Claire Dorsett at Roaring Brook Press has acquired two titles from Laughing at My Nightmare author Shane Burcaw. The first is a photo-based picture book that answers questions children have asked Shane about his life. The second is a YA essay collection, tentatively titled Strangers Assume My Girlfriend Is My Nurse, about Shane’s experiences with how people perceive and treat him as a result of his spinal muscular atrophy. The books are planned for fall 2017 and spring 2018; Tina Wexler at ICM negotiated the deal for world and North American rights respectively.
Howard Reeves at Abrams/Amulet has bought Every Falling Star: The True Story of How I Survived and Escaped North Korea, a memoir that portrays contemporary North Korea to a young audience, written by Sungju Lee and Susan Elizabeth McClelland. The memoir chronicles Lee’s adolescence, after he was forced at age 12 to live on the streets and fend for himself, surviving by thieving, fighting, begging, and stealing rides on cargo trains. Publication is scheduled for September 2016; Al Zuckerman at Writers House brokered the deal for world rights.
Beverly Horowitz at Delacorte has acquired The Murderer's Ape by Swedish author-illustrator Jakob Wegelius, winner of Sweden's August Prize for Children's and Young Adult Literature. The detective adventure story includes puzzling secrets and heinous crimes as well as an unexpected friendship. Publication is aimed for spring 2017; Lina Talgre at Bonnier-SE negotiated the deal for world English rights.
Lynne Polvino at Clarion has bought Kate Milford's untitled follow-up to Greenglass House. In the story, Milo gets caught up in a scheme by two thieves to steal a legendary book of maps that goes horribly awry. Publication is slated for fall 2017; Barry Goldblatt at Barry Goldblatt Literary brokered the six-figure deal for world rights.
David Gale at Simon & Schuster has acquired Jonathan Maberry's standalone YA novel, Mars One, about a teenager leaving his girlfriend and everything he knows behind to join his family as they establish the first human colony on Mars. Publication is set for spring 2017; Sara Crowe at Harvey Klinger negotiated the deal for world rights.
Andrew Harwell at HarperCollins has won at auction Jimmy Cajoleas's debut novel, Goldeline. Set in the deep, dark woods of the long-ago south, the middle grade novel follows an orphan girl who, after being separated from the bandits who raised her, must unlock the magic she inherited from her mother to save herself and her friends. Publication is planned for fall 2017; Jess Regel at Foundry Literary + Media did the two-book deal for North American rights.
Jillian Manning at Blink has bought McCall Hoyle's debut YA novel, The Thing with Feathers, the story of 16-year-old Emilie, an epileptic teen leaving her safe, homeschooled life for high school on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. For the first time, Emilie must navigate classes, cliques, and crushes, all the while keeping her epilepsy a secret. Publication is scheduled for fall 2017; Amanda Leuck of Spencerhill Associates brokered the deal for world rights.
Sylvie Frank at S&S's Paula Wiseman Books has signed Super Max and the Mystery of Thornwood's Revenge, a middle-grade mystery by Susan Vaught. The novel features a comics-loving girl in a souped-up wheelchair, a small-town cast of characters, and a mansion rumored to be both cursed and haunted. Publication is slated for fall 2017; Erin Murphy at Erin Murphy Literary Agency negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Calista Brill at First Second Books has acquired world rights to two Peter & Ernesto graphic novels by Graham Annable. The books will tell the story of two sloths, one adventurous and one a homebody, who leave home for the first time. Publication is set for 2017; Annable is represented by Judy Hansen of Hansen Literary.
Robin Herrera at Oni Press has bought world English rights to the middle grade graphic novel Pilu of the Woods, written and illustrated by Mai Nguyen. The book centers on the friendship between a girl with anger issues, Willow, and a tree spirit, Pilu. Publication is slated for 2018; the author was unagented.
Taylor Norman at Chronicle has acquired author Jennifer Adams and illustrator Greg Pizzoli's board book series My Little Cities, which will introduce various world cities to very young readers. Publication will begin with two books in spring 2017; Steven Malk at Writers House did the six-book deal for world rights.
Christy Ottaviano at Henry Holt's Christy Ottaviano Books has bought world rights to The Best Part of Middle by Anika Denise and Christopher Denise. The picture book by the husband-and-wife team celebrates all that is special about being a “middle” where you get to be both, to teach and to learn, to be a big sister and a little one. Publication is scheduled for 2018; Emily van Beek at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management negotiated the deal.
Anne Schwartz at Random House/Schwartz & Wade has acquired world rights to Candace Fleming's The Amazing Collection of Joey Cornell, to be illustrated by Gerard DuBois, a picture book biography about 20th-century assemblage artist Joseph Cornell. Publication is slated for spring 2018; Ethan Ellenberg at the Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency represented the author, and Marzena Torzecka at Marlena Agency represented the illustrator.
Tamar Brazis at Abrams has bought Kafka’s Doll by Larissa Theule (l.), illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault. Inspired by true events, the picture book recounts a moment in the life of writer Franz Kafka. Publication is planned for spring 2018; Linda Pratt at Wernick & Pratt Agency represented the author and Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions represented the artist.
