Krista Marino at Delacorte has acquired a new YA novel by Karen M. McManus, author of the bestselling One of Us Is Lying. The new book, The Cousins, tells the story of three cousins who are invited to spend the summer with their estranged grandmother at her exclusive island resort, only to uncover that their family's past is filled with dark, complicated secrets. The book will publish in fall 2020; Rosemary Stimola, with Allison Remcheck, at Stimola Literary Studio negotiated the deal for U.S., Canadian, and open market rights.
Anuoluwapo Ohioma at Penguin Workshop has bought The Beauty That Remains author Ashley Woodfolk's Flyy Girls, a four-book contemporary series for young teens. The series will follow a group of high school girls in Harlem as they navigate family, friendship, and questions about their futures, beginning with Lux: The New Girl, about a new student hoping for a fresh start whose past catches up to her. Books 1 and 2 are scheduled for fall 2020; Beth Phelan at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency did the deal for world English rights.
Elise Howard at Algonquin has acquired Foreshadow: The Magic of Reading and Writing YA, an anthology based on the Foreshadow digital platform created by authors Emily X.R. Pan (l.) and Nova Ren Suma. The collection, to be edited by Howard and Sarah Alpert, includes essays and craft discussions from Pan and Suma paired with the YA stories of 13 new writers selected for the original project by authors Becky Albertalli, Laurie Halse Anderson, Roshani Chokshi, Jason Reynolds, Sabaa Tahir, Nicola Yoon, and more. Publication is slated for fall 2020; Michael Bourret at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret brokered the deal for world rights.
Katherine Tegen at HarperCollins/Tegen has preempted North American rights for Yvonne Woon's new book, Hello, World, and a second untitled book for six figures. A romantic coming-of-age story, Hello, World follows 16-year-old Xia Chan, a scrappy, self-taught coder who's far more comfortable with computers than people. When she gets selected to attend a prestigious start-up incubator for teen tech prodigies called the Foundry, Xia moves to Silicon Valley and competes against her classmates to score funding for her app. Publication is planned for summer 2021; Ted Malawer at Upstart Crow Literary negotiated the deal.
Jessica Garrison at Dial has bought, on exclusive submission, Stephanie Oakes's The Meadows, author of Morris Award finalist The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly and The Arsonist. Pitched as a YA Handmaid's Tale meets Never Let Me Go, The Meadows centers on a queer girl who has pretended to "reform" following years in a government-sanctioned conversion therapy center, but can't forget the girl she left behind, and resolves to find her. Publication is set for fall 2021; Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency handled the deal for world rights.
Krista Vitola and Liz Kossnar at Simon & Schuster have acquired Rhiannon Richardson's debut YA novel, The Meet-Cute Project, a rom-com about a girl who prefers watching romances to being involved in them, until she's challenged by her friends to create real-life meet cutes to find a date for her older sister’s wedding. Publication is scheduled for fall 2020; John Cusick at Folio Literary Management brokered the deal for world rights.
Emily Settle at Feiwel and Friends has bought debut author Judy I. Lin's Heart of Severed Leaves and an untitled sequel, a YA fantasy duology inspired by Chinese history and mythology. The story follows commoner Ning as she fights to save her dying sister by entering the palace's first magical tea-brewing competition. But political schemes and secrets make her goal of winning access to the royal physicians far more dangerous than she imagined. Publication is planned for winter 2022 and winter 2023; Rachel Brooks at BookEnds did the deal for world rights.
Robyn Chapman at First Second has acquired world rights to Emily Erdos's YA graphic memoir titled Dearest Daughter, a story about a 14-year-old girl who has grown up without a father and grapples with the fact that he took his own life. Publication is slated for 2022; the author was unagented.
Jessica Garrison at Dial has bought Newbery Honor author Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's new middle grade novel, Fighting Words, about funny, tough-talking, 10-year-old foster kid Della who, in confronting her own sexual abuse, realizes what her older sister has endured to keep her safe, and determines to take action. The novel is set for fall 2020; Ginger Knowlton at Curtis Brown negotiated the deal for world English rights.
Regina Hayes at Viking has acquired bestselling author Joan Bauer's 14th novel, Raising Lumie, about Olive and Maude, two half-sisters who experience lessons in hope and healing from an unexpected source: a seeing eye dog named Lumie. Publication is scheduled for June 2020; Elizabeth Bewley at Sterling Lord Literistic sold North American rights.
Susan Van Metre at Walker Books US has bought Jonathan Hill’s middle-grade graphic novel True Tales of a Seventh-Grade Lizard Boy, which humorously grapples with issues surrounding the immigrant experience, belonging, coming of age, and the horrors of middle school. Publication is slated for spring 2022; Alexander Slater at Trident Media Group brokered the deal for world rights.
