Eliza Swift at Sourcebooks Fire has acquired Suzanne Park's #OwnVoices debut YA rom-com, The Perfect Escape. The story follows a Korean-American teen who meets his dream girl at the zombie-themed escape room where they both work. When they realize they each have a critical need for money, they team up for a survivalist competition with a huge cash prize, finding love along the way. Publication is planned for spring 2020; Brent Taylor at Triada US negotiated the two-book deal for North American rights.
Wendy McClure at Albert Whitman has bought world English rights to Tom Ryan's I Hope You're Listening, a YA thriller pitched as Sadie meets Two Can Keep a Secret. Ten years after witnessing her best friend's kidnapping, a teen copes by anonymously launching a podcast to help solve missing persons cases. When a new abduction is revealed to have links to the original, unsolved case, she has to decide how far she's willing to go to discover the truth. Publication is slated for 2020; Eric Smith at P.S. Literary handled the deal.
Ashley Hearn at Page Street has acquired Have a Little Faith in Me author Sonia Hartl's untitled sophomore novel, starring YouTuber Macy Evans, who is doxed after the woman sitting behind her at a baseball game tweets about her supposed romance with a boy she stumbled into, vaulting her into a whirlwind fake relationship and driving a wedge between her and the quiet, small-town boy she really likes. Publication is scheduled for fall 2020; Rebecca Podos at Rees Literary brokered the deal for world rights.
Annie Berger at Sourcebooks Fire has bought The Dark Tide by debut author Alicia Jasinska, an #OwnVoices dark fairytale fantasy that follows a teen who sacrifices herself to her sinking island-city's Witch Queen in order to save the boy she likes, but ends up falling in love with the witch herself. Publication is slated for fall 2020; Rena Rossner at the Deborah Harris Agency did the two-book deal for North American rights.
Shana Corey at Random House has acquired, at auction, debut author Chrystal Giles's Take Back the Block and an untitled second book. Take Back the Block is about 11-year-old Wes, who would rather play video games than be dragged to protests by his activist parents. But when his inner-city neighborhood is targeted by a developer, activism becomes personal. Publication is planned for spring 2021 and fall 2022; Elizabeth Bewley at Sterling Lord Literistic negotiated the deal for world English rights.
Lee Wade at Random House/Schwartz & Wade has bought Girl & Flamingoby Guojing, a graphic novel about a girl who befriends and cares for a baby flamingo after finding it at the beach. Publication is slated for spring 2021; Isabel Atherton at Creative Authors handled the deal for world English rights.
Mary Cash at Holiday House has bought, in a two-book deal, Go, Go, Go! and My Dog Has Fleas by Bob Barner. Go, Go, Go! is a concept book about what it means to stop, to go, and to go fast. My Dog Has Fleas transforms a simple song, typically used to teach the ukulele, into an energetic story that kicks off with one lively flea. Publication is scheduled for fall 2020 and spring 2021, respectively; Brenda Bowen at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates did the deal for world rights.
Emma Ledbetter at Abrams has acquired two picture books by author-illustrator Hyewon Yum. In Lion Needs a Haircut, a father lion and his cub navigate their fears of the barbershop together. In Summer with Grandpa, a boy discovers what he has in common with his grandfather, who lives across the ocean. Publication is set for spring 2020 and spring 2021, respectively; Sean McCarthy at Sean McCarthy Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Emily Feinberg at Roaring Brook has acquired world rights to Caldecott Honor author-illustrator Elisha Cooper's Yes & No, a picture book that follows a puppy and a cat throughout their day as they show each other that their different perspectives can actually bring them closer together. The book is planned for winter 2021; Cooper was unagented.
Andrea Welch at S&S/Beach Lane has bought, in an exclusive submission, Kimberly Gee's Glad, Glad, Bear and Sad, Sad Bear, about a little bear who experiences big feelings. Publication is slated for spring 2020 and spring 2021; Kelly Sonnack at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency sold world rights.
Margaret Ferguson at Holiday House has acquired Sarah Hwang's debut author-illustrated picture book, Toasty, about a piece of toast who wants to be a dog but discovers that being a friend is even better. Publication is scheduled for 2021; Shadra Strickland at Painted Words negotiated the deal for world rights.
Courtney Burke at Page Street Kids has bought Dogs and Their People author-illustrator Anne Lambelet's picture book, The Poisoned Apple, a humorous twist on "Snow White" that follows what happens when the witch's apple lands in the wrong hands. Publication is set for fall 2020; Stephanie Fretwell-Hill at Red Fox Literary did the deal for world rights.
