Tricia Lin at Random House has acquired Immortal the Blood, first in a new YA fantasy series by Molly X. Chang (To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods). Pitched as Mulan meets Helen of Troy with vampires, the series follows a young woman who is destined for greatness but finds herself caught between two princes and a prophecy she never wanted. Publication will begin in summer 2025; Thao Le at Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency negotiated the three-book, six figure-deal for North American rights.
Claudia Gabel while at HarperCollins bought You've Awoken Her by Ann Dávila Cardinal, a contemporary YA horror in which a Puerto Rican teen becomes intertwined with a string of disappearances and "accidental" drownings when his nouveau riche best friend is set to become the next victim of the Lovecraftian monster lurking along the Hamptons coastline. Carolina Mancheno Ortiz will edit; publication is scheduled for summer 2025. Linda Camacho at Gallt and Zacker Literary Agency brokered the deal for North American rights.
Meg Gaertner at Flux has acquired The Complex Art of Being Maisie Clark, a YA contemporary debut by Sabrina Kleckner (The Art of Running Away). After years of mimicking her dad's artistic style, 18-year-old Maisie Clark throws away everything familiar in the hopes of crafting her own voice. But when an attack on her family's portrait shop brings past hurts to light, and a meet-ugly-turned-cute with a grumpy photographer challenges her views on art, Maisie wonders if "finding herself" might lie closer to home than she realized. Publication is set for spring 2025; Eva Scalzo at Speilburg Literary Agency did the deal for world English rights.
Christine Collins at Disney-Hyperion has bought a middle grade adventure by Jo Whittemore, writing as Annabelle Oh. Maggie and the Story Shadows, pitched as Land of Stories meets Only Murders in the Building, follows 13-year-old Maggie and her friends as they investigate Maggie's mother's disappearance through a mysterious realm of folklore, turning their misadventures into a hit web series along the way. Publication is slated for fall 2025; Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency handled the two-book deal for world English rights.
Carter Hasegawa at Candlewick Press has acquired world English rights, in a preempt, to Kip Wilson's (l.) (White Rose) middle grade debut, Backpack, Boy, Berlin, illustrated by Matt Schu, based on the true story of Don Heath Jr., the 11-year-old boy who secretly carried information between his American diplomat father and anti-Nazi resistance group leader Mildred Harnack. Publication is planned for fall 2026; Roseanne Wells at Lucinda Literary represented the author, and Chad W. Beckerman at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.
Tom Russell at Bright Matter Books has bought Mary Boone's Unfathomable, a collection of incredible but true stories about oceans and seas, including exploding whales, octopus wrestling, sting rays, riptides, and a boat made entirely of recycled water bottles. Publication is scheduled for spring 2026; Stacey Kondla at the Rights Factory sold world English rights.
Laura Godwin at Macmillan/Godwin Books has acquired world rights to I'm a Cloud! by Tjitske Kamphuis, a first-person narrative about the life of a cloud (with a little help from the author). Publication is slated for fall 2025; Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions negotiated the deal.
Jess Harold at Henry Holt has bought world rights to Side by Side by Newbery Honor author Rajani LaRocca (l.), illustrated by Brizida Magro, a picture book celebration of unity, about the many things people do side by side, from reading to sharing meals to protesting, and how the act of being together helps us connect and understand one another. Publication is set for winter 2026; Brent Taylor at Triada US represented the author, and Anne Moore Armstrong at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Laura Kincaid at Holiday House has acquired world rights to The Dawn Chorus: Protecting Birdsong Around the World by Susan Wroble (l.), illustrated by Alexandra Finkeldey, a picture book that explores the natural phenomenon of early morning springtime birdsong at the dawn of a new day. Publication is planned for spring 2026; the author was unagented, and Emily van Beek at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management represented the illustrator.