Emily Seife at Scholastic has acquired My Fate According to the Butterfly author Gail D. Villanueva’s A Potful of Magic. Set on a fictional island in the Philippines and inspired by Filipino folk Catholicism, this middle grade contemporary fantasy follows 11-year-old Jolina who uses gayuma (love potion) to seek retribution against her bully while unaware of the magic's dire consequences. Publication is planned for 2021; Alyssa Eisner Henkin at Trident Media Group did the deal for world rights.
Amy Fitzgerald at Lerner/Carolrhoda has bought Emily Barth Isler's debut middle-grade novel, After/Math. When 12-year-old math whiz Lucy moves to a town that experienced a devastating school shooting four years ago, she must navigate her classmates' lingering traumas as well as her own grief over a very different family tragedy. Publication is scheduled for spring 2021; Kari Sutherland at Bradford Literary Agency handled the deal for world rights.
Christian Trimmer at Holt has acquired world rights, in an exclusive submission, to The Teddies Saga, the first middle grade series by Daniel Kraus, featuring art by Rovina Cai. A blend of action-adventure, fantasy, and horror, the trilogy follows a gang of teddy bears who embark upon an epic journey to learn why they were left behind… and maybe learn the meaning of life, too. The first book is set for fall 2020; Richard Abate at 3 Arts represented the author, and the artist represented herself.
Lauri Hornik at Dial has bought Wreck This Picture Book, the first children's book from Keri Smith, creator of the bestselling Wreck This Journal. The interactive book, aimed at readers ages five to eight, will explore the active experience of reading and teach children that reading can engage all five senses. Publication is planned for October 2020; Faith Hamlin at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates negotiated the deal for world rights.
Emma Ledbetter at Abrams has acquired Sendak Fellowship recipient Ali Bahrampour's A Pig in the Palace, in which a flea-ridden forest boar, bewildered by an invitation to have dinner with the new and mysterious Queen, leaves a trail of destruction at the palace, but discovers one can find a kindred spirit in the unlikeliest places. The book is slated for fall 2020; Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio brokered the deal for world rights.
Kelly Delaney at Knopf has bought Duncan the Story Dragon author Amanda Driscoll's The Little Grump Truck, about Little Dump Truck's bad moods that turn her into a little Grump Truck with a heavy load to carry. Publication is scheduled for summer 2021; Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio did the deal for world rights.
Kelsey Skea at Amazon/Two Lions has acquired two picture books by Lindsay Ward, including Between the Lines and a second untitled work. In Between the Lines, a boy watches a storm wash away the colors of his neighborhood, but finds hope in inspiring his community to come together to bring back the colors of the past. Publication is set for spring and fall 2021, respectively; Clelia Gore at Martin Literary & Media Management negotiated the deal for world rights.
Alexa Pastor at Atheneum has bought world rights to a new picture book by Truman author and illustrator Jean Reidy (l.) and Lucy Ruth Cummins: Sylvie, about a surreptitious spider who gathers the courage to help the neighbors she has watched over from afar. Publication is slated for spring 2022; Erin Murphy at Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented the author, and Emily van Beek at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management represented the illustrator.
Rotem Moscovich at Disney-Hyperion has acquired, at auction, world rights to Chester Van Chime Who Forgot How to Rhyme, written by Avery Monsen, co-author and illustrator of All My Friends Are Dead, to be illustrated by Abby Hanlon, author of the Dory Fantasmagory series. In the picture book, Chester, who loves to rhyme, forgets how—to side-splitting effect. Publication is planned for fall 2021. Steven Malk at Writers House represented the author, and Elena Giovinazzo at Pippin Properties represented the illustrator.
Paula Wiseman at S&S/Wiseman has bought, in an exclusive submission, world rights to picture book author Nina Laden's (l.) Dear Little One, with Melissa Castrillón illustrating. This upbeat letter from Mother Nature invites children to engage with the natural world in positive ways in the era of climate change. Publication is scheduled for September 1, 2021; Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and the illustrator represented herself.
Andrea Welch at S&S/Beach Lane has acquired world rights to When the Sky Glows, a picture book by Nell Cross Beckerman and illustrated by David Litchfield, celebrating the beauty and science of all the ways nature illuminates the sky, from rainbows and meteor showers, to fireflies and Northern Lights, and the bonds made by those sharing the experiences. Publication is set for summer 2021; Victoria Wells Arms at Wells Arms/HG Literary represented the author, and Anne Moore Armstrong at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
