Nicole Fiorica at S&S/McElderry has acquired, in a preempt, North American rights to A Rush of Wings, a YA historical fantasy by Laura Weymouth (The Light Between Worlds). Set in the 18th century in the Scottish Highlands and inspired by “The Wild Swans” fairy tale, the book stars a girl with the strength of saltwater and the heart of a witch. She must master her forbidden craft in order to free her cursed brothers and prevent a charismatic tyrant from destroying all she holds dear. Publication is scheduled for fall 2021; Lauren Spieller at TriadaUS Literary Agency brokered the deal.
Liz Kossnar at Little, Brown has bought, in an exclusive submission, in a six-figure deal, author-illustrator Christine Suggs's YA graphic memoir debut Ay Mija!: My Bilingual Summer in Mexico, plus a second untitled YA graphic memoir. Ay Mija! follows Christine as they spend two weeks with their family in Mexico, experiencing their history and finding their voice. Publication for the first book is planned for 2023; Melissa Edwards and Alyssa Jennette at Stonesong did the two-book deal for world rights.
Kristin Pettit at HarperCollins has acquired YA psychological suspense novel Dark Room Etiquette by Robin Roe (A List of Cages). Sixteen-year-old Sayers Wayte is rich, popular, and more than a little arrogant, until he is abducted by a man who takes away his name but swears his only goal is to protect Sayers. As Sayers starts losing track of time, he starts losing track of himself, too, and his bright world of privilege shrinks to a single dark room. Publication is slated for May 2022; Peter Steinberg at Foundry Literary + Media negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Dana Leydig at Viking has bought Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka's YA novel With and Without You. Siena and Patrick have been dating for three years, though the spark is long gone and Siena is ready to call it quits. But when Patrick moves out of state, a long-distance relationship shows Siena a different side of Patrick—one that has her falling for him all over again. Publication is set for spring 2022; Katie Shea Boutillier at Donald Maass Literary Agency brokered the two-book deal for world English rights.
Emily Easton at Crown has acquired Smoke by Darcy Woods (Summer of Supernovas). In the book, pitched as a YA Weeds, straight-A student Honor begins growing marijuana to save her family from bankruptcy. Publication is scheduled for summer 2021; Catherine Drayton at InkWell Management did the deal for world English rights.
Krista Vitola at Simon & Schuster, Zoe Walton at Penguin Random House Australia, and Rebecca Hill at Usborne Publishing UK have bought A Glasshouse of Stars by Australian author Shirley Marr, marking her middle-grade debut in the U.S. and U.K. The story follows the immigration experience of an 11-year-old girl and is based on the real childhood story of the author, brushed with a touch of magic realism that includes magical gardens, cat gatekeepers, and an ever-changing house. Publication is planned for summer 2021; Gemma Cooper at the Bent Agency negotiated the two-book deal.
Brian Geffen at Holt has acquired, in an exclusive submission, Jessica Olien's middle-grade graphic novel debut, Fox Hall. When 12-year-old Nora is sent away to one of the first boarding schools for girls in Victorian England, she and outcast classmate Ida discover a sinister plot to rid the school of their favorite teacher. Inspired by the women's suffrage movement, the girls decide to take action and uncover the mysteries of Fox Hall. Publication is slated for 2023; Meredith Kaffel Simonoff at DeFiore and Company handled the deal for world rights.
Tamar Brazis at Viking has bought world English rights to Julie Sternberg's epistolary middle-grade novel, Unfashionably Yours, Catarina. At the end of seventh grade, Cat leaves Manhattan to visit her extended family in Baton Rouge, where she meets her formidable grandmother who severed all ties with Cat and her parents long ago. As she works in her grandmother's department store, she unearths her family's secrets and ultimately helps them to heal. Publication is set for summer 2021; Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio brokered the deal.
Rachel Poloski at Little, Brown has acquired Niki Smith's middle-grade graphic novel The Golden Hour, in which a boy uses photography to cope with PTSD after a harrowing instance of gun violence, and learns to open up again to a boy in his class who becomes his anchor. Publication is scheduled for fall 2021; Charlie Olsen at InkWell Management negotiated the deal for world rights.
Russ Busse at Abrams has bought, in an exclusive submission, The Puppy Bus by Drew Brockington, a picture book in which a boy, excited for his first day of school, finds himself on the wrong bus and hence a new school, one exclusively for puppies. Publication is planned for spring 2022; Elena Giovinazzo at Pippin Properties did the deal for world rights.