Mark Siegel at First Second Books has acquired Bubble Trouble, a picture book written by Jason Eaton (l.) and illustrated by Matt Rockefeller. The comics-inspired book follows a boy who tries to pop a bubble and gets increasingly creative in his attempts to do so. Publication is scheduled for 2017; Tanya McKinnon at McKinnon McIntyre represented the author and artist in the deal for world English rights.
Alessandra Balzer at HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray has preempted author Ibi Zoboi's YA debut, American Street. Infused with magical realism and the author's own experiences, this coming-of-age story follows a Haitian immigrant girl thrust into the world of Detroit's west side; as Fabiola struggles to get her mother out of a U.S. detention center she's forced to confront the true meaning of family and home, even as she falls in love. Publication is slated for winter 2017; Josh Bank and Hayley Wagreich at Alloy Entertainment negotiated the two-book deal for world English rights.
Daniel Ehrenhaft at Soho Teen has acquired world rights to Dogs, the debut novel by Butthole Surfers frontman Gibby Haynes. It's a darkly comic, magical realist-infused contemporary work about a troubled teenager who goes on a journey to save his estranged sister with his supernatural dog, Mr. Cigar. The book is scheduled for spring 2018; Haynes was unagented.
Lisa Sandell at Scholastic Press has bought two YA novels, Dark Breaks the Dawn and Bright Burns the Night, by Sara B. Larson. Pitched as Graceling meets Swan Lake, this fantasy adventure duology follows a young queen, Evelayn, as she comes into her powers in controlling Light, fights to overcome a rival leader who controls Dark, and attempts to bring together two warring kingdoms. Publication is set to begin in 2017; Josh Adams at Adams Literary brokered the deal for North American rights.
Marissa Grossman and Ben Schrank at Razorbill have acquired Us Kids Know, pitched as part Fight Club, part The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by debut author J.J. Strong. The book follows a group of unmoored teens in suburban New Jersey as they blaze their own destructive paths and wrestle with their own burgeoning adolescence, ultimately committing one disastrous error that forever alters the paths of everyone involved. It's planned for fall 2017; Peter Steinberg at Foundry did the deal for North American rights.
Alix Reid at Carolrhoda preempted Kiersi Burkhart’s debut YA novel,Honor Code, as well as a second title. Honor is set in a prep school rocked by a scandal. The second book, Tower of Smoke and Lies, is set in a fantasy kingdom and follows a princess and a wannabe princess who are both willing to do whatever it takes to become queen. The first book is slated for fall 2017, with the second planned for spring 2018; Fiona Kenshole at Transatlantic Agency negotiated the deal for world English rights.
Wendy Loggia at Delacorte Press has bought world rights to Emily Blejwas’s How I Became Aster Hill, about a girl who believes that while a better future for her family isn't probable, it is possible, if only she can figure out how to make it happen. Publication is scheduled for 2017; the author was unagented.
Calista Brill at First Second Books has acquired world rights to the YA graphic novel Cold Iron Wars, written by Mairghread Scott (l.) and illustrated by Robin Robinson. The book tells the story of Isabel, who must save both the human and fairy worlds in 20th-century San Francisco. Publication is set for 2017; the authors were unagented.
Victoria Rock at Chronicle has bought Most Marshmallows by Rowboat Watkins, in which most marshmallows behave in expected ways, but some marshmallows dare to be more than just sweet confections. Publication is planned for spring 2018; Rosemary Stimola of Stimola Literary Studio brokered the deal for world rights.
Paula Wiseman at S&S/Paula Wiseman Books has acquired Bub, a picture book by author-illustrator Elizabeth Rose Stanton about the middle child in a monster family who is teased and outshined and underappreciated, until one day he disappears entirely. Publication is set for spring 2018; Joanna Volpe of New Leaf Literary & Media negotiated the deal for world rights.
Kristin Daly Rens of HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray has bought author-illustrator Lina Maslo’s debut picture book, Free as a Bird, a biography of Malala Yousafzai. Publication is slated for winter 2018; Rubin Pfeffer of Rubin Pfeffer Content did the deal for world rights.
Andrea Welch at S&S/Beach Lane has acquired author-photographer April Pulley Sayre’s Full of Fall, a photo-illustrated picture book that celebrates the colors and changes of autumn. Publication is scheduled for all 2017; Emily Mitchell at Wernick & Pratt Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Zaneta Jung at Sterling has bought Heather Ayris Burnell’s Kick! Jump! Chop!, a pun-filled picture book text that puts a contemporary twist on the classic tale of the gingerbread man. The book will be illustrated with cut-paper by illustration studio Bomboland, and is slated for fall 2017. Sean McCarthy at Sean McCarthy Literary Agency represented the author; the illustrator is unagented.
Julie Matysik at Sky Pony Press has acquired Robin Newman’s picture book No Peacocks!, about the fine-feathered trio that lives at the Cathedral School in Manhattan; Chris Ewald will illustrate. Publication is set for fall 2017; Liza Fleissig at Liza Royce Agency negotiated the deal for both the author and the illustrator.
Anne Schwartz at Random House/Schwartz & Wade Books has bought world rights to Natalie Ziarnik’s (l.) A Lullaby of Summer Things, to be illustrated by Madeline Valentine. It's a good-night story in verse about the end of a special summer day after a trip to the beach. Publication is scheduled for spring 2018; Liza Voges at Eden Street represented the author and Rebecca Sherman at Writers House represented the illustrator.
