Ashley Hearn at Peachtree Teen has acquired If I Could Go Back, a coming-of-age YA debut by Briana Johnson. As high school senior Aaliyah Campbell, who was raised by her grandfather in South Chicago, wrestles with anxiety and feelings of abandonment, she attempts to connect with the parents who gave her up as a baby and in doing so drives a wedge between her and the family who's always been there for her. Publication is planned for summer 2025; Sam Farkas at Jill Grinberg Literary Management did the deal for world rights.
Hannah Hill at Delacorte has bought, in a preempt, debut author Lily Braun-Arnold's The Last Bookstore on Earth, a post-apocalyptic sapphic YA romance pitched for fans of Wilder Girls and The Last of Us. After a climate disaster leaves her stranded in her local New Jersey bookstore, Liz is just trying to hold the pieces of her life together—until newcomer Maeve appears, with secrets that could threaten both of their lives. Publication is slated for spring 2025; Lily Dolin at United Talent Agency brokered the deal for North American rights.
Alice Jerman while at HarperCollins has acquired The Devouring Light by Kat Ellis, a YA horror novel that tells the story of rivals Haden and Deacon, whose bands are stranded on the way to a local rock festival. They spot an old house that they discover has been waiting for them both for a long time—and the house knows help isn't coming. Clare Vaughn will edit, for publication in fall 2025; Molly Ker Hawn at the Bent Agency negotiated the deal for world English rights.
Kelsey Horton at Delacorte has bought, in an exclusive submission, Charlotte Lillie Balogh's debut YA thriller, Kill the Lax Bro. When an all-American lacrosse player is mysteriously kicked off his team, there are deadly consequences as he seeks revenge with the help of the high school "it" girls, each with their own secret motives. The book is scheduled for summer 2025; Michael Bourret at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret sold world English rights.
Joshua Dean Perry at Tiny Ghost Press has acquired Blackblood, Kree Sullivan's queer crossover YA fantasy. When teenage smuggler Armina discovers an escaped mage among the illegal magical artifacts in the trailer of her truck, she panics. Mages attract the magic-hating Huntsmen, which can only mean trouble. But when the mage asks Armina for help to rescue their still-imprisoned mother, Armina reluctantly agrees. Publication is set for spring 2025; the author was unagented.
Andrew Karre at Dutton has bought Radiant, a middle-grade verse novel by CSK winner Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, about a girl from a small town near Pittsburgh navigating a turbulent school year against the backdrop of the Birmingham church bombing, the Kennedy assassination, and Beatlemania. Publication is slated for spring 2025; Tracey Adams at Adams Literary sold world English rights.
Dena Neusner at Apples & Honey has acquired world rights to Lucky Penny, the story of a superstitious girl who tries to reverse good luck gone sour, told in chapter book format by Aimee Lucido (l.) (Emmy in the Key of Code), illustrated by Jon Davis. Publication is planned for fall 2024; Kathleen Rushall at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and Vickie Savanella at Advocate Art represented the illustrator.
Karen Wojtyla at McElderry Books has bought world English rights to Bittersweet, a picture book by author-illustrator Christy Mandin, centered on Operation Little Vittles in which pilot Gail Halvorsen dropped little parachutes of candy to kids living in occupied Berlin after World War II. Publication is scheduled for fall 2025; Adria Goetz at KT Literary negotiated the deal.
Nancy Inteli at HarperCollins has acquired world rights to Fix It Familia by Lucky Diaz (l.), the leader of Latin-Grammy-winning children's band The Lucky Band, illustrated by Micah Player (Friday Night Wrestlefest). The picture book features a Latine family who have all the right tools, from empathy to teamwork to creativity and more, to help everyone in their community. Publication is set for summer 2025; Sara Camilli at Sara Camilli Agency represented the author, and Lori Nowicki at Painted Words represented the illustrator.
Samantha Gentry at Little, Brown has bought world rights to Home Is a Heartbeat by Pura Belpré Honor author Laekan Zea Kemp, illustrated by Magdalena Mora, a picture book celebrating the many types of households children grow up in, particularly multi-family and multi-generational homes. Publication is planned for winter 2025; Andrea Morrison at Writers House represented the author, and Steven Malk at Writers House represented the illustrator.
Irene Vázquez at Levine Querido has acquired Quill the Forest Keeper by Marije Tolman (l.), a picture book about a young hedgehog trying to keep the forest clean while the rest of the world rushes around him. David Colmer will translate from Dutch. Publication is slated for fall 2024; Luciënne van der Leije at Querido sold world English rights; the translator represented himself.
