Erica Sussman and Andrew Arnold at HarperAlley have acquired world English rights to Detective Baby, two middle-grade graphic novels by The Princess Diaries author Meg Cabot (l.), pitched as The Baby-Sitters Club meets Boss Baby meets Ocean's Eleven, to be illustrated by Amelia Allore. Jenny Newman is stuck babysitting Rosie Woodson, the worst baby in town who also has the most devious—and brilliant—detective mind since Sherlock Holmes. The first book, The Case of the Missing Dance Team Dollars, is set for summer 2025; Laura Langlie at Laura Langlie Agency represented the author, and Paloma Hernando at Einstein Literary Management represented the artist.
Connie Hsu and Emily Feinberg at Roaring Brook have bought world rights to The Most Boring Book Ever by author Brandon Sanderson (the Mistborn Saga) and illustrator Kazu Kibuishi (the Amulet series), a picture book about an ordinary boy who is having an ordinary afternoon until a surprising adventure unfolds. Publication is slated for late 2024 or early 2025; Eddie Schneider at JABberwocky Literary Agency represented the author, and Judy Hansen at Hansen Literary Management represented the illustrator.
Krista Marino at Delacorte Press has acquired, in a preempt, debut author Lulee Ma's The Perfections, a YA modern fantasy pitched as The Hunger Games meets K-pop, in which music creates magic and is owned by sinister corporations, and two star-crossed teens must compete in a life-or-death competition to become the ultimate global idol: an elite performer known as a Perfection. Publication is slated for fall 2025; Rachel Petty at the Blair Partnership sold North American rights.
Wendy McClure at Sourcebooks Fire has bought world English rights to Now She's Dead by debut author Roselyn Clarke, a dual-timeline YA thriller in which Mandy, an ultra-anxious college freshman, reluctantly returns to the lakeside resort where she killed her best friend and where someone now knows what she did. Publication is scheduled for summer 2025; Chelsea Hensley at KT Literary brokered the two-book deal.
Karen Boss at Charlesbridge has acquired world rights to Eyes to the Sky: Eunice Newton Foote at the Dawn of Climate Science and Women's Rights by Lindsay H. Metcalf, a YA biography in verse based on the life and achievements of Eunice Newton Foote, who first calculated the negative impact of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in 1856, and whose work was undercut by the scientific establishment and almost forgotten entirely. Emily Mitchell at Wernick and Pratt represented the author for spring 2026 publication.
Holly West at Feiwel and Friends has bought Confessions of a Junior Spy by Rosaria Munda, first in a middle grade series pitched as The Princess Diaries meets The Suite Life of Zack and Cody in the John Wick hotel about a girl who plans to be a spy like her mother, even though her parents just want her to live a safe, normal life. Publication is planned for summer 2025; Danielle Burby at Mad Woman Literary Agency sold world English rights.
Hannah Hill at Delacorte has acquired Three Blue Hearts by Schneider Family Book Award winner Lynne Kelly, a standalone middle grade contemporary novel about 12-year-old Max, who rescues and helps to rehabilitate an injured octopus, finding self-confidence and new friendships while he and his mom spend the summer on the Gulf Coast, far away from his overbearing Texas politician dad. Publication is set for summer 2025; Molly O'Neill at Root Literary negotiated the deal for world English rights.
Karen Boss at Charlesbridge has bought, in an exclusive submission, The Zuzu Secret, a debut middle-grade novel by Miriam Chernick, told in alternating points of view by Josie, a 12-year-old aspiring veterinarian, and her brother, Abe, a 15-year-old baseball lover born with a rare disorder called Prader-Willi syndrome. Together they learn the risks of keeping secrets and the value of family while staying true to their dreams. Publication is slated for summer 2025; Ginger Knowlton at Curtis Brown sold world rights.
David Levithan at Scholastic has acquired, in a three-book deal, The School for Wicked Witches by Washington State Book Award winner Will Taylor (The Language of Seabirds). Set in a comedically reimagined Oz, the story follows 11-year-old Ava Heartstraw as she fights to escape the grim School for Wicked Witches and prove to everyone that she's good—even if she has to get a little wicked along the way. The first book is scheduled for fall 2024, with a sequel, The Secret of Nettle Tower, to follow in winter 2025, and an unnamed third book in fall 2025. Brent Taylor at Triada US did the deal for world rights.
Kiara Valdez at First Second has bought Marguerite Sauvage's (l.) debut English-language graphic novel Drawing Attention, co-written by Eisner-nominated writer Barbara Perez Marquez, about a 12-year-old girl still acclimating to life in the U.S. (much to her chagrin) who forms an unlikely friendship with the school outcast over their shared love of comics and zines, drawing unwanted attention from the school's already established zine. Publication is planned for 2026; Britt Siess at Britt Siess Creative Management brokered the deal for world rights.
