Simon Boughton at Norton Young Readers has acquired North American rights to Feminist AF: A Guide to Crushing Girlhood by (from l.) Brittney Cooper, Chanel Craft Tanner, and Susana Morris, founding members of the Crunk Feminist Collective. The book is a guide for teen girls who want to be unapologetically feminist and live their feminism out loud. The book will be published in summer 2020, marking Crunk's 10th anniversary; Tanya McKinnon at McKinnon McIntyre represented the authors.
Chelsea Eberly at Random House has bought a YA fantasy duology by Jessica Cluess, author of the Kingdom on Fire series. Pitched as the intrigue of Three Dark Crowns meets the cast of The Breakfast Club if they rode dragons into battle, House of Dragons is set in a militaristic empire where highborn children are bonded with dragons and, upon the emperor's death, a champion from each of the five noble houses is selected to compete for the throne. While the best and brightest are usually called, this time five outcasts are chosen, and must fight while learning what it takes to rule. Publication is set for summer 2020 and summer 2021; Brooks Sherman at Janklow & Nesbit Associates negotiated the deal for world English rights.
Beverly Horowitz at Delacorte Press has acquired The Kissing Boothauthor Beth Reekle's new YA romance, Going the Distance, which will also be a Netflix movie. The story is about Elle and Noah's will-they-won't they relationship after Noah goes off to college 3,000 miles away. Publication is slated for spring 2020; Kelsey Horton will edit. Clare Wallace at Darley Anderson Children's Book Agency brokered the deal, which also included a novella titled The Beach House, for North American rights.
Eliza Swift at Sourcebooks Fire has bought What You Hide and Six Months Later author Natalie D. Richards's new YA thriller The Detour, and two additional titles. When a blizzard diverts teenager Avery's flight to visit her mother for Christmas, she hitches a ride with some other waylaid students, but as road conditions worsen, it becomes clear that one of the people in the car will do anything to keep them from reaching their destinations. Publication is scheduled for fall 2020, with the other titles to follow in fall 2021 and fall 2022; Devin Ross at New Leaf Literary & Media did the deal for world English rights.
Karen Chaplin at HarperCollins has acquired, at auction, children's librarian Cameron Kelly Rosenblum's YA debut, The Stepping Off Place. The nonlinear exploration of the stages of grief tells the story of Reid, a teenage girl coping with her best friend Hattie's death by suicide. The book is a love letter to friendships that span from childhood to adolescence, as well as a look at mental health. Publication is planned for summer 2020; Brianne Johnson and Alexandra Levick at Writers House negotiated the two-book deal for North American rights.
Karen Wojtyla at S&S/McElderry has bought The Time of Green Magic, a middle-grade novel by 2018 Costa Children's Book Award winner Hilary McKay. A return to contemporary fiction for the author, the book follows Abi, Louis, and Max as their two single parents bring their families together, moving into an eerie ivy-covered house that seems to know just what each of them needs to feel at home. Publication is slated for summer 2020; Molly Ker Hawn at the Bent Agency brokered the deal for North American rights.
Sally Morgridge at Holiday House has acquired North American rights to The Roosevelt Ghosts by Dianne K. Salerni (the Eighth Day series), a middle grade alternative historical novel reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. In a version of 1898 where ghosts are prevalent enough to be recognized and categorized by the government, a young and insecure Eleanor Roosevelt must put aside her differences with her unruly cousin Alice when they suspect that the ghost in the house of their pregnant aunt has been dangerously misdiagnosed. Publication is set for fall 2020; Sara Crowe at Pippin Properties handled the deal.
Annie Berger at Sourcebooks Jabberwocky has bought The Wolf of Cape Fen, a middle grade fantasy by debut author Juliana Brandt. Set during the harsh winter of an isolated coastal town, the novel follows a girl who must break a magical bargain before an enchanted wolf steals her sister away, only to discover her sister isn't the only one whose life is in danger. Publication is scheduled for summer 2020; Natalie Lakosil at Bradford Literary Agency negotiated the two-book deal for world English rights.
Mallory Kass at Scholastic has acquired The Girl Who Speaks Bear by Sophie Anderson, a middle grade fantasy inspired by Russian folklore, in which a 12-year-old girl who was found in a bear cave as a baby undergoes a dramatic transformation, and is forced to journey into the forest, looking for answers about who she is and where she belongs. The book is planned for spring 2020; Gemma Cooper at the Bent Agency brokered the deal for North American rights.
