Katie Carella at Scholastic has acquired four books by nine-year-old reporter Hilde Lysiak, to be co-written with her father, Matthew Lysiak. Hilde Kate Lysiak is the nine-year-old publisher of Selinsgrove, Pa.'s monthly newspaper, The Orange Street News. The first book in the Hilde Cracks the Case series, which will be part of the Branches early chapter book line, will be published in fall 2017. Sharlene Martin at the Martin Literary & Media Management did the deal for world rights.
Laura Schreiber at Disney-Hyperion has bought Chandler Baker'sThis Is Not the End, about a girl whose generation of citizens can resurrect a single person when they reach age 18, who must make an impossible choice when her best friend and boyfriend both die a month before her 18th birthday – and after she has secretly promised her resurrection to someone not even dead yet. It pubs in summer 2017; Daniel Lazar at Writers House sold North American rights.
David Gale at Simon & Schuster has acquired in a preempt debut YA author Greg Howard's Social Intercourse – a romance in which an out and proud choir nerd growing up in the "ass-crack of the Bible belt" must conspire with his star quarterback nemesis to derail the budding romance between their parents. Publication is slated for spring 2018; Brianne Johnson at Writers House negotiated the deal for world rights.
Sara Sargent at HarperCollins has bought Gergely Dudás's (aka Dudolf) Bear's Christmas Book of Hidden Things in a three-book deal. The series was inspired by the artist's (also known as Dudolf) "hidden panda among snowmen" illustration, which became a viral sensation, and will present three festive worlds in visual puzzles. The first title is set to publish in fall 2017; Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions did the deal for world rights.
Kate Harrison at Dial has acquired author-illustrator Cori Doerrfeld's picture book The Rabbit, a story that explores dealing with difficult feelings, and the power of a good friend. Publication is planned for spring 2018; Rachel Orr at Prospect Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Emma Ledbetter at Atheneum has boughtMartin's Dream Day, the first picture book by celebrity biographer Kitty Kelley. The book will be illustrated with photographs by the late photojournalist Stanley Tretick; it tells the story of the 1963 March on Washington, bringing that day to life in words and pictures. Publication is set for January 3, 2017; Wayne S. Kabak ofWSK Management did the deal for world rights.
Anne Schwartz at Random House/Schwartz & Wade Books has acquired Sally Lloyd-Jones'sHats Off to Mr. Pockles!, to be illustrated by David Litchfield. I the story, Mr. Pockles, the owner of a very large hat collection, saves the day when Lady Satsuma's hat is ruined on her way to Hat Day at the PandaPolitan Club. Publication is scheduled for spring 2019. Elizabeth Harding at Curtis Brown Ltd. represented the author for North American rights, and Anne Moore Armstrong at Bright USA represented the illustrator for world rights.
Laura Godwin at Henry Holt has bought world rights to Jody Jensen Shaffer's Prudence the Part-Time Cow, in which Prudence the cow finds a way to balance her extra-cow-ricular interests (science and invention) with being a full-time member of the herd. Stephanie Laberis will illustrate, and publication is slated for spring 2017. Kathleen Rushall of Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and Anne Moore Armstrong of Bright USA represented the illustrator.
Cheryl Klein at Scholastic/Levine has bought Flood City, the first middle grade book by Daniel José Older, an SF novel about two boys named Max and Ato who team up to stop the destruction of the last urban outpost on a flooded Earth. It's tentatively scheduled for 2018. Klein also signed up Shadowhouse Fall (scheduled for fall 2017) and an untitled third book, to continue the bestselling Shadowshaper series. Eddie Schneider at JABberwocky Literary did both deals for North American rights.
Tiffany Liao at Razorbill has bought Erin Chack's YA essay collection,This Is Really Happening. Chack is an editor at BuzzFeed, and the book chronicles the author's experiences from meeting her soulmate at age 14 to her first chemotherapy session at age 19 to what really goes on behind-the-scenes at a major Internet media company. Publication is slated for summer 2017; Tina Wexler at ICM partners brokered the deal for world English rights.
