Marisa DiNovis at Knopf has acquired Lucy, Uncensored by sisters Mel Hammond (l.) and Teghan Hammond in their YA debut. The novel stars a transgender teen. Lucy, and her cis best friend, Callie, senior theater nerds who plan on attending the same college drama program—but when their queer adaptation of The Tempest gets banned by the school board and transphobic comments make Lucy question their dream school, is there anywhere Lucy can truly fit in? Publication is slated for fall 2024; Tracey Adams at Adams Literary did the deal for North American rights.
Nick Thomas at Levine Querido has bought Newbery Honoree Darcie Little Badger's Sheine Lende, prequel to Elatsoe. A teenage Shane (Ellie's maternal grandmother) and her ghost bloodhound search for her disappeared mother and a lost child, as well as a return to her family's homeland. Publication is scheduled for spring 2024; Michael Curry at Donald Maass Literary Agency sold world rights.
Kate Farrell at Henry Holt has acquired world rights to three middle grade graphic novels by Emma Mills (l.) (First & Then; Foolish Hearts), illustrated by Sarah Nicole Kennedy. The Greenies follows seventh grader Violet as she acclimates to a new school after her parents' divorce, finding camaraderie to her surprise when she's forced into the school's environmental club. Publication will start in 2025; Bridget Smith at JABberwocky represented the author, and Nicole Tugeau at Tugeau 2 represented the illustrator.
Megan Abbate at Bloomsbury has bought, at auction, former political staffer, strategist and activist Celeste Pewter's Infinite Sky: The Story of Tsien Hsue-Shen, the Scientist Who Took Two Countries into Space. The middle-grade biography explores the life of a young Chinese immigrant who arrived in the U.S. in 1935 to study at MIT, becoming a professor at CalTech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory before anti-Communist paranoia prompted the U.S. to deport him back to China. Publication is set for winter 2026; Molly Ker Hawn at the Bent Agency negotiated the deal for world English rights.
Ann Kelley at Random House Studio has acquired in an exclusive submission to Tadpoles (tentative title) by Liz Montague. This middle grade graphic novel is about the trials and tribulations of three cabinmates at sleepaway camp who are fresh out of sixth grade, and together navigate their first big feelings: crushes, betrayals, ambition, family drama, and more. An untitled middle grade graphic novel will follow; publication is currently planned for summer 2025. Wendi Gu at GreenburgerKids sold world English rights.
Chris Hernandez at Putnam has won, in a six-figure auction, three books in the Pencil & Eraser series by author-illustrator Jenny Alvarado. The early reader graphic novels follow the comedic adventures of two best friend school supplies—Pencil, an imaginative adventurer, and Eraser, a cautious realist—and the hijinks they get into when their person Stella isn't watching. Publication for the first book is slated for fall 2024; Lane Clarke at the ArtHouse Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Dana Chidiac at Henry Holt has bought world rights for three titles in a new chapter book series by Sarah Kapit (l.), illustrated by Genevieve Kote. The first, Rachel Friedman Breaks the Rules, introduces playful, curious Jewish heroine Rachel, as she bakes challah for Shabbat with her best friend and tries to keep her cat out of trouble. Book 1 is planned for summer 2024, with a Hanukkah story to follow in fall 2024 and a Purim book in winter 2025. Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary represented the author, and Sarah Thomas at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Tamar Mays at HarperCollins has acquired world rights to Joyful Jubille: A Juneteenth Party, an early reader by Angela Dalton (l.), illustrated by Keisha Morris, written from the point of view of a girl welcoming her friend (the reader) to her family's Juneteenth barbeque celebration. Her relatives help with aiding the girl in telling the historical significance and emotional aspects of the holiday. Publication is set for summer 2025; Mary Cummings at Great River Literary represented the author, and Claire Morance at Painted Words represented the illustrator.
Courtney Code at Abrams has bought world rights to The Little Red Bakery, a picture book about a Cherokee baker at the center of a town who brings everyone together with her sweet cherry pies, written by Elise McMullen-Ciotti (l.), illustrated by Madelyn Goodnight. Publication is scheduled for spring 2026; Linda Camacho at Gallt and Zacker Literary Agency represented the author, and Studio Goodwin Sturges represented the illustrator.
Kristin Allard at Norton Young Readers has acquired world rights to Hope Makes a Better Future by Valerie Bolling (l.), illustrated by Monica Mikai. This picture book follows a Black girl named Hope as she attends her first protest—the 2017 Women's March. Initially overwhelmed and unsure of her voice, Hope realizes that girls do have power, and she can use hers at home, in the streets, and in her classroom, where she needs it most right now. Publication is planned for winter 2026; James McGowan at BookEnds represented the author, and Christy Ewers at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.
