Kate Sullivan at Delacorte pre-empted a science fiction YA thriller called Burning Midnight by Hugo Award winner Will McIntosh, author of Defenders. In the story, four poor urban teens must cross North America and back, locked in a race against a billionaire CEO to puzzle out the location of the “midnight blue” – a rare and powerful collectible. Publication is set for spring 2016; Seth Fishman of the Gernert Company did the two-book deal for North American rights.
Aubrey Poole at Sourcebooks Fire has bought two YA novels by Wattpad author Natasha Preston. The first book, Awake, tells the story of Scarlett Garner, who doesn't remember anything before the age of five when her house burned down around her, or know that her biological parents are the leaders of a cult and now want her back. It will pub in fall 2015, with the second book coming in 2016. Jon Elek of United Agents did the deal for North American English rights plus world translation rights.
Margaret Ferguson at Farrar, Straus & Giroux has acquired North American rights to YA Highway blogger Kate Hart's debut YA novel, After the Fall. It tells the story of a girl who refuses to play the damsel in distress, even in the face of sexual assault, and the boy who has always hoped to rescue her, until she seeks comfort in his brother's arms and a terrible accident changes everything. Publication is scheduled for fall 2016; Michelle Andelman at Regal Literary brokered the deal.
Anna Cavallo and Andrew Karre at Carolrhoda Lab have acquired Rabbit in the Moon, a YA novel by Terry Farish (The Good Braider). This tale of first love features Sofie, the 16-year-old daughter of a Cambodian immigrant and a Scottish fisherman, and a young army medic back from Afghanistan, exploring themes of intergenerational trauma and the immigrant experience. Publication is set for fall 2015; Tracey Adams at Adams Literary did the deal for North American rights.
Ann Kelley at Random House/Schwartz & Wade has acquired The Lost Gift by Kallie George (l.), illustrated by Stephanie Graegin. George is a children's book editor at Simply Read Books in Vancouver. The holiday story features Rabbit, Deer, Bird, and Squirrel, who wave to Santa each year as he soars over Merry Woods on his way to deliver gifts. One Christmas Eve, a gust of wind knocks a gift out of Santa's sleigh; now it's up to them to help Santa deliver it. The book will pub in fall 2016; Emily van Beek of Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management represented the author, and Steven Malk at Writers House represented the illustrator.
Sylvie Frank at Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books has acquired world rights to Lisa Mantchev's picture book Sister Day!, about two sisters and a big surprise. Sonia Sánchez will illustrate; publication is slated for spring 2016. Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented Mantchev, and Teresa Kietlinski at Prospect Agency represented Sánchez.
Paula Wiseman at Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books has bought I Will Not Eat You by Adam Lehrhaupt (l.), illustrated by Scott Magoon, a picture book about Theodore, a young dragon, who learns the difference between making friends and eating them. Sylvia Frank will edit; it will be published in spring 2017. Alexandra Penfold at Upstart Crow Literary represented the author and Rebecca Sherman at Writers House represented the illustrator.
Sharyn Rosart at POW! has bought world rights to The Night Our Parents Went Out, a debut picture book by Katie Goodman (l.) and Soren Kisiel. In the story, two children left behind with a sitter imagine a series of increasingly wild adventures that befall their mom and dad during their date night. The story will be illustrated by Cat Tuong Bui. Publication is set for spring 2015; Brian DeFiore at DeFiore and Company represented the authors, and Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions represented the artist.
Sharyn Rosart at POW! has also acquired Just Like Daddy, a picture book by Ovi Nedelcu that shows a day in the life of a tired father through the shining optimism of his young son. Publication is scheduled for spring 2015; Paul Rodeen of Rodeen Literary Management negotiated the deal for world rights.
Erin Clarke at Knopf has acquired North American rights to the first two books in Sprout Street Neighbors, a new chapter book series by picture book author-illustrator Anna Alter. Pitched for fans of The Wind in the Willows and Winnie-the-Pooh, Sprout Street Neighbors is about a group of friends (a chicken, a rabbit, a mouse, a cat, and a squirrel), who live in the same building: celebrating birthdays, planting gardens, and (mostly) getting along. Book 1 is set for spring 2015; Rebecca Sherman at Writers House brokered the deal.
Julie Strauss-Gabel at Dutton has bought a memoir by Rookie magazine staff writer Stephanie Kuehnert. In the book, Kuehnert chronicles her teen years “from geek to grunge to goth to grrrl” through prose, lists, and zine pages – including her battle with self-injury, a first love that turned into emotional and sexual abuse, and her descent from overachiever to college dropout. Adrienne Rosado at Nancy Yost Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.
