Mabel Hsu at HarperCollins/Tegen has won, in an eight-house auction, North American rights to YA rom-com Not Here to Be Liked by debut author Michelle Quach. When Chinese-Vietnamese-American Eliza Quan is snubbed as the next editor-in-chief of the school paper for a less qualified but more "likable" male peer, she finds herself caught between leading a feminist reckoning and falling for the boy she's asking to step down. Publication is scheduled for fall 2021; Jenny Bent at the Bent Agency brokered the two-book mid-six figure deal.
Carolina Ortiz at HarperCollins has acquired, in a two-book deal, at auction, Milo and Marcos at the End of the Word, a debut YA novel by playwright, and creator of the Two Princes podcast, Kevin Christopher Snipes. When Marcos moves to town, Milo is forced to acknowledge the feelings he's hidden, not only from himself but also his religious parents. But as natural disasters begin to befall them and they become closer, can their love overcome freakish "acts of God" and vicious judgments? Publication is set for summer 2022; Tanusri Prasanna at Foundry Literary+Media did the deal for world rights.
Lynne Polvino at Clarion has bought Reader, I Murdered Him by Betsy Cornwell (The Circus Rose). This YA tale of female agency, queer romance, and revenge features a girl who becomes a teenage vigilante, roaming Victorian England and using her privilege and power to protect other young women from abusive Gothic heroes. Publication is planned for fall 2021; Sara Crowe at Pippin Properties negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Hannah Allaman at Delacorte has acquired Love from Scratch by debut author Kaitlyn Hill. The feminist YA rom-com follows rival interns Reese and Benny, whose chemistry sizzles when they fill in for a video shoot on a popular online cooking channel. But will exploding internet fame and a heated competition for the fall internship keep romance on the back burner? Publication is slated for spring 2022; Laura Crockett at TriadaUS Literary Agency handled the deal for world rights.
Camille Kellogg at HarperTeen has bought XOXO by Axie Oh (Rebel Seoul), with Catherine Wallace editing. The YA rom-com follows a Korean American cello prodigy who spends part of her junior year at an elite music academy in Seoul, where she falls into a whirlwind secret romance with the lead singer of K-pop's biggest boy band. Publication is scheduled for summer 2021; Patricia Nelson at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Margaret Raymo at Versify has acquired The Most Dazzling Girl in Berlin by Kip Wilson, author of White Rose. The historical YA novel-in-verse follows orphaned Hilde as she stumbles into a queer Berlin nightclub and finds family, love, and her voice during the last days of the Weimar Republic in 1932. Publication is set for spring 2022; Roseanne Wells at the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Christy Ottaviano at Macmillan/Ottaviano has bought world English rights to Miracle, a middle grade debut by Karen Chow about an Asian American girl struggling to find herself through friendship and music in the wake of her father's death. Publication is planned for 2022; Andrea Cascardi at Transatlantic Agency brokered the two-book deal.
Erica Finkel at Abrams has acquired world rights to the first three books in a new chapter book series, DJ Funkyfoot by Tom Angleberger (the Origami Yoda series), set in the same universe as Angleberger's Inspector Flytrap and Didi Dodo series. What do you do if your baby is a talking shrub named ShrubBaby who causes chaos wherever she goes? Hire a dog to be her butler, of course! Heather Fox will illustrate; publication of the first book is slated for spring 2021. Caryn Wiseman at Andrea Brown Literary represented the author, and Elena Giovinazzo at Pippin Properties represented the illustrator.
Kendra Levin at Simon & Schuster has bought world English rights to an untitled picture book by Washington Post contributing columnist and former NPR host Michele Norris, inspired by Norris's The Race Card Project. Drawing from the hundreds of thousands of six-word stories about race, identity, culture, and belonging that Norris has collected since 2010—many written by children—the book will be a tool to facilitate thoughtful discussions about race between adults and children and to plant seeds for disrupting systemic racism. Publication is set for 2022; Gail Ross at Ross Yoon Agency negotiated the deal in tandem with an adult book, also with S&S.
