David Gale at Simon & Schuster has acquired Laurent Linn's debut illustrated YA novel, Draw the Line. Obsessed with superheroes and Renaissance art, 16-year-old Adrian creates his own unique but secret comic-book-style superhero… who happens to be gay, which thrusts him into a dangerous spotlight at his Texas high school. Publication is scheduled for summer 2016; Brenda Bowen at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates negotiated the deal for world rights.
Annette Pollert-Morgan at Sourcebooks Fire has bought This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp, the finance v-p of #WeNeedDiverseBooks. The novel is told from the perspective of four teens in a high school held hostage who all have their own reasons to fear the boy with the gun. Publication is slated for spring 2016; Jennifer Udden at Donald Maass Literary Agency brokered the deal for world English and audio rights.
Lisa Cheng at Running Press Teen has acquired Breaker by Welsh author Kat Ellis. The novel follows the son of a serial killer who moves to a new town to start fresh, but realizes he can't escape his past when he realizes his irresistible new classmate is the daughter of one of his father's victims. It's scheduled for spring 2016; Molly Ker Hawn of the Bent Agency did the deal for world rights.
Alvina Ling and Allison Moore at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers have bought Diana López's Nothing Up My Sleeve, about three friends, a magic competition, and how far they'll each go to succeed. It's slated for spring 2016; Stefanie Von Borstel at Full Circle Literary sold world rights.
Alvina Ling at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers has also bought Caldecott Medalist Ed Young's Might Moby, with text by Barbara DaCosta, about a band of pirates trying to capture a whale only to get an unexpected surprise. Publication is set for fall 2017; Christa Heschke at McIntosh & Otis, negotiated the deal for world rights.
Jill Davis at HarperCollins's Katherine Tegen Books has acquired two picture books by Tammi Sauer: I Love Cake and Making a Friend, both to be illustrated by Angie Rozelaar. In I Love Cake, which is set for summer 2016, a rabbit, a porcupine, and a moose gather to celebrate the rabbit's birthday. Making a Friend follows an otter desperate to do so; it's scheduled for winter 2017. The author was represented by Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary, the illustrator by Eunice McMullen at Eunice McMullen Literary in the deal for world rights.
Julia Maguire at Knopf has bought world rights to 88 Instruments from Shark vs. Train author Chris Barton (l.), about a boy who can't choose which instrument to play, so he decides to try them all. Louis Thomas is set to illustrate, with publication slated for summer 2016. Erin Murphy at Erin Murphy Literary Agency negotiated for the author, and Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions for the illustrator.
Neal Porter at Roaring Brook's Neal Porter Books has acquired world rights to Are We Pears Yet?, a picture book by Miranda Paul. The story follows two quirky, impatient seeds who must endure each other's company on the long journey toward bearing fruit. Carin Berger is set to illustrate, with publication set for spring/summer 2017. Karen Grencik of Red Fox Literary negotiated the deal on behalf of the author; the illustrator was unagented.
Christy Ottaviano at Henry Holt's Christy Ottaviano Books has acquired a picture book biography of rock guitarist Carlos Santana, written by Gary Golio (l.), author of Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow; and illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez, who has created a Santana album cover. The book centers on Santana's childhood in Mexico as the son of a violinist. It's currently slated for 2016; Edward Necarsulmer IV at Dunow, Carlson & Lerner brokered the deal for world rights.
Kevin Lewis at Disney-Hyperion has bought world rights to Tara Lazar's 7 Ate 9, a preschool noir mystery, starring a hard-boiled Private "I" and a mysteriously missing number. Ross MacDonald has been signed to illustrate. The projected publication date is 2017; Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented the author, and Holly McGhee at Pippin Properties represented the artist.
Sylvie Frank at S&S's Paula Wiseman Books has bought world rights at auction to Bitty Bot, a picture book by debut author and SCBWI Northern California assistant regional advisor Tim S. McCanna (l.), with Tad Carpenter set to illustrate. It tells a little robot who would rather build a rocket and have an adventure than go to sleep. Publication is scheduled for fall 2016; Caryn Wiseman at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency did the two-book deal for the author; the illustrator represented himself.
Catherine Onder at Bloomsbury has acquired in a pre-empt three books in The Great Shelby Holmes series, the middle-grade debut from YA author Elizabeth Eulberg. In this reimagining of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Shelby Holmes is a bright but prickly nine-year-old girl and John Watson is a friendly, easygoing boy; together, they form a hard-to-beat team. The first book in the series is scheduled for U.S. and U.K. publication in fall 2016. Erin Malone of William Morris Entertainment brokered the deal for world English rights.
David Linker at HarperCollins has bought the first four books in author-illustrator duo Fred Van Lente (l.) and Ryan Dunlavey's Action Presidents series, graphic novel-style biographies of U.S. Presidents. The first two books are slated for summer 2017. Jason Yarn at the Jason Yarn Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.
Nick Eliopulos at Scholastic Press has acquired two middle-grade horror novels by Dan Poblocki. The first, The Ghost Hunter's Daughter, tells the story of the 12-year-old daughter of the world's most famous ghost hunter; when he and his entire crew disappear, she must join forces with her arch-nemesis to rescue him. The second, The Liars' Room, is the tale of a brother and sister forced to move into a creepy old house where their younger cousin torments them with stories of a ghost he soon invites to live upstairs. Publication is set for fall 2016 and fall 2017, respectively. Barry Goldblatt at Barry Goldblatt Literary negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Alessandra Balzer at HarperCollins's Balzer + Bray imprint has bought Julie Murphy's Ramona Drowning, a YA novel set on the Mississippi Gulf Coast about 17-year-old Ramona Leroux. She has always known she would only ever fall in love with a girl, until she finds herself reconsidering everything she thought she knew. The book is tentatively scheduled for fall 2016; Molly Jaffa at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management brokered the two-book deal for North American rights.
Shauna Rossano at G.P. Putnam's Sons has acquired the rights for the historical YA novel Unsinkable Mercy Wong by Stacey Lee, a #WeNeedDiverseBooks founding member and author of Under a Painted Sky. In the new novel, a spirited Chinese-American girl pretends to be an heiress from China to get entry into an all-white boarding school, but more than her future plans are shaken up when the 1906 San Francisco earthquake hits. Publication is slated for early 2016; Kristin Nelson at Nelson Literary Agency negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Kristen Pettit at HarperCollins has bought Meagan Spooner's YA fantasy Hunted, a re-imagining of Beauty and the Beast and Russia's Firebird folk tale, featuring Beauty with a battleax, in a three-book deal. It's scheduled for winter 2017. Josh Adams at Adams Literary brokered the deal for world rights.
Joy Peskin at Farrar, Straus and Giroux has bought world rights to Dashka Slater's (l.)Escargot, a picture book featuring a French snail who wants to be your favorite animal, illustrated by Sydney Hanson. Publication is scheduled for spring 2017. Erin Murphy of Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented Slater, and Justin Rucker from the Shannon Associates represented Hanson.
