Thomas Dunne Picks Up Harms’s Second
Kelly Harms sold North American rights to her novel The Pike Bay Inn and Art Appreciation Society to Laurie Chittenden at Thomas Dunne Books. Harms, author of The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane, is a former agent at the Jane Rotrosen Agency and a former editor at Avon. In the new book, a visual artist in financial straits discovers that the annulment that she thought took care of her drunken Vegas quickie marriage was never completed, and she heads to Wisconsin to find the stranger who has been her husband for the past decade. Holly Root of the Waxman Leavell Literary Agency brokered the deal.
Young a ‘Hero’ at NAL
Kerry Donovan at NAL bought world rights to bestselling author Samantha Young’s new standalone romance, Hero, in a deal brokered by Lauren E. Abramo of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management. The author’s first book set in the U.S. is, per the agent, an “emotional and unforgettable romance about a young woman trying to build a life for herself in the wake of a series of betrayals that destroyed her family.” The book is slated for a February 2015 release. Young is also the author of the bestselling On Dublin Street series, which has sold in 28 countries.
Millbrook Buys Six from Jensen
Carol Hinz at Millbrook Press acquired world rights to a six-book children’s series from Belinda Jensen, senior meteorologist at KARE-11, a TV station in Minneapolis/St. Paul. The picture books feature Bel the Weather Girl, a character based on Jensen as a child. Through fictional story lines, the series explains weather phenomena such as blizzards and tornadoes to kids ages 5–8 and looks to “allay fears they may have,” according to the publisher. Publication for the first book is scheduled for spring 2016; Christi Cardenas at the Plains Agency negotiated the deal.
Scholastic Aims to 'Raise a Reader'
Virginia Dooley at Scholastic acquired world rights to a book by Amy Mascott and Allison McDonald, who founded, respectively, the educational websites Teach Mama and No Time for Flashcards. The two women also write for Scholastic’s Raise a Reader blog, and their upcoming book is tentatively titled 75 Tricks for Raising Rockstar Readers. Erica Rand Silverman at Sterling Lord Literistic brokered the deal. The book will, according to the agent, help parents raise readers through hands-on activities. It is set to publish in 2016, with Maria Chang editing.
