Alexandra Cooper at HarperTeen has preempted Jessie Ann Foley's Neighborhood Girls, plus an untitled second YA novel. The story features the daughter of a disgraced Chicago cop who, at the beginning of her junior year, learns that her beloved Catholic school will be closing, which starts a chain of events that force her to reevaluate her friendships, her life goals, and her faith. publication is set for fall 2017; Barry Goldblatt at Barry Goldblatt Literary brokered the deal for North American rights.
Julie Matysik of Sky Pony Press has acquired screenwriter David Clawson's YA debut, My Fairy Godmother Is a Drag Queen, with Adrienne Szpyrka and Kylie Brien to co-edit. The novel is a contemporary teen rom-com about what happens when high school senior Christopher Bellows falls in love with NYC's most eligible bachelor; the problem is, he's in the closet and currently dating Chris's social-climbing stepsister. Publication is scheduled for summer 2017; Claire Abramowitz at Cartel Entertainment negotiated the deal for world rights.
Katherine Jacobs at Roaring Brook has bought two novels by Shelley Tougas. In A Patron Saint for Junior Bridesmaids, a 13-year-old girl needs heavenly assistance to navigate her first crush and a family wedding in which she's the reluctant co-star. Publication is planned for fall 2016; Susan Hawk at the Bent Agency did the deal for world English rights.
Marissa Grossman at Razorbill has acquired Heather Ezell's debut Nothing Left to Burn, a contemporary YA novel that takes place in the 24 hours after Audrey and her family have been evacuated from the path of a deadly wildfire. Told in non-linear chronology, the story also follows Audrey's tumultuous relationship with Brooks, the volunteer firefighter who becomes the all-consuming passion in her life. The publication date has not been set; Sarah Davies at Greenhouse Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.
Calista Brill at First Second has bought Faith Erin Hicks's first YA novel, Comics Will Break Your Heart – the story of two teenagers who find out that their families are the authors on opposite sides of a legal battle over the creation of a comic that's about to be turned into a big-budget Hollywood movie. Publication is slated for 2018; Bernadette Baker at Victoria Sanders brokered the deal for U.S. rights.
Laura Schreiber at Hyperion has acquired Kim Purcell's new YA novel This Is Not a Love Letter, in which a girl's boyfriend disappears while going for a run along the river, and she searches for answers, believing he may have been the victim of a hate crime. It's scheduled for fall 2017; Sara Crowe at Harvey Klinger negotiated the two-book deal for North American rights.
Amanda Maciel at Scholastic has bought Kaitlin Ward's YA thriller, The Farm, in which a teenager fears her best friend has joined a cult, and ends up running for her life in her attempt to save her. Publication is set for 2017; Sarah LaPolla at Bradford Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.
Bess Cozby at Tor Teen has acquired Kimberly Reid's #Prettyboy Must Die, a YA thriller featuring Jake Morrow, a young African-American CIA prodigy who accidentally becomes an Internet sensation, thereby blowing his cover. Publication is slated for spring 2017; Kristin Nelson at Nelson Literary brokered the deal for world rights.
Kristin Zelazko at Albert Whitman has bought Patricia Bailey's debut middle grade novel, The Tragically True Adventures of Kit Donovan, set in a Nevada mining town in 1905. The story follows 13-year-old orphan Kit on her quest to reveal the unfair practices at the local mine, avenge the death of her father, go undercover as a boy at the local newspaper, and survive the how-to-be-a-proper-lady lessons at school and home. Publication is planned for spring 2017; Kerry Sparks of Levine Greenberg Rostan negotiated the deal for world rights.
Robin Herrera at Oni Press has acquired world rights to the middle grade graphic novel Little Witches: Magic in Concord by Leigh Dragoon. A retelling of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, the graphic novel follows Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy as witches-in-training. When Mr. Laurence, a witchfinder, moves in next door with his grandson to investigate renegade magic, the girls get caught up in the action. Publication is scheduled for 2018; the author was unagented.
