Kenneth Wright and Sheila Keenan at Viking have acquired Steal This Country: A Handbook for Resistance, Persistence, and Fixing Almost Everything, a book on activism for teens by Alexandra Styron, author of All the Finest Girls and Reading My Father, a memoir about her father, William Styron. Steal This Country offers essays, comics, interviews, and how-to tips in areas of climate change, immigration, LGBTQUIA rights, racial justice, religious understanding, and women's rights. Publication is planned for fall 2018; Esther Newberg at ICM brokered the deal for world rights.
Beverly Horowitz at Delacorte has bought world rights to Just Mercy (Adapted for Young People): A True Story of the Fight for Justice by Bryan Stevenson. Based on the author's adult bestseller, the book delves into the U.S. justice system, detailing Stevenson's many challenges and efforts as a lawyer and social advocate, especially on behalf of America's most marginalized people. The book is scheduled for fall 2018; Doug Abrams at Idea Architects represented Stevenson.
Eileen Rothschild at Wednesday Books has acquired the final trilogy in the million-plus copy bestselling Trylle series by Amanda Hocking. The new arc focuses on a girl as she journeys back to Scandinavia to discover the true origins of the Trylle; it takes place five years after the Kanin Chronicles (the second trilogy in the series) and nine years after the first Trylle trilogy. The as yet untitled first book will be published in winter 2020; Steven Axelrod at the Axelrod Agency sold world English rights.
Vicki Lame at Wednesday Books has bought debut author Casey McQuiston's Red, White, and Royal Blue, a romantic comedy in which the First Son falls in love with the Prince of England, going from enemies to something more when an incident of international proportions forces them to pretend to be best friends. Publication is slated for summer 2019; Sara Megibow at KT Literary negotiated the deal for world English rights.
Margaret Raymo at HMH has acquired Young Adult Review Network poetry editor Kip Wilson's debut YA novel-in-verse, White Rose, about anti-Nazi political activist Sophie Scholl, who was one of the founders of the White Rose nonviolent resistance group in Nazi Germany. Publication is set for spring 2019, under the Versify imprint; Roseanne Wells at the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency did the deal for world English rights.
Kate Egan at KCP Loft has bought Michigan vs. the Boys by debut author Carrie Allen. After her girls' ice hockey team is cut for budget reasons, Michigan tries out for the boys' team, and earns a place on the starting lineup. But when she shows up her teammates with her skills and her refusal to back down, hazing crosses the line into assault. Publication is planned for fall 2019; Kate Testerman at KT Literary brokered the deal for world rights.
Stephanie Owens Lurie at Disney-Hyperion/Rick Riordan Presents has acquired, in an exclusive submission, world English rights to Kwame Mbalia's Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky and an untitled sequel. Pitched as a middle grade American Gods, the book stars a seventh-grade boy who accidentally creates a hole into the Midpass, a world where ancient African gods clash with gods of African-American legend. He must race to find Anansi, the Weaver, and repair the rip before the iron monsters wreaking havoc in the Midpass consume their world and ours. Publication is scheduled for winter 2020; Victoria Marini negotiated the six-figure, two-book deal on behalf of CAKE Literary, in association with Rena Rosser.
Krista Vitola has bought two middle grade novels by Lily & Dunkin author Donna Gephart. The Paris Project is about a girl who creates a six-step plan to get herself out of Florida and away from the shame of her father's recent incarceration. The book will publish in fall 2019; Tina Dubois at ICM Partners sold North American rights.
Emily Seife at Scholastic Press has acquired My Fate According to the Butterfly, a middle grade novel by Philippine-based, Filipina debut author Gail D. Villanueva. Superstitious soon-to-be 11-year-old Sab believes her fate is sealed when she spots an ominous black butterfly. Determined to reconcile her journalist older sister and their father before her time is up, Sab embarks on a quest that sends her on a collision course with the realities of Manila and the war on drugs. Publication is slated for 2019; Alyssa Eisner Henkin at Trident Media Group brokered the deal for world rights.
Amy Cloud at Aladdin has bought North American rights to Jennifer Camiccia's middle grade debut, The Memory Keeper. When 12-year-old Lulu Carter develops a photographic memory at the same time her beloved Gram begins to lose hers, she blames herself. Lulu becomes obsessed with a finding that posits that memory loss can be attributed to an unaddressed trauma, and goes about excavating her grandmother's personal history in order to try to save her. Publication is set for fall 2019; Stacey Glick at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret negotiated the deal.