Marissa Moss at Creston has bought Notable Social Studies Award winner Darlene Beck-Jacobson's middle grade novel, Wishes, Dares and How to Stand Up to a Bully. The novel in verse crystallizes a boy's worries about his father, who is MIA in Vietnam, and how his family, new best friend, and a bully unexpectedly help him find the courage to do the right thing, not just the easy thing. Publication is set for spring 2020; Liza Fleissig at Liza Royce Agency did the deal for world rights.
Andrea Spooner at Little, Brown has acquired Picture Book by Dog by debut author-illustrator Michael Relth. Written and drawn from an adopted dog's point of view, the book pays tribute to the enduring nature of dog-human love and companionship and also celebrates animal rescue. Publication is slated for fall 2020; Rick Richter at Aevitas Creative Management negotiated the deal for world rights.
Neal Porter at Holiday House/Porter has bought, in an exclusive submission, Amy Hevron's The Longest Journey: An Arctic Tern's Migration, a nonfiction picture book about the extraordinary trip an arctic tern takes—12,000 miles or more—semi-annually. Publication is scheduled for spring 2021; Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions brokered the deal for world rights.
Catherine Laudone at Simon & Schuster has acquired author-illustrator Apryl Stott's debut picture book Share Some Kindness, Bring Some Light. A girl named Coco and her new friend Bear save a baby deer in trouble, and learn the value of doing kind acts for others. Publication is planned for fall 2020; Maggie Byer-Sprinzeles at the Byer-Sprinzeles Agency handled the deal for world rights.
Sarah Rockett at Sleeping Bear has bought author-illustrator Brad Sneed's picture book, Because I'm New, a story about the adjustment a family goes through with the arrival of a new baby, told from the perspective of the baby talking to an older sibling. Publication is slated for 2021; Stephanie Fretwell-Hill of Red Fox Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.
Samantha Swenson at Tundra has acquired North American rights to Zoey Abbott's author-illustrator debut, I Do Not Like Yolanda, about a girl who loves to send letters but is terrified of a surly postal worker at her neighborhood post office. Publication is set for spring 2021; Erica Rand Silverman at Stimola Literary Studio brokered the deal.
Alyssa Mito Pusey at Charlesbridge has bought world rights to Lia & Luís: More? Mais!, a picture book about siblings Lia and Luís, who love Brazilian snacks but argue over who has more, by Ana Crespo (l.), illustrated by Giovana Medeiros. Publication is scheduled for fall 2020, as part of the new Math for Me series. Deborah Warren at East/West Literary Agency represented the author, and Amanda Hendon at Advocate Art represented the illustrator.
Charlotte Wenger at Page Street Kids has acquired world English rights to Alien Tomato, a debut picture book by Kristen Schroeder (l.), illustrated by Mette Engell, about a mysterious red sphere that lands in a vegetable garden. The veggies are convinced it's an alien tomato and treat it like royalty, but the cantankerous gopher is skeptical. Publication is planned for spring 2020; Christa Heschke at McIntosh & Otis represented the author, and Alex Gehringer at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Andrea Hall at Albert Whitman has bought world rights to Tag Your Dreams: Poems of Play and Persistence by Jacqueline Jules (l.), a poetry collection about different types of sports and play, perseverance, and following your dreams. Iris Deppe will illustrate. Publication is slated for spring 2020; Maura Kye-Casella at Don Congdon Associates represented the author, and Alex Gehringer at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Emilia Rhodes at HMH has preempted world English rights to Sarah Everett's Some Other Now. Pitched as This Is Us meets 500 Days of Summer, the YA novel features a teenage girl caught between two brothers, alternating between the summer that she falls in love, and the summer that her ex-boyfriend returns from college and asks her to pretend they're dating again for the final months of his mother's life. Publication is planned for fall 2020; Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary & Media brokered the deal.
Bess Cozby at Tor Teen has bought world English rights to Demetra Brodsky's The Juniper Sisters, a novel about sisterhood, survival, and family secrets. Three sisters raised as doomsday preppers face a different kind of threat when one sister's actions draw unwanted attention to the secret compound where they live. As the erratic actions of the group's leader increase, they will have to decide if it's better to run or take their chances against the people sworn to protect them. Publication is set for May 2020; Suzie Townsend and Devin Ross at New Leaf Literary & Media handled the deal.
