Polo Orozco at Putnam has acquired, in an exclusive submission, Heirs of Infamy by Kyla Zhao (The Fraud Squad), a YA enemies-to-lovers romance set in 1940s San Francisco Chinatown that combines the forbidden love story of These Violent Delights with the intricate heist of Thieves' Gambit. This YA debut follows the heirs of two rival crime families, Alexis Sung and Zachary Ren, as they team up to pull off a heist that will ensure their groups' survival—all while growing dangerously close in the process. Publication is slated for fall 2026; Tia Ikemoto at CAA negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Aimee Friedman at Scholastic has bought world rights to Like We Were in Paris by Stephan Lee (K-Pop Confidential). Billed as Before Sunrise meets Heartstopper, this YA rom-com follows two sparring teen boys who fall in love over the course of one madcap night in the City of Light. Publication is planned for summer 2025. Brenda Bowen at the Book Group brokered the deal; the book is currently being developed as a limited-series or original movie by Scholastic Entertainment.
Ashley Hearn at Peachtree Teen has acquired The Hyacinth Labyrinth by Jamie Pacton (The Absinthe Underground), a sapphic fairy core YA fantasy romance, following flirtatious stable hand Chloe, who after getting caught joyriding on a royal dragon, is forced to accompany her most hated enemy, Hyacinth, to a magical library, but ends up ensnared in the machinations of a cruel queen who happens to be Hyacinth's mother. Publication is set for spring 2026; Kate Testerman at KT Literary did the deal for world rights.
Simon Boughton at Norton Young Readers has won at auction Last Night I Dreamed of Home by Sophie Li, a YA graphic novel about two college students originally from China who fall in love and who must grapple with their identities and the expectations of their families. Publication is scheduled for fall 2026; Brent Taylor at Triada US negotiated the deal for world English rights.
Lauren Knowles at Page Street YA has bought debut author Adrienne Rivera's My Fair Monster. When a regional horror host announces a monster costume contest, beauty pageant queen Corie knows she's found a way to prove she's not just a flake. It just requires the help of grumpy special effects makeup artist Everett Robbins to partner up and turn her into a pageant-worthy monster. Publication is slated for fall 2025; Natascha Morris at the Tobias Literary Agency sold world English rights.
Ellen Cormier at Dial has acquired rights to Rebecca Caprara's latest middle grade novel in verse, Eva to the Max, about a girl's passion for motocross and how her hobby leads to success on and off the track, along with an untitled second book. Publication is planned for summer 2026; Allison Hellegers at Stimola Literary Studio sold world English rights.
Meg Gaertner at Jolly Fish Press has bought Joey the Good, a middle grade contemporary novel by Erin Fry (Losing It; Undercover Chefs). When Joey's cousin comes to visit for the summer and asks Joey to be his wingman while he hikes the highest mountain in California, Joey must confront not only his own physical limitations but also his changing friendships, his buried grief from traumatically losing his grandfather, and his self-limiting beliefs. Publication is set for spring 2025; Samantha Wekstein at Thompson Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Michelle Lee at Dial has acquired A Little Bit Gringa by author-illustrator Andrea Cañizares-Fernandez, a debut middle grade graphic novel told in journal entries across three summers in Ecuador as a girl navigates her Latina identity, for publication in summer 2026. Monica Rodriguez at Context Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.
Keith Garton at Red Chair Press/One Elm Books has bought The Rewilding by Lisa Gerlits (A Many Feathered Thing). In this contemporary middle grade novel exploring gaslighting, body image, and the healing power of nature, a girl caring for her brother and dodging Child Protective Services finds solace in secretly restoring the natural ecosystem in an eccentric neighbor's yard. Publication is scheduled for fall 2025; Shannon Hassan at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency sold world English rights.
Brian Geffen at Henry Holt has acquired, in an exclusive submission, two picture books, The Gingerbread Monster and The Gingerbread Yeti by Dan Gemeinhart (l.), illustrated by Hugo L. Cuellar. In The Gingerbread Monster, when an eerie experiment accidentally falls into young baker Frank N. Stine's gingerbread batter, a frightening cookie creation comes to life, but as Frank is pursued, he learns that even monsters long for a friend. Publication is slated for spring 2025 and fall 2026; Pam Pho at Steven Literary represented the author, and the artist represented himself.
