Emilia Rhodes at HarperCollins has acquired world English rights to two middle-grade novels from debut author Elaine Vickers. The first novel, Lost and Found, tells the story of three girls who discover friendship and connections through a mysterious treasure box in their library's lost-and-found box. It's slated for fall 2016; Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency did the deal.

Caroline Abbey at Random House has bought Glitter by Aprilynne Pike. Pitched as Breaking Bad meets Marie Antoinette, the story features a modern teen who must navigate a new kind of high-society – a pocket kingdom existing entirely within the Palace of Versailles. When she finds herself betrothed to a dangerous man, she'll do anything to finance her escape, including peddling a designer drug to those she calls her friends. It's scheduled for fall 2016; Mandy Hubbard at D4EO Literary Agency brokered the six-figure deal for world English rights.

Maria Barbo of HarperCollins imprint Katherine Tegen Books has acquired Mia Garcia's debut novel Blown Away. The story details a whirlwind 24-hour romance in which two teens with questionable pasts fall in love just before a hurricane tears them apart. Publication is set for summer 2016; Kerry Sparks at Levine Greenberg Rostan Literary Agency negotiated the deal.

Ken Wright at Viking has bought Elaine Scott's To Pluto and Beyond: The Amazing Voyage of New Horizons, which will chronicle the nine-year voyage of NASA's New Horizons mission to explore Pluto and other objects in the Kuiper Belt. Janet Pascal will edit. Publication is tentatively scheduled for fall 2016; Susan Cohen at Writers House brokered the deal for world rights.

Emily Easton at Crown Books for Young Readers has acquired Sarah Albee's Poison: Deadly Discoveries, Perilous Professions, and Murderous Medicines That Changed the World, which explores the role poison has played in shaping human history from antiquity to the present. Publication is planned for spring 2017; Caryn Wiseman at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.

Jessica Dandino Garrison at Dial has bought the first solo picture book of Ladybug Girl co-author Jacky Davis. Illustrated by Jay Fleck, Black Belt Bunny introduces an exuberant, karate-chopping bunny who falters when tasked with doing something new that he's not sure he'll be good at. Publication is set for summer 2017. Douglas Stewart at Sterling Lord Literistic represented the author and Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions represented the artist for world rights.

Neal Porter at Roaring Brook's Neal Porter Books has bought a new picture book by Julie Fogliano called When's My Birthday?, in which every last detail for a child's upcoming birthday is questioned. It will be illustrated by Christian Robinson. Publication is slated for spring 2017; Steven Malk at Writers House represented both author and artist in the deal for world rights.

Allyn Johnston and Andrea Welch at S&S's Beach Lane Books have acquired Cynthia Rylant's Life, a picture book about how creatures large and small embrace the wonder and struggle of being alive. Brendan Wenzel will illustrate, and publication is planned for spring 2017. Steven Malk of Writers House represented Rylant and Wenzel in the deal for world rights.

Connie Hsu at Roaring Brook has acquired world rights to a new picture book by Sophie's Squash author Pat Zietlow Miller (l.), to be illustrated by Jen Hill. Be Kind is about a girl who ponders the many possible ways she can choose kindness in her everyday life. It's scheduled for spring 2017; Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented the author, and Vicki Wilden-Lebrecht at Bright Group International represented the illustrator.

Mara Conlon at Peter Pauper Press has bought Deborah Marcero's picture book Ursa's Light, the story of a city bear who dreams big in the face of self-doubt and failure. It's scheduled for spring 2016; Danielle Smith of Red Fox Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.


Sarah Dotts Barley at Flatiron Books has bought Meredith Russo's debut novel If I Was Your Girl in a preempt. The book tells the story of Amanda Hardy, who moves to a small town in Tennessee to live with her father. She wants to make friends and fit in, but Amanda has a secret: she used to be Andrew, and fears that the truth could cost her her new life, and her new love. It's slated for publication in 2016; Sara Shandler and Joelle Hobeika at Alloy Entertainment negotiated the deal for North American rights.

Kate Sullivan at Delacorte Press has acquired Becky Allen's debut Bound by Blood and Sandand a sequel, in a new YA fantasy series in the vein of Tamora Pierce, which explores class and power. The novel follows a slave girl in a desert world where the magical Well is running dry; when she discovers a source of magic, she may have the power to save the water and her world, but returning the water means saving her slavers. Publication is planned for fall 2016; Hannah Bowman of Liza Dawson Associates brokered the deal for world rights.

Arthur Levine of Scholastic's Arthur A. Levine Books has bought Sundee Frazier's Cleopatra Edison Oliver, CEO, the story of a kid entrepreneur who sets her sights on building a business empire and finding her birth family – all during fifth grade. It's the first book in a series and is scheduled for 2015 publication. Regina Brooks at Serendipity Literary negotiated the two-book deal for world rights.

Zareen Jaffrey at Simon & Schuster Children's Books has acquired North American rights to Siobhan Vivian's The Last Boy and Girl in the World, based on a true story, in which a flood forces 16-year-old Keeley Hewitt to juggle her femininity and strength, the affections of the two boys who love her, and a parade of departing friends, while waters rise and her hometown is permanently and forcibly evacuated by the state. Spring 2016 is the projected pub date; Emily van Beek at Folio Literary Management did the two-book deal.

Stephen Brown at Knopf has bought Lev AC Rosen's novel The Memory Wall, about a 12-year-old retreating into a lush, fully realized videogame world after he suspects his mother is leaving clues in the game to prove her early-onset Alzheimer's diagnosis wrong. It's scheduled for publication in fall 2015; Joy Tutela at David Black brokered the deal for world English rights.

Aubrey Poole at Sourcebooks has acquired Ohio teacher Kurt Dinan's debut YA The Water Tower Five, about a high school nobody who, through a series of increasingly inventive heists that turn into an all-out prank war, finds his people and his voice. The book, pitched as Ocean's Eleven for teens, is set for publication in April 2016; Kerry Sparks at Levine Greenberg Rostan did the deal for world English rights.

Dinah Stevenson at Clarion Books has bought North American rights to Jo Franklin's I'm an Alien and I Want to Go Home, a middle-grade novel about a 10-year-old who is convinced he's an alien and needs return to his planet. Marty Kelley will illustrate. Publication is scheduled for fall 2015; Anne Clark of Anne Clark Literary Agency represented Franklin and Abigail Samoun at Red Fox Literary represented Kelley.

Kristin Rens at HarperCollins imprint Balzer + Bray has acquired Two Naomis, a middle-grade novel co-written by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich and Audrey Vernick. In the novel, two girls of the same age, with the same name, live in the same city. And their parents are dating. They must learn how to forge their own identities and a new definition of family, even as they negotiate the preservation of their own routines and cultural traditions. It's slated for fall 2016; Erin Murphy of Erin Murphy Literary Agency negotiated the deal for North American rights on behalf of both authors.

Neal Porter at Roaring Brook's Neal Porter Books has bought world rights to Liz Garton Scanlon's Another Way to Climb a Tree, illustrated by Hadley Hooper, in a preempt. The story tells of a tree-loving girl who must find a different way to have adventures on a stay-inside day. Publication is planned for spring 2017; Erin Murphy of Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented the author and Marzena Torzecka of the Marlena Agency represented the artist.