Neal Porter at Holiday House/Neal Porter Books has acquired world rights to Amy Hest's Sometimes It's Nice to Be Alone, a picture book reflecting on the joys of solitude and sometimes peaceful company, illustrated by Philip Stead. Publication is slated for spring 2023; the author represented herself, and Emily van Beek at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management represented the illustrator.
Alexandra Cooper at HarperCollins/Quill Tree has bought Monica Brown's (l.) Small Room, Big Dreams: The Journey of Julián and Joaquin Castro, a picture book biography about the twin brothers' journey from immigrant family roots to progressive political leaders in their roles as Secretary of Housing and U.S. Congressman, respectively. Mirelle Ortega will illustrate. Publication is set for spring 2021; Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel at Full Circle Literary represented the author, and Alex Gehringer at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator in the deal for world rights.
Caitlyn Dlouhy at S&S/Dlouhy has acquired world rights to Fly by debut author Brittany Thurman (l.). When Africa decides to compete in double Dutch, she'll first have to learn the winning moves, but it's the birthmark in the shape of her name that tells her she's always been a winner. Anna Cunha will illustrate. Publication is scheduled for fall 2021; Marietta B. Zacker at Gallt and Zacker Literary Agency represented the author, and the artist represented herself.
Kyra Ostendorf at Free Spirit has bought world rights to debut picture book Jayden's Impossible Garden, written by Mélina Mangal, winner of the 2019 African American Voices in Children's Literature writing contest, illustrated by Ken Daley. The book stars Jayden, a nature-loving boy determined to find and cultivate the natural world in the midst of the city in which he lives. Publication by Free Spirit in collaboration with Strive Publishing is set for spring 2021; the author represented herself, and Christy Ewers at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.
Joni Sussman at Kar-Ben has acquired world rights to Bonnie Lindauer's (l.) Hannah G. Solomon: She Dared to Be Different, a picture book biography of Hannah G. Solomon, human rights activist and founder of the National Council of Jewish Women. Sofia Moore will illustrate; publication is planned for fall 2021. The author represented herself, and Robbin Brosterman at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Stephanie Pitts at Putnam has acquired Some Girls Do, a YA contemporary queer romance by Jennifer Dugan (Hot Dog Girl and Verona Comics). The story follows an openly gay track star who falls for a closeted, bisexual local beauty queen with a penchant for fixing up old cars. Publication is scheduled for summer 2021; Brooks Sherman at Janklow & Nesbit Associates negotiated the deal for world English rights.
Krista Marino at Delacorte has bought End Like This by Kyra Leigh (Reaper), a YA contemporary retelling of the Lizzie Borden story. When Charlotte's mother mysteriously dies, she and her sister begin to suspect that their father and his new girlfriend may have played a part in the death, and spiral into paranoia with horrifying consequences. Publication is set for spring 2022; Stephen Fraser at the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency did the deal for world English rights.
Liesa Abrams at Simon & Schuster has acquired Jennifer Nissley's contemporary YA novel, The Mythic Koda Rose. For fans of Nina LaCour and Jandy Nelson, this debut features a queer teen exploring the enigmatic legacy left behind by her rock star father, who finds herself navigating an emotionally charged bond with his mercurial ex-girlfriend. Publication is slated for summer 2021; Danielle Burby at Nelson Literary Agency brokered the deal for North American rights.
Kieran Viola at Disney-Hyperion has bought world rights to Curse of the Specter Queen by Jenny Elder Moke. The YA novel follows rare-book-lover-turned-adventurer Samantha "Sam" Knox, who must embark on a globetrotting mission to save the universe from a centuries-old Celtic curse. Publication is planned for summer 2021; Elizabeth Bewley at Sterling Lord Literistic negotiated the deal.
Jody Corbett at Scholastic has acquired, at auction, North American rights to Brianna Bourne's YA debut You and Me at the End of the World and a second untitled novel. The former is a love story following teenagers Hannah and Leo as they discover they are the last two people left on Earth. Publication is scheduled for summer 2021; Alice Sutherland-Hawes at Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency handled the deal.
Amy Fitzgerald at Carolrhoda Lab has bought world rights to Torch by Lyn Miller-Lachmann (Gringolandia), set in Communist Czechoslovakia in 1969. When their best friend dies in an act of self-immolation to protest the Soviet invasion the previous year, teen misfits Stepan, Lida, and Tomáš find themselves targeted by the government and must work together to survive. Publication is set for fall 2022; Jacqui Lipton at Storm Literary Agency brokered the deal.
