Ellie Berger and Tracy Mack at Scholastic have acquired a new book by Caldecott Medalist Brian Selznick, which Mack will edit for Scholastic Press. The Marvels, a "multi-layered reading experience in words and pictures" according to the publisher, weaves together two seemingly unrelated stories — one in words, the other in pictures. The illustrated story begins in 1766 with Billy, the lone survivor of a shipwreck, and charts the adventures of his family of actors over five generations. The prose story opens in 1990 and follows Joseph, who has run away from school to an estranged uncle's house in London, where he, along with the reader, must piece together many mysteries. It will be published on September 15, 2015 simultaneously in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Noel Silverman, Esq. brokered the deal for world rights.
Martha Mihalick at Greenwillow has acquired Sarah Griffin's Spare and Found Parts, and a second untitled novel. In this YA debut, which draws inspiration from Frankenstein, the daughter of an inventor of biomechanical limbs finds a prosthetic hand on the shoreline of her ravaged city. It's the first boy's hand she's ever held, and it gives her an idea for her own great invention. Publication is scheduled for 2016; Eric Simonoff of WME negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Mark Siegel at First Second has acquired Scott Westerfeld's first graphic novel, The Spill Zone, to be illustrated by Alex Puvilland (Templar). In this postapocalyptic thriller, Addison Merrick must unravel the secrets of the mysterious Spill Zone, and uncover her own family history in the process. Publication is set for 2016; Jill Grinberg at Jill Grinberg Literary Management brokered the deal for world rights.
Jill Santopolo at Philomel has bought debut author Meghan Rogers's Crossing the Line, first in a spy series starring 18-year-old Jocelyn, who, after being kidnapped as a child and trained as a North Korean spy, escapes with plans of revenge that she'll only be able to enact if she can win over the same U.S. agents she has spent most of her life fighting against. Publication is slated for winter 2016; Michelle Wolfson at Wolfson Literary Agency did the two-book deal for world rights.
Carolyn Yoder at Boyds Mills Press's Calkins Creek imprint has acquired Eagles for Their Buttons: The Civil War in Black and White, a YA narrative history by Ray A. Shepard. It tells story of two African-American soldiers and their white officer – members of the first black regiment from a northern state, the Massachusetts Fifty-fourth Volunteers, drawn from their letters. Publication is planned for fall 2016; Caryn Wiseman at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Calista Brill at First Second has acquired world rights to John Patrick Green's first solo graphic novel, Hippopotamister, in which Hippo and Red Panda must leave the zoo and get jobs in the human world... and Hippo must become Hippopotamister to be successful in this new arena. It's slated for spring 2016; the author is unagented.
Neal Porter of Roaring Brook's Neal Porter Books has acquired world rights to author-illustrator Jessixa Bagley's picture book, Laundry Day. The book, about a young badger twins Tic and Tac, who decide to chase away their boredom by "helping" mom with the laundry, will be published in spring 2017. Alexandra Penfold of Upstart Crow Literary did the deal.
Mark Siegel at First Second has acquired a nonfiction picture book from Ian Lendler, Shelli Paroline, and Braden Lamb, called One Day a Dot, which travels from the origin of the universe all the way to today, in 36 pages. Publication is scheduled for 2017; Tanya McKinnon at McKinnon McIntyre negotiated the deal for world rights.
Sharyn Rosart at POW! has acquired world English rights to author-illustrator Mark Gonyea'sMonkey Suit. It's an alphabet book that offers 26 answers to the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” and it features monkeys in boldly colored outfits "suited" to each. Publication is set for fall 2016; Rosemary Stimola of Stimola Literary Studio brokered the deal.
Nancy Hinkel at Knopf pre-empted North American rights to How to Hang a Witch, a debut novel by producer and actress Adriana Mather, a direct descendant of Cotton Mather. Pitched as The Ghost and Mrs. Muir meets The Craft, it follows Samantha Mather, who has moved to Salem with her stepmother 300 years after her family hanged witches there, to find she is ostracized by the witch descendants at school, as she unravels the lost secrets of the hangings and her family. Publication is set for fall 2016; Rosemary Stimola of Stimola Literary Studio negotiated the two-book, six-figure deal.
Laura Godwin at Henry Holt has acquired the first YA novel by Louis Bayard, author of five adult historical thrillers including The Pale Blue Eye and Roosevelt's Beast, via exclusive submission. Set in 1934, The Gas Station Pagans tells of an orphan girl trying to keep her siblings together by engaging a man to impersonate their father, which has both good and bad consequences. It's scheduled for winter 2016; Christopher Schelling at Selectric Artists did the deal for world rights.
Wendy McClure of Albert Whitman has bought NA author Elizabeth Briggs's first YA project: a science-fiction novel called Future Shock plus a sequel. In the books, a Latina teenager raised in Los Angeles's foster care system with an eidetic memory is recruited by a tech company for a mission – a trip 30 years into the future. Publication is slated for March 2016; Kate Testerman of KT Literary brokered the deal for world English rights.
Ruta Rimas at S&S's Margaret K. McElderry Books has pre-empted Amber Smith's debut YA novel The Way I Used to Be. Told in four parts – Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, and Senior Year – it tells the story of the deep emotional wounds of sexual violence. It's scheduled for spring 2016; Jessica Regel of Foundry Literary + Media negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Andrea Cascardi at Egmont acquired at auction Kara Bietz's debut novel Slip. Academic overachiever and athlete Sam North, now 17, has been terrorized by rival Ace Quinn since kindergarten. When Ace's contempt for Sam takes a dangerous turn and puts Sam's girlfriend in the crossfire, Sam knows that being quiet won't work anymore. The book will pub in fall 2016; Courtney Miller-Callihan at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates negotiated the deal for north American rights.
