Bella Pearson at Scholastic/Fickling has acquired world rights to Fiona Shaw's debut contemporary YA thriller, Outwalkers. The book, set in an England in the near future, follows a gang of kids and their perilous journey to make it through a country where the government is tracking everyone and their every move is analyzed and controlled. They must live on their wits, and must work together to survive and escape. It will publish in the U.K. in February 2018, followed by a U.S. release in 2019; Clare Alexander at Aitken Alexander Associates brokered the deal.
Jody Corbett at Scholastic Press has bought The DUFF author Kody Keplinger's That's Not What Happened. Three years after a school shooting, a teenage girl decides to tell the truth about her best friend's supposed martyrdom, and quickly learns that she isn't the only survivor with a story to tell. Publication is slated for fall 2018; Brianne Johnson at Writers House negotiated the deal for North American English rights.
Aubrey Poole at Little, Brown/Jimmy Patterson has acquired, at auction, North American rights to Amy Rose Capetta (l.) and Cori McCarthy's YA duology, Once & Future, an inclusive retelling of the Arthurian cycle. In a galaxy where corporation is king, an illegal immigrant crash-lands on Old Earth and pulls Excalibur, sealing her fate as the 42nd reincarnation of King Arthur, and awakening Merlin, who has aged backwards into a teenager; together they spark galactic revolution. Publication is scheduled for summer 2019; Sara Crowe at Pippin Properties represented Capetta, and Sarah Davies at Greenhouse Literary represented McCarthy.
Zachary Clark at Scholastic has bought Jessica Khoury's YA novel, Firebird, a retelling of the legend of Anastasia, set in a broken, star-spanning empire. As the hunted heiress of the fallen royal family, Stacia is the key to a terrible power which could be her galaxy's salvation—or its destruction. Publication is planned for spring 2019; Lucy Carson at the Friedrich Agency did the deal for world rights.
Filip Sablik at BOOM! Box has acquired world rights to fantasy author C.S. Pacat's (l.) five-issue YA comic series, Fence; Dafna Pleban and Shannon Watters will edit. Illustrated by Johanna the Mad, the series follows the rise of 16-year-old outsider Nicholas Cox in the world of competitive fencing as he joins the team at an elite boys' school. Publication begins in November 2017; Tracey Adams at Adams Literary brokered the deal for the author, and the illustrator was unagented.
Anna Roberto at Feiwel and Friends has bought world English rights to The Wood author Chelsea Bobulski's YA novel, Remember Me. Pitched as a cross between The Shining and The Titanic, the story follows a girl who moves into an old hotel with her father and, when terrifying things start happening, realizes she's connected to a murder that happened long ago. Publication is set for spring 2019; Andrea Somberg at Harvey Klinger negotiated the deal.
Alisa Gus at Curiosity Quills Press has acquired, in a two-book deal, world English rights to Julie Tuovi's Night Lily, pitched as The Night Circusmeets Illuminae. When heiress Hazel Lennox's sister was kidnapped by a monster-like Freak that looks like it belongs in a side show, she runs away and joins the Greatest Show in the Sky. Searching across the galaxy for her sister, Hazel is thrust into a world of big-top intrigue where nothing is what it seems. Publication is slated for summer 2018; Moe Ferrara at BookEnds did the deal.
Stephanie Stein at HarperCollins has bought, at auction, debut author Temre Beltz's The Tragical Tale of Birdie Bloom, a part-epistolary middle grade fantasy, in which the wickedest witch in the kingdom of Wanderly and a Tragical orphan fated for an unhappy ending discover the transformative power of friendship—as narrated by the voice of the book itself. Publication is scheduled for winter 2019, with a companion novel to follow in 2020; Molly O'Neill at Waxman Leavell handled the two-book deal for North American rights.
Katherine Jacobs at Roaring Brook Press has acquired world rights to Eleanor Roosevelt's When You Grow Up to Vote, a children's book by the First Lady originally published in 1932. The book introduces young readers to government by portraying government workers as regular folk rather than faceless bureaucrats. Michelle Markel (center) will be updating the text, and Newbery Honor author Grace Lin will illustrate. Publication is set for September 2018. Anna Olswanger at Olswanger Literary and Liza Dawson at Liza Dawson Associates represented the Eleanor Roosevelt estate; Olswanger represented Markel, and Rebecca Sherman at Writers House represented Lin.
