Leila Sales at Viking has acquired at auction screenwriter and author Jonathan Stokes's new series, The Thrifty Time Traveler's Guide, in which a future time travel agency puts together affordable vacation packages to history's biggest events. The first books will span Ancient Egypt, the Roman Empire, the Middle Ages, and WWII, and will include illustrations, maps, and infographics. The series will launch in 2017; Brianne Johnson at Writers House brokered the four-book, six-figure deal for world rights.
Cindy Loh at Bloomsbury has bought two untitled YA novels from Brian Conaghan, whose When Mr. Dog Bites has been shortlisted for the 2015 Carnegie Medal. The first book will tackle the subject of mercy killing, and is scheduled for spring 2017. Ben Illis at the Ben Illis Agency negotiated the deal for world rights to Loh and Rebecca McNally at Bloomsbury U.K.
Jessica Garrison at Dial and Anthea Townsend of Puffin have jointly acquired See You in the Cosmos, Carl Sagan, a middle-grade novel by Jack Cheng. When 11-year-old Alex Petroski, along with his dog, Carl Sagan, sets out to launch his iPod into outer space, his three days away from home turn into a longer, unexpected road trip. Publication is planned for fall 2016 or spring 2017; Jessica Craig of the Pontas Literary & Film Agency sold world English rights.
Anne Hoppe at Clarion has bought Mike Grosso's debut novel, I Am Drums, about 12-year-old Samantha Morris, whose dreams of playing the drums run up against the hard reality of school budget cuts and her own family's financial woes. The book was originally set to be published by Egmont; Hoppe bought North American rights at auction. Publication is slated for fall 2016; Eddie Schneider at JABberwocky represented the author.
Liza Kaplan at Philomel has pre-empted Dalia Betolin-Sherman's debut YA short story collection, When the World Became White, about an Ethiopian girl's immigration to Israel and the new life she finds there, inspired by the author's life story. Publication is slated for spring 2017; Rena Rossner at the Deborah Harris Agency brokered the deal for world English rights.
Sara Sargent at Simon Pulse has acquired 26 Kisses, a debut YA novel by Anna Michels. When Veda's boyfriend dumps her right after graduation, she embarks on a summer love quest: to kiss 26 boys, one with a name for each letter of the alphabet. Publication is scheduled for summer 2016; Peter Knapp at the Park Literary Group did the deal for world rights.
Kelly Delaney at Knopf has bought Jenn Barnes's (writing as Jenn Bishop) middle-grade debut Safe at Home, which alternates between two baseball-filled summers – last summer, when Quinnen was struggling to repair her relationship with her older sister, and this summer, when Quinnen is reeling from her sister's death. Publication is scheduled for summer 2016; Katie Grimm at Don Congdon Associates did the two-book deal for world rights.
Mary Kate Castellani at Bloomsbury has acquired two books in a new middle-grade series called The Kindness Club by Courtney Sheinmel. Pitched as The Baby-sitters Club with an altruistic twist, three fifth graders form a Kindness Club and look for proactive ways to do nice things for others, but things don’t always work out the way they intend. Laura Dail at Laura Dail Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Erin Clarke at Knopf has bought I Want That Nut! by Madeline Valentine, about two would-be friends, a mouse and a chipmunk, who compete to win a prized nut, until a squirrel settles things once and for all. Publication is set for fall 2016; Rebecca Sherman at Writers House negotiated the deal for world rights.
Joanna Cardenas at Viking has pre-empted two debut picture books by editorial cartoonist Drew Sheneman. Nope tells the nearly wordless story of a baby bird who isn’t so sure it's a good idea to leave the nest, and Don't Eat That! is about a misguided bear looking for a post-hibernation snack. Nope is scheduled for spring 2017; Paul Rodeen of Rodeen Literary Management brokered the deal for world rights.
Alessandra Balzer at HarperCollins imprint Balzer + Bray has bought North American rights to a new picture book from Miriam Busch and Larry Day, the team behind Lion, Lion. Raisintells the story of a tiny cow who doesn't like the idea of getting a baby brother… until even tinier Currant comes along and changes her mind. Publication is scheduled for winter 2017; Tricia Lawrence at Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented the author, and Amy Rennert at the Amy Rennert Agency represented the illustrator.
Russ Busse at Little, Brown has acquired debut illustrator Drew Brockington's Cat-Stronauts: Mission Moon, a graphic novel aimed at chapter book readers, which follows the space adventures of a team of cat astronauts as they race to the moon to solve a global energy crisis. It will pub in spring 2017; Heather Alexander at Pippin Properties did the four-book deal for world rights.
Catherine Onder and Hali Baumstein at Bloomsbury have bought What Will Grow? from authorJennifer Ward (l.) and illustrator and boygirlparty founder Susie Ghahremani, a picture book about seeds and what grows from them. It's slated for publication in winter 2017. Stefanie Von Borstel at Full Circle Literary represented both author and illustrator in the deal for world rights.
Emma Ledbetter at Atheneum has acquired Amy Guglielmo (l.) and Jacqueline Tourville's (center) Mary's World, the story of the struggles and joys of Mary Blair, one of the first female artists at Disney, to be illustrated by Brigette Barrager (r). Publication is set for summer 2017; Stephen Barbara at Inkwell represented Guglielmo, Brianne Johnson at Writers House represented Tourville, and Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions represented Barrager in the deal for world rights.