Cynthia Leitich Smith and Rosemary Brosnan at HarperCollins/Heartdrum have acquired world rights to To Walk the Sky, an #OwnVoices picture book by Patricia Morris Buckley, illustrated by Floyd Cooper, that celebrates the Native American ironworkers (including the author's great-grandfather) who bravely walked high steel to create some of the most iconic skylines in North America. Publication is scheduled for winter 2023; Karen Grencik at Red Fox Literary represented the author, and the illustrator represented himself.
Nancy Inteli and Megan Ilnitzki at HarperCollins have bought world rights to Spider Woman: The Story of Barbara York Main by Christopher Award-winner Susan Hood (l.). The narrative nonfiction picture book features the life of Barbara York Main—the conservationist, poet, arachnologist, and real-life spider woman. Two-time Caldecott Medalist Sophie Blackall will illustrate. Publication is planned for fall 2024; Brenda Bowen at the Book Group represented the author, and Nancy Gallt and Marietta Zacker at Gallt and Zacker Literary Agency represented the illustrator.
Emily Feinberg at Roaring Brook has acquired world rights to How to Say Hello by Sara Levine (l.), illustrated by Suzanne Kaufman. The picture book takes a two-fold approach to teaching introduction and polite etiquette for both dogs and their humans. Publication is slated for spring 2022; Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented the author, and Alexandra Penfold at Upstart Crow Literary Agency represented the illustrator.
Mallory Loehr and Dani Valladares at Rodale Kids have bought world rights to Playground Rules by Kallie George, a picture book guide to playground rules and behaviors, illustrated by Jay Fleck. Publication is set for summer 2022; Emily van Beek at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management represented the author, and Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions represented the illustrator in the two-book deal.
Alyssa Mito Pusey at Charlesbridge has acquired world rights to Invasion of the Unicorns by author-illustrator David Biedrzycki, a picture book about a little alien unicorn who just wants to take over the world. Publication is scheduled for fall 2021; the creator represented himself.
Kate Riggs at the Creative Company has bought world rights to I Am Elephant by J. Patrick Lewis, a picture book poem about the importance of respecting and protecting wild elephants. Miriam Nerlove will illustrate; publication is slated for fall 2021. Ginger Knowlton at Curtis Brown represented the author, and Anna Olswanger at Olswanger Literary represented the illustrator.
Rebecca Glaser at Amicus Ink has acquired world rights to Who Knew? Under the Apple Tree by Laurie Lazzaro Knowlton (l.), illustrated by Steph Marshall. The apples are ripe. Which animal will be first to know? Or second? Or third? This picture book weaves together the arrival of fall, animal communication, and counting with ordinal numbers. Publication is planned for fall 2021; Victoria Selvaggio at Storm Literary Agency represented the author, and Alex Gehringer at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Jill Davis at HarperCollins has bought author-illustrator Mike Petrik's Silly Sounds of Halloween and Silly Sounds of Christmas, two lift-the-flap board books that address the question: “What's making that sound?” Publication is scheduled for summer and fall 2021; Teresa Kietlinski at Bookmark Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.
Marilyn Brigham at Two Lions has acquired Outside Amelia's Window, written by Caroline Nastro (l.) and illustrated by Anca Sandu. The picture book centers a shy girl in a wheelchair who is inspired by the birds outside her window to take a chance and soar. Publication is set for spring 2022; the author and the illustrator represented themselves in the deal for world rights.
Feeding Minds Press has bought world rights to Barn at Night by Michelle Houts (l.), illustrated by Jen Betton, to be edited by Emma Dryden. The picture book follows a girl and her father who experience the world of the barn animals at night. Publication is planned for fall 2021; Suzy Evans at Sandra Dijkstra Literary represented the author, and Jennifer Rofé at Andrea Brown Literary represented the illustrator.
Kimberly Von Fange at WaterBrook has acquired world rights to Dave Connis's debut picture book, The Inventions of God (and Eva), illustrated by Amy Domingo, about an inventor girl who builds robots and whirligigs, and a loving God who is over the moon about his own creations. Publication is slated for fall 2021; Adria Goetz at Martin Literary represented the author and artist in the two-book deal.
Donna Bray at HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray has acquired, at auction, world English rights to debut YA graphic memoir The Wuhan I Know, plus a second graphic work, by Laura Gao. Based on the Twitter story that went viral, the first book is about growing up in two worlds, Texas and Wuhan; struggles with identity; and prejudices underscored by the pandemic. The second graphic work is about a queer girl's many loves. Publication for the first book is planned for summer 2021; Brenda Bowen at the Book Group brokered the deal.
