Zareen Jaffery at S&S/Salaam Reads has acquired Hanna Alkaf's YA historical novel, The Weight of Our Sky. Told over the course of the 1969 Chinese and Malay riots in Kuala Lumpur, the novel follows a young woman who is separated from her mother by a city in flames, and must use all the grit, courage, and Beatles songs in her arsenal to overcome a multitude of anxieties to find her. Publication is scheduled for winter 2019; Victoria Marini at Irene Goodman Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
McKelle George at Flux has bought Kati Gardner's debut novel, Brave Enough, pitched as Bunheads meets The Fault in Our Stars, in which a ballerina is diagnosed with a bone tumor, connects with a fellow patient who is battling his own demons, and pushes to find the strength to dance again at a cancer camp. Publication is planned for spring 2018; Eric Smith at P.S. Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Phoebe Yeh at Crown has acquired in a preempt author Geoff Rodkey's futuristic novel, We're Not from Here, about a human family that immigrates to a foreign planet whose alien hosts are (mostly) less than hospitable. Publication is slated for spring 2019; Josh Getzler at Hannigan Salky Getzler handled the deal for world rights.
Sarah Shumway at Bloomsbury has bought a middle-grade series by Jackson Pearce, called Ellie, Engineer—the STEM-powered story of a girl who, tool belt strapped over her favorite skirt, loves to invent and build amazing creations. Publication of the first book is set for winter 2018; Josh Adams at Adams Literary did the two-book deal for world rights.
Adrienne Szpyrka at Running Press has acquired at auction actress Jenna Gavigan's debut middle grade novel, Introducing Broadway Lulu, about a girl with the very big dream of being on Broadway. As Lulu lives in the Shubert Theatre, achieving her dream shouldn't be too tricky, except for the fact that Lulu is a mouse. Publication is scheduled for fall 2018; Linda Epstein at Emerald City Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Amy Cloud at Aladdin has bought Camp Griftwood by Lee Gjertsen Malone, author of The Last Boy at St Edith's. Pitched as a middle grade Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, the new book features 12-year-old Archie, who uses his six weeks at summer camp each year to con fellow campers out of their spending money—until a new girl shows up with the same goal. It's slated for publication in 2019; Bridget Smith at Dunham Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.
Sonali Fry at Sizzle Press has acquired YouTube star Karina Garcia's untitled DIY tutorial; Rebecca Webster will edit. The book provides step-by-step instructions for 15 of Garcia's favorite projects, including homemade fidget spinners. Garcia will also reveal the ways she keeps her creative and positive outlook through behind-the-scenes peeks and personal stories. Publication is planned for fall 2017; United Talent Agency and Adam Krasner at Fullscreen represented the author in the deal for world rights.
Janine O'Malley at Farrar, Straus and Giroux has bought at auction North American rights to Jessica Redman's middle grade debut, The Miraculous. The book follows Wunder Diaz, an 11-year-old who loses his faith in miracles after the death of his newborn sister. But when a mysterious old woman appears on the day of the funeral to ask for Wunder's help, he begins a journey that will connect the living to the dead and bring himself and his town face-to-face with the miraculous. Publication is set for spring 2019; Sara Crowe at Pippin Properties brokered the two-book deal.
Jill Santopolo at Philomel has acquired Jeffrey Kluger and Ruby Shamir's To the Moon!: The True Story of the American Heroes on the Apollo 8 Spaceship. An adaptation of Kluger's bestselling book Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon, the book takes place in 1968, at the height of the space race between the U.S. and Russia, telling the story of the first manned American spaceship to break free of the Earth's orbit and reach the moon. Publication is slated for March 20, 2018; Joy Harris at the Joy Harris Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Jenne Abramowitz at Scholastic has bought in a preempt Keith Calabrese's debut middle-grade novel, tentatively titled Nope, Ohio. The novel centers on a small town that chooses hope and community over hate and fear, through the actions— both intentional and inadvertent—of three unlikely friends and the (possible) magic of an old wishing well. It's scheduled for spring 2019; Emily Mitchell at Wernick & Pratt did the deal for world rights.
Nancy Paulsen at Penguin/Paulsen has acquired debut author-illustrator Molly Ruttan's The Stray, about a family who finds a lost pet that turns out to be very, very far from home. Publication is set for summer 2019; Rachel Orr at Prospect Agency sold world rights.
Alexis Orgera and Chad Reynolds at Penny Candy have bought world rights to Mariana Llanos's (l.) Luca's Bridge/El Puente de Luca, to be illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera. The bilingual picture book stars a boy struggling to come to terms with his family's deportation from America to Mexico. Publication is planned for May 2018; both the author and the illustrator were unagented.