Emily Seife at Scholastic has acquired, in a seven-way auction, Barakah Beats by debut author Maleeha Siddiqui. In this middle grade contemporary novel, a Muslim girl joins a boy band in an effort to find her place at a new school, but struggles to reconcile her new friends' interests and her own faith. Publication is slated for 2021; Lauren Spieller at TriadaUS Literary Agency negotiated the two-book, six-figure deal for world English rights.
Nick Thomas at Levine Querido has bought Donna Barba Higuera's middle grade science fiction novel, The Last Cuentista. Relocating to a new planet after Earth is destroyed, 12-year-old Petra Peña’s suspended animation fails during the 370-year journey, so when all the other children are mysteriously reprogrammed and the adults purged, Petra becomes the lone bringer of Earth's now forbidden stories and her grandmother's Mexican folklore to a changing humanity. Publication is planned for fall 2021; Allison Remcheck at Stimola Literary Studio did the deal for North American English and Spanish, and Dutch rights.
John Morgan at Macmillan/Imprint has acquired, at auction, world English rights to Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit and the sequel by Jesse Q Sutanto. This middle-grade fantasy series features Theo, a Chinese-American boy in a world with magic spells instead of smartphones, trying to solve the mystery of his brother's death with the help (and hindrance) of a mystical fox named Kai. Publication of the first book is scheduled for early 2022; Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management brokered the deal.
Elizabeth Stranahan at Crown has bought A Kind of Spark by Scottish author Elle McNicoll. The middle grade debut follows Addie, a neurodivergent girl who campaigns for a memorial plaque when she learns that her town used to burn witches because they were different. Publication is slated for fall 2021; Suzie Townsend at New Leaf Literary and Media negotiated the deal on behalf of Knights of Media for North American rights.
Alyson Day at HarperCollins has acquired, at auction, in a two-book deal, Unsettled, a middle grade novel in verse by Reem Faruqi (Lailah's Lunchbox). The story follows Nurah, whose family has recently moved from Karachi, Pakistan, to Peachtree City, Ga., where she wants to blend in at school but stand out in the swimming pool like her star-athlete brother. Together, the siblings find a way to overcome prejudice, make new friends, and learn the meaning of becoming settled. Publication of the first book is set for summer 2021, with the second to follow in summer 2022; Rena Rossner at the Deborah Harris Agency did the deal for North American rights.
Luana Horry at HarperCollins has bought world rights to debut author-illustrator Anne Appert's Blob. Blob is a character of indeterminate kind. As a blob, they can be anything. The only problem is, they don't know who to be! This is a story that encourages kids to dream big. Publication is planned for fall 2021, with a second, untitled picture book to follow; Emma Sector at the Prospect Agency brokered the deal.
Courtney Code at Abrams has acquired world rights to debut author Ashlee Latimer's (l.) Fat Francis Discovers Possible, a picture book about a girl who overcomes body shaming with help from her father and their shared love for words. Shahrzad Maydani will illustrate. Publication is scheduled for spring 2022; Marietta B. Zacker at Gallt and Zacker Literary Agency represented the author, and Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions represented the illustrator.
Emma Ledbetter at Abrams has bought world rights to The Good Hair Day by Christian Trimmer (l.), illustrated by J Yang. The picture book follows a boy who wants long, glorious hair but who struggles to find the words to express his desire, until he receives support from the people he loves. Publication is set for spring 2022; Brenda Bowen at the Book Group represented the author, and Christy Ewers at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.
Stacey Barney at Putnam has acquired world rights to Snail's Ark by Irene Latham (l.), illustrated by Mehrdokht Amini. Like all snails, Esther cannot hear or see beyond light and dark, but she uses her own gifts and encounters a miracle or two to survive the confusion of weather and animals on a dangerous night to guide her snail friend Solomon safely onto the ark. Publication is slated for spring 2022; Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio represented the author, and Deborah Warren at East West Literary Agency represented the illustrator.
Dena Neusner at Behrman House has bought world rights to Big Larry's Latkes by Jenna Waldman. Big Larry, an alligator with a latke food truck, decides to create a new latke recipe with the help of his friends at the farmers market. Ben Whitehouse will illustrate; publication is planned for summer 2021. The author represented herself, and Robbin Brosterman at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
