In a two-book deal, Bloomsbury Children's Books acquired world rights to a new YA series by former tennis star Monica Seles called The Academy. Melanie Cecka at Bloomsbury bought the titles from John Steele at IMG, who brokered the deal for Seles.
The books will follow a group of young sports prodigies at an elite facility known for breeding Olympians and other world-class athletes. Steele, who confirmed that currently Seles is attached to the project without a co-writer, said of the world depicted in the books: "It is the boarding school where the rich and famous send their kids to fulfill their own vicarious dreams or the kids' sometimes delusional aspirations."
The first book in the series is scheduled for 2012.