Maya Marlette at Scholastic has acquired Leah Johnson's debut YA rom-com, You Should See Me in a Crown. Liz, a self-declared band-geek, has always felt like an outsider as one of the only black kids in her small, prom-obsessed Midwestern hometown—so it's no surprise she's not the most obvious choice for prom queen. But with a college scholarship on the line, Liz decides to enter the race, only to fall for the competition. Publication is slated for 2020; Sarah Landis at Sterling Lord Literistic negotiated the deal for world rights.
Lee Wade at Random House/Schwartz & Wade has acquired, at auction, Secrets & Spies: The Hidden Life of Codebreaker Elizebeth Smith Friedmanby Amy Butler Greenfield, a YA biography about America's first female cryptanalyst. Publication is scheduled for spring 2021; Sara Crowe at Pippin Properties brokered the deal for North American rights.
Alessandra Balzer at HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray has bought world English rights to The Shape of Thunder, a middle grade novel by Jasmine Warga. Set a year after a school shooting has devastated a small Ohio town, the novel follows two 12-year-old best friends as they hatch a seemingly impossible plan to try to make everything okay again, and discover that hope might be the most impossible, but also the most important, thing of all. Publication is planned for winter 2021; a second, untitled novel was included in the deal. Brenda Bowen at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates was the agent.
Deirdre Jones at Little, Brown has acquired Seven Minutes of Magic by Henry Clark, author of What We Found in the Sofa and How It Saved the World. In the quirky adventure with an environmental twist, three children discover the secret of magic—that it can only be done during seven separate minutes each day—and must use their newfound knowledge to save not only their world but also a mysterious, magical land in peril. Publication is slated for spring 2020; Hilary Harwell at KT Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.
Christy Ottaviano at Holt/Ottaviano has bought at auction Caroline Hickey's The Geography of Ginny P. Pitched as See You in the Cosmos meets The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl, the book tells the story of a boisterous girl whose geography obsession helps her navigate a lonely summer in a new town and the absence of her deployed dad. Publication is set for winter 2021; Alex Glass at Glass Literary Management did the two-book deal for North American rights.
Keith Garton at Red Chair/One Elm has acquired world English rights to Into the Wind, a novel by William Loizeaux. The middle grade novel features an unlikely friendship between young and old, and explores the complexity, emotional depth, and capacity for sympathy in a child's life. Publication is scheduled for early 2021; the author represented himself.
Lauri Hornik at Dial has bought Corinna Luyken's The Arguers, a fable-like picture book about a town that has been full of arguing folk for as long as anyone can remember. But when a contest is set to determine the champion arguer once and for all, will the citizens be able to put aside their differences to follow the rules? Publication is planned for fall 2021; Steven Malk at Writers House brokered the deal for world rights.
Talia Benamy at Philomel has acquired The Bear Must Go On illustrator Brandon Todd's solo debut, Tou-Can't, in which a young toucan tries to keep up with his older sister, but he just "tou-can't." Publication is slated for summer 2021; John Rudolph at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret negotiated the deal for world rights.
Tom Peterson at the Creative Company has bought world rights to Knowing the Name of a Bird, written by Jane Yolen (l.) and illustrated by Jori van der Linde, a poetic picture book about birds and all the ways we know them beyond what we name them. Publication is set for fall 2020; Elizabeth Harding at Curtis Brown represented the author, and Kate Moore at Sullivan Moore represented the artist.
Allison Hunter Hill at Page Street Kids has acquired world rights to Hair, a picture book by M.L. Marroquin (l.), illustrated by Tonya Engel, in which a girl celebrates her natural hair in verse. Publication is scheduled for fall 2020; the author represented herself, and Gail Gaynin at Morgan Gaynin represented the illustrator.
Andrea Hall at Albert Whitman has bought world rights to First Beach Day by Nancy Viau (l.). The rhyming picture book explores all the ways a family can have fun at the beach. Publication is planned for spring 2020; Charlie Alder will illustrate. The author represented herself, and Alex Gehringer at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Phoebe Yeh at Crown has acquired Louisa Jaggar (l.) and Shari R. Becker's Sprouting Wings, illustrated by Floyd Cooper. The nonfiction picture book biography is about James Herman Banning and Thomas Allen, the first African-American pilots to complete a transcontinental flight. Publication is set for summer 2020; Gina Maccoby at Gina Maccoby Literary Agency handled the deal for world rights.