Cheryl Klein at Lee & Low has acquired Speculation, the debut middle grade novel by Nebula Award finalist Nisi Shawl. In the historical fantasy inspired by the work of Edward Eager, Winna Cole discovers a pair of magical spectacles that reveal both the friendly ghosts of her African-American ancestors and a dangerous family curse. Publication is scheduled for fall 2019; Barry Goldblatt at Barry Goldblatt Literary did the deal for world rights.
Alyson Heller at Aladdin has bought, at auction, Lyla Lee's debut chapter book series, pitched as Fresh off the Boat meets Junie B. Jones. The first book, Mindy Kim and the Yummy Seaweed Business, follows a Korean-American third grader who moves to a mostly Caucasian community in Florida, and adjusts to her new school by starting a snack trading ring with the Korean food from her lunch to make new friends. Publication is planned for spring 2020, summer 2020, and fall 2020; Penny Moore at Empire Literary brokered the deal for world rights.
Karen Nagel at Simon & Schuster has acquired two picture books by author-illustrator Serena Geddes. In the first book, Rosie & Rasmus, a lonely girl and a wingless young dragon help each other gain the confidence they need to make their wishes come true. The first book is slated for spring 2019; a second, untitled book is set for spring 2020. Jill Corcoran at Jill Corcoran Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Julia Sooy at Holt/Godwin Books has bought world rights to the picture book Green Machine: The Food Energy Cycleby Rebecca Donnelly, illustrated by Christophe Jacques. The book gives a humorous yet factual look at the process of anaerobic digestion, also known as the organic waste process. Publication is slated for winter 2020; Molly Ker Hawn at the Bent Agency represented the author, and Christy Tugeau Ewers at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.
Sarah Rockett at Sleeping Bear Press has acquired world rights to Cathy Breisacher's picture book, tentatively titled The Race for the Hot Potato, illustrated by Joshua Heinsz. Chip the potato chip is certain he's going to win the sack race at this year's Spud City Festival, until Curly (a curly fry with a spring in his step) comes to town. Publication is planned for spring 2019; Jenna Pocius at Red Fox Literary represented the author, and Alex Gehringer at Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Tevin Hansen and Nichole Hansen at Handersen Publishing have bought world English rights to So You Want a Puppy? by Raven Howell (l.), illustrated by Ann Pilicer. The picture book celebrates a child's love of pets as he discovers, through his daily adventures, what it means to have a new puppy in the house. Publication is scheduled for spring 2019; Essie White at Storm Literary Agency represented the author, and the illustrator is unagented.
Jason Kirk at Skyscape has acquired Victoria Lee's speculative fiction debut, The Fever King. Pitched as A Little Life meets The Magicians, the story is set in a politically charged sovereign North Carolina ravaged by outbreaks of a viral contagion that leaves the rare survivors infected with magic. The book follows a skilled hacker who has spent years undermining the corrupt government, but must accept help from its charismatic leader and his enigmatic son in order to master his newly acquired magic. Publication is scheduled for spring 2019; Holly Root and Taylor Haggerty at Root Literary represented the author in the two-book deal for world rights.
Amy Fitzgerald at Lerner/Carolrhoda has bought The Manic Pixie Dream Boy Improvement Project, a new YA novel by Lenore Appelhans. In the book, Riley lives in TropeTown, working as a stock character in novels, until he goes off script and is sent to group therapy with several fellow Manic Pixies. Together they uncover TropeTown's dark secrets and must decide whether to defy their prescribed roles. Publication is slated for spring 2019; Stephen Barbara at InkWell Management negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Patrice Caldwell at Disney-Hyperion has acquired world rights, at auction, to Zetta Elliott's Say Her Name, a YA poetry collection that conjures #BlackGirlMagic with poems inspired by iconic Black female/femme artists and activists. Publication is planned for spring/summer 2019; Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency brokered the deal.
Kate Brauning at Entangled Teen has bought world rights to Stonewall Honor recipient Hannah Moskowitz's new YA novel, Sick Kids in Love. The story follows chronically ill advice columnist Isabel as she breaks her no-dating rule for a sick boy at the hospital, and must choose between breaking his heart or staying with him when a devastating family secret threatens their new love. Publication is set for spring 2019; John M. Cusick at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management did the deal.
