Sharyn November at Viking has pre-empted Riverkeep, a debut YA from Martin Stewart. The novel follows Wulliam, a boy who must care for his father after he is possessed by a dark spirit. When Wulliam hears that a cure for his father's illness lurks in the belly of a great sea-dwelling beast, he embarks on an epic journey down the river that his family has so long protected but never explored. Publication is scheduled for spring 2016; North American rights to the book were acquired from Camilla Borthwick at Penguin Random House U.K.

Laura Chasen at St. Martin's Griffin has bought two YA novels by Marie Marquardt. The first,The Radius of Us, is a contemporary romance story between a boy fleeing gang violence in El Salvador and a girl coming to grips with a harrowing assault, revealing the power of love to transcend. The second is as yet untitled. Publication for Radius is slated for fall 2017; Erin Harris at Folio Literary Management/Folio Jr. brokered the two-book deal for North American rights.

Katherine Harrison at Knopf has acquired Zan Romanoff's A Song to Take the World Apart, a contemporary YA novel with notes of magical realism. 16-year-old Lorelei has a voice that can change hearts and minds – sometimes unintentionally – and she must learn to gain control of her power before it devastates the people she loves. Publication is set for fall 2016; Logan Garrison at the Gernert Company negotiated the deal for North American rights.

Liz Szabla at Feiwel and Friends has bought in a preempt Elliah Terry's middle-grade verse novel, I Am Calliope June. It tells of a girl struggling to keep her Tourette's a secret as she starts a new school, and trying to persuade her mother not to move them yet again – especially when she becomes friends with the boy next door. Publication is scheduled for 2017; Steven Chudney at the Chudney Agency brokered the deal for world English rights.

Dinah Stevenson at Clarion has acquired world English rights to A Few Red Drops, a YA nonfiction title by Claire Hartfield. The book tells the story of the Chicago Race Riots of 1919 and how the building tensions and conflicting interests exploded in bloodshed that sent shock waves across the nation. It's slated for 2017 publication; Rosemary Stimola of Stimola Literary Studio did the deal.

Greg Hunter at Lerner/Graphic Universe has bought Q & Ray: The Case of the Mola Lisa and two other titles in a new graphic novel series by Trisha Speed Shaskan and Stephen Shaskan. In the book, two animal sleuths set out to solve cases using wits, disguises, and teamwork. Publication is planned for fall 2017, spring 2018, and fall 2018; Sara Crowe at Harvey Klinger represented the author and Teresa Kietlinski at Prospect Agency represented the illustrator in the deal for world English rights.

Mark Siegel at First Second has acquired world rights for Threadworlds, a graphic novel series from Avatar: The Last Airbender co-creator Bryan Konietzko. Threadworlds, a science fiction epic focusing on the themes of girls and science, has its first volume scheduled for 2017. Konietzko is unagented.


Joan Powers of Candlewick and Walker has bought I Am Bear by Ben Bailey Smith, known in the U.K. as rapper Doc Brown, who is also a stand-up comedian and actor. The book, to be illustrated by debut illustrator Sav Akyüz, is a rap-style read-aloud about a mischievous bear. U.S. publication is slated for March 2018; Robert Kirby of United Agents negotiated the deal for world rights.

Taylor Norman at Chronicle has acquired Libba, a picture book biography of blues musician Elizabeth Cotten's roundabout path to recognition, from devoted enthusiast to determined autodidact to late-blooming luminary by singer-songwriter Laura Veirs and fine artist Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, both in their children's book debuts. Publication is planned for fall 2017; Steven Malk at Writers House represented both Veirs and Fazlalizadeh in the deal for world rights.

Martha Mihalick of Greenwillow has bought A Hundred Billion Trillion Stars by literary agent Seth Fishman, illustrated by Isabel Greenberg, and two untitled picture books. Starting wide in scope – there are a hundred billion trillion stars – and narrowing down number by number, this picture book explores the wide reaches of the galaxy right down to there being only one of you. Publication for the first book is scheduled for 2017; Kirby Kim at Janklow & Nesbit Associates brokered the deal for North American rights.