Holly West at Feiwel and Friends has preempted debut author-illustrator Dustin Hansen's chapter book series Microsaurs. The story follows the adventures of a science-loving boy and his thrill-seeking best friend as they discover that dinosaurs didn't go extinct, they just got smaller. Publication of the first book, Microsaurs: Follow That Tiny-Dactyl, is planned for January 2017, with books to follow every six months; Gemma Cooper at the Bent Agency did the six-book deal for North American rights.
Wesley Adams at FSG has bought Emmy Award-winning children's TV and picture book author Jennifer Hamburg's Hazy Bloom, a chapter book series about a girl who has visions about something that happens the next day, which lands her in messy, humorous situations. Publication is slated for February 2017; Jennifer De Chiara at the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency brokered the three-book deal for world rights.
Kate O'Sullivan at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has acquired a picture book by author-illustrator Brian Lies, creator of the bestselling Bats picture books. In Got to Get to Bear's!, a community of friends working together perseveres during a blizzard. Publication is set for fall 2018; Erin Murphy of Erin Murphy Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Mary Kate Castellani at Bloomsbury has bought world rights to debut author Rebecca Roan's picture book Dragons Get Colds Too, to be illustrated by Charles Santoso. Written in the style of a 1950s instructional film, the book is a step-by-step guide that will help anxious dragon owners through the challenges of caring for their pet's very first cold. Publication is scheduled for winter 2019; Brooks Sherman at the Bent Agency represented the author, and Justin Rucker at Shannon Associates represented the illustrator.
Tamar Brazis at Abrams has acquired a picture book biography of artist Grant Wood, American Gothic, by Susan vanHecke, writing as Susan Wood. Ross MacDonald is set to illustrate. Publication is set for fall 2017; Caryn Wiseman at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author and Heather Alexander at Pippin Properties represented the illustrator in the deal for world rights.
Andrea Welch at S&S/Beach Lane has bought world rights to Meg Fleming's (l.) Sometimes Rain, a picture book that explores the magic of nature and the seasons through a child's eyes, to be illustrated by Diana Sudyka. Publication is planned for spring 2018; Emily van Beek at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management represented the author and Andrea Morrison and Rebecca Sherman at Writers House represented the artist.
Charles Kochman at Abrams has acquired world rights to Rube Goldberg's Simple (A) Normal (B) Hum-Drum (C) Thursday, a picture book that follows young Rube from the time he wakes up in the morning to the time he goes to bed at night – and all the complications (and contraptions) that he creates for himself over the course of a typical school day. It is written by Jennifer George, Rube Goldberg's granddaughter, with Max Cohn, Rube Goldberg's great grandson; Ed Steckley will illustrate. Publication is slated for fall 2017; Laura Nolan at Kuhn Projects brokered the deal.
Jessica MacLeish at HarperCollins has bought The Grave Keepers and a second untitled YA novel by debut author Elizabeth Byrne. Set in a society in which residents receive keys to their own graves at age 13, The Grave Keepers follows teenage sisters Athena and Laurel, whose family runs the town cemetery, as they confront the world outside their isolated home in different ways and begin to understand what grave-keeping – and living – is all about. Publication is scheduled for fall 2017; Seth Fishman at the Gernert Company negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Emma Sector at S&S/Aladdin has acquired an as-yet untitled series of middle-grade novels by Megan Atwood, centering around a group of friends who meet and bond over the running of their summer ice-cream stand. The first book is set for summer 2017; Ammi-Joan Paquette at the Erin Murphy Literary Agency did the four-book deal for world rights.
Holly West at Feiwel and Friends has bought Oddity by debut author Sarah Cannon. The story follows 11-year-old Ada Roundtree as she searches for her missing twin sister Pearl in Oddity, N.M., where the dumpsters can be carnivorous, aliens big and small walk the streets, and the local Protection Committee defends citizens from the Blurmonster roaming the town outskirts, though the organization may not be as benevolent as believed. Publication is planned for fall 2017; Brooks Sherman of the Bent Agency brokered the two-book deal for world English rights.
