com/mother-false/

12/17/2025

Exciting news! Mieke Marple has been featured in a new artist interview in Ramona Mag! 🎙️

Learn about her journey, inspirations, and creative process.

Read the full interview here: https://ramonamag.com/2025/12/artist-feature-mieke-marple/

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http://therightsfactory.com/

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Our Agents

Sam Hiyate - President and CEO Ali McDonald - Agent Cassandra Rodgers - Agent Olga Filina - Associate Agent Haskell Nussbaum - Associate Agent Natalie Kimber - Agent Lindsay Leggett - Associate Agent Stacey Kondla - Agent Cecilia Lyra - Assistant Agent