Megan Ilnitzki at HarperCollins has bought, in an exclusive submission, world rights to Another Word for Neighbor by Angela Pham Krans (l.) (Finding Papa; Words Between Us), illustrated by Thai Phuong. This picture book in the vein of Up follows Han and his budding—yet reluctant—relationship with his friendly and inquisitive young neighbors. Publication is slated for winter 2025; Katherine Wessbecher represented the author while at Bradford Literary, and Christy Ewers at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.
Karen Boss at Charlesbridge has acquired world rights to Popo the Xoloitzcuintle by debut author Paloma Angelina Lopez (l.), illustrated by debut illustrator Abraham Matias, a picture book about an Indigenous Mexican cultural understanding of death and the role of the xoloizcuintle (xolo) dog in Nana's spiritual journey to the afterlife. Publication is set for summer 2025 with a simultaneous Spanish edition; the author represented herself, and Aliza R. Hoover at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.
Christy Cox at Little Bigfoot has bought world rights to A Home for Chocolate by Connie Anne Hellyer (l.), illustrated by Erin Hourigan, a nonfiction picture book about a rescued orphaned moose named Chocolate. Publication is scheduled for spring 2025; the author represented herself, and Jenna Pocius at Red Fox Literary represented the illustrator.
Hilary Van Dusen at Candlewick/MIT Kids has acquired world rights to Baked with Love: How Food Allergies Changed the Way We Bake by Jenny Lacika (l.), illustrated by Fanny Liem. Alfred Bird hopes for his wife, Elizabeth, to be able to enjoy cake despite her allergy to yeast and eggs, and as a chemist, he creates a chemical concoction that comes to be known as baking powder. Publication is planned for spring 2026; Miranda Paul at Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented the author, and Christy Ewers at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.
Christy Ottaviano at Little, Brown/Christy Ottaviano Books has bought world rights, in an exclusive submission, to Spanning, Joining: A Celebration of Bridges by Christy Hale, a STEAM picture book that celebrates bridges from around the world, highlighting global community, human innovation, and especially the science of engineering. It's slated for winter 2026; Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio brokered the deal.
Mary Cash at Holiday House has acquired, in an exclusive submission, author/photographer Shelley Rotner's Love Is a Big Feeling. Rotner's portraits of children paired with simple, poetic text explore all the different ways that kids feel and express love. Publication is scheduled for fall 2025; Liz Nealon at Great Dog Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.
Kathleen Merz at Eerdmans has bought world rights to author-illustrator JoAnna Lapati's debut book Guts for Glory: The Story of Civil War Soldier Rosetta Wakeman. This picture book biography follows the life of Rosetta "Lyons" Wakeman, who disguised herself as a man in order to serve in the Union Army. Publication is set for spring 2024; Roseanne Wells did the deal while at the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency.
Susan Van Metre at Walker Books US has acquired world rights to The Demon's Prince by Remy Lai (l.), illustrated by Lauren Dimaya; Christine Engels will edit. The YA graphic novel follows Langya, a royal guard who has spent 250 years in servitude as one of the Five Demons after being murdered by the prince he was sworn to protect. To move on to a peaceful afterlife, he has to complete one final task: making that same heartless prince, now reincarnated as an ordinary high schooler, fall in love. Publication is set for spring 2026; Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret represented Lai, and Marietta B. Zacker at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency represented Dimaya.
Konner Knudsen at Dark Horse has bought Matthew Erman (l.) and Sam Beck's Loving, Ohio, a YA graphic novel in which a teenager's suicide in the Midwest town of Loving, Ohio, leads a group of their friends down a path of cult conspiracy and supernatural horror. Teenagers in the town have been mysteriously vanishing day by day, but when a bizarre killer begins terrorizing the town and graduation is fast approaching, Sloane and her friends vow to make it out of Ohio, even if it kills them. Publication is planned for August 2024; Peter Ryan at Stimola Literary Studio sold world rights.