Ben Rosenthal at HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen has acquired at auction Eric Bell's debut Alan Kim Is Not a Coward and a second, untitled book. The middle grade novel follows a gay 12-year-old boy who must win a high-stakes competition or else risk being outed to the whole school after his older brother discovers his secret crush. Publication is slated for summer 2017; Brent Taylor at the TriadaUS Literary Agency negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Karen Chaplin at HarperCollins has bought B.A. Binns's middle grade novel, Courage, about T'Shawn, whose older brother returns from prison, forcing him to choose between his loyalty and love for him and the desire to protect his mother and little sister. Publication is set for winter 2018; Andrea Somberg at Harvey Klinger brokered the deal for world rights.
Stephanie Lurie at Disney-Hyperion has acquired at auction a middle grade novel by Emily Ecton, a writer and producer on Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me! and author of The Lost Treasure of Tuckernuckand Project Jackalope. In The Ambrose Deception, pitched as a cross between Chasing Vermeer and The Westing Game, three Chicago students are chosen to compete for a scholarship, only to discover that much more is at stake. The deal was negotiated by Kate Testerman of KT Literary for world English rights, for publication in winter 2018; Mary Pender of UTA has film rights.
Liz Szabla at Feiwel and Friends has acquired James Preller's (l.) Jigsaw Jones and the Case from Outer Space, a new title in this early middle-grade detective series along with eight backlist titles, reprinted and redesigned by R.W. Alley. The new title and four backlist titles are scheduled for simultaneous spring 2017 publication. Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio sold North American rights for the author, and Emily Van Beek at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management sold world rights for the illustrator.
Jocelyn Davies at HarperCollins has bought at auction The Unlikely Story of a Pig in the City, a debut middle grade novel by Jodi Kendall, a version of which first appeared on Storybird, pitched as Charlotte's Web meets The Penderwicks. In the story, 11-year-old Josie makes it her mission to save the piglet named Hamlet that her brother brings home from college, as she and Hamlet each struggle to find their place in a crowded, chaotic family. Publication of the first book is planned for fall 2017, with a second to follow in 2018; Alexander Slater at Trident Media Group did the two-book deal for North American rights.
Frances Gilbert at Doubleday has acquired Sara Crow's Even Superheroes Have to Sleep, a rhyming story that shows children how all their heroes – cowboys, princesses, pirates, scientists, and even moms – have to go to bed each night. The book, illustrated by Adam Record, was previously self-published by Crow after a Kickstarter campaign, and the deal includes a potty-training-themed sequel. Publication is slated for March 2017; Beth Davey at Davey Literary & Media sold world rights.
Kate Harrison at Dial has bought at auction Richard T. Morris's (l.) Piggypine, which follows a mixed-up little creature who is looking for his story, and wonders: Where did he come from? How did he get here? What on earth is he? A pig? A porcupine? A little bit of both? The book is illustrated by Jarvis. Publication is scheduled for summer 2017; Alice Tasman at the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency brokered the deal for world/U.K. rights.
Rotem Moscovich at Disney-Hyperion has acquired Dear Substitute Teacher, a picture book in which a child laments how things are woefully different when a beloved teacher is absent, co-written by Liz Garton Scanlon (l.) and Audrey Vernick and illustrated by Chris Raschka. Publication is slated for summer 2018; Erin Murphy of Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented Scanlon and Vernick, and Brenda Bowen of Greenburger Associates represented Raschka in the deal for world rights.
Rob Broder of Ripple Grove Press has bought Katey Howes's (l.) debut picture book,Grandmother Thorn. The folktale-style story, set in a Japanese village, explores friendship, nature, and the sweetness found when you let go of the need for control. Rebecca Hahn will illustrate. Publication is set for 2017; both the author and the illustrator represented themselves in the deal for world rights.
Deirdre Jones at Little, Brown has acquired world rights to Barb Rosenstock's (l.) Otis & Will Discover the Deep, a picture book biography of two brave pioneers who explored the depths of the ocean in their own invention, the Bathysphere, setting world records for diving and observing deep sea creatures in their native habitat. Katherine Roy will illustrate, and publication is slated for spring 2018. Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio represented the author and Stephen Barr at Writers House represented the artist.
