New Social-Focused Publisher Bindery Books Signs With Atlas Literary & IAG

EXCLUSIVE: Bindery Books, a newly-launched publisher that has social media book tastemakers lead their own publishing imprints, has signed with Atlas Literary and Independent Artist Group for representation.

Boasting a first-look deal with Bad Robot, Bindery brings a groundbreaking angle to the book-to-screen IP pipeline with original stories that are selected and championed by book influencers and their audiences in social media — the same influencers behind breakout BookTok IP like They Both Die at the End and Bunny.

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Empowered to acquire unpublished stories they know will resonate with their audiences, Bindery’s tastemakers engage their communities throughout the books’ acquisition and production process, turning their fans into evangelists upon launch and beyond. Since its launch last September, the company co-founded by Matt Kaye and Meghan Harvey has generated significant media attention, hundreds of submissions from leading literary agencies, early audio and foreign rights deals, and viral social media excitement for their inaugural Fall 2024 season. They just announced another season of acquisitions set to publish in Spring 2025.

Bindery books coming up for publication on October 15 include Tiffany Wang’s elemental YA fantasy Inferno’s Heir, acquired by Kevin Norman; Kay Synclaire’s House of Frank (acquired by Jaysen Headley), a whimsical, cozy fantasy about grief; Susan J. Morris’s gothic historical fantasy, Strange Beasts, acquired by Kathryn Budig; and S. Hati’s sweeping climate fantasy And the Sky Bled, acquired by Zoranne Host.

In a statement on the signing, Bindery Books’ co-founder and CEO, Kaye, said that the company’s “new generation of tastemakers has their pulse on the stories people want, allowing us to surface those trends with more immediacy. Atlas Literary and IAG share our vision for the future of publishing and entertainment. I couldn’t be more thrilled to work with them to take these incredible stories to the next level.”

Added Atlas Literary CEO Alex Hertzberg, “Bindery empowers literary communities and influencers and creates an entirely new approach to making books relevant as IP. We are excited to help them execute their vision.”

Currently, IAG’s Media Rights department represents five of the Top 10 New York Times Fiction Bestsellers. The agency has packaged such major titles as Reacher for client Lee Child and and Elle Kennedy’s BookTok sensation Girl Abroad, which is in development as a series at A24.

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