Taylor Norman at Holiday House/Neal Porter Books has bought world rights to Sixteen Games of Hide and Seek by Stephen Barr (l.) (The Upside Down Hat), illustrated by Steve Teare, a picture book about a boy's pursuit of the perfect hiding spot during a marathon day of play with his dad, and the weirdness of wanting to be found and not to be found at the same time. Publication is planned for spring 2026; Elena Giovinazzo at Pippin Properties represented the author, and Erica Rand Silverman at Stimola Literary Studio represented the illustrator.
Karen Boss at Charlesbridge has acquired world rights to Anansi and the Talking Cloth by Caroline Brewer (l.) (with Kwasi Asare), illustrated by Ekua Holmes (r.), a modern, original Anansi folktale focused on the art of making kente-cloth and what happens when the city's kente-cloth-making spiders stop weaving. Publication is scheduled for spring 2026; the author represented herself, and Rubin Pfeffer at Aevitas Creative Management represented the illustrator.
Alex Borbolla at Bloomsbury has bought world rights to Leroy Has Something to Say, a picture book by Emily Rosenthal (l.), illustrated by Thai My Phuong. Leroy, a gardening ghost, tries to use the language of flowers to befriend those who move into his abandoned manor, but no one understands him until he meets Tara, a non-speaking girl who shares Leroy's passion for plants and uses a tablet to communicate. Publication is set for spring 2026; Alexandra Weiss at Azantian Literary represented the author, and Christy Ewers at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.
Courtney Code at Abrams has acquired, at auction, world rights to All of Apolonia, a picture book about a young Latina wheelchair basketball player who sees her identities collide as she plans her birthday party, written by two-time Paralympic Gold Medalist Patty Cisneros Prevo (l.), illustrated by Mirelle Ortega. Publication is slated for spring 2026; Ana Crespo at East West Literary Agency represented the author, and James Burns at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Kathleen Merz at Eerdmans has bought world rights to Music & Silence by Christy Mihaly (l.) (Patience, Patches; Water), illustrated by Mariona Cabassa (Water; A Gift for Amma), about Pablo Casals, the preeminent cellist of the first half of the 20th century and a fierce opponent of Franco's fascism, and the power of music and how its silence can echo around the world. Publication is planned for 2026; Erzsi Deak at Hen&ink Literary represented the author, and Mela Bolinao at MB Artists represented the illustrator.
Talia Messina and Linda Howard at Tyndale have acquired world rights for the picture book A Christmas Wish for Little Dala Horse: A Saint Lucia Celebration by Sonja Anderson (l.), illustrated by Agnieszka Potocka, in which a newly carved Swedish Dala horse experiences the magic of Jul and the power of love through an old, chipped-paint horse, a shy girl, and a candlelit St. Lucia pageant. Publication is set for winter 2025; Adria Goetz at KT Literary represented the author, and Astound US represented the illustrator.
Zareen Jaffery at Kokila has bought Where Do Stories Live? by Meenal Patel, in which two siblings venture to their aunt's house, along the way observing the stories that exist all around us, to publish in summer 2026. Lilly Ghahremani at Full Circle Literary brokered the deal for world rights.
Rebecca Davis at Astra Young Readers has acquired picture book Piece Out by author-illustrator Alex Willan (Unicorns Are the Worst), in which Red, an unassuming game piece, is left out of the box after a rousing Family Game Night and must fend for itself in an epic quest to get back to the safety of the game closet. Publication is scheduled for spring 2025; Lori Kilkelly handled the deal for world rights.
Jenne Abramowitz at Sourcebooks has bought The Big Book of Bear Butts, a guide to all types of bear butts by two-time Geisel Honor winner Jonathan Fenske (Nothing Fits a Dinosaur). Publication is planned for fall 2026; Carrie Hannigan at HG Literary sold world rights.
