Jennifer Greene at Clarion has acquired, in an exclusive submission, an untitled YA novel by Natalia Sylvester, winner of the International Latino Book Award for fiction. The #OwnVoices story centers a Latinx immigrant teen in central Florida, who has lived with hip dysplasia and countless surgeries, as she navigates the waters of first love and feeling out of alignment—both within and outside of her body—and chases the dream of becoming a performer at a mermaid attraction. Publication is planned for spring 2022; Laura Dail at Laura Dail Literary Agency brokered the deal for world English rights.
Arthur Levine at Levine Querido has bought Paradise Villas by painter Salman Toor and co-author Alexandra Atiya. The coming-of-age YA graphic novel follows 14-year-old aspiring artist Ozzy and explores issues of queerness and class while bringing Lahore, Pakistan to life. Publication is slated for spring 2023; Anjali Singh at Ayesha Pande Literary negotiated the deal for world rights, excluding India.
Maya Marlette at Scholastic has acquired In the Same Boat, a debut YA novel by Holly Green. Teenager Sadie Scofield is on a quest to finish a 260-mile canoe race one year after a disastrous race with her father. Ditched at the last minute by her brother, Sadie is stuck paddling with Cully—the boy who was her childhood best friend, now her worst enemy. It's not an easy partnership, but over the course of handling rapids, alligators, snakes, and a host of other dangers, Sadie and Cully discover there's a lot more pulling them together than keeping them apart. Publication is set for summer 2021; Michael Bourret at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret did the deal for North American rights.
Emily Settle at Feiwel and Friends has bought The Red Palace, a YA historical mystery by June Hur. After a bloody massacre takes place at court, 17-year-old palace nurse Hyeon and 18-year-old police inspector Eojin must clear the Crown Prince's name after he is accused of the murders. Set in 1750s Korea, this is based on the tragic relationship between Prince Sado and his father, a well-known story in Korea. Publication is scheduled for winter 2022; Amy Elizabeth Bishop at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret brokered the deal for North American rights.
Ben Rosenthal at HarperCollins/Tegen has acquired The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer, in which two teen boys from warring countries embark on a rescue mission to save a stranded astronaut. As evidence accumulates that the ship itself might be an enemy, they race against time to uncover the truth of their existence—and learn that their love for each other might be the only way they'll survive. Publication is planned for summer 2021; Richard Pine at InkWell Management handled the deal for U.S. and Canadian rights.
Calista Brill at First Second has bought Rhiannon, a middle grade graphic novel by married writer-illustrator team Kiara Brinkman and Sean Chiki, about three friends who spend a summer in a trailer park in a sleepy Southwest town. Publication is slated for winter 2023; Robyn Chapman will edit. Alice Tasman at the Jean V. Nagger Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Alexandra Hightower at Little, Brown has acquired, at auction, Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom by Nina Varela (Crier's War and Iron Heart). In this contemporary middle grade fantasy, a 12-year-old girl, desperate for friends in middle-of-nowhere Florida, paints the girl who has been appearing in her dreams. But when her art comes to life, she is thrust into an unexpected chase across a parallel world—all while navigating new friendships and her first queer crush. Publication is set for summer 2022; Patrice Caldwell at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency brokered the two-book deal for North American rights.
Beverly Horowitz at Delacorte has bought rights to publish a middle-grade adaptation of Random House copy chief Benjamin Dreyer's bestselling Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style. Publication is scheduled for spring 2021; Jennifer Joel at ICM Partners negotiated the deal for U.S., Canadian, and open market rights.
Martha Mihalick at Greenwillow has acquired, at auction, middle grade debut Unseen Magic: The Teashop That Vanished & the Girl Who Robbed It by Emily Lloyd-Jones (The Bone Houses), plus a second middle grade novel. In the small California town of Aldermere, the teashop can only be found by those who know where to look. For 11-year-old Finley "Fin" Barnes, the vanishing teashop is a necessity—it has the power to change a person, and all it costs is a few memories. But when Fin decides to steal the tea, she upsets the delicate balance of magic and reality. Publication for the first book is planned for winter 2022; Sarah Landis at Sterling Lord Literistic sold world English rights.