Nicole Fox at RISE x Penguin Workshop has bought world rights to The Swimming Book by Marilyn Singer (l.), illustrated by Luisa Uribe, a celebration of the many ways we enjoy moving through water, in parallel with the ways that animals enjoy the water. Publication is scheduled for May 2026; the author was unagented, and Alex Gehringer at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Joni Sussman at Kar-Ben has acquired world rights to Jason Belongs by Audrey Ades (l.) (The Rabbi and the Reverend) and Jason Schacter McKinney (c.), illustrated by Isabel Muñoz (r.), a nonfiction picture book about McKinney, a Jewish African American cantorial soloist, performer, and opera singer who overcame bullying and discrimination to find fulfillment through his creative aspirations. Publication is set for spring 2025; Charlotte Wenger at Prospect Agency represented the authors, and Robbin Brosterman at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Meredith Mundy at Abrams Appleseed has bought world rights to the Big Jobs for Little Babies board book series by Katrina Moore (l.) (Hope Is a Hop), illustrated by Benson Shum (Imagine You and Me). Rhyming interactive text and gatefolds explore several professions centered around an activity that baby loves to do. The first two books in the series, Who's Digging? and Who's Building?, will publish in fall 2025 and spring 2026; Andrea Morrison at Writers House represented the author, and Teresa Kietlinski at Bookmark Literary represented the illustrator.
Jenny Bak at Viking has acquired, in an exclusive submission, to Ex Marks the Spot by Gloria Chao (When You Wish Upon a Lantern), about a teen who discovers a puzzle in her estranged grandfather's will, then embarks on an inheritance hunt that will take her through Taiwan and force her to work with her ex, only to find that her family has hidden more than treasure. Publication is scheduled for spring 2025; Kathleen Rushall at Andrea Brown Literary Agency sold North American rights.
Mallory Kass at Scholastic Press has bought, in an exclusive submission, Kelly Andrew's (Your Blood, My Bones) latest YA novel, I Am Made of Death. The novel follows Vivienne Farrow, a selective mute who hasn't said a word in years—not since going missing when she was a child, when the sound of her voice became as deadly as poison—and the interpreter, Thomas Walsh, hired to accompany her. While Vivienne searches for a way to regain control of her voice and her body, devising a plan for a surgical exorcism once she's able to get rid of Thomas, he is unwilling to abandon the mysterious girl he's quickly falling for, no matter what dark powers threaten to swallow them both whole. Publication is set for spring 2025; Josh Adams at Adams Literary did the deal for North American rights.
Kelsey Horton at Delacorte has acquired A House of Vipers by Emma Jackson, a dark academia mystery that takes place a year after a student's mysterious disappearance, when his brother finds his buried time capsule in the woods with clues that can help him and his friends solve their boarding school's most elusive puzzle—and find his brother dead or alive. Publication is slated for spring 2026; Rachel Beck at Liza Dawson Associates sold world rights.
Mark Siegel at First Second has bought, in a preempt, Song of a Blackbird, Maria van Lieshout's YA historical fiction graphic novel with two intertwined timelines: one a modern-day family drama, the other a courageous tale of art and resistance under Nazi occupation. Tess Banta and Robyn Chapman will also edit. Publication is planned for 2025; Steven Malk at Writers House sold world rights excluding Dutch.
Jessica Smith at Aladdin has acquired G.F. Miller's What If You Fall for Me First, a romantic comedy set in middle school about a girl who enlists the expertise of her grade's "cool guy" (who almost everyone has written off as a jerk) in order to catch the eye of her forever crush—but as they get closer to her goal, she begins to realize she's not so sure she's chasing the right person. Publication is scheduled for summer 2025; Kim Lionetti at Bookends Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.
Catherine Frank at Peachtree has bought Geo's Fortune by Amy B. Mucha, a debut middle grade novel in which Geo Leoni, a skeptical, financially minded 13-year-old, rigs up a phony fortune-telling business only to be shocked when her predictions start coming true. Publication is set for summer 2025; Ginger Knowlton at Curtis Brown Ltd. brokered the deal for world rights.
Erica Finkel at Amulet has acquired Sabertooth by Lambda Literary Award finalist Robin Gow, a middle grade novel-in-verse about Jasper, a trans boy who loves rocks and fossils. After his brother moves away for college, Jasper feels lost without his rock of an older sibling and starts to dig in his backyard, and begins to hear the voice of a saber-tooth tiger. Publication is slated for fall 2025; Jordan Hamessley at JABberwocky Literary Agency sold world English rights.
Elise McMullen-Ciotti at Lee & Low has bought world rights to children's clinical psychologist Haleh Massey's middle grade novel Hairy Man Suit, about Hangameh "Harriet" Mansoor, who is having the worst month of her 13-year-old Iranian American life, but she and her frustrating older sister might have to get along just this once to turn things around. Publication is planned for spring 2026; Heather Cashman at Storm Literary Agency did the deal.