Karen Chaplin at HarperCollins has bought Margot Lee Shetterly's (l.) Hidden Figures, a picture book adaptation of Shetterly's bestselling adult book and young readers' edition. The book will be co-written by Winifred Conkling. Laura Freeman will illustrate. Publication is planned for January 2018; Mackenzie Brady Watson at Stuart Krichevsky Literary represented Shetterly, Sarah Davies at Greenhouse Literary represented Conkling, and Janet DeCarlo at StoryBook Arts represented Freeman in the deal for world rights.
Tracey Keevan at Disney-Hyperion has acquired, in a preempt, world rights to Kondo and Kezumi Visit Giant Island and two sequels, by Ginny Goblin Is Not Allowed to Open This Box author David Goodner, illustrated by Accident! author-illustrator Andrea Tsurumi. The early chapter book series follows two island-dwelling best friends who've never met anyone else, until a map of the surrounding waters washes ashore and turns them into explorers (and good neighbors). Publication of the first title is slated for spring 2019; Stephen Barr at Writers House represented the author and illustrator.
Sonali Fry at Little Bee has bought world rights to Wake Up, City! author Erica Silverman's (l.) picture book, My Sister, My Brother, in which a girl comes to accept that her little sister identifies as her little brother. Holly Hatamwill illustrate. Publication is scheduled for spring 2019; Karen Grencik at Red Fox Literary represented the author, and Christy T. Ewers at CATugeau Artist Agency represented the illustrator.
Kathy Landwehr at Peachtree has acquired world rights to Lexie the Word Wrangler author Rebecca Van Slyke's (l.) picture book, Lana Lynn Howls at the Moon, about a spirited sheep in search of adventure, who sets out to find just what wolves do for fun. Anca Sandu will illustrate; publication is planned for fall 2019. Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented the author, and the illustrator was unagented.
Marilyn Brigham at Amazon/Two Lions has bought world rights to Josh Funk's (l.) It's Not Hansel and Gretel, illustrated by Edwardian Taylor. In the fairytale mashup, Hansel and Gretel talk back to the narrator, refusing to play their roles. Publication is set for spring 2019; Kathleen Rushall at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and Alli Brydon at Bright USA represented the illustrator.
Ann Kelley at Schwartz & Wade has acquired author-illustrator Sang-Keun Kim's Little Mole's Wish, about the magical friendship between a mole and a snowball that becomes a snowbear. Publication is slated for fall 2019; Shinhye Min, the author's manager, negotiated the deal for world rights, excluding certain languages.
Kristen Nobles at Page Street Kids has bought author-illustrator Anne Lambelet's picture book, People and Their Dogs, an ode to human-animal friendships. Publication is scheduled for spring 2019; Stephanie Fretwell-Hill at Red Fox Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.
Eileen Rothschild at Wednesday Books has acquired world English rights to Guardians of Dawn, an East Asian-inspired fantasy series by Wintersongauthor S. Jae-Jones. Inspired by girl-centric narratives like Sailor Moon, four girls must combine their elemental magic to defeat a growing evil and restore the rightful heir to the throne. Publication is slated to begin in spring/summer 2019; Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management brokered the four-book deal.
Sarah Barley at Flatiron Books has acquired, in a preempt, Tyler James Smith’s YA debut, Unstoppable Moses. A contemporary novel in the vein of Jesse Andrews and Stephen Chbosky,, it features 17-year-old Moses Hill, who after accidentally burning down a bowling alley with his cousin and best friend, Charlie, has one week as a camp counselor to prove to the authorities—and to himself—that he isn't a worthless jerk who belongs in jail, when Charlie doesn't get that chance. Publication is planned for fall 2018; Molly Ker Hawn at the Bent Agency negotiated the deal for world English rights.