Carol Hinz at Lerner/Millbrook has bought Germs Up Close by Sara Levine, which brings together accessible text and micrographs of germs that cause various illnesses, including Covid-19. The book also includes information about the immune system, vaccines, and ways we can all stay healthy. Publication is slated for spring 2021; Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.
Emma Ledbetter at Abrams has acquired world rights to Fuzzy, Inside and Out by Zachariah OHora. The picture book features Fuzzy Haskins, a hirsute skateboarder who spreads warm, fuzzy feelings in his community through small acts of kindness, which come back in a big way when he most needs help. Publication is set for fall 2021; Sean McCarthy at Sean McCarthy Literary Agency represented the author.
Liza Baker at Orchard has bought I Want to Be Mad for Awhile by Barney Saltzberg in which a kitten, having a bad day, expresses the need for some alone time to make his mad go away. Publication is scheduled for spring 2022; Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio brokered the deal for world rights.
Heidi Kilgras at Random House has acquired world rights to If You Met the Easter Bunny and If You Met Santa by Holly Hatam. The holiday-themed board books are a sneak peek into what it would be like to meet these magical beings. Publication for the first title is planned for spring 2022, and the second is scheduled for fall 2022; Christy Ewers at the CAT Agency handled the deal.
Tamar Brazis at Viking has bought world rights to the picture book Tomatoes for Neela, written by Padma Lakshmi (l.), host of Top Chef and Taste the Nation, and illustrated by Caldecott Honor illustrator Juana Martinez-Neal. The intergenerational story follows Neela, who cooks with her mother in homage to her grandmother. As Neela and her amma shop for a meal together and prepare paati's famous tomato sauce, they celebrate the storytelling involved in passing down your family's treasured recipes while finding a way to feel closer to a family member who lives far away. Publication is set for fall 2021; Luke Janklow and Claire Dippel at Janklow and Nesbit represented the author, and Stefanie Sanchez Von Borstel at Full Circle Literary represented the illustrator.
Connie Hsu at Roaring Brook has acquired, in an exclusive submission, in a six-figure deal, world rights to My Parents Won't Stop Talking, by Tillie Walden (l.) (Eisner Award author of Spinning and On a Sunbeam) and Eisner nominee Emma Hunsinger. The co-authored, co-illustrated book, which marks Walden's picture book debut and Hunsinger's publishing debut, stars siblings whose trip to the park is waylaid by a torturously slow but wildly imaginative wait, as their parents chat endlessly with the neighbors. Publication is slated for fall 2021. Seth Fishman at the Gernert Company and Molly O'Neill at Root Literary co-brokered the deal for Walden and Hunsinger, respectively.
Lee Wade at Random House Studio has bought world rights to My Daddy Is a Ballet Dancer by American Ballet Theatre soloist Thomas Forster and writer, activist, and entrepreneur Shari Siadat (c.), illustrated by Jami Gigot (r.). As part of the multi-book program with ABT, this picture book follows a boy named Ben as he describes and performs the twists, turns, leaps, and jumps that his father does as an ABT dancer. Publication is scheduled for fall 2021; Trina Storfer and Erica Kane at Orchard Street Ventures represented ABT, and Wendi Gu at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates represented the illustrator.
Tara Weikum at HarperCollins acquired North American rights to a sequel to Thanhha Lai's National Book Award and Newbery Honor-winning Inside Out and Back Again, which revisits Hà, two years after she and her family fled Saigon at the end of the Vietnam War and settled in Alabama. Hà learns she is to move again, this time to Texas, for greater opportunities for the rest of her family, and in many ways, settling in a land with real cowboys and fresh papayas proves even more daunting than her time as a brand-new refugee. It's set for winter 2022; Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio brokered the six-figure deal for this and a second untitled middle grade novel.