Alison Weiss at Pixel+Ink has bought world rights to the first two books in the sibling-centered Missy and Mason picture book series by Pam Vaughan (l.), illustrated by Ariel Landy, starting with Missy Wants a Mammoth, in which a trip to the natural history museum turns into a debate about why Missy's dream pet may be an impossibility. Publication is scheduled for summer 2024; Brent Taylor at Triada US represented the author, and Alex Gehringer at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Angus Yuen-Killick at Red Comet Press has acquired Aloha Everything by debut author Kaylin Melia George (l.) and debut illustrator Mae Waite, a picture book that started as a Kickstarter campaign. The book features a narrative poem set in the Hawaiian islands about a girl who learns about the history, nature, and legends of the islands through the Hawaiian tradition of hula. Publication is set for spring 2024; Yuen-Killick negotiated world rights with Tom Leach at Mythify Inc. storytelling studio.
Sunita Apte at Reycraft has bought Dinosaur Days! by Courtney Pippin-Mathur (l.), illustrated by Pauline Gregory. The picture book is about a dinosaur-loving girl who dresses like a dino, eats like a dino, and roars like a dino. How can she share the dino love with her family without getting in trouble? Publication is slated for spring 2026; Jennifer Unter at the Unter Agency represented the author, and Robbin Brosterman at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Maria Russo at Astra/Minerva has acquired Springtime Storks: A Migration Love Story by Carol Joy Munro (l.), illustrated by Chelsea O'Byrne. Inspired by the true story of Klepetan and Malena, two storks whose dedication to one another captured the world's attention, this picture book is a celebration of love and a call to protect the routes of migratory birds. Publication is planned for fall 2024; the author was unagented, and Hannah Mann at Writers House represented the illustrator.
Tom Reale at Michael Sampson Books has bought Did You Hear That?, a board book by Antonio Vicente (l.) and Miguel Ordóñez (illustrator of Your Baby's First Word Will Be DADA). It tells the story of a day through its sounds, reviewing the routines of the day while focusing on important emotional aspects. Publication is set for spring 2024, with a U.S. Spanish edition following in fall 2024; Marlena Torzecka at Marlena Agency sold world rights.
Bria Ragin at Delacorte has acquired, in an exclusive submission, Death in the Cards by Mia P. Manansala, pitched as "Veronica Mars but starring queer, brown girls." In this YA debut, high school tarot reader Danika Dizon's latest client goes missing after a troubling reading; when the client's younger sister blames her for the disappearance, Danika must apply everything she's learned from her private investigator mother and mystery author father to solve her first case. Publication is slated for summer 2025; Jill Marsal at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.
Nikki Garcia at Little, Brown has bought a YA novel duology by Daughter of Sparta series author Claire M. Andrews with the first book titled A Beautiful and Terrible Murder, a historical fiction retelling of Sherlock Holmes from Irene Adler's perspective. The formidable pair must work together to hunt down a murderer at Oxford who is killing their classmates, one by one, in ways more gruesome than the next. Publication is set for winter 2025. Amy Bishop-Wycisk while at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret, now at Trellis Literary Management, sold world English rights.
Lydia Gregovic at Delacorte Press has acquired, in an exclusive submission, Predatory Natures by Amy Goldsmith (Those We Drown), a YA speculative horror novel in which a teen girl on the run from her past takes a job aboard a luxury train—but when several strange carriages are attached her first night aboard, she discovers that the garden wonderland within them may be hiding dark roots; and a second, untitled work. Publication is scheduled for summer 2025 and summer 2026 respectively; Claire Friedman at Inkwell Literary Management brokered the deal for North American rights.
Katherine Easter at HarperCollins/Blink has bought Schneider Family Book Award winner Shannon Stocker's The Science of Broken Things, inspired by the author's daughter's brain cancer diagnosis. In this YA novel, 14-year-old Twyla searches for answers about her mother's death, and the root of her own baffling medical symptoms, which are dismissed by everyone around her—including her doctors. Publication is planned for fall 2024; Allison Remcheck at Stimola Literary Studio sold world English rights.
