Lauren Smulski at Inkyard Press has acquired Jillian Cantor's YA contemporary novel, The Code for Love and Heartbreak. In this modern-day retelling of a Jane Austen classic, 17-year-old math genius Emma Woodhouse designs a dating app for her high school's coding club, resulting in disastrous consequences for the people around her—and for her own love life. Publication is slated for fall 2020; Jessica Regel at Foundry Literary + Media negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Kate Farrell at Henry Holt has bought Heather Demetrios's latest YA novel, Little Universes. Told in two voices, it's the story of two sisters—one an aspiring astronaut, the other a poet battling an opioid addiction—who learn that their mother and father have been killed in a tsunami and who must struggle with the truths about their parents' lives and deaths. Publication is scheduled for spring 2020; Brenda Bowen at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates brokered the deal for world English rights.
Catherine Wallace at HarperTeen has acquired Lambda Literary Writers Retreat Fellow Nita Tyndall's debut Who I Was with Her. Pitched as History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera meets Run by Kody Keplinger, the book follows a teenage cross-country runner named Corinne who loses her secret girlfriend, captain of the rival team, in a car accident. But no one knows that Corinne likes girls, leaving her to mourn the loss of a person and relationship no one knew existed—until she meets her girlfriend's ex-girlfriend. Publication is set for fall 2020; Eric Smith at P.S. Literary did the deal for world English rights.
T.S. Ferguson at Inkyard Press has bought debut author Taylor B. Barton's YA novel The Ninth Life, about a teen boy who, having lived eight previous lives as a cat, finds himself discovering the complexity of human emotions while juggling feelings for the boy he's closest to and a girl he knew in his previous life. Publication is planned for fall 2020; Natashya Wilson will edit. Saba Sulaiman at Talcott Notch Literary Services negotiated the deal for world rights.
Karen Wojtyla at McElderry Books has acquired world rights to the YA graphic novel Willowweep Manor by Shaenon K. Garrity, illustrated by Christopher J. Baldwin. Teenage Haley is obsessed with all things Gothic, but never imagined she'd experience them in real life, until the day she rescues a drowning young man and wakes up in a 19th-century estate complete with brooding gentlemen, sinister servants, and an actual ghost. But all is not as it appears, as Haley learns she has not been swept into the past, but instead into a strange universe all its own. Publication is slated for fall 2020; Barry Goldblatt at Barry Goldblatt Literary handled the deal.
Alexandra Cooper at HarperCollins preempted North American rights to three graphic novels, two middle grade and one YA, by Wendy Xu, co-creator of Mooncakes, for her solo debut. Tidesong, due out in 2021, features an ambitious 12-year-old who moves to a seaside town for an apprenticeship in magic with her aunts and realizes that it may be more than she bargained for. The Infinity Particle, due in 2022, is a speculative YA with shades of Ghost in the Shell, about a young woman whose best friend and first love suddenly reappears in her life after he's been dead for three years, so it can't really be him—or can it? And the second (untitled) middle grade graphic novel is due in 2023. The six-figure deal was brokered by Linda Camacho at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency.
Sarah Ketchersid at Candlewick has bought world rights to Newbery Honor author Cynthia Lord's four-book Book Buddies chapter book series. Set in a library that enables young patrons to check out dolls and toys, which are in turn able to interact with each other whenever people aren't paying attention, the series follows the adventures of the toys as they're lent to children and then recount their adventures back at the library. A publication date has not been set; Tracey Adams at Adams Literary negotiated the deal.
Caroline Abbey at Random House has acquired world rights to The Maker Maze chapter book series, written by Theanne Griffith and illustrated by Reggie Brown. The series follows two friends and an eccentric scientist into a magical makerspace where they complete fun, STEM-themed challenges. Books one and two are scheduled for summer 2020; Liza Fleissig at Liza Royce Agency represented the author, and Christy Tugeau Ewers at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.
Christianne Jones at Capstone has bought world English rights to Selfie, a debut picture book by author-illustrator Sandy Horsley. Sylvie the squirrel is obsessed with selfies and is missing out on the fun right in front of her. When her friends save her from a scary situation, Sylvie realizes what's really important—and it's not the perfect selfie. Publication is planned for fall 2020; the author-illustrator represented herself in the deal.
Carol Hinz at Lerner/Millbrook has acquired world rights to A Garden in Your Belly by author-illustrator Masha D'yans, a picture book that delves into the world of our amazing microbiome and why it's so important to keep it healthy. Publication is slated for fall 2020; Shaina Olmanson will edit. Abigail Samoun at Red Fox Literary did the deal.
Bria Ragin at HarperCollins has bought, in a two-book deal, Tami Charles's (l.) Zuri Ray Tries Ballet, the first in a picture book series about courage, kindness, and being true to yourself. The books star a biracial girl with a big personality and lots of heart. Sharon Sordo will illustrate; publication is slated for summer 2021. Lara Perkins at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and James Burns at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Wendy McClure at Albert Whitman has acquired world rights to Christy Mihaly's (l.) Free for You and Me: The First Amendment, a picture book that explores and celebrates the freedom of religion, speech, and the press, and the rights to assemble peacefully and to petition the government, as granted in the First Amendment. Manu Montoya will illustrate; publication is set for spring 2020. Erzsi Deak at Hen&ink Literary represented the author, and Emily Coggins at Astound Illustration Agency represented the illustrator.
Mary Cash at Holiday House has bought world rights to an as-yet-untitled Hanukkah picture book by Leslie Kimmelman (l.), about doing good deeds and making the holiday inclusive. Publication is scheduled for fall 2020; Galia Bernstein, represented by Anne Moore Armstrong at the Bright Agency, will illustrate.
