Holly West at Feiwel and Friends has acquired in a three-book deal Jason Henderson's Young Captain Nemo. Pitched as Percy Jackson goes 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, the book stars the 12-year-old descendant of the original Captain Nemo who, armed with fantastical undersea tech, works to make the ocean a safer place one adventure at a time. The first book is scheduled for winter 2019; Moe Ferrara at BookEnds Literary did the deal for world English rights.
Becky Herrick at Sky Pony Press has bought Anna Hecker's When the Beat Drops, a YA novel pitched as This Song Will Save Your Life meets Pitch Perfect at an EDM festival. It follows a diehard jazz nerd who discovers a passion and talent for DJing and tries to save her troubled sister while navigating a rocky relationship with an older guy. Publication is planned for spring 2018; Eric Smith at P.S. Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Ben Rosenthal at HarperCollins/Tegen has acquired, in a three-house auction, author Lauren Magaziner's Case Closed series. This choose-your-own-adventure-style middle grade series, which contains logic and math puzzles, follows two kids with complementary strengths (and a tag-along younger brother) who step in to solve mysteries for an ailing parent's detective agency. Publication of book one, Mystery in the Mansion, is slated for summer 2018; Brianne Johnson at Writers House brokered the three-book deal for world rights.
Rachel Stark at Sky Pony Press has bought an LGBTQ historical YA novel by Miriam McNamara, Winging It, set right after the Wall Street crash of 1929, featuring lady pilots, a barnstorming circus, wing walkers, and a look at gender roles and the spaces queer girls carve out for themselves. Publication is set for fall 2018; Linda Epstein at Emerald City Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Tiffany Liao at Henry Holt has acquired at auction K.D. Halbrook's Silver Batal and the Water Dragon Races plus an untitled sequel, a middle grade fantasy about a young desert-dweller whose dreams of becoming a water dragon racer come true when she befriends a rare dragon that can swim and fly. Publication of the first book is scheduled for spring 2019; Brent Taylor at the Triada US Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.
Virginia Duncan at Greenwillow has bought author Erin Entrada Kelly's debut fantasy, The Girl with Golden Feet, inspired by Filipino folklore, about a 12-year-old girl who must fight unavenged spirits, shark-finned mermaids, hills made of horns, and a vicious bird-woman, with only a single bag of salt as a weapon, in a quest to conquer life's good fortunes; as well as an untitled historical novel, based on the Challenger disaster. The books will publish in spring 2019 and spring 2020, respectively; Sara Crowe at Pippin Properties negotiated the deal for world English rights.
Liz Kossnar at Simon & Schuster has acquired world rights to a debut novel by Quinn Sosna-Spear. Pitched as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets American Gods, The Mortician's Son follows 12-year-old Walter's travels in the stolen family hearse, through towns where people dress as fish, worship bees, and dig for living rocks, en route to meet the infamous inventor who mentored his father. Publication is planned for fall 2018; John M. Cusick at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management brokered the deal.
Amy Cloud at Aladdin has bought The Farley Project by Jan Gangsei, a middle grade story about a boy who, in his eagerness to impress a girl newly arrived in town, accidentally brings a tiny internet guru into existence and embarks on “Seven Steps to a Whole New You,” a self-improvement program with embarrassing consequences. Publication is set for spring 2019; Sarah Davies at Greenhouse Literary did the deal for North American rights.
Katherine Harrison at Knopf has acquired in a four-house auction Caldecott Honor-winner Lauren Castillo's Our Friend Hedgehog, an illustrated chapter book about Hedgehog, her best friend Mutty, Anika May, and several forest friends, on their first adventure, and its sequel. Publication is slated for fall 2019; Paul Rodeen of Rodeen Literary Management negotiated the two-book deal for world rights.
Robin Herrera at Oni Press has bought world rights to Ghoul School: Lee Lim's First Day, an early reader graphic novel written by Annie Mok and illustrated by Jack Gross. Budding witch Lee Lim is all set to start their first day at Ghoul School, but when weird things keep happening, Lee gets blamed. Is it their magic causing all the mayhem, or something else? Publication is scheduled for fall 2018; Jen Linnan at Linnan Literary Management represented both the author and the artist.
Dinah Stevenson at Clarion has acquired North American rights to Dorothia Rohner's (l.) I Am Goose, a picture book featuring brash, irresistible Goose who doesn't understand why he isn't the star in a game of Duck, Duck, Goose. Vanya Nastanlieva will illustrate; publication is planned for fall 2018. Laura Biagi at the Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency represented the author, and Frances McKay at Frances McKay Illustration represented the illustrator.
Christy Ottaviano at Macmillan/Ottaviano has acquired world rights to Emily Writes, a picture book biography of Emily Dickinson, written by Jane Yolen (l.) and illustrated by Christine Davenier. The book is slated for 2019; Elizabeth Harding at Curtis Brown represented the author and Studio Goodwin Sturges represented the illustrator.
Ariel Richardson at Chronicle Books has bought Mark Rogalski's board book, Make Me a Monster. In this novelty book of rhymes, a series of pop-up elements allow the reader to bring a monster to life with each turn of a flap. It's slated for publication in spring 2019; Lori Nowicki at Painted Words negotiated the deal for world rights.