Andrea Spooner at Little, Brown has acquired world rights to Democracy for Dinosaurs: A Guide for Young Citizensby Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown. This new entry in the Dino Tales series, which has collectively sold more than 1.5 million copies, is an introduction to good citizenship that explains core civic values—such as equal rights, truth, and freedom of speech—to very young readers. Publication is planned for fall 2020; the author and artist were unagented.
Christy Ottaviano at Macmillan/Ottaviano has bought world English rights to Title IX: The Law That Changed America by Helaine Becker (l.), illustrated by Dow Phumiruk, creators of Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13. The nonfiction picture book is about the groundbreaking gender equality law. Publication is slated for 2020; Susan Schulman at Susan Schulman Agency represented the author, and Deborah Warren at East West Literary represented the illustrator.
Claudia Zoe Bedrick at Enchanted Lion has acquired world rights to Michelle Nott's (l.) debut picture book, Teddy Let's Go!, illustrated by Nahid Kazemi. The story follows a teddy bear, hand-sewn by Grandma, as he eagerly and faithfully accompanies a girl through the ups and downs of early childhood. But when a baby sibling arrives, the girl stuffs extra love into the bear and sets him off on a new journey. Publication is set for fall 2020; Essie White at Storm Literary Agency represented the author, and the illustrator was unagented.
Caitlyn Dlouhy has bought world rights for her eponymous imprint at Atheneum to Peter Easter Frog, a picture book by Erin Dealey, illustrated by G. Brian Karas. The book is about a frog who starts delivering Easter eggs, much to the annoyance of the Easter Bunny. Publication is scheduled for spring 2021; Deborah Warren at East West Literary Agency represented the author, and Brenda Bowen at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates represented the artist.
Chris Krones at HMH has acquired world rights to Hip, Hip... Beret!, written by Melanie Ellsworth (l.) and illustrated by Morena Forza. The picture book tells of the playful and unexpected adventure of a windswept beret, featuring felt touch-and-feel throughout. Publication is planned for fall 2020; Christa Heschke at McIntosh & Otis represented the author, and Amanda Hendon at Advocate Art represented the artist.
Julie Matysik at Running Press Kids has bought world rights to Stacy McAnulty's (l.) A Small Kindness, illustrated by Wendy Leach, in which a small act of kindness by one child grows and inspires many. Publication is slated for winter 2021; Lori Kilkelly at LK Literary Agency represented the author, and Aurora Meyer at Astound US represented the illustrator.
Alvina Ling at Little, Brown has acquired, at auction, None of the Aboveauthor I.W. Gregorio's new YA novel, This Is My Brain in Love, pitched as a "mostly happy story" about love and mental health. The book is scheduled for spring 2020; Jessica Regel at Foundry Literary + Media brokered the deal for world English rights.
Kate Fletcher at Candlewick has bought, in a preempt, Claire Lordon's debut YA graphic novel, One in a Million. Pitched as Hey, Kiddo meets Brain on Fire, the memoir is about the author's battle with a brain tumor as a teenager, and how she overcame the isolation, anxiety, and depression that followed her illness with the help of her family and her love of art. Publication is set for fall 2023; Sean McCarthy at Sean McCarthy Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Mari Kesselring at Flux has acquired world rights to Adam Sass's debut, Surrender Your Sons, pitched as a queer Lost. A gay teen's summer vacation becomes a nightmare when his religious zealot family has him kidnapped and taken to a conversion camp on a forgotten island. There, he teams up with other kidnapped LGBTQ+ teens to uncover the camp's dark secrets. The novel is slated for fall 2020; Eric Smith at P.S. Literary handled the deal.
Krestyna Lypen at Algonquin has bought Bright Burning Stars author A.K. Small's Feather Girl, a YA novel set in Paris’s red light district, where an orphan named Alix assumes the identity of her missing best friend Jeanne in order to study under Mademoiselle Salomé, one of the last plumassieres (feather-artists) in France. Publication is planned for spring 2021; Wendi Gu at Janklow & Nesbit negotiated the deal for world English rights.
Rosemary Brosnan at HarperCollins has acquired, in a preempt, world rights to A Thousand Questions by Saadia Faruqi (Meet Yasmin!). Set in Karachi, the middle grade contemporary novel follows American-born Mimi as she searches for her absent father, and Pakistani-born Sakina, who balances her dreams against her family's needs, over the course of a summer. Publication is scheduled for fall 2020, with a second novel to follow; Kari Sutherland at Bradford Literary Agency did the two-book deal.
Janine O'Malley at Farrar, Straus and Giroux has bought, at auction, The Gilded Girl, a middle grade fantasy by debut author Alyssa Colman. A loose retelling of A Little Princess, the story is set in a world where any child can spark magic, but only the elite are allowed to kindle it. In 1906, at Miss Posterity's Academy for Practical Magic, two girls—one privileged but unskilled, the other indentured but talented—must put aside their differences or risk having their magic snuffed out forever. Publication is set for winter 2021; Brooks Sherman at Janklow & Nesbit brokered the deal for North American rights.