Justin Chanda at Simon & Schuster has bought Take Me Home Tonight by Morgan Matson (Save the Date). Pitched as Adventures in Babysitting meets Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, the novel follows two best friends who take the train from the Connecticut suburbs into New York City and find much more than they bargained for—with destroyed phones, attempted muggings, cute boys, unexpected Pomeranians, family drama, encounters with movie stars, and discoveries about love, friendship, and their future. Publication is set for summer 2021; Emily Van Beek at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management did the deal for North American rights.
Jennie Conway at Wednesday Books has acquired, at auction, These Deadly Games by Diana Urban. The YA thriller follows a girl who receives a message from an anonymous source who says she has 36 hours to play a game by their rules, or they'll kill her sister. When she realizes that playing the game means destroying her friends' lives, she must figure out a way to beat the kidnapper at their own game. Publication is scheduled for 2022; Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich, & Bourret negotiated the deal for world English rights.
Nick Thomas at Levine Querido has bought The Immortal Boy, written by Francisco Montaña Ibáñez (l.) and originally published in Colombia, to be translated by Pura Belpré Honor-winning David Bowles. The novel tells two intertwining stories of Bogotá: one of a family of five children left on their own; the other of a girl in an orphanage who will do anything to befriend the mysterious Immortal Boy. Publication is slated for spring 2021; Pablo Eduardo Montaño de la Vega handled the deal for world English and Dutch and USC Spanish rights on behalf of Babel Libros.
Kelsey Murphy at Philomel has acquired You're So Dead by Ash Parsons. The YA comic thriller follows three best friends who sneak into an influencers-only festival (gone way wrong) on a private island in the Caribbean, only to discover a killer is in their midst—and they have to uncover the truth and solve the mystery. Publication is planned for summer 2021; Jodi Reamer at Writers House sold North American rights.
Sally Morgridge at Holiday House has bought world rights to Kendall Kulper's new YA novel, Murder for the Modern Girl. High-flying flapper Ruby Newhouse uses her secret mind-reading ability to absolutely crush at charades and to hunt down and poison killers who escape justice, but when her father, the last decent politician in Prohibition-era Chicago, becomes the target of a murder plot, she must use all her skills to keep her family safe. Publication is set for summer 2022; Sara Crowe at Pippin Properties brokered the deal.
Lauren Knowles at Page Street has acquired world rights to Lammy-nominated author Zack Smedley's Tonight We Rule the World, a coming-of-age novel about a boy whose senior year is upended when school officials learn he was sexually assaulted by another student. The book—which explores identity, sexuality, and self-worth—follows the implosion among the boy’s peers, parents, school, and girlfriend. Publication is scheduled for fall 2021; Allison Remcheck at Stimola Literary Studio did the deal.
Susan Van Metre at Walker Books US has bought world rights to a STEM-friendly two-book series of illustrated hybrid graphic novels by Marissa Moss, who helped pioneer the diary hybrid format with her bestselling Amelia's Notebook series. Tentatively titled Make It Count, the first book follows a math-loving middle schooler who finds that being the only girl on the mathletes team brings strain on her relationship with a childhood friend. Publication of the first book is slated for spring 2022; Liza Fleissig at Liza Royce Agency negotiated the deal.
Beverly Horowitz at Delacorte has acquired The Amazing Beef Squad by Emmy Award–winning writer Jason Ross, a middle-grade novel about a group of kids who have the smarts to make perfect grades by day, the nerve to pull spectacular pranks by night, and the heart to risk it all for the people they care about. Publication is planned for spring 2021; Richard Abate at 3 Arts Entertainment handled the deal for U.S., Canadian, and open market rights.
Mallory Kass at Scholastic has bought The Castle of Tangled Magic by Sophie Anderson. Inspired by Russian folklore, the middle grade fantasy follows a 13-year-old girl who travels to a hidden land of magical spirits to save her home, but learns that the future of both worlds are now at risk and she is the only one who can save them. Publication is scheduled for fall 2021; Gemma Cooper at the Bent Agency brokered the deal for North American rights.
