In a deal appropriate for Halloween, T.S. Ferguson at Harlequin Teen has acquired Daughters Unto Devils, a horror novel set in the 1800s, by debut author Amy Lukavics. Coping with a secret pregnancy and her family’s move to the prairie, 16-year-old Amanda must figure out whether she’s being haunted by an evil presence that is tainting the land or if she’s simply losing her mind. Joanna Volpe at New Leaf Literary & Media negotiated the two-book deal.
Phoebe Yeh at Crown has acquired A Dragon's Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans, a joint collaboration of Laurence Yep and Joanne Ryder, first in a middle grade trilogy. The books introduce a world of fantastical creatures, who are not always living harmoniously in San Francisco. Publication is scheduled for spring 2015; Maureen Walters of Curtis Brown did the deal for world English rights.
Nancy Siscoe at Knopf has bought Excellent Egor, a picture book written by Stacy McAnulty and illustrated by Julia Sarcone-Roach. In the story, a dog comically tries to live up to his most excellent family. Publication is scheduled for fall 2015; Lori Kilkelly and Paul Rodeen at Paul Rodeen Literary Management sold world rights.
Sylvie Frank at S&S's Paula Wiseman Books has acquired the first middle-grade novel by YA author Susan Vaught (Trigger; Freaks Like Us) at auction. Bless Your Heart, to be published in fall 2015, was pitched as Fannie Flagg meets Wonder, with a mystery twist. Erin Murphy at Erin Murphy Literary did the two-book deal for North American rights.
Sylvie Frank at Paula Wiseman Books has also signed Taeeun Yoo (You Are a Lion) to illustrate picture-book debut author Lisa Mantchev's Strictly No Elephants, a comical account of the complications of having a tiny elephant as a pet. Publication is planned for 2016; Holly McGhee at Pippin Properties did the deal for world rights on behalf of the artist.
David Gale at Simon & Schuster has acquired a middle-grade duology and another YA novel by Margaret Peterson Haddix. In Return of the Snowflakes (spring 2016) and Children of Frost (spring 2017), siblings discover a secret that forces them to choose between the parents who raised them and the human race. The Summer of Broken Things tells of a teen who discovers that she and her longtime friend share a connection they never knew they had; it will publish in spring 2018. Tracey Adams at Adams Literary negotiated the three-book deal for North American rights.
Cindy Loh at Bloomsbury has acquired Like Magic, sequel to the time-travel adventure The Magic Half by Annie Barrows; Mary Kate Castellani will edit. In the new book, Miri and Molly have landed safely in the present, resuming their "twinned" life as if Molly was always a part of the Gill family. But when home repairs set off some surprises from their magical house, the girls are whisked back in time again – to the Civil War, where they must save two unusual soldiers. A September 2014 publication is planned; Liza Dawson at Liza Dawson Associates did the deal for world rights.
Nancy Hinkel at Knopf has bought world rights to a middle-grade trilogy, The Nora Notebooks, by Claudia Mills, about 10-year-old Nora, a girl who likes science, and the trials and tribulations of life in the fourth grade, from friendships to class projects and bullies. The first book will pub in spring 2016; Stephen Fraser at the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency did the deal.
Phoebe Yeh at Crown has bought North American rights, and Lauren Buckland and Kelly Hurst at Random House U.K. have bought British Commonwealth rights, to Ivy Sparrow, a debut middle-grade fantasy trilogy by Jennifer Bell, in pre-empts. On Christmas Eve, Grandma Sylvie's house has been ransacked, a mysterious feather writes warnings in midair, and a policeman arrives at the door waving a toilet brush. Jumping into a briefcase to escape, Ivy and her brother find themselves in the magical world of Lundinor, a city beneath London where uncommon people trade in uncommon goods. Bell is the assistant children's buyer of Foyles Bookshop in London. Publication for the U.S. edition is scheduled for fall 2015; Sarah Davies and Polly Nolan of the Greenhouse Literary Agency negotiated the deals.
Phoebe Yeh at Crown has also acquired I’ll Believe You When You’re Gone and an untitled YA novel by novelist Jessica Alcott, writing under a pseudonym. Charlie, who thinks of herself as an ugly duckling, is bracing herself for another year of not fitting in at high school. Enter her charismatic English teacher, and the mutual crush that ensues, leading up to the fateful night of Charlie's 18th birthday when boundaries are crossed. The author currently works for a children's publisher. Publication is set for spring 2015; David Dunton of Harvey Klinger negotiated the deal for world rights.