Lisa Sandell at Scholastic Press has acquired Jennifer A. Nielsen's new series, The Traitor's Game, in which a privileged girl is forced by the rebellion to obtain the one item capable of bringing down her own country, but ends up discovering a secret far more dangerous. The first book in the trilogy is set for spring 2018; Ammi-Joan Paquette of Erin Murphy Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Jocelyn Davies at HarperCollins has acquired If Birds Fly Back, a debut YA novel by Carlie Sorosiak, about two teens whose lives converge around a missing cult film star's sudden reappearance, forcing them to confront questions of love, family, and the mysteries of the universe. Publication is planned for summer 2017, with a second to follow in 2018; Claire Wilson at Rogers, Coleridge & White negotiated the two-book deal for North American rights.
Jennifer Ung at Simon Pulse has acquired The Stories We Told by Sandhya Menon, author of the forthcoming When Dimple Met Rishi. Her latest contemporary YA follows Kiran Mehra, an aspiring teen filmmaker who finds herself caught up in family, friendship, and romance drama, narrated through the letters she writes to her favorite female filmmakers. Publication is set for summer 2018; Thao Le at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Mary Colgan at Boyds Mills Press has preempted North American rights to debut author Carolyn O'Doherty's speculative YA novel Rewind. The novel follows Alex and her fellow Spinners, teens with the ability to freeze and rewind time, as they unravel a dark conspiracy and discover they have more control over the future than they ever imagined. Publication is scheduled for spring 2018; Ali McDonald at the Rights Factory brokered the two-book deal.
Stacy Whitman at Lee & Low's Tu Books has bought world rights for New Visions Award finalist Hilda Burgos's Castle of Kings, a middle grade novel about 11-year-old Anamay, who is upset to discover that she will be getting a new sibling until she travels to her parents' native Dominican Republic and learns that family and community are more important than material possessions. Publication is slated for spring 2019; the author was unagented.
Charles Kochman and Orlando Dos Reis at Abrams/Amulet have acquired Ginger Ly's (l.)Suee and the Shadow, a middle-grade graphic novel illustrated by Molly Park, about a 12-year-old girl whose new school is quite strange: voices emanate from dark corners, bullied kids turn into zombie-like Zeroes, and Suee's own shadow comes to chatty life with a secret hiding beneath her own feet. Publication is planned for fall 2017; Daniel Lazar at Writers House did the deal for world English rights.
Laura Godwin at Henry Holt has signed Maurice Sendak fellow Frann Preston-Gannon's next picture book, tentatively titled Dandy Lion. The book presents a flower-festooned lion who brings surprise and inspiration to a neighborhood. It is scheduled for summer 2019; Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions negotiated the deal for world rights.
Laura Godwin at Henry Holt also bought world rights to Karen Beaumont's (l.) Pretty Kitty, a counting picture book in rhyme about a lonely old man whose heart is slowly melted by an ever-growing number of kitties hoping to find a home. Stephanie Laberis is set to illustrate. Publication is planned for spring 2018; the Fogelman Agency represented the author and Anne Moore Armstrong of Bright USA represented the illustrator.
Anne Schwartz at Random House/Schwartz & Wade has acquired Troy Howell's (l.) Whale in a Fishbowl, to be illustrated by Richard Jones, about a whale who lives in captivity and longs for the sea. Publication is slated for spring 2018; Molly Jaffa at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management represented the author, and Anne Moore Armstrong at Bright USA represented the illustrator in the deal for world rights.
Wendy McClure of Albert Whitman has bought world rights for Elephants Walk Together, Cheryl Lawton Malone (l.) and Bistra Masseva's follow-up to Dario and the Whale. The picture book tells the story of two young elephants who are captured, live separate lives in captivity at a circus and a zoo, then are reunited at an elephant sanctuary in their old age. The book is set for publication in spring 2017; Clelia Gore of Martin Literary Management represented the author, and Lorraine Owen of the Organisation represented the illustrator.