Abigail McAden at Scholastic has acquired Force of Fire, a middle grade standalone novel by Sayantani DasGupta. The origin story follows Pinki, a fire-clan rakkhoshi, who wants nothing to do with revolutions or do-goodery, but only wants to finally learn how to control her magical flames. When she makes a secret deal with Sesha, Prince of Snakes, to try to do just that, she finds herself becoming the reluctant leader of her country's fight for freedom from the serpent empire. Publication is set for summer 2021; Brent Taylor at Triada US did the deal for North American rights.
Hannah Smith at Owl Hollow has bought The Naming Girl, a middle grade environmental fantasy by Todd Mitchell (The Last Panther). Twelve-year-old Ash Narro is often teased for claiming that objects whisper to her, but when enraged forest spirits attack her village, she journeys into the heart of the forest and discovers the perils of deforestation, the magic of friendship, and how her words have the power to shape what things become. Publication is slated for fall 2021; Ginger Knowlton at Curtis Brown negotiated the deal for world rights.
Annie Berger at Sourcebooks has acquired North American rights to Pencilvania, a middle-grade novel written by Stephanie Watson (l.) and illustrated by Sofia Moore, in which young artist Zora finds herself transported into a magical world where all of her drawings, good and bad, have come to life. Publication is planned for June 2021; Carrie Hannigan at HG Literary represented the author, and Anne Armstrong at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
David Linker at HarperCollins has bought world rights to The Cryptid Club, a four-book young graphic novel series by Michael Brumm (l.), a writer-producer for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Something is awry at Thomas Edison Grade School, and it will take a colorful group of pint-sized sleuths to solve the comedic cryptozoological mysteries. Each book features a different cryptid character. Jeff Mack will illustrate; publication of the first two books is set for summer 2022, with the next two following in winter and fall 2023. Rubin Pfeffer at Rubin Pfeffer Content brokered the deal.
Gina Gagliano at Random House Graphic has acquired world rights to Expedition Backyard, a nonfiction young chapter book graphic novel by Rosemary Mosco (l.) and Binglin Hu. The book follows gregarious Vole and more retiring Mole, who explore their suburban environment—until they accidentally move to the city and have to adjust to a new outdoor life. Publication is slated for 2022; Seth Fishman at the Gernert Co. represented Mosco, and Susan Graham at Einstein Literary Management represented Hu.
Victoria Rock at Chronicle has bought, at auction, in a six-figure deal, world rights to You Are Here, a debut picture book by Zach Manbeck, which showcases the importance and power of living in the moment. Publication is scheduled for spring 2022; Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions did the three-book deal for world rights.
Megan Ilnitzki at HarperCollins has acquired world rights to Mini Mighty Sweeps, a picture book by Lori Alexander, illustrated by Jeff Harter. When the big city trucks take all of the best city jobs, Sweeps must flex her brushes to show that even the smallest deeds can add up to big accomplishments. Publication is planned for summer 2022; Kathleen Rushall at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and Anne Moore Armstrong at Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Jennifer Stokes at Kids Can has bought, at auction, world rights to My Green City, by Tanya Lloyd Kyi (l.) and illustrated by Colleen Larmour. This nonfiction picture book is a celebration of a utopian "green city," where there's space for nature and for people from many different backgrounds. Publication is slated for spring 2022; Amy Tompkins at the Transatlantic Agency represented the author, and Alex Gehringer at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Kristine Enderle at Magination Press has acquired world rights, with Katie Ten Hagen editing, to Home for a While by child and adolescent psychotherapist Lauren H. Kerstein (l.). The picture book, illustrated by Natalia Moore, follows children in the foster care system finding their place, believing in their self-worth, and exploring emotions within a safe and trusting place. Publication is set for spring 2021; Deborah Warren at East West Literary Agency represented the author, and Sam Groff at Advocate Art represented the illustrator.
Elizabeth Schleisman at Beaming Books has bought world English rights to Henry's Pink Hat by Jeffrey Turner. The picture book features a young penguin who decides to stay true to what he loves—his pink hat and all things pink—despite peer pressure. Publication is scheduled for fall 2022; Anna Olswanger at Olswanger Literary represented the author-illustrator.
