At Macmillan, Calista Brill of First Second and Simon Boughton at Roaring Brook Press have acquired four projects from picture book author and graphic novelist Ben Hatke. The four books are: a picture book, Nobody Likes a Goblin (due in spring 2016), sold to First Second; a middle-grade graphic novel, Mighty Jack and a planned sequel, sold to First Second (due in fall 2016 and 2017); and an illustrated middle-grade novel called Miracle Molly (due in spring 2017), sold to Roaring Brook. Judy Hansen at Hansen Literary negotiated the six-figure deal for world rights.
Liesa Abrams at Simon Pulse has bought the first two books in Maggie Thrash's YA series Mystery Club. In the first installment, two social pariahs at a private school in Atlanta stumble upon their first case when the school mascot hurls itself off a bridge at halftime. Publication is slated for fall 2016, with the second book to follow in 2017. Stephen Barr of Writers House held the auction for North American rights.
Rebecca Weston at Delacorte has won a six-house auction for two middle-grade novels by Megan Shepherd. The first, The Secret Horses of Briar Hill, is a novel in the vein of The Secret Garden about a girl named Emmaline living in a children's TB hospital during WWII, who sees winged horses in the hospital mirrors and then discovers that one of the horses has entered her world and needs her help. Publication is slated for fall 2016; Josh Adams at Adams Literary brokered the deal for North American rights.
Liz Szabla at Feiwel and Friends has acquired Gap Life, a YA novel by John Coy, about a high school senior whose parents will only pay for college if he studies what they want; instead he meets a girl who is taking a gap year, gets a job in a group home for adults with special needs, and begins learning things for himself that no university can teach. Publication is scheduled for fall 2016; Szabla negotiated directly with the author for world rights, to be handled by Holly Hunnicutt at Macmillan.
Phoebe Yeh at Crown has bought U.S./Canada rights to a psychological suspense YA novel by Kelley Armstrong, called Reeve's End. In the book, Winter Crane has to survive by her wits and her wilderness skills while unraveling the mystery behind the string of teen disappearances from her Appalachian town, but danger catches up to her. Canadian rights were sold to Amy Black at Doubleday Canada; U.S. and Canadian publication is scheduled for spring 2017. Sarah Heller of the Helen Heller Literary Agency brokered the two-book deal.
Christine Krones at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has acquired Cory Putman Oakes'sWitchtown, a YA novel about a teenage girl in the business of robbing wealthy witch havens with her mother, who discovers a shocking truth about the life she leads. Publication is set for October 2017; Sarah LaPolla at Bradford Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.
Aimee Friedman at Scholastic has bought Kasie West's P.S. I Like You, about a girl who finds herself falling for a mystery boy she exchanges letters with. Publication is planned for summer 2016; Michelle Wolfson at Wolfson Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Anne Hoppe at Clarion has acquired Sarah Beth Durst's middle-grade fantasy The Hidden Islands, in which a magic barrier has shrouded the islands of Himitsu for centuries, keeping the kingdom safely hidden from all perils, but now the barrier is failing, and two princesses try to save their people. Publication is slated for spring 2017; Andrea Somberg at Harvey Klinger brokered the deal for world rights.
Grace Kendall at FSG has bought at auction Melissa Thomson's middle-grade debut Tito the Bonecrusher, about a boy who seeks the help of a pro-wrestler turned action star to rescue his dad from a deportation detention center, in a story about heroes, friendship, and forgiveness. It's slated for winter 2017; Lara Perkins at Andrea Brown Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.
Kathy Landwehr at Peachtree has acquired a picture-book biography from author-illustrator Don Tate, called William Still: Father of the Underground Railroad. It tells the story of a free African-American man living during the time of slavery, who helped hundreds of enslaved people, including Harriet Tubman, find freedom on the Underground Railroad. It's scheduled for fall 2019; Caryn Wiseman at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Michelle Nagler at Random House has acquired The Amazing Book Is Not on Fire by London-based YouTube vloggers Dan Howell and Phil Lester, who have more than eight million subscribers and a BBC Radio show. The book, which features stories and images from the duo, releases on October 8 in the U.K., and October 13 in the U.S. North American rights were acquired from Ebury Press, and the book was agented by Fleur Brooklin Smith and Mike Cook of FlipSide Talent.
Abby Ranger at HarperCollins has bought world rights to New Yorker and McSweeney's contributor Tom O'Donnell's Hamstersaurus Rex, illustrated by Tim Miller, a young middle-grade series about a quirky class pet that undergoes a transformation and helps defend a loyal sixth-grader from a werewolf-obsessed bully. The first book is slated to release in fall 2016. Emma Sweeney of Emma Sweeney Agency represented the author and Erica Rand Silverman of Sterling Lord Literistic represented the illustrator for the four-book deal.
Caitlyn Dlouhy at Atheneum's Caitlyn Dlouhy Books has acquired Gill Lewis’s Scarlet Ibis, the story of a girl’s efforts to reunite with her younger autistic brother after they’re sent to different foster homes. Publication is scheduled for spring 2016; Barry Goldblatt at Barry Goldblatt Literary brokered the deal for U.S. rights on behalf of Victoria Birkett at Miles Stott Literary Agency.
Julia Maguire at Knopf has bought at auction the middle-grade novel Molly and Pim and the Millions of Stars by Martine Murray, and a second untitled novel. Molly and Pim tells of a girl who longs for normalcy while her mother collects herbs and concocts potions; when one of those potions goes awry, Molly, with the help of her new friend Pim, sets out to make things right. Publication is set for fall 2016; Catherine Drayton at Inkwell Management, on behalf of Text Publishing, negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Amy Cloud at Aladdin/MIX has acquired Crushing It by Joanne Levy. Pitched as Cyrano de Bergerac for tweens, the story stars 12-year-old Kat, accustomed to being the invisible wallflower, who ends up wooing the boy next door and learning that true beauty and confidence come from the inside. Publication is set for spring 2017; Caryn Wiseman at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.
Connie Hsu at Roaring Brook has acquired two picture books by Jake Parker. The first, Little Bot & Sparrow, is the story about a robot and sparrow who form a lifelong friendship. Publication is scheduled for fall 2016; Judith Hansen at Hansen Literary Management did the deal for world rights.
Alessandra Balzer at HarperCollins imprint Balzer + Bray has bought in a preempt Marlo by debut author-illustrator Christopher Browne, in which Marlo rescues his rubber ducky from certain death in the depths of the ocean… or bathtub, depending on your point of view; it's based on the webcomic Marlo and the Loyal Dog. Publication is planned for winter 2017; Elena Giovinazzo at Pippin Properties brokered the two-book deal for world rights.
Charlie Ilgunas at Little Bee Books has acquired debut author-illustrator Claire Lordon's Lorenzo the Pizza-Loving Lobster, a picture book in which a lobster discovers and falls in love with pizza, and tries to recreate it with his sea turtle friend, with unexpected results. Publication is slated for summer 2016; the author represented herself in the deal for world rights.
Laura Godwin at Henry Holt has bought world rights to two projects from debut illustrator Misa Saburi (l.). In Joy Keller's (center) Monster Trucks, scheduled for spring 2017, there's no time to rest as monsters get to work – paving roads, plowing snow, and hauling with their monster trucks. Bearnard, a picture book with text by Deborah Underwood (r.), is the story of a bear who is preparing to audition for his very first book; it's scheduled for fall 2017. Erin Murphy of Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented Underwood, Kirsten Hall of Catbird Productions represented Saburi, and Mary Cummings of Betsy Amster Literary Enterprises represented Keller.