Kate Prosswimmer at Sourcebooks has acquired North American rights to The Peculiar Incident on Shady Street author Lindsay Currie's new book Whispers from the Dark, in which a 12-year-old girl wants nothing to do with her father's ghost tour business, but is asked to help. Each location is darker and scarier than anticipated, especially when a mysterious boy vanishes mid-tour and sets off a chain of bone-chilling events. Publication is planned for fall 2020, with a second untitled mystery to follow in fall 2021. Kathleen Rushall at Andrea Brown Literary Agency did the deal.
Susan Dobinick at Bloomsbury has bought world rights to Something Rottenauthor Heather L. Montgomery's Unfinished Business: A Fresh Look at Feces, a middle grade narrative nonfiction investigation into the many ways scientists in a variety of industries are researching and developing a spectrum of uses for human and animal waste. Publication is slated for fall 2020; Rubin Pfeffer at Rubin Pfeffer Content represented the author in the deal for world rights.
Nancy Mercado at Dial has acquired author-illustrator Nomar Perez's debut picture book, Coqui in the City. In the semi-autobiographical story, a boy and his mother emigrate from Puerto Rico to the U.S. mainland, and discover the importance of welcoming new experiences, while still holding onto their memories and the culture from home. Publication is set for spring 2021; Lori Nowicki at Painted Words negotiated the deal for world rights.
Kate Harrison at Dial has won world rights, at auction, to Meg Fleming's (l.) Sounds Like School Spirit, illustrated by Lucy Ruth Cummins. The book is a rally cry for homerooms, classes, and schools to feel a sense of pride and togetherness. Dial will publish the book in summer 2021; Emily van Beek at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management represented the author and the artist.
Anne Hoppe at Clarion has bought world rights to the picture book Princess, Inc. by Jacob Sager Weinstein, illustrated by Raissa Figueroa. When the king and queen are too busy with frills and sparkles to save the kingdom from a dragon, it's up to the practical princess to roll up her sleeves and get the job done. Publication is set for fall 2020; Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented the author, and Natascha Morris at BookEnds Literary Agency represented the illustrator.
Meredith Mundy at Abrams/Appleseed has acquired world rights to Gabi Snyder's (l.) Two Dogs on a Trike, illustrated by Robin Rosenthal. Pitched as a modern Go, Dog. Go!, the debut picture book features dogs, counting, and transportation with an unexpected twist. Publication is slated for spring 2020; Natalie Lakosil at Bradford Literary Agency represented the author, and Erica Rand Silverman at Stimola Literary Studio represented the illustrator.
Julia Maguire at Knopf has bought world rights to Matthew Burgess's picture book, Bird Boy, about a boy who turns a teasing nickname into a doorway to imaginative play, exploring the idea that staying true to who you are is more important than trying to fit in. Shahrzad Maydani will illustrate; publication is planned for spring 2021. Erica Rand Silverman at Stimola Literary Studio represented the author, and Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions represented the illustrator.
Lucia Monfried at Dial has acquired world rights to Follow the Recipe: Poems About Celebration, Science, and Cake by Marilyn Singer (l.), illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Marjorie Priceman. The collection of poems includes recipes for everything from courage to enjoying the seasons. Publication is scheduled for spring 2020; Brenda Bowen at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates negotiated for the author, and the illustrator represented herself.
Carol Hinz at Lerner/Millbrook has bought world rights to How to Build an Insect, a debut picture book by Roberta Gibson (l.), illustrated by Anne Lambelet. The book provides a kid-friendly introduction to insect anatomy. Publication is set for fall 2020; Jordyn Taylor will edit. The author represented herself in the deal for world rights, and Stephanie Fretwell-Hill at Red Fox Literary represented the illustrator.
Christy Ottaviano at Holt/Ottaviano has acquired Happy Diwali! by Courtney Pippin-Mathur (l.) and Sanyukta Mathur, illustrated by Pippin-Mathur. The picture book is about the joys of the Diwali holiday celebrated in America by a multicultural and multiracial family. Publication is slated for fall 2021; Jennifer Unter at the Unter Agency represented both authors in the deal for world rights.
Tom Peterson at the Creative Company has bought world rights to I Love You with All My Hearts by Lindsay Bonilla (l.), illustrated by Eleonora Pace, a picture book celebrating a parent's love for their child through interesting animal characteristics. The book will be published in spring 2021; Christa Heschke at McIntosh & Otis represented the author, and the illustrator represented herself.
