Gina Gagliano at Random House Graphic has acquired two middle-grade graphic novels by Reimena Yee. The first book, The Séance Tea Party, features Lora, a girl who is facing growing up. But when she meets a neighborhood ghost who will be the age she is now forever, the choices she has to make about facing the future grow more difficult. Publication is scheduled for 2020; Jen Linnan at Linnan Literary Management sold world rights.
Chris Hernandez at HarperCollins has bought two middle grade novels by debut author Christopher Swiedler, beginning with In the Red. Pitched as Hatchet meets The Martian, the book follows two friends living in a Mars colony who get stranded in the middle of nowhere during a deadly solar flare. With no way to communicate with the colony, they have only their spacesuits and their wits to keep them alive. Publication is planned for winter 2020; Bridget Smith at Dunham Literary did the deal for world rights.
Christy Ottaviano at Macmillan/Ottaviano has acquired world rights to Nowhere, Texas, a middle grade companion to the National Book Award-winning novel When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt. The story is set in post-9/11 rural Texas and features themes of friendship, discrimination, acceptance, and rebuilding what seems lost or destroyed. The book is currently slated for 2020; Amy Berkower at Writers House negotiated the deal.
Neal Porter at Holiday House/Porter has bought world rights to Jessixa Bagley's (Boats for Papa) picture book, Henry & Bea, about best friends who are inseparable until one day Henry stops talking to Bea and she's not sure why. Publication is set for spring 2020; Alexandra Penfold at Upstart Crow Literary brokered the deal.
Samantha Swenson at Tundra has acquired, in a two-book deal, world rights to debut author-illustrator Lauren Soloy's picture book, When Emily Was Small, which follows Canadian painter Emily Carr as a child as she celebrates the magic and wonder of being immersed in nature. Publication is scheduled for summer 2020, with a second, untitled picture book to follow in summer 2021. Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists handled the deal.
Ann Rider at HMH has bought world rights to Lori Alexander's A Sporting Chance: How Paralympic Founder, Ludwig Guttmann, Saved Lives with Sports. The chapter book biography tells the story of the Jewish doctor who escaped Nazi Germany to continue his work in England, changing the standard of care for people with spinal cord injuries, incorporating sports into their rehabilitation, and establishing the Paralympic Games. Allan Drummond will illustrate; publication is planned for summer 2020. Kathleen Rushall at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and the illustrator represented himself.
Renee Hooker at Penguin Workshop has acquired world rights to Jamie L.B. Deenihan's (l.) The Tooth Fairy vs. Santa, illustrated by Erin Hunting. The book stars a tooth fairy-in-training who encounters an unforeseen obstacle when trying to retrieve his very first tooth on Christmas Eve. Publication is slated for fall 2019; Linda Camacho at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency represented the author, and the illustrator represented herself.
Cheryl Klein at Lee & Low Books has bought world rights to Kelly Starling Lyons's (l.) Dream Builder: The Story of Architect Philip Freelon, a biography of the acclaimed architect who led the team that designed the National Museum of African American History and Culture, tracing all the personal and cultural experiences and dreams that came together to create the iconic building. Laura Freeman will illustrate; publication is set for spring 2020. Caryn Wiseman at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and Janet DeCarlo at Storybook Arts represented the artist.
Mary Kate Castellani at Bloomsbury has acquired world rights to a picture book biography by Jessica Rinker (l.), titled Send a Girl. The book is about firefighter Brenda Berkman, who was one of the first female firefighters in the New York City Fire Department, after taking them to court for discriminating against women in the workplace. Berkman rose to the rank of lieutenant and captain, and was a first responder during 9/11. The book will be illustrated by Meg Hunt, illustrator of Interstellar Cinderella. Publication is scheduled for winter 2021; Linda Epstein at Emerald City Literary Agency represented the author, and Scott Hull at Scott Hull Associates represented the illustrator.
Luana Horry at HarperCollins has bought world rights to Ready to Fly: How Sylvia Townsend Became the Bookmobile Ballerina written by Lea Lyon (l.) and A. Lafaye, illustrated by Jessica Gibson. Sylvia longs to soar across the stage as a ballerina, but when financial and racial barriers prevent her from taking lessons, she teaches herself the basics of ballet with the books she borrows from the bookmobile. The story is based on the life of Sylvia Townsend, director/founder of her own ballet school and company. Publication is slated for spring 2020; Abigail Samoun at Red Fox Literary represented Lyon, Essie White at Storm Literary Agency represented Lafaye, and Gary Swift at Lemonade Illustration Agency represented Gibson.
Ann Kelley at Random House/Schwartz & Wade has acquired world rights to Angela Burke Kunkel's (l.) Digging for Words: José Alberto Gutiérrez and the Library He Built, illustrated by Paola Escobar. The book tells the story of a garbage collector in Bogotá, known as the “Lord of the Books,” whose library project began with a single discarded book found on his garbage route, and has expanded to provide reading material to more than 200 schools, organizations, and libraries across Colombia. Publication is planned for fall 2020; Liza Fleissig at the Liza Royce Agency represented the author, and the illustrator represented herself.
Jason Gardner at New World Library has bought world rights to the picture book Big Breath, a guided meditation to help young readers find calm after a tough day, or wind down before bed, by Three Breaths and Begin author William Meyer, illustrated by The Kraken's Rules for Making Friends illustrator Brittany R. Jacobs. Publication is planned for fall 2019; Clelia Gore and Adria Goetz at Martin Literary Management represented both the author and the illustrator.
