Erin Stein at Macmillan's Imprint has bought Bug Girl, a middle-grade series by Benjamin Harper and Sarah Hines Stephens. It follows insect-obsessed Amanda and her best frenemy as they overcome social awkwardness, mall mishaps, and a slew of mutant crawlies in order to save their mothers and rescue the town of Oyster Cove. Publication of book one, Bug Girl, is scheduled for spring 2017; the authors were unagented in the two-book deal for world plus film rights.
Anna Roberto at Feiwel and Friends has acquired at auction The Prince's Bane by U.K. author and blogger Alexandra Christo. It tells the story of a killer siren with a taste for royal blood, banished from the ocean to the surface to hunt down the one prince who has sworn to end the war between land and sea by any means possible. Publication is scheduled for fall 2017. Emmanuelle Morgen at Stonesong negotiated the U.S. deal for North American rights, and Whitney Lee at the Fielding Agency is handling foreign rights.
Allison Wortche at Knopf has acquired Deborah Hopkinson's The Neptune Cipher, a mystery set during World War II about coded messages, espionage, danger, and friendship, featuring an American girl and a British boy. Publication is slated for spring 2019; Steven Malk at Writers House did the deal for world rights.
Angie Chen at FSG has bought L. Fisher's debut Clivo Wren and the Fall of Phoenix, about a boy who is forced to step into his father's shoes as a top-secret tracker of legendary creatures to save the world from a ruthless organization harnessing Nessie, Bigfoot, and others for organic warfare, all with the help of the world's youngest group of basement-dwelling conspiracy theorists, plus a sequel. Publication is set for fall 2017; Jason Anthony at LMQ brokered the deal for North American rights.
Annette Pollert-Morgan at Sourcebooks Fire has acquired Gina Ciocca's third novel, Busted. This romance follows Marisa, whose reputation for sniffing out cheaters makes her the reluctant queen of busting two-timing boys at her high school. Publication is planned for spring 2018; John Cusick of Folio Jr. negotiated the deal for world rights.
Martha Mihalick at Greenwillow has bought Pignic by Matt Phelan. This picture book follows Piglet through a summer's outing with its siblings where plans to climb trees, fly a kite, and nosh on delicious snacks are almost all thwarted but for the pigs' abilities to dust (or in this case mud) themselves off, try again, and enjoy. It's scheduled for spring 2018; Rebecca Sherman of Writers House did the deal for world rights.
Jenna Pocius at Little Bee has acquired author-illustrator Gina Perry's debut picture book, Small, in which the heroine realizes she is anything but small. Publication is set for fall 2017; Teresa Kietlinski of Prospect Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Kelly Delaney at Knopf has bought author-illustrator Karl Newsom Edwards's new picture book, I Got a New Friend, in which a girl and her new puppy get to know one another. Publication is slated for summer 2017; Jamie Weiss Chilton at Andrea Brown Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Margaret Raymo at HMH has signed a four-book deal with Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander. The deal includes Rebound, a prequel toThe Crossover, as well as an untitled trilogy. The trilogy will chronicle one boy's epic quest for freedom after being taken from his home in Ghana, and will cover the Middle Passage, the Underground Railroad, the Civil War, and beyond. Publication of Rebound is scheduled for spring 2018; the world rights deal was brokered by Arielle Eckstut of Levine, Greenberg, Rostan Literary Agency.
Deirdre Jones at Little, Brown has acquired North American rights to Elly Blake's Frostblood Saga. The first book, Frostblood, follows a 17-year-old girl who must hide her powers from the ruling class. LBYR's acquisition also follows on the heels of strong foreign sales; in the U.K. the series was preempted by Hodder & Stoughton, and in Germany it was bought for six figures by Ravensburger. Publication will start in January 2017, with book two set for fall 2017 and book three for summer 2018. Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary & Media represented Blake in the three-book deal.
Martha Mihalick at Greenwillow has bought North American rights to Welcome to Hotel Monster by Gwenda Bond and Christopher Rowe in a two-book deal. Monster is the first in a new series about a trio of mystery-solving kids living in a luxury hotel whose clientele includes bigfeet, vampires and fairies, among other “supernormals.” Publication of book one is slated for summer 2017; Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented Bond and Shana Cohen at Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency represented Rowe.
Alice Jerman at HarperTeen has acquired Caroline Leech's Wait for Me and an untitled second book, in an exclusive submission. The novel is a historical romance set in Scotland during WWII, in which a teenage girl falls in love with a wounded German POW sent to work on her father's farm. Publication is set for winter 2017; Suzie Townsend and Danielle Barthel of New Leaf Literary & Media negotiated the deal for world English rights.
Pam Gruber at Little, Brown has bought Claudia Gray's Defy the Stars, about a young soldier, Noemi, who is in an intergalactic war, and the robotic enemy warrior forced by his programming to obey her. When Noemi realizes that destroying him could save her world, she's torn between her duty and her growing belief that he may be far more than just a machine. Publication is scheduled for spring 2017; Diana Fox of Fox Literary brokered the deal for world rights; Julie Kane-Ritsch at the Gotham Group is the co-agent representing film/TV rights.
Wendy Lamb at Random House acquired Perijee & Me, the U.S. debut of U.K. author Ross Montgomery, at auction. It's a comic middle-grade novel about a lonely girl who discovers a tiny alien on the beach, Perijee. He becomes her secret friend – but he's growing like mad, and Caitlin can't hide him forever. Publication is planned for fall 2016; Lizzie Bishop at Faber negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Karen Boss at Charlesbridge has bought Tami Charles's middle-grade debut novel, Like Vanessa, in a two-book deal. The story features 13-year-old Vanessa, who struggles with an absent mother, a disengaged father, and her sense of self in 1983 Newark. On the heels of Vanessa Williams's historic Miss America win, a reluctant Vanessa enters her school's beauty pageant even though her father and the coolest girl in school are sure she doesn't belong on stage. Publication is slated for spring 2018; Lara Perkins at Andrea Brown Literary Agency brokered world rights.
Kieran Viola at Disney-Hyperion has acquired R.K. Sager's middle-grade debut, The World's Greatest Chocolate-Covered Pork Chops, about a 12-year-old girl chef who opens her own restaurant inside a San Francisco trolley car. Publication is set for summer 2017; Sara Sciuto at Fuse Literary did the deal for North American English rights.
Jennifer M. Brown at Knopf has bought two picture books from Sarah Williamson: Where Are You? a picture book about friendship, andThis Is Life, a meditation on life's many surprises. Allison Wortche will edit. Publication of the first book will be in summer 2017; Steven Malk at Writers House negotiated the two-book deal for world rights.
Hannah Lambert at Little Simon has acquired Sunrise, Moonrise, a board book by Betsy Thompson. In the book's cut-paper illustrations, day turns into night, and some animals rest while others spring to life. It will be published in fall 2016; Lori Nowicki at Painted Words brokered the deal for world rights.
Jessica Echeverria at Lee & Low has bought debut author Emma Otheguy's picture book Martí, illustrated by Beatriz Vidal, a biography of poet and Cuban national hero Jose Martí. Publication is scheduled for spring 2017; Adriana Domínguez at Full Circle Literary represented the author and the illustrator represented herself in the deal for world rights.
