‘Vigilantes Anonymous’: Assemble Media’s In-House IP Pitch Scores Book Deal

Geoff Boucher
·3 min read

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EXCLUSIVE: Assemble Media’s footprint in the literary and IP-generation space has expanded with Vigilantes Anonymous, an in-house original concept that just earned a two-book deal at at Grand Central Publishing after a competitive auction for the world publishing rights.

New York Times bestselling author Nancy Allen, who wrote The Ozark Mystery Series and co-authored Juror No. 3 with James Patterson, will write the criminal justice thriller about a hard-charging prosecutor who is pulled into a covert circle of vigilantes.

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“Kate Stone is a badass prosecutor who’s always itching for a fight,” Allen said of the property’s rule-bending protagonist. “She’s the character I was born to write and I’m thrilled to be doing so with Assemble and Grand Central.”

The concept for Vigilantes Anonymous was first sparked by Assemble founder and principal Jack Heller and then developed internally alongside Brendan Deneen, Assemble’s President of Literary and IP Development. They then brought in Allen, whose real-world expertise includes a stint as the Assistant Attorney General of Missouri and as a criminal prosecutor in Ozarks.

Assemble’s Heller said: “We started our adventure into the literary world to collaborate with authors and publishers whose work we respect and devour. Nancy is one of those authors and we couldn’t be more excited and on the edge of our seats to see her bring this thrilling series to the page with us and Grand Central.”

Allen further developed the concept into a high-stakes thriller that seized the imagination of multiple publishers. In the end, the packaged Vigilante Anonymous project sold to Alex Logan, Executive Editor at Grand Central Publishing. Grand Central Publishing is a division of Hachette Book Group with the imprints Twelve, Forever, and Forever Yours.

The first book is slated for January 2022, with the second following in January 2023.

“We were immediately hooked by the pitch about a disillusioned prosecutor who becomes a vigilante for justice, Logan said. “And we’re excited to work with Assemble Media and Nancy Allen to bring the series to life for thriller readers.”

Assemble’s foray into IP creation began last summer with the sale of Player Vs. Player to Bloomsbury, which also followed a competitive bidding process. The first book in that series will hit bookstores in early 2021.

Allen is represented by Jill Marr at the Sandra Dijkstra Agency.

 

 

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