Publisher’s Weekly (August 17, 2026)

Ardyce Alspach at Union Square & Co. preempted world rights, in a two-book deal, to Vickie Lan’s But First Take Off Your Shoes from Ali Herring at Spencerhill Associates. The debut novel, set amid an alien invasion, sees “a biracial daughter and her estranged Vietnamese mother try to reconcile as cities crumble, green laser beams rain down, and old grudges emerge…even as their encounter with the matriarchal alien leader, whose relationship with her subordinates mirrors their own, may be key to saving the world,” per the publisher. But First Take Off Your Shoes is planned for fall 2027, with the second, as-yet-untitled book set for fall 2028.