Andrew Karre at Dutton has acquired Last Night at the Telegraph Club, a YA novel by Malinda Lo. Set in 1950s San Francisco, the novel is a story of love and duty that explores the complicated overlap between the city's Chinese-American and LGBTQ communities. Publication is planned for 2019; Michael Bourret at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret did the deal for North American rights.
Kate O'Sullivan at HMH has bought, in an exclusive submission, Bull author David Elliott's new YA novel in verse, Voices, which examines Joan of Arc's life and death in multiple points of view, including her sword, her armor, and the saints who spoke to her, while also exploring timely issues such as gender and misogyny. Publication is set for fall 2019; Kelly Sonnack at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights, all languages.
Fiona Simpson at S&S/Aladdin has acquired Matthew Ross Smith's debut, Lizzy Legend, a middle grade novel told partially as oral history, which follows a basketball-obsessed middle school girl who magically acquires the ability to sink every basket, leading her to pro-team Philadelphia Bells' starting lineup. Publication is scheduled for winter 2019; Melissa Edwards at Stonesong negotiated the two-book deal for world English rights.
Scholastic's Arthur A. Levine Books has bought Erin Dionne's (The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet) middle grade novel Lights, Camera, Disaster; Cheryl Klein acquired, and Erin Black will edit. It tells the story of a girl whose Executive Function Disorder and obsession with making movies leave her friendless, failing school, and desperate to figure out how to become the director of her own life. Publication is slated for spring 2018. Sally Harding at the Cooke Agency did the deal for world rights.
Sally Morgridge at Holiday House has acquired North American and Chinese rights to A.B. Greenfield's middle grade mystery, Ra and the Eye of Horus, about a pampered Pharaoh's cat and his scarab beetle sidekick who come together to solve a crime and save a falsely accused girl in ancient Egypt. Publication is planned for fall 2018; Sara Crowe at Pippin Properties brokered the deal.
Mekisha Telfer at Simon & Schuster has bought Karen Strong's Just South of Cursed, a middle grade novel pitched as Blackish meets Goosebumps that follows a rule-abiding girl who must team up with her troublemaking cousin, goofy younger brother, and his brainy best friend to unravel a mysterious haunting in their tiny Southern town. Publication is set for summer 2019; Victoria Marini at Irene Goodman Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Talia Benamy at Philomel has acquired world rights to The Cat Who Lived with Anne Frank, a picture book by David Lee Miller (l.) and Steven Rubin, illustrated by Elizabeth Baddeley. It's a retelling of the Anne Frank story from the point of view of Mouschi, the cat who lived with Anne in the secret annex. Publication is slated for spring 2019; Murray Weiss at Catalyst Literary Management represented the authors and Alexandra Penfold at Upstart Crow Literary represented the illustrator.
Katherine Harrison at Knopf has bought Quiet Please, Owen McPhee, written by Trudy Ludwig (l.) and illustrated by Patrice Barton, the team behind The Invisible Boy. Their new book introduces Owen, a talkative boy who comes down with laryngitis and learns about the power of listening as a result. Publication is scheduled for summer 2018; Chris Tugeau at CATugeau Agency represented the illustrator, and the author represented herself in the deal for world rights.
Beth Terrill at NorthSouth Books has acquired world rights to Abigail Rayner's debut picture book, Backup Bunny, which follows Fluffy, a stuffed rabbit, and his attempts to win his favorite boy's heart when Max's original (and identical) toy rabbit is misplaced. Greg Stones will illustrate; the book will publish in April 2018. The author and illustrator were unagented.
Emma Ledbetter at Atheneum has bought Skulls! by Blair Thornburgh, illustrated by Scott Campbell, a nonfiction picture book about skulls and the important jobs they do, such as giving your face a good shape, and having holes in them for sounds, light, air, and grilled cheese sandwiches. Publication is planned for summer 2019; Uwe Stender at Triada US Literary Agency represented the author, and Steven Malk at Writers House represented the illustrator in the deal for world rights.
Nina Kooij at Pelican has acquired world rights to a picture book from Cap'n Rex & His Clever Crew author Henry Herz (l.). How the Squid Got Two Long Arms features a selfish squid who steals others' clothing, offering a Rudyard Kipling-esque explanation for those longer limbs. Luke Graber will illustrate; publication is slated for fall 2018. Deborah Warren at East/West Literary Agency represented the author, and the illustrator was unagented.
Tom Peterson at the Creative Company has bought world rights to A Song by Jim Carroll, the story of a girl who happens upon a mysterious band of animals while walking in the woods and receives a gift that changes her life forever. Publication is set for fall 2019; Anna Olswanger at Olswanger Literary represented the author-illustrator.
Kristen Nobles at Page Street Kids has acquired world rights to a picture book by debut author-illustrator Amanda Moeckel, tentatively titled The Most Beautiful Song, which follows a child's determined pursuit of artistic expression despite schedules and rules that get in the way. Publication is scheduled for fall 2018; Moeckel represented herself.
Ariel Richardson at Chronicle has bought Michael Slack's board book, House. The house-shaped book contains a set of mini board books, each one exploring a different room in a house. The book is slated for fall 2018; Lori Nowicki at Painted Words represented the author in the deal for world rights.
