Michael J. Sullivan Signs with Del Rey

This pic's so much better than the last one I had up.

Great news for Michael J. Sullivan fans, especially those fans of his Riyria Revelations world. I'll let the press release explain:

_________________

For release on Wednesday, February 11, 2015

For further information contact:
Laurie McLean, Laurie@FuseLiterary.com, 650-922-0914
Robin Sullivan, Michael.sullivan.dc@gmail.com, 703-953-8705

DEL REY BOOKS LICENSES MICHAEL J. SULLIVAN’S THE

FIRST EMPIRE SERIES IN MAJOR PRE-EMPT

Editorial Director Tricia Narwani Inks 4-Book Deal

February 11, 2015—Fairfax, VA—Best-selling fantasy and science fiction author
Michael J. Sullivan today announced that he has licensed World English print &
ebook rights to his next epic fantasy series for more than half a million dollars to Del
Rey Books, a division of Penguin Random House. Del Rey preempted the deal, which
had already received multiple offers and was expecting several more.

The audio book right for this series was sold for low-six-figures to Troy Juliar of
Recorded Books. As part of that deal, Audie Award Nominee Tim Gerard Reynolds
will once more narrate Michael’s works.

“I was looking for a publisher to take this series to the next level. One who would
both respect what I’ve accomplished in the past, and wanted to grow my career into
the future. I found that in Tricia Narwani and her colleagues at Del Rey,” Sullivan
said.

The deal is comprised of the first four books in Sullivan’s The First Empire series:
Rhune, Dherg, Rhist and Phyre. A fifth book, Fhrey is also planned.

Del Rey’s Editorial Director Tricia Narwani was pleased to welcome Mr. Sullivan to
the Del Rey fold, joining the likes of Terry Brooks, China Mieville and other top SFF
authors.

“I was a fan of Michael’s work before we began discussions about him joining our
team,” Narwani said. “When I shared Rhune with the Del Rey team—our publisher,
my fellow editors, our marketing and publicity directors—the enthusiasm was
instant and electric. On behalf of the entire Del Rey staff, I can say that it is an honor
and a pleasure to welcome Michael to our house.”

The deal was brokered by Laurie McLean of Fuse Literary, a literary agency that
specializes in hybrid authors and Michael will continue to self-published books inbetween
the Del Rey releases. “Michael is one of those rare authors whose pioneering efforts in publishing pave the way for others. His self-publishing, small-press publishing, and big-five
publishing projects have all done exceedingly well, and he is constantly thinking up
new ways to connect with his readership in an ever changing publishing landscape,”
McLean said.

About Michael J. Sullivan
Michael writes classical fantasy and science fiction with unlikely heroes on epic
adventures. His debut series, The Riyria Revelations, has sold more than half a
million English language copies and has been translated into 13 foreign languages.
His works have appeared on more than 100 best-of or most-anticipated lists
including those compiled by Library Journal, Barnes and Noble, and Audible. In
addition, his books have been nominated for the Goodreads Choice Awards in 2010,
2011, 2012, & 2014. Visit website, http://www.riyria.com for more information, or
follow Michael on Twitter @author_sullivan.

About Del Rey
Del Rey Books began as an imprint of Ballantine Books in 1977 with the bestselling
The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks. Begun by editor Judy-Lynn del Rey with the
editorial assistance of her husband, author and editor Lester del Rey, Del Rey Books
quickly grew into the most robust science fiction/fantasy imprint in the field. Today,
as an imprint of Penguin Random House, Del Rey’s list has grown to include Arthur
C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Stephen Donaldson, Anne McCaffrey, David Eddings, Larry
Niven, Alan Dean Foster, Katherine Kurtz, Jack L. Chalker, Barbara Hambly, and now
Michael J. Sullivan.

About Fuse Literary
Fuse Literary is a hybrid literary agency with offices in San Francisco, New York,
Chicago, Los Angeles, and Vancouver, which blends the knowledge and skills of
traditional publishing with the brash new opportunities engendered by digital
publishing, self-publishing, ebooks, and technology. Partners Laurie McLean and
Gordon Warnock are joined at Fuse by agents Emily Keyes, Connor Goldsmith,
Michelle Richter and Sara Sciuto. Visit the website, http://fuseliterary.com for more
information, or follow them on Twitter @fuseliterary.

_______________

Sullivan went to reddit.com/r/fantasy yesterday to let the folks know and it looks like he got quite the deal saying,

The print/ebook was signed "as a major deal" and the audio rights as a "good deal."¹ So I'm pretty sure both publishers will be very enthusiastic about getting these books out "right."

A redditor, eferoth, explains what kind of a deal this means according to Publisher's Marketplace in the comments to the same post:

nice deal: $1 - $49,000

very nice deal $50,000 - $99,000

good deal $100,000 - $250,000

significant deal $251,000 - $499,000

major deal $500,000 and up

Not too shabby. Congrats to Michael and to fans alike. I know I can't wait.