Sarah Barley, in her first acquisition for Sarah Barley Books, her new imprint at Simon & Schuster, has acquired The Heiress of Nowhere by Asian/Pacific American Award winner Stacey Lee, a historical gothic mystery set in 1918 on Orcas Island, Washington. When 18-year-old Lucy Nowhere discovers the mutilated body of her employer on the beach and is named as the sole beneficiary of his massive estate, she sets out to find the real killer before she suffers the same fate. Publication is planned for the Sarah Barley Books launch list in spring 2026; Kristin Nelson at Nelson Literary handled the two-book, six-figure deal.
Sarah McCabe at McElderry Books has bought Crystal Seitz's (Inheritance of Scars) next YA fantasy, Beast Becomes Her, and an untitled standalone in a six-figure, two-book deal. Pitched as an exploration of feminine rage and toxic masculinity via Wednesday meets Stalking Jack the Ripper with a Norse myth spin, the novel follows Edith, who is sent to Skallagrim Academy to be among berserkir like herself. But when a student is attacked, and a handsome huntsman suspects Edith is behind it, Edith must set out to prove her innocence and avoid the hunter's crosshairs or become the killer's next victim. Publication is set for spring 2026; Laura Crockett at Triada US sold North American rights.
Rachel Diebel at Feiwel and Friends has acquired Mi Tio Hernán, a contemporary YA graphic novel by debut creator Alondra Araujo. Genderfluid Anibal is sent to live with their estranged Tio Hernán, a macho charro (Mexican horseman) of Jalisco, Mexico, in an attempt to "masculinize" them. Suddenly Anibal is balancing two lives: one in shame pretending to be a macho charro, and another in pride alongside a team of side-saddled horsewomen, all while uncovering the truth to their tio's past that caused him to cut ties from their family. Publication is slated for winter 2028; Alexandra Weiss at Azantian Literary North American rights.
Joshua Dean Perry at Tiny Ghost Press has acquired Caspian Faye's queer YA haunted house mystery/romance, In Between The Walls. After moving what feels like a million miles away from his home state, star athlete James feels like his life is falling apart. That starts to change when he discovers his house is haunted by Nathaniel, a cute transgender ghost from the 1700s. Publication is scheduled for December 2025.
Sally Morgridge at Holiday House has bought Karen Myna Cantor's Snaketown, Florida and A History of Unnatural Disasters, in a two-book deal at auction. Snaketown follows a group of teens who plot to save their hometown in central Florida—and its zany residents—by faking a disaster and unleashing hundreds of pythons, and Unnatural Disasters is about a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy who starts a true-crime podcast to tell his side of the story and to investigate his own mother's crime. The books will be published in summer 2026 and summer 2027; Ismita Hussain at Great Dog Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.
Rick Rinehart at Muddy Boots has acquired world English rights to the middle grade nonfiction book City Safari: A Young Naturalist's Guide to Discovering Wildlife in the City by Jenette Restivo, designed to give city children the tools they need to see their environment in a new way. Jennifer Unter at the Unter Agency did the deal for publication in spring 2025.
Feather Flores at Atheneum has bought, in a preempt, the first two books in an early graphic novel series by author-illustrator Erin Barker (Mr. Pumpkin's Tea Party). The first book, Hugo and the Pirates, follows the adventures of Hugo the sloth and the quirky pirate crew of the Black Pearl, for fans of Ben Clanton and Geronimo Stilton. Publication is planned for spring 2027 and spring 2028; Natascha Morris at the Tobias Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Stephanie Pitts at Putnam has acquired, in an exclusive submission, The Lone Wolf by author-illustrator Deborah Marcero, about a gentle "lone" wolf with a quiet, almost-happy life who discovers three orphan piglets left on his doorstep, and to protect them, he must embark on a journey of discovery to figure out what kind of wolf he really is and where he belongs. Publication is set for spring 2027; Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary Agency sold world rights.
Mary Kate Castellani at Bloomsbury has bought Weekend Mom cartoonist Grace Farris's debut picture book, More Than a Million, where parents and caregivers enumerate how much they love their kids, from the unforgivably early mornings to the infinity snack plates to the hours-long bedtime rituals. Publication is scheduled for spring 2026; Wendi Gu at GreenburgerKids did the deal for world rights.
