Cassandra Pelham at Scholastic/Graphix has acquired three books in a graphic novel series, Mr. Wolf's Class, by Eisner Award winner Aron Nels Steinke. Each book captures the everyday adventures of a fourth-grade classroom. Publication for the first book, First Day of School, is scheduled for 2018; Judith Hansen at Hansen Literary Management negotiated the deal for world rights.
Mark Siegel at First Second Books has bought world English rights to Alex Alice's Castle in the Stars, from Rue de Sèvres in France. Set in 1869, the two volumes tell the story of Seraphin, who is trying to follow in her mother's footsteps all the way to outer space. Publication of the first book is slated for fall 2017, followed by the second volume in fall 2018.
Jacquelyn Mitchard at Merit Press has acquired film producer Emily Ziff Griffin's debut novel, Light Years, in which a virus sweeping the globe is more than just a disease, and brilliant teenage coder Luisa Vazquez-Jones is more than just your average girl. Publication is set for May 2017; Jess Regel at Foundry Literary + Media brokered the deal for North American rights on behalf of the author and In This Together Media.
Rebecca Davis at Boyds Mills Press has bought Lisa Rosinsky's debut contemporary YA novel Inevitable and Only. It's the story of sophomore Acadia Greenfield, whose world gets turned upside down when her father brings home a daughter the exact age as Acadia, whom he didn't know he had, and this half-sister seems to be replacing Acadia at home, at school, and in the heart of her long-time crush. Publication is planned for spring 2018; Linda Epstein at Emerald City Literary Agency did the deal for North American rights.
Reka Simonsen at Atheneum has acquired J. Anderson Coats's middle-grade novel, Ungovernable Girls. Set in a country under occupation, the novel follows the daughter of known subversives as she is sent away to be re-educated and must learn how to walk the line between rebellion and survival. Publication is scheduled for spring 2018; Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Stacy Whitman at Lee & Low's Tu Books has bought world rights for Supriya Kelkar's Ahimsa, a middle grade historical novel about a privileged 10-year-old girl in 1942 India whose mother joins Gandhi's freedom movement, and who takes up her mother's work for freedom when her mother is jailed. Publication is slated for fall 2018; the author is unagented.
Andrea Hall at Albert Whitman has acquired Lisa Amstutz's picture book Counting on Christmas, based on the event known as the Christmas Bird Count, in which a child volunteers as a citizen scientist while searching for a treasured bird. Publication is planned for fall 2017; Victoria Selvaggio at the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.
Jenna Pocius at little bee has bought What Mommies Like, a picture book by Judy Carey Nevin (l.), illustrated by Stephanie Cleaver Six, which celebrates the special moments between a mother bear and her cub as they go to the library for story time. Publication is set for spring 2018; Teresa Kietlinski of Bookmark Literary represented the author and illustrator in the deal for world rights.
Kate O'Sullivan at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has signed, in a mid-six-figure deal, three books from author Robin LaFevers. Wild Daughters of Ares is a middle-grade novel about a warrior-in-training among Amazons of ancient Greece. And two untitled YA novels continue the His Fair Assassins story, following Sybella and Beast to the treacherous French Court with the Duchess Anne, where a mysterious mole from the convent may or may not have gone rogue. Wild Daughters is slated for 2020; the YA novels are set to pub in fall of 2018 and 2019 respectively. Erin Murphy of Erin Murphy Literary Agency did the deal for world rights (Wild Daughters) and North American rights (the His Fair Assassins novels).
Sarah Dotts Barley at Flatiron Books has acquired at auction Carrie Fountain's I'm Not Missing. The debut contemporary YA novel follows what happens when Miranda's best friend, Frankie, runs away in the middle of senior year, and how Miranda is forced out from behind Frankie's shadow and stumbles into first love. It's scheduled for winter 2018; Emily Forland at Brandt & Hochman negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Erin Stein of Macmillan/Imprint has bought world rights to Gwendolyn Clare's debut YA novel, Ink, Iron and Glass. The book features 17-year-old Elsa, who is living in an alternate version of 19th-century Italy, and is forced to leave her home in order to enlist the help of a secret order and a handsome mechanist to save her mother and protect a powerful object – a book with the power to edit the real world. Release is planned for winter 2018; Jennifer Azantian of the Jennifer Azantian Literary Agency represented Clare in the two-book deal.
Liesa Abrams at Simon Pulse has acquired Sarah Lang's (writing as Sarah Lyu) debut novel, True Romantics, at auction. The book follows 17-year-old Remy Strade, whose life changes when she meets Elise Song and the two form an intense bond. When their friendship is threatened, the girls find themselves in the middle of a harrowing tragedy. Publication is slated for summer 2018; Kerry Sparks at Levine Greenberg Rostan brokered the deal for world rights.
