Cindy Loh at Bloomsbury has acquired in a preempt House of Stone, and a second untitled YA novel by Len Vlahos, author of The Scar Boys and finalist for the William C. Morris YA Debut Award. The novel explores the right-to-die issue and the voyeuristic underbelly of reality TV, seen through the lens of a family in turmoil. Publication is slated for winter 2017; Sandra Bond at Bond Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Aimee Friedman at Scholastic has acquired two YA novels by Skinny author Donna Cooner. The first, Worthy, is about a girl and boy whose relationship is wrecked by a malicious dating app that makes them question friends, popularity, and self-image. Publication is set for 2016; Sarah Davies at the Greenhouse Literary Agency negotiated the two-book deal for North American rights.
Annie Berger at HarperCollins has bought Natalie Blitt's The Distance from A to Z, a YA contemporary romance about a teen named Abby who goes to a French-language intensive summer program to escape her baseball-loving family, only to meet Zeke, the baseball-playing jock who may have more in common with her than she thinks. Publication is scheduled for winter 2015; Rena Rossner at the Deborah Harris Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Mark Siegel at First Second Books has acquired two graphic novels for young readers based on the Oscar-nominated animated short The Dam Keeper, plus a third graphic novel from Robert Kondo (l.) and Dice Tsutsumi, who created the short. The books will pick up after the close of the film and reveal the secrets behind the dark cloud that threatens Pig and Fox's town. Publication is scheduled for 2016; Kane Lee at Tonko House did the deal for world rights.
Sally Doherty at Henry Holt has bought Lori Mortensen's picture book If Wendell Had a Walrus, to be illustrated by Matt Phelan, and scheduled for publication in fall of 2017. Liza Voges at Eden Street represented the author and Rebecca Sherman at Writers House represented the artist in the deal for world rights.
Justin Chanda of Simon & Schuster has signed two new novels from Ellen Hopkins for McElderry Books. The first, entitled Chameleon, Focuses on a teen who has to come to terms with the fact that her ex-military father abducted her when she was a very small child; though she thought her mother had abandoned her, she had been searching for her the whole time. Publication is scheduled for fall 2016. Laura Rennert of Andrea Brown Literary Agency negotiated the two-book deal for world rights.
Aimee Friedman at Scholastic has acquired adult author Luanne Rice’s YA debut, The Secret Language of Sisters, pitched as The Diving Bell and the Butterfly meets If I Stay. In the novel a girl enters a coma-like state after a car accident where she is “locked-in,” aware of her surroundings and realizes her sister, who was texting while driving, blames herself for the accident. Publication is slated for 2016; Andrea Cirillo at the Jane Rotrosen Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Anica Rissi at HarperCollins's Katherine Tegen Books has bought Jilly Gagnon's debut, #famous, about a girl who tweets a photo of a cute boy that suddenly goes viral, à la Alex from Target, setting off a chain of events that forces them both to question whether fame – and love – are worth the price. Publication is set for summer 2017; Heather Alexander at Pippin Properties did the deal for world rights.
Karen Wojtyla at S&S/McElderry has acquired Erin Bow's new YA novel The Art of Scorpions. In a world 400 years in the future, the UN assures world peace by keeping the children of rulers hostage. Go to war, and the kids die. And Greta's country is about to go to war. How can a hostage break all the rules and re-make her world? It's scheduled for fall 2015; Jane Putch at Eyebait Management negotiated the deal for world rights, retaining U.K. rights.
Alyson Day at HarperCollins has bought co-founder of We Need Diverse Books Ellen Oh's Spirit Hunters, the story of a 12-year-old girl who must save her younger brother from the dangerous spirit who has possessed him, with the help of her ghost best friend and her grandmother's shaman training. Publication is slated for winter 2017; Barry Goldblatt at Barry Goldblatt Literary brokered the two-book deal for North American English-language rights.
Krista Vitola at Delacorte has acquired Amy Fellner Dominy's latest YA novel, Die for You, about 17-year-old Emma Lorde, whose beloved may do more than just steal her heart when Emma is offered an internship in Rome. Publication is set for fall 2016; Caryn Wiseman at Andrea Brown Literary Agency negotiated the two-book deal for North American and open market rights.
Kristin Daly Rens of HarperCollins/EpicReads Impulse has bought Relic by Gretchen McNeil, which had previously sold to Egmont USA. The novel follows a group of teens who, while exploring an abandoned mine, accidentally unleash a creature that is systematically killing off everyone who knows of its existence, and cannibalizing the bodies. Ginger Clark of Curtis Brown, Ltd. brokered the deal for world English rights.
Donna Bray at HarperCollins imprint Balzer + Bray has acquired Bridget Heos's Blood, Bullets and Bones: The Story of Forensic Science from Sherlock Holmes to DNA. Aimed at those who are obsessed with shows like CSI and Dexter, the book offers a history of the modern science of forensics. It's scheduled for winter 2016; Kelly Sonnack at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.
Christy Ottaviano at Henry Holt's Christy Ottaviano Books has bought James Tobin's Such Courage: Polio and the Making of Franklin Roosevelt, a middle-grade biography focusing on FDR's triumph over polio. Publiciation is slated for fall 2016; Melissa Chinchillo at Fletcher & Company negotiated the deal for world rights.
Kate O'Sullivan at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has acquired Faraway Fox, a debut picture book by Jolene Thompson, to be illustrated by Justin K Thompson, in which a lonely fox roams his transformed stomping grounds and searches for his family. Publication is set for fall 2016; Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions did the deal for world rights.