Emily Settle at Feiwel and Friends has acquired Adoration by June Hur in a six-figure, two-book deal. This Jane Austen homage set during the Joseon dynasty follows a young woman transcribing forbidden books and an aloof, wealthy young man hiding his own literary secret, who must wrestle with questions of class, respectability, and carving out one's own destiny when a literary censor at the Ministry of Justice uncovers her secret and their connection. Publication is slated for spring 2026; Amy Elizabeth Bishop at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Stephanie Pitts at Putnam has bought world rights to The Truth About the Couch by Adam Rubin (l.) (Dragons Love Tacos), illustrated by Argentinian cartoonist Liniers, a picture book send-up of conspiracy theories revealing everything the authorities don't want you to know about the world's most beloved item of furniture, publishing simultaneously in English and Spanish. Publication is scheduled for April 2024; Jennifer Joel at CAA represented the author, and Angelica Erhart del Campo and John Lind at Lind Publishing and Media represented the artist.
Alex Borbolla at Bloomsbury has acquired Zombie and Brain Are Friends by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic (l.), illustrated by Laan Cham, a picture book about a young zombie farmer who is taught that brains are food, not friends. But when he meets the cutest, pinkest, squishiest brain ever, he must find a way to convince his parents that his new friend should be the family pet and not family dinner. Publication is set for spring 2025; Jordan Hamessley while at New Leaf Literary represented the author, and Jemiscoe Chambers-Black at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the illustrator.
Carol Hinz at Lerner/Carolrhoda has bought world rights to Irene Latham (l.) and Charles Waters's (c.) The Mistakes That Made Us: Confessions from Twenty Poets, a poetry anthology illustrated by Mercè López (r.), in which poets including Margarita Engle, Naomi Shihab Nye, Linda Sue Park, and Jane Yolen share their real-life missteps and blunders—and how their lives were transformed by the experience. Publication is planned for fall 2024; Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio represented the authors, and Mela Bolinao at MB Artists represented the illustrator.
Nancy Inteli at HarperCollins has acquired world rights to Zara in the Middle, the author-illustrator debut of Erika Lynne Jones, illustrator of Black Girls and The Loud Librarian. The book stars Zara, a Black girl who is always in the middle of her two loving and strongly opinionated grandmothers. When their opposite ideas for her birthday party go too far, Zara learns how to ask for what she wants. Publication is slated for summer 2025; Claire Easton at Painted Words did the deal for world rights.
Kate Fletcher at Candlewick has bought, in a preempt, Tiny Worlds by author-illustrator Brittany Cicchese, about an introverted boy who shares with his extroverted grandmother the miniature wonders of the natural world. Publication is scheduled for spring 2026; Jennifer Rofé at Andrea Brown Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Allyn Johnston at S&S/Beach Lane Books has acquired Maybe Just Ask Me, a semi-autobiographical picture book by author-illustrator Katie Mazeika. A girl wearing a scarf and eyepatch starts at a new school, only to face curious stares and over-the-top speculations about her missing eye and hair. Her patience turns to frustration until she finds the courage to tell the other kids that maybe it's better to just ask her about it directly. Publication is set for fall 2024; Sorche Fairbank at Fairbank Literary brokered the deal for world rights.
Arthur Levine at Levine Querido has bought world rights to Makers, a second picture book by author-illustrator Young Vo (Gibberish). It tells the story of two apprentice boat makers. one trapped by perfectionism, and the other who falls for the next new idea. Both have to work together to fulfill their dream of crossing the sea. Publication is planned for fall 2024; the author-illustrator represented himself.
Rick Rinehart at Globe Pequot/Muddy Boots has acquired Crows: From Egg to Sky by Margaret Peot, a picture book that focuses on crows' social ties, their devotion to mates, their offspring, and the greater crow clan. Publication is scheduled for May 2024; Anna Olswanger at Olswanger Literary sold North American rights.
Rachel Matson while at Scholastic bought world rights to Little Dreidel Learns to Spin by Rebecca Gardyn Levington (l.) (Whatever Comes Tomorrow; Brainstorm!), illustrated by Taryn Johnson, a rhyming Hanukkah picture book about a wobbly dreidel who with persistence, positivity, and momentum learns to twirl. Cindy Kim will edit; publication is slated for fall 2024. Kaitlyn Sanchez at Bradford Literary represented the author, and the illustrator represented herself.
Sarah Rockett at Sleeping Bear Press has acquired Yasi & Mina's Pomegranate Tree by Nikoo Yahyazadeh (l.), illustrated by Serineh Eliasian, which tells the story of two girls living through the Iran–Iraq war but finding joy and quiet moments through friendship and time spent playing in their shared courtyard. When the destruction of the war gets too close, Yasi's family takes an opportunity to immigrate to America. Publication is set for spring 2025; the author represented herself, and Heather and Ethan Long at Tugeau 2 represented the illustrator.
