Claudia Gabel at HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen has acquired, in a six-figure deal, a YA science fiction trilogy from Rachel Caine (l.) and Ann Aguirre. The Honors series follows a misfit named Zara who feels lost in a highly ordered future world. Publication is projected to begin in winter 2018; Lucienne Diver at the Knight Agency represented Caine and Laura Bradford at Bradford Literary represented Aguirre in the deal for North American rights.

Julie Strauss-Gabel at Dutton has bought North American rights to Meme by Aaron Starmer, author of the Riverman trilogy and the forthcoming Spontaneous. The darkly comic novel tells of four friends who commit murder hoping to stop a Columbine-like massacre, and the fallout that comes when part of the confession they bury along with the victim becomes an Internet meme. It's scheduled for 2018; Michael Bourret at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management brokered the deal.

Susan Van Metre and Anne Heltzel of Abrams won a six-publisher auction for world English rights to Christian Yee's debut YA novel, The Girl Who Was Iron and Gold, launching a series about 15-year-old Genie Zhao, who wonders if she's qualified enough to gain admission to an Ivy League school, then becomes powerful enough to break through the gates of Heaven with her fists. Publication is slated for fall 2017, with the sequel to follow in fall 2018; Stephen Barr at Writers House negotiated the two-book deal.

Andrew Karre at Dutton has acquired Dream Country by Shannon Gibney, a family saga following the lives of several generations of young black men and women facing death and exile from Liberia to America. Publication is set for 2018; Tina Wexler of ICM Partners did the deal for world English rights.


Claudia Gabel at HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen has bought Iva-Marie Palmer's (l.) Gabby Garcia series in a deal for world rights. The series spotlights an all-star baseball pitcher who is having the best year of her life and begins writing a playbook in the hopes of keeping her win streak alive after being sent to a new school. Marta Kissi will illustrate; publication is planned for summer 2017. Fonda Snyder represented the author, and Anne Moore Armstrong of Bright USA represented the illustrator.

Karen Chaplin at HarperTeen has acquired North American rights to Lauren Gibaldi's YA novel This Tiny Perfect World, in which a scholarship girl at a theater camp struggles to figure out if her small-town life, and small-town boyfriend, can ultimately be enough for her. Publication is scheduled for 2017; Claire Anderson-Wheeler at Regal Hoffmann & Associates brokered the deal.

Katherine Harrison at Knopf has bought Zan Romanoff's YA novel Grace and the Fever, in which a teen caught up in the conspiracy-rich world of boy band fandom unexpectedly meets her idols and has to reckon with the all-too-human people they are behind the scenes. Publication is slated for summer 2017; Logan Garrison at the Gernert Company brokered the deal for North American rights.

Mark Siegel of Macmillan/First Second has acquired Dragon Hoops by Gene Luen Yang. The story is a nonfiction graphic novel about a basketball team in California that struggled from obscurity to secure a championship title. Publication is set for spring 2018; Judy Hansen of Hansen Literary did the deal for world rights.

Alyson Heller at S&S/Aladdin has bought Rebecca Behrens's The Last Grand Adventure, set in 1967 and featuring a 12-year-old girl who thinks she's going to be spending the summer helping her grandmother settle in to her new old-folks community, but her grandmother has other plans, including a road trip across the country to meet up with her long-lost sister – Amelia Earhart. It's planned for release in spring 2018; Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary did the deal for world English rights.

Nancy Siscoe at Knopf has acquired Shelley Pearsall's Bird Boy, a story of two outcast kids whose lives intersect when Mia realizes that Joey's not just dragging a stick around at recess – he's creating pictures that can only really be seen from above. Publication is scheduled for spring 2018; Steven Malk at Writers House did the deal for world rights.

Amy Cloud at S&S/Aladdin has bought Rob Vlock's middle-grade novel Sven Carter and the Trashmouth Protocol, as well as a sequel. The books star 12-year-old Sven, a seemingly regular kid who discovers he's actually a Tick, a cyborg programmed to unleash a deadly virus by sneezing on his 13th birthday. The first book is set for fall 2017; John Rudolph at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management brokered the deal for world rights.

Liz Bicknell at Candlewick has acquired world rights to Alphamaniacs, written by Newbery Medalist Paul Fleischman and illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Melissa Sweet. The collection of 26 biographical essays celebrates intrepid language-lovers. Publication is slated for 2019; Rebecca Sherman of Writers House negotiated the deal for Sweet; the author was unagented.

Caitlyn Dlouhy of S&S's Caitlyn Dlouhy Books imprint has bought Letter to a Dreamer, an inspirational poem by Jason Reynolds, which was originally performed at the Kennedy Center at the celebration of the unveiling of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and the Walter Dean Myers tribute. It is tentatively planned for spring 2018; Elena Giovinazzo at Pippin Properties represented Reynolds in the deal for North American rights.

Rotem Moscovich at Disney-Hyperion has acquired world rights to Kelly DiPucchio's Poe Won't Go, about an elephant named Poe who blocks the main road in town, causing an uproar from its citizens, but one brave little girl may solve their problem with the power of listening. Zachariah OHora will illustrate; publication is set for summer 2018. Steven Malk of Writers House represented the author and Sean McCarthy of Sean McCarthy Literary Agency represented the illustrator.

Janine O'Malley at Farrar, Straus and Giroux has bought world rights to Kelly DiPucchio's We're Going on a Treasure Hunt, a twist on the storytime classic We're Going on a Bear Hunt. Jay Fleck will illustrate; publication is scheduled for winter 2019. Steven Malk of Writers House represented the author and Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions represented the illustrator.

Donna Bray of HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray has acquired world rights to Cate Berry's humorous debut picture book, This Is Not a Bedtime Book in a two-book deal at auction. Penguin and Tiny Shrimp star in this action-adventure picture book that will definitely not make readers sleepy. Charles Santoso will illustrate; publication is tentatively slated for spring 2018. Alexandra Penfold at Upstart Crow Literary represented the author, and Justin Rucker of Shannon Associates represented the illustrator.