Connie Hsu at Roaring Brook and Mark Siegel at First Second have closed a three-book world-rights deal for a middle grade graphic novel and two picture books by Vera Brosgol. The first, called Leave Me Alone!, is about a grandmother's epic quest for quiet. The second picture book is currently untitled. The middle grade book is a graphic memoir called Be Prepared that recounts the author's time at a Russian Orthodox summer camp in upstate New York. Leave Me Alone is set to publish this September; Judy Hansen at Hansen Literary negotiated the agreement.
Jenny Bak at Jimmy Patterson has bought Michael Fry's How to Be a Supervillain, launching a series about 12-year-old Victor Spoil. Victor is descended from a long line of villains but can't bring himself to be evil enough to follow the family business, until an unlikely apprenticeship reveals the truth about the secret world of heroes and villains. Publication is slated for summer 2017; Daniel Lazar at Writers House did the deal for world English rights.
Stacey Friedberg at Dial has acquired Charlotte Salter's middle grade novel, tentatively titled Granmos. Kestrel lives in a forest that is crawling with dangerous beasts, and her powerful spell-casting mother has tasked her with hunting them down. But as her own personal monster gets closer and closer to attacking and eating her, Kestrel learns that nothing in this forest is what it seems – including her mother's true motivations. Publication is scheduled for spring 2018; Allison Hellegers of Rights People brokered world English rights on behalf of Kirsty McLachlan at David Godwin Associates.
Caitlyn Dlouhy at Atheneum's Caitlyn Dlouhy Books has bought Gill Lewis's Gorilla Dawn. It tells the story of two children, imprisoned by rebel soldiers in the African jungle, who must figure out a way to escape when the rebels capture a baby gorilla. Publication is planned for spring 2017; Barry Goldblatt of Barry Goldblatt Literary negotiated the deal for U.S. rights on behalf of Victoria Birkett at Miles Stott Literary Agency.
Jennifer Brown and Stephen Brown at Knopf have acquired Chad Sell's middle grade graphic novel Cardboard Kingdom, conceived and illustrated by Sell and co-written with 10 contributors, about a cast of kids whose cardboard costumes and sets inspire neighborhood-wide fantasy battles, while reflecting each child's journey through friendship, family, gender identity, sexuality, bullying, confidence, and acceptance. Publication is slated for 2018; Daniel Lazar at Writers House did the deal for North American rights.
Emma Ledbetter at Atheneum has bought North American rights to Jane Godwin (l.) and Davina Bell's (center) Baby Day, to be illustrated by Freya Blackwood (r.). The picture book celebrates baby's first birthday and all the smiley, shy, friendly, fussy, busy baby friends who attend the party. Publication is scheduled for fall 2018; Ilse Craane at Bookstop Literary Agency represented both author and illustrator on behalf of Curtis Brown Australia.
Stephanie Lurie at Disney-Hyperion has acquired world rights to a picture book by Lynn Plourde (l.), to be illustrated by Jennifer Meyer. In If I Could Give You Christmas, animal parents and their young ones celebrate special family moments that make the holiday season merry and bright. Publication is set for September 2019; Susan Cohen of Writers House represented the author and Justin Rucker at Shannon Associates represented the artist.
Janine O'Malley at Farrar, Straus and Giroux has bought Come Next Season by Kim Norman, illustrated by Daniel Miyares. It's a picture book ode to the much-anticipated delights (and unexpected gifts) that punctuate the turning of the year. Jennifer Mattson of Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and Studio Goodwin Sturges represented the illustrator.
Paula Wiseman at S&S/Paula Wiseman Books has acquired world rights to Alyssa Satin Capucilli's Bone Soup, a Halloween tale about three witches who make soup with a little help from their supernatural friends. Tom Knight will illustrate; publication is slated for summer 2017; Liza Voges at Eden Street represented the author and Anne Armstrong at Bright USA represented the illustrator.
Jessica Dandino Garrison at Dial has bought world rights to Eoin McLaughlin's This Is Not a Bedtime Story, his U.S. debut, to be illustrated by Magali Le Huche. The story is told by a bedtime-resistant monster-narrator who falls victim to sleep despite his efforts. It is scheduled for spring 2018; James Catchpole represented the author and Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions represented the illustrator.
Kelsey Skea at Amazon/Two Lions has acquired Mike Petrik's untitled picture book debut, about a Halloween-obsessed boy who prepares all year long for the scariest haunted house contest. Publication is planned for summer 2018; Teresa Kietlinski at Bookmark Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.