Alison Romig at Delacorte Press has acquired, in an exclusive submission, Lost Girls by Rebekah Faubion, a YA horror novel pitched as Yellowjackets meets I Know What You Did Last Summer. After eight girls disappeared on a school trip, five return and all they want to do is move on with their lives, but when the body of one of the girls who didn't come back is found, they realize that the only way to fight the coming danger is to stick together. Publication is slated for spring 2026; Katie Shea Boutillier at Donald Maass Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world English rights.
Kevin Norman at Violetear Books has bought Tiffany Wang's debut novel Of Fire and Ash, in which a scorned princess has survived her murderous half-brother's many assassination attempts thanks to wits, magic, and blackmail. With her brother's coronation looming and her own life on the line, she hatches one last desperate plan: infiltrate the rebellion seeking to overthrow the monarch, then betray them to her brother in exchange for her own safety and freedom. Publication is set for fall 2024; Kelly Van Sant at KT Literary sold world English rights.
Rachel Diebel at Feiwel and Friends has acquired, in a preempt, Marvel and Image illustrator Maria Fröhlich's debut middle grade graphic novel, Lyra and the Lighthouse, which follows a lonely girl who moves to a haunted lighthouse and teams up with its resident ghost to defeat a nefarious captain, making her first real friend in the process. Publication is scheduled for 2027; Jessica Errera at Jane Rotrosen Agency handled the six-figure deal for world English rights.
Andrea Colvin at Little, Brown Ink has bought Bookworms, a graphic novel by Breena Bard (Wildfire), in which a group of middle schoolers sign up as reading volunteers at their local library, despite its reputation for being haunted, and their tutoring sessions soon become entwined with the mystery of a girl's ghost. Publication is planned for 2026; Alexander Slater at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates negotiated the deal for world rights.
Dena Neusner at Apples & Honey Press has acquired world rights to Friends to the Rescue by Ellen Schwartz (l.) (Mr. Belinsky's Bagels), illustrated by Alison Mutton. This middle grade chapter book is inspired by a true story of Holocaust survivors returning to the Italian town that helped them during WWII to aid after an earthquake. Publication is slated for fall 2024; the author and illustrator represented themselves.
Daniel Moreton and Celina Sun at Penguin Workshop have acquired world rights to Brandon and the Totally Troublesome Time Machine by Seth Fishman (l.), illustrated by Mark Fearing. This picture book follows a boy who travels back to yesterday to fix his homework but gets into a battle across time with his past and future selves. Publication is set for fall 2024; Kirby Kim at Janklow & Nesbit Associates represented the author, and Sean McCarthy at Sean McCarthy Literary Agency represented the illustrator.
Alison Weiss at Pixel+Ink has bought world rights to Even Yetis Get Colds, the first book in a picture book series written and illustrated by Carlianne Tipsey, in which a girl looks for a cure for her best friend Yeti's cold. Only after trying everything does she realize a cure wasn't needed after all—a hug will do. Publication is planned for fall 2024; Jemiscoe Chambers-Black at Andrea Brown Literary Agency did the two-book deal.
Andrea Welch at S&S/Beach Lane Books has acquired world rights to How to Say You're Sorry by Stephanie Calmenson (l.), illustrated by Shannon McNeill, which begins with and answers the question of what should be done when you've hurt someone. Publication is slated for fall 2025; Susan Cohen at Writers House represented the author, and Andrea Morrison at Writers House represented the illustrator.
Katherine Easter at Zonderkidz has bought world rights to Rosie's Wild Ride by Paige Murray (l.), illustrated by Kristen Humphrey, a debut picture book about a Clydesdale horse and aspiring young cowgirl who team up to make their rodeo dreams come true. Publication is scheduled for fall 2024; Esther Fleece Allen represented the author, and Tina Doffing at Astound US represented the illustrator.
Karen Boss at Charlesbridge has acquired world rights to Remember Her Name!: Debbie Allen's Rise to Fame, a nonfiction picture book ode to creativity, perseverance, and joy as it celebrates groundbreaking dancer Debbie Allen who defied prejudice as a child to pursue her dreams and become a cultural icon, written by Tami Charles (l.) (All Because You Matter), illustrated by Meredith Lucius. Publication is set for summer 2025; Lara Perkins at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and the illustrator represented herself.
Sarah Mackenzie at Waxwing Books has bought world rights to Painting Narnia: The Pictures of Pauline Baynes, a picture book biography by Katie Wray Schon about the original illustrator of C.S. Lewis's Narnia books, which includes details about her life as a British artist and a woman during World War II. Publication is planned for February 2025; Jennifer Mattson at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author.