Deirdre Jones at Little, Brown has acquired world rights to The Night the Buildings Switched Places by Dev Petty (l.) (Claymates; I Don't Want to Be a Frog), illustrated by Brian Biggs, about a town full of bored buildings that decide to swap locations, with humorous results. Publication is slated for winter 2027; Jennifer Rofé at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and Steven Malk at Writers House represented the artist.
Claire Tattersfield at Flamingo Books has bought world rights to Exca Gator by Brooke Hartman (l.), illustrated by Michael Slack, a picture book about a cheerful, well-meaning alligator who operates an excavator alongside his animal pals, to mixed results. Publication is planned for spring 2026; Sera Rivers at Speilburg Literary represented the author, and Lori Nowicki at Painted Words represented the illustrator.
Jenne Abramowitz at Sourcebooks has acquired world rights to Axolotl and Axolittle by Jess Hitchman (l.), illustrated by Sarah Rebar, in a two-book deal at auction. In this funny sibling story, Axolotl lives her life to the max-a-lotl, while her younger brother Axolittle would rather just relax a little—can these totally opposite siblings learn to play nicely together? Publication is set for summer 2025; Gemma Cooper at the Bent Agency represented the author, and Chad W. Beckerman at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.
Angie Busanet at Abrams has bought world rights to the picture book But Art Is Terrible! by Cassi McCreight (l.), illustrated by Xindi Yan, a humorous story about a child who learns just how fun museums—and all of the different art inside them—can be. Publication is scheduled for spring 2026; Christie Megill represented the author and Christy Ewers represented the illustrator, both at the CAT Agency.
Alex Wolfe at Penguin Workshop has acquired world rights to My Brother's Butt Is Haunted, a picture book by Dan Poblocki (l.), illustrated by James Rey Sanchez. When two siblings sleep over at their grandparents' creepy new house, strange sounds and smells start coming from the older brother's pants. Oh no—his butt must be haunted! Publication is slated for summer 2025; Michael Bourret at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret represented the author, and Alex Gehringer at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Kate DePalma at Barefoot Books has bought world rights to Take Me Out to the Ball Game! by MLB.com journalist Nathalie Alonso (l.) (Old Clothes for Dinner?!), illustrated by Naida Mazzenga (Our World: Italy); Bree Reyes will edit. A reimagining of the classic baseball anthem, this singalong introduces kids to the diverse history and culture of America's favorite pastime. Publication is planned for spring 2025; Heather Cashman at Storm Literary Agency represented the author, and Jess Lomax at Inkling Illustration Agency represented the illustrator.
Charlie Ilgunas at Little Bee Books has acquired world rights to Mac Wears a Hat by Vicki Johnson (l.), illustrated by Gillian Reid, a picture book by the team behind Molly's Tuxedo, about a gender-nonconforming child who has a hat for any and all occasions to express herself. Publication is set for spring 2026; Zoe Sandler at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates represented the author, and Christy Ewers at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.
Karen Smith at Workman Kids has bought world rights to Scientists Like Me by JaNay Brown-Wood (l.) in collaboration with the Carnegie Science Center, illustrated by Kristen Uroda. This nonfiction book showcases groundbreaking and diverse scientists featuring biographical information about their journeys into their scientific careers while demystifying the path into a range of scientific fields. Publication is scheduled for August 2025; Karen Grencik at Red Fox Literary represented the author, and the illustrator represented herself.
Joni Sussman at Kar-Ben has acquired world rights for The Shabbat Flood: A Texas-Sized Tall Tale by Jan Schwaid (l.), illustrated by Evelline Andrya, a picture book based on a true story about a girl and her father, a baker, who delivered challah to their neighbors after a storm by floating down streets in a barrel—at least, that's the way Bubbe tells the story. Publication is slated for spring 2026; Eve Adler at Red Fox Literary represented the author, and Erin Tisdel at Advocate Art represented the illustrator.
Sandra Sutter at Gnome Road has bought world rights to If Pets Wrote Poems, a picture book poetry collection by Susan Johnston Taylor (l.), illustrated by Sandie Sonke, exploring the lives and writing styles of famous (and not-so-famous) poets through the eyes of their animal friends. Publication is planned for spring 2026; the author represented herself, and Marie Bedrune at illo Agency represented the illustrator.