Alyson Day at HarperCollins has acquired world English rights to WNDB co-founder Ellen Oh's The Dragon Egg Princess and an untitled sequel. The fantasy is set in a Studio Ghibli-esque world, where the source of all magic is based in the Kidahara Forest and a 14-year-old ranger with no magic befriends a 13-year-old princess who is so magical she was born from a dragon's egg. The two unlikely friends must work together to protect the Kidahara, not only from foreign forces eager to exploit the source of magic, but also from the return of a centuries-old evil that threatens the entire world. Publication is scheduled for fall 2019 and fall 2020; Barry Goldblatt at Barry Goldblatt Literary negotiated the deal.
Sheila Keenan at Viking has bought Sea Sirens, a middle grade graphic novel series by Amy Chu, illustrated by Janet K. Lee. Chu is a comics writer for DC and Marvel, among others; Lee is the Eisner-nominated artist of Return of the Dapper Men. The series features a Vietnamese-American surfer girl and her curmudgeonly one-eyed cat. Book one, which will publish in summer 2019, is inspired by L. Frank Baum's classic adventure, Sea Fairies, an underwater Wizard of Oz. Judy Hansen at Hansen Literary Management brokered the two-book deal for world rights.
Jordan Brown at Walden Pond Press has acquired debut author Brita Sandstrom's Hollow Chest, a middle grade fantasy set in a Blitz-ravaged London, in which war wolves roam the streets hunting the hearts of WWII's returning soldiers. When a boy's brother returns from the war a different person than the one who left, he must confront the wolves to save his brother, his family, and himself. Publication is slated for winter 2020; Tina Dubois at ICM Partners negotiated the two-book deal for North American rights.
Jessica MacLeish at HarperCollins has bought author-illustrator Kathleen Gros's Jo: A Graphic Novel, a modern take on Little Women, told from Jo March's perspective. The middle grade story will focus on 13-year-old Jo, who runs an anonymous blog about her family, as she acclimates to eighth grade, makes new friends, and realizes she might have feelings for her middle school newspaper editor, a girl named Freddie Baer. Publication is planned for fall 2020; Elizabeth Bennett and Jill Corcoran at the Jill Corcoran Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.
Andrea Tompa and Mary Lee Donovan at Candlewick have acquired, at auction, world English rights to 23-year-old NASA rocket engineer Tiera Guinn Fletcher (l.) and YA author and journalist Ginger Rue's Wonder Women of Science, a middle grade anthology profiling women who are currently forging bold paths in science and technology and revolutionizing still predominantly male work environments. The book is set to publish in spring 2021; Abigail Samoun at Red Fox Literary represented both authors.
Hilary Van Dusen at Candlewick Press has bought world rights to Dean Robbins's (l.) picture book, ¡Mambo Mucho Mambo!, which tells the story of how Latin jazz music and mambo dancing at New York City's integrated Palladium Ballroom broke down barriers in the 1950s and set the stage for the civil rights movement. Artist Eric Velasquez will illustrate. Publication is scheduled for fall 2020; Marietta B. Zacker at Gallt and Zacker Literary Agency represented the author, and Rubin Pfeffer at Rubin Pfeffer Content represented the illustrator.
Asia Citro at Innovation Press has acquired world rights to The House That Cleaned Itself: The True Story of Frances Gabe's (Mostly) Marvelous Invention, a picture book by Laura Dershewitz (l.) and Susan Romberg (center), about an offbeat invention: the world's first and only self-cleaning house. Meghann Rader will illustrate; publication is planned for fall 2019; the authors represented themselves, and Jehane Boden Spiers at Jehane Ltd. brokered the deal for the artist.
Wendy McClure at Albert Whitman has bought world rights to Same Way Ben by author-illustrator Maryann Cocca-Leffler, about a boy who insists on doing everything the same way every day, until a substitute teacher in his classroom changes Ben's routine and outlook. Publication is slated for fall 2019; the author-illustrator is unagented.
Barb McNally at Sleeping Bear has acquired world rights to Jennifer Sattler's One Red Sock, a book about a purple hippo who is missing a red sock and discovers the fun of imperfection. Publication is scheduled for fall 2019; Anna Olswanger at Olswanger Literary represented the author-illustrator.
Joni Sussman at Kar-Ben has bought Audrey Ades's debut picture book, Judah Touro Didn't Want to Be Famous, which won the 2017 SCBWI PJ Library Jewish Stories Award. Touro was a Jewish philanthropist who wanted every generous donation he made to be kept a secret. Publication is planned for spring 2019; Adria Goetz at Martin Literary Management negotiated the deal for world rights.