Ariel Richardson at Chronicle Books has acquired Belonging by Lakȟóta educator and activist Kimimila Lock (l.) and Pushcart Prize–winning poet Teresa Dzieglewicz (c.), a bilingual Lakȟóta and English story of a girl and her mother who embark on a cross-country road trip, living in the teachings of Mitákuye Owásʼiŋ (or we are all related) and honoring their connection with the Human Relatives, Plant and Animal Relatives, and Land and Water Ancestors. Painter Sheridan MacKnight (r.) will illustrate. Publication is set for spring 2026; the creators were unagented.
Katie Cunningham at Candlewick Press has bought world rights to two picture books from Jeff Gottesfeld (l.) (Twenty-One Steps). The first, Honor Flight, illustrated by Matt Tavares (c.), is scheduled for spring 2026, and celebrates the Honor Flight organization, which enables aging veterans to visit Washington, D.C.'s military memorials. The second, We All Serve, illustrated by TeMika Grooms, is scheduled for fall 2026, and shines empathetic light on life for military families, who say that every family member serves. Laura Blake Peterson at Curtis Brown represented Gottesfeld, Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio represented Tavares, and Sarah Dillard at Painted Words represented Grooms.
Carol Hinz at Lerner/Millbrook has acquired Revolutions Are Made of Love by Sun Yung Shin (l.) and Mélina Mangal (c.), illustrated by Leslie Barlow (r.). Told through a series of poems, the nonfiction picture book depicts the emotional narrative of civil rights leaders James and Grace Lee Boggs, starting from their respective childhoods and through their journey together as political activists and theoreticians. Publication is planned for fall 2025; Tia Ikemoto at CAA represented Shin, Miranda Paul at Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented Mangal, and the illustrator represented herself.
Megan Abbate at Bloomsbury has bought world rights to What the Saguaro Saw by Stephanie Pearmain (l.), illustrated by Johanna Martinez. This picture book follows the life of a single saguaro that sits on the border between Mexico and America in the Sonoran Desert, and all the ecological, socio-political, humanitarian, and indigenous histories it bears witness to throughout its 200-year lifespan. Publication is set for winter 2026; Wendi Gu at GreenburgerKids represented the author, and Lara Perkins at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the illustrator.
Barb McNally at Sleeping Bear Press has acquired GiRaft by conservationist Laurel Neme (l.), illustrated by Elisa Paganelli. After Asiwa and her herd of Nubian giraffes get stranded on an island during a flood, rescuers build a flotation device to transport them to safety. Publication is scheduled for spring 2026; Lauren Galit at LKG Agency represented the author, and Christina Doffing at Astound US represented the illustrator.
Rebecca Davis at Astra Books for Young Readers has bought world rights to Secret Stories Fossils Tell, a picture book of poems and science facts by Lisa Westberg Peters (l.), illustrated by Grahame Baker-Smith. Publication is planned for spring 2026; Susan Cohen at Writers House represented the author, and Alan Lynch at Alan Lynch Artists represented the illustrator.
Maggie Rosenthal at Viking has acquired Thunderland by Maggie Edkins Wills, a picture book in which a girl and her father face her fear of storms together by inventing an imaginary land where you have everything you need to be brave until the storm passes. Publication is slated for spring 2025; Jennifer Rofé at Andrea Brown Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Esther Cajahuaringa at Knopf has bought Nunu and the Sea by Isabella Kung, a picture book about a little girl whose big emotions lead her on a fantastical journey across the stormy seas. Publication is scheduled for fall 2025; Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency sold world rights.
Alison Deering at Capstone has acquired Waiting for Winter: A True Story of Challenge, Resilience, and Joy in This Time of Climate Change by wildlife photographer Stephen Gorman. Gorman takes readers to Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and tells the remarkable story of polar bear cubs who must wait for winter—the season that brings them sustenance for the rest of the year. Publication is set for fall 2025; Kathleen Rushall at Andrea Brown Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.
Naomi Krueger at Beaming Books has bought The Dinosaur Seed by Lindsey Yankey, a picture book inspired by the "Yes, and..." improv concept and told entirely through dialogue, about four kids who meet at a playground and dream an ordinary rock into a spectacular adventure. Publication is planned for summer 2025; Jessica Saint Jean at Jill Grinberg Literary Management sold world English rights.
Kathy Landwehr at Peachtree has acquired world rights to Don't Eat the Cleaners! Tiny Fish with a Big Job by Susan Stockdale (Line Up!; Stripes of All Types), a nonfiction picture book exploring coral reef life that celebrates the teamwork of the tiny but mighty cleaner fish that scrub larger ocean animals of pesky parasites in return for a tasty meal. Publication is slated for spring 2025; Gina Maccoby at Gina Maccoby Literary Agency represented the author.