Liza Baker at Scholastic has acquired Sujean Rim's Zoogie Nights: An Animal Boogie Book, a picture book about what zoo animals do after hours. Publication is slated for fall 2017; Holly McGhee at Pippin Properties negotiated the deal for world rights.


Kristine Enderle at APA/Magination Press has bought a picture book by Jeanie Franz Ransom, There's a Cat in Our Class, in which a new student joins a classroom of dogs, setting tongues, and eventually tails, wagging. Bryan Langdo will illustrate. Publication is set for fall 2016; Lori Kilkelly at Rodeen Literary Management represented the author and Caryn Wiseman at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the illustrator in the deal for world rights.

Mighty Media Press has acquired world rights to The Ugly Dumpling, a fairy tale redux by Stephanie Campisi. It depicts life through the adventures of a steamed bun that thinks it's a dumpling, and the unlikely cockroach it befriends in the restaurant they inhabit. Shahar Kober is set to illustrate. Publication is planned for spring 2016; Stacey Glick of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management represented the author and Justin Rucker at Shannon Associates represented the illustrator.

Connie Hsu at Roaring Brook has acquired world rights to Geniuses, a new series by Avatar: The Last Airbender co-creator Michael DiMartino. Set in a Renaissance-like fantasy world,Geniuses explores the concept of "art as magic," where an artist's creative genius is actually a living creature, a real-life muse that inspires and protects him or her. The first book, The Creature and the Creator, will be published in fall 2016. The author was unagented.

Jhanteigh Kupihea at Atria has bought the debut novel of YouTube sensation Marzia Bisognin. Bisognin has more than 5.4 million subscribers on her channel, CutiePieMarzia, and millions more on social media. Her paranormal YA novel, Dream House, follows a young houseguest who experiences the sinister and surreal after her hosts disappear. Carmen Prestia at Newton Compton in Italy negotiated the deal for world English rights; the book will be published by Keywords Press in 2016.

Liz Szabla at Feiwel and Friends has acquired Zillah Bethell's debut A Kingdom of Horses, set in a world where horses are thought to be extinct. The story follows a girl who finds a map that hints there is life outside of her repressive city; she escapes the city walls to find the horses she's always dreamed of. Publication is planned for winter 2017; Miriam Altshuler at Miriam Altshuler Literary Agency brokered the two-book deal on behalf of Julia Churchill at A.M. Heath for North American rights, and Matilda Johnson at Piccadilly Press for U.K. and Commonwealth rights.

Natashya Wilson at Harlequin Teen has bought 19-year-old University of Pennsylvania senior Jennifer Yu's debut novel, Four Weeks, Five People, about five psychologically troubled teenagers and the four weeks they spend at a wilderness therapy program, where they confront and transform each other. Publication is slated for spring 2017; Laura Dail at Laura Dail Literary Agency negotiated the two-book deal for world rights.

Emily Easton at Crown has acquired Sarah Albee's What Were They Thinking series, a high-interest, highly illustrated social history series that looks at how people lived in different time periods, told with a humorous point of view. Publication is scheduled for summer 2017; Caryn Wiseman at Andrea Brown Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.

Anne Schwartz of Random House/Schwartz & Wade has bought world rights to Candace Fleming's Go Sleep in Your Own Bed, illustrated by Lori Nichols, about farm animals who one by one try to go to bed, only to find another animal sleeping in their place. Publication is set for summer 2017; Ethan Ellenberg at the Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency represented the author, and Joanna Volpe at New Leaf Literary & Media represented the illustrator.

Erin Clarke at Knopf has acquired Sleep Tight, Snow White, a picture book by Jennifer Arena, illustrated by Lorena Alvarez. The book is a celebration of bedtime in which favorite characters from nursery rhymes and fairy tales get ready for a good night's sleep. Publication is slated for 2017; Jill Corcoran at Jill Corcoran Literary Agency represented the author and Anne Armstrong at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.

Emily Easton at Crown has bought Kathleen Krull's Starstruck, a picture book biography on Neil deGrasse Tyson, and an additional untitled picture book biography. Publication for the first book is scheduled for summer 2017; Susan Cohen at Writers House negotiated the deal for world rights.