Andrea Tompa at Candlewick Press has acquired world rights to Vibhi and the Voice, a picture book by Newbery Honor author Rajani LaRocca (l.), illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Cindy Derby. Vibhi is afraid of the dark, but when she encounters a girl made of darkness who's afraid of the light, she puts aside her fears to make a friend. Publication is scheduled for fall 2026; Brent Taylor at Triada US represented the author, and Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the illustrator.
Sydnee Monday at Kokila has bought world rights to Gwei, the Hungry Ghost by Emeline Lee (l.), illustrated by Basia Tran. Inspired by the Hungry Ghost Festival and spirits of Chinese mythology, this picture book follows Gwei, a ghost who eats and eats but never feels full—until an unlikely friend helps him discover that fulfillment can come in surprising ways. Publication is slated for spring 2026; Hilary Harwell at KT Literary represented the author, and Chad W. Beckerman at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.
Meredith Mundy at Abrams Appleseed has acquired world rights to Little Witch's To-Do List and Little Easter Bunny's To-Do List by Helen Kemp Zax (l.), illustrated by Kiersten Eve Eagan. In each, the characters are very busy on the day of their respective holidays of Halloween and Easter. Publication for Little Witch is set for spring 2025 and Little Easter Bunny for fall 2025; Steven Chudney at the Chudney Agency represented the author, and Nicky Lander at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Katie Scott at Kids Can Press has bought The Matilda Effect by L.E. Carmichael (l.) (The Boreal Forest), illustrated by Roxanne Rainville, in an exclusive submission. The illustrated middle-grade nonfiction anthology will introduce readers to amazing women throughout time who never got the credit they deserved. Publication is scheduled for spring 2026; Emelie Burl at Susan Schulman Literary Agency represented the author, and Lillian Mazeika at Tugeau 2 represented the illustrator.
Wendy McClure at Sourcebooks eXplore has acquired world rights to This Skirt Won't Work!: How Women Athletes Changed Their Clothes and Changed the Game by Jennifer Cooper (l.), illustrated by Eva Byrne, a nonfiction picture book about women in sports history who cast aside the impractical skirts and petticoats of their day and defied conventions to wear things they could move and play in. Publication is planned for fall 2025; Joyce Sweeney at the Seymour Agency represented the author, and Anne Moore Armstrong at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Wiley Blevins at Reycraft has bought world rights to One Drop by Kaitlin M. Sikes (l.), illustrated by Mel Cerri. This informational picture book follows a drop of water that falls during a Florida storm and travels deep into the earth, through an aquifer, up through a spring and finally out to the ocean before making its way to Europe. Publication is slated for spring 2025; Amy Thrall Flynn at Aevitas Creative Management represented the author, and Camille Valbusa at Closer & Closer represented the illustrator.
Carol Hinz at Lerner/Millbrook has acquired world rights to Sharks Unhooked: The Adventures of Cristina Zenato, Underwater Ranger by Sibert Honor author Patricia Newman (l.), illustrated by Becca Hall. The nonfiction picture book introduces readers to world-famous shark conservationist and Women's Hall of Fame diver Zenato, who has developed a very close relationship with sharks in the Caribbean, which come to her so she can remove fishing hooks from their bodies. Publication is set for spring 2025; Deborah Warren at East/West Literary Agency represented the author, and Robyn Newton at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Lee Wade at Random House Studio has acquired world rights to Go Crow by Tjitske Kamphuis, a picture book about a crow's journey in search of food for her babies, told in short rhymes. Publication is scheduled for summer 2026; Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions negotiated the deal.
Reka Simonsen at Atheneum has bought world rights to The Honey Runner by Tadgh Bentley (One Chicken Nugget; Little Penguin Gets the Hiccups), the story of how the first rollercoaster was created by mistake when Bear designed an uncomfortably fast way to get him from his cave down to his honeycombs. To his surprise and confusion, the other forest critters love to ride it for fun. Publication is planned for summer 2026; John Rudolph at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret negotiated the deal.
Sandra Sutter at Gnome Road has acquired author-illustrator Angel Tate's I Rock My Hair: Pretty and Protected by the C.R.O.W.N. Act, about a girl who realizes that although some people think that her natural hair stands out too much to belong in certain places, it's OK to rock her hair any way she wants to. Publication is set for spring 2025; Liz Nealon at Great Dog Literary brokered the deal for world rights.