Erica Sussman at HarperTeen has acquired North American rights to My Lady Jane, “a comic, romantic and fantastical retelling of the story of the Lady Jane Grey,” told in the vein of The Princess Bride. The three co-authors are Cynthia Hand (the Unearthly trilogy), Brodi Ashton (the Everneath series) and Jodi Meadows (the Incarnate trilogy). It will pub in summer 2016; the authors were represented by their respective agents: Katherine Fausset at Curtis Brown, Ltd., Michael Bourret of Dystel & Goderich, and Lauren MacLeod of the Strothman Agency.
Annette Pollert at Sourcebooks Fire has acquired Miranda Kenneally's (Catching Jordan andBreathe, Annie, Breathe) next two contemporary YA books set in the Hundred Oaks high school world. Publication is set for summer 2016 and 2017; Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Pam Gruber at Little, Brown has bought two original digital novellas by Jennifer Rush, set in the world of her Altered saga. The first, titled Betrayed, follows an existing character's involvement with a rebel group; the second, currently untitled, introduces a new character and tells how she became involved with the mysterious Branch. E-book publication is scheduled for fall 2014; Joanna Volpe at New Leaf Literary & Media brokered the deal for world English rights.
Amanda Maciel at Scholastic has acquired world rights to Lisa Schroeder's new YA novel, All We Have Is Now. With just 28 hours left until a giant asteroid is due to destroy the U.S., a 17-year-old runaway and her best friend make it their mission to fulfill as many people's last wishes as they can, until she realizes there are things left undone in her own life. It's slated for summer 2015; Sara Crowe at Harvey Klinger was the agent.
Kendra Levin at Viking has bought Never Ever, the YA debut of TV writer Sara Saedi. Inspired by Peter Pan, it tells the story of a girl and her two brothers; when a handsome stranger invites the three of them to a secret island where no one grows old they think they've won the lottery, but they soon discover that something sinister is going on. Publication is scheduled for summer 2016; Jessica Regel at Foundry Literary + Media did the deal for North American rights.
Alison Weiss at Egmont USA has acquired world rights to Safe at Home by Jenn Barnes, writing as Jenn Bishop. It's a debut middle-grade novel that alternates between two summers as 11-year-old Quinnen struggles to find her way back to the baseball diamond and is forced to confront everything she wishes never happened when her older sister died. Barnes is a former youth services librarian and has an M.F.A. from Vermont College of Fine Arts. The book is scheduled for spring 2016; Katie Grimm from Don Congdon Associates brokered the deal.
Maria Modugno at Random House has bought My First Comics by Babymouse series creators Jennifer L. Holm and Matthew Holm. It's a set of four board books designed so that kids will be able to “read the pictures.” The pub dates are spring 2016 and fall 2016; Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary sold world rights.
Alessandra Balzer of HarperCollins imprint Balzer + Bray pre-empted world rights to Swatch, Color-Tamer, a picture book by Julia Denos that marks her debut as an author-illustrator. It tells of a girl named Swatch who wants to harness the power of colors so she can create her own masterpiece – only to find that colors have a will of their own. The book is slated for winter 2016; Brenda Bowen of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates was the agent.
Regina Griffin at Egmont has acquired Each Green Leaf by Nina Crews, author-illustrator of The Neighborhood Mother Goose. Her new book introduces readers to a little-known aspect of African-American writer Richard Wright's work: haiku. Crews has selected haikus from the 4000+ that he wrote, and illustrated them with photo-collages. It's scheduled for spring 2016; Marietta B. Zacker of the Nancy Gallt Literary Agency brokered the deal.
Lisa Cheng at Running Press Kids has bought a debut picture book by Julie Bayless called Roar!, in which a rambunctious lion cub searches for a friend brave enough to withstand her mighty roar. Publication is set for fall 2015; John M. Cusick at Greenhouse Literary sold world rights.
Nicole Frail at Sky Pony Press has acquired world rights to Hypnosis Harry by Catherine Bailey, a picture book about a boy whose parents say no to everything. But when he gains the power to hypnotize them he begins to question if he really wants his every wish granted. It's scheduled for winter 2016; Kathleen Rushall of Marsal Lyon Literary Agency negotiated the deal.
Erica Finkel at Abrams Books for Young Readers has acquired Skyfishing, a picture book text by debut author Gideon Sterer, in which a girl's grandfather moves to the big city to live with his grandchildren and can no longer find a decent place to fish. Publication is scheduled for spring 2016, with a second untitled book to follow in spring 2017; Stephen Barr at Writers House held the auction for world rights.