Rachel Diebel at Feiwel and Friends has bought Racquel Marie's debut #OwnVoices contemporary YA Ophelia After All, about a romantic chismosa with a penchant for gardening roses and crushing on every boy in sight, who begins to question her sexuality and sense of self when she starts to fall for a shy girl in the weeks leading up to their high school prom and graduation. Publication is scheduled for spring 2022; Thao Le at the Dijkstra Agency did the deal for North American rights.
Liza Kaplan at Philomel has acquired Melanie Crowder's next YA novel, Jumper, about a girl who spends the summer as one of the first teenage smokejumpers since the 1950s, until a catastrophic fire spirals out of control—with disastrous consequences. Publication is slated for spring 2022. Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Reka Simonsen at Atheneum has bought Beth Vrabel's middle-grade novel To Tell You the Truth for publication in summer 2021. The novel follows 10-year-old Trixy as she passes off her grandmother's stories as her own for a school assignment and creates a tangled mess of truth, lies, and family secrets, which sets her on an adventure to unravel Gran's past and craft a story all her own. Nicole Resciniti at the Seymour Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Ellen Cormier at Dial has acquired world rights to The Rainbow Parade, written and illustrated by Emily Neilson. It’s an autobiographical picture book about a girl's experience in finding her own pride as she joins the Pride Parade with her Moms. Publication is planned for spring 2022; Christy Ewers at the CAT Agency represented the author-illustrator.
Megan Tingley at Little, Brown has bought world rights to The Me I Choose To Be by Natasha Anastasia Tarpley (l.) (I Love My Hair), with Alexandra Hightower editing. The picture book, which celebrates children of color, features original photographs by Regis (c.) and Kahran (r.) Bethencourt of Creative Soul Photography, creators of the AfroArt series that has been featured in various media. Publication is set for fall 2021; Tanya McKinnon at McKinnon Literary Agency represented the author and artists.
Lee Wade at Random House Studio, in conjunction with the American Ballet Theatre, has acquired world rights to two books by Fancy Nancy artist Robin Preiss Glasser (l.) and her sister, author Jacqueline Preiss Weitzman. The first, Gloria's Promise, is a picture book about a talented, determined, gutsy girl on the day of her ABT ballet audition; the sequel shows Gloria on the night of her first ABT performance. Publication for the first book is slated for fall 2022; Brenda Bowen at the Book Group negotiated the deal.
Anne Schwartz at Random House/Anne Schwartz Books has acquired world rights to Broke, a picture book written by Michelle Edwards (l.), author of Sydney Taylor Silver Medal winner A Hat for Mrs. Goldman, and illustrated by April Harrison, 2020 Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award-winning illustrator of What Is Given from the Heart, in which a boy learns to sew and discovers he can mend a special thing for someone he loves. Publication is set for fall 2022; Lori Kilkelly of LK Literary Agency represented the author and Regina Brooks of Serendipity Literary Agency represented the illustrator.
Luana Horry at HarperCollins has bought world rights to Better Together Cinderella by Ashley Franklin (l.), about a girl who tries to shine as a big sister, but this is one role she can't seem to get right. Taking a cue from Cinderella, she aims to find her happily ever after with her new-sized family. Ebony Glenn will illustrate; publication is planned for fall 2021. Kathleen Rushall at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author and Anne Moore Armstrong at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Connie Hsu at Roaring Brook has acquired world rights to The New Kid Has Fleas, written by Ame Dyckman (l.) and illustrated by Eda Kaban. In this picture book, a child learns that looks can be deceiving when he befriends a classmate raised by wolves. Publication is scheduled for spring 2021; Scott Treimel at Scott Treimel NY represented the author and Justin Rucker at Shannon Associates represented the illustrator.
Bethany Buck at Pixel+Ink has bought world rights for Beatrice Bly's Rules for Spies by Sue Fliess (l.), illustrated by Beth Mills, a picture book series about a girl spy who goes on missions and solves them—at home, school, or wherever the missions take her. Publication of the first book, The Missing Hamster, is slated for summer 2021; Jennifer Unter of the Unter Agency represented the author and Claire Easton at Painted Words represented the artist.