Naomi Krueger at Beaming Books has acquired world rights to the debut picture book by poet Britney Winn Lee. The Boy with the Big, Big Heart tells the story of a boy with a heart so large that he feels the emotions of those around him as if they were his own. Jacob Souva will illustrate; publication is set for fall 2019. The author represented herself, and Alison Berson at Astound US represented the illustrator.
Ruta Rimas at S&S/McElderry has acquired bestselling author Amber Smith’s new YA novel, Something Like Gravity. A story of first love, the book is told in the alternating points of view of two teenagers—one who has recently come out as transgender, and another who is grieving the loss of a sibling—as they both struggle to find their place in the world. The book is scheduled for summer 2019; Jessica Regel at Foundry Literary + Media sold North American rights.
T.S. Ferguson at Inkyard Press has bought, at auction, world rights to Come On In, a YA anthology covering the experience of immigration, curated and edited by Adi Alsaid. The book features short stories by YA authors who are either immigrants or the children of immigrants, including Samira Ahmed, Zoraida Córdova, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Maurene Goo, Justine Larbalestier, Sona Charaipotra, and many others. The book is set for fall 2020; Pete Knapp at Park Literary & Media brokered the deal.
Hannah VanVels at Blink has acquired world English rights to MarcyKate Connolly's debut YA novel, Twin Daggers, and a sequel. Pitched as Romeo and Juliet if Juliet and her sister were magic-wielding spies, the series centers around twin sisters sent undercover on a mission to find and kidnap the heir to the technocrat throne. Publication is planned for fall 2020; Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary & Media negotiated the deal.
Elise Howard at Algonquin Young Readers has bought, in an exclusive submission, world rights to a new YA nonfiction work from environmental educator Nancy Castaldo. Water is a journalistic look at the current global water crisis, from Flint to Syria, and what it means for the future of our thirsty planet. Publication is slated for spring 2020; Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency did the deal.
Gina Gagliano at Random House Graphic has acquired two middle-grade graphic novels by Lee Durfey-Lavoie and Veronica Agarwal: Just Roll with It and a sequel. In the books, middle-school student Margaret deals with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder with the help of a D-20, which she rolls to help her determine what her best choices are. But she finds that sometimes rolling the dice isn't the best method for dealing with challenges at school. Publication is set for 2021 and 2022; Susan Graham at Einstein Literary Management sold world rights.
Lily Kessinger at HMH has bought The Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycleauthor Christina Uss's middle grade novel, Erik vs. Everything, the story of a boy whose life motto is “Avoid Stuff,” while his family seems determined to bring out his inner Viking. Publication is scheduled for fall 2020; Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Charlie Ilgunas at Little Bee/Yellow Jacket has acquired Lisa Harkrader's Crumbled!, first in an illustrated middle grade series about a dung farmer who becomes the hapless Prince Charming's assistant and helps him solve mysteries in their fractured fairy-tale world. Publication of the first book is planned for fall 2019; Steven Chudney at the Chudney Agency negotiated the three-book deal for world English rights.
Heather Alexander at Audible Originals has bought world audio rights to the Partials Sequence author Dan Wells's debut middle grade, Zero G, pitched as Home Alone in space. Everyone on the Pathfinder mission is asleep for the 100-year journey, but 12-year-old Zero's stasis pod malfunctions, leaving him the only one awake when pirates attack the spaceship. Publication is slated for December 2018; Sara Crowe at Pippin Properties did the deal.
Michelle Nagler at Random House has acquired, at auction, in a three-book deal, author Andrew McDonald (l.) and illustrator Ben Wood's Real Pigeons Fight Crime, a young middle grade series about a secret squad of crime-fighting pigeons, who will solve any mystery and fight any bad guy. Publication will begin in summer 2020; Daniel Lazar at Writers House brokered the deal for North American rights on behalf of Hardie Grant Australia.
Christian Trimmer at Henry Holt has bought, in an exclusive submission, world rights to Game, Set, Sisters: The Venus and Serena Williams Story by Jamie McGhee (l.), with art by Ebony Glenn. The nonfiction picture book follows the sisters from their early days in Compton learning to play tennis to the world stage, with a particular focus on their sisterly bond. The book is set for winter 2021; Wendi Gu at Janklow Nesbit represented the author, and Anne Moore Armstrong at the Bright Agency represented the artist.
Caitlyn Dlouhy at Atheneum/Dlouhy has acquired world rights to Jump at De Sun by Alicia D. Williams (l.) (Genesis Begins Again), a picture book biography of Zora Neale Hurston. Jacqueline Alcantara, the inaugural winner of the We Need Diverse Books Illustration Mentorship Award, will illustrate. Publication is scheduled for spring 2021; Brenda Bowen at Greenburger Associates represented the author, and Adriana Dominguez at Full Circle Literary represented the illustrator.
Kelsey Skea at Amazon/Two Lions has bought World So Wide, a picture book by Alison McGhee (l.), about a baby's first experiences and the love between parent and child. Kate Alizadeh will illustrate; publication is slated for winter/spring 2020. Sara Crowe at Pippin Properties negotiated the deal for North American rights on behalf of the author, and Mandy Suhr at Miles Stott Children's Literary Agency represented the illustrator.
Kristine Enderle at Magination Press has acquired world rights to the Jacob's New Dress co-authors Ian (l.) and Sarah Hoffman's picture book, Jacob's Room to Choose, illustrated by Chris Case, about two gender non-conforming kindergartners who lead their school to safe bathrooms for everyone. Publication is planned for May 2019; Deborah Warren at East West Literary Agency represented the authors, and the illustrator represented himself.