Liza Kaplan at Philomel has acquired, in a preempt, Natalie Lund's YA contemporary, magical realism debut novel, We Speak in Storms. Moving between two timelines, and the alternating perspectives of three teens and a town's lost generation, the story takes place after a tornado reawakens the ghosts of an even more devastating one that hit the town years before. Publication is scheduled for summer 2019; Sarah Davies at Greenhouse Literary did the two-book deal for world English rights.
Kat Brzozowski at Swoon Reads has bought The King's Questioner by Nikki Katz, author of The Midnight Dance. A mental lockpick, Kalen has the ability to break into people's minds and steal their deepest secrets. When he uncovers something the king has been hiding in the mind of his childhood friend, former enemies must team up to avert a war. Publication is set for fall 2018; Kate Testerman at KT Literary brokered the deal for world rights.
Ashley Hearn at Page Street has acquired Candice Montgomery's debut YA novel, Home and Away. Tasia Quirk has it all: she's rich, she's popular, and she's the only girl on her high school's football team. But when she discovers that her parents have been keeping a huge secret from her for 18 years, everything about her identity is called into question. Publication is slated for fall 2018; Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Jillian Manning at Blink has bought author C.J. Lyons's YA psychological thriller, The Color of Lies. High school senior Ella Cleary has synesthesia—a condition that causes her to see a riot of colors with each interaction. But when she meets a boy she can't read, she discovers he holds the secret behind her parents' death. Publication is planned for fall 2018; Kristin Nelson at Nelson Literary Agency brokered the deal for North American rights.
Fiona Simpson at Simon & Schuster has acquired world rights, in a preempt, in a two-book deal, to Ryan Calejo's The Morphling. The middle grade novel follows a boy who tries to solve the mystery of his parents' disappearance with the help of his lifelong crush, while strange things keep happening to his body—things that resemble the Central and South American myths and legends that his abuela raised him on. The first book is set for fall 2018; Rena Rossner at the Deborah Harris Agency negotiated the deal.
Charlie Ilgunas at Little Bee/Yellow Jacket has bought, in an exclusive submission, world rights to Anne O'Brien-Carelli's Skylark and Wallcreeper, a middle grade novel about a girl battling Superstorm Sandy at a makeshift nursing home shelter in Brooklyn while uncovering secrets of her grandmother's past as a member of the French Resistance during WWII. Publication is scheduled for fall 2018; Carrie Pestritto at Prospect Agency represented the author.
Maria Modugno at Random House has acquired The Paper Kingdom by Helena Ku Rhee, illustrated by Pascal Campion. Inspired by a true story, the picture book tells of a magical nighttime adventure while weaving in commentary about the differences between the haves and have-nots. Publication is scheduled for spring 2020; Bill Contardi at Brandt & Hochman literary Agency represented the author, and Justin Rucker at Shannon Associates represented the illustrator in the deal for world rights, all languages.
Margaret Anastas at HarperCollins has bought world rights to author Ashley Franklin's (l.) debut picture book, Not Quite Snow White, illustrated by Ebony Glenn. Tameika is an African-American girl with a love of musicals who dreams of one day playing the role of a princess, but she is plagued by doubt, wondering whether her brown skin and plump frame keeps her from being princess material. Publication is slated for January 2019; Jennifer Hunt at Booker Albert Agency represented the author and Robbin Brosterman at Bright USA represented the illustrator.
Meredith Mundy at Sterling has acquired world rights to Bug by Robin Koontz (l.), illustrated by Amy Proud. Bug is a quirky girl who loves bugs and loves to draw, but hates math. When challenged to pass a big math test, she finds a clever way to finally understand math concepts—and bugs have something to do with it. Publication is scheduled for spring 2019; Karen Grencik at Red Fox Literary represented the author, and Hannah Whitty at Plum Pudding Illustration represented the illustrator.
Annie Berger at Sourcebooks Jabberwocky has bought world rights to author Paul Czajak's Trees Make Perfect Pets, about a girl whose birthday wish comes true when she receives a dogwood tree as her very own pet. Cathy Gendron will illustrate; publication is set for spring 2019. Uwe Stender at Triada US Literary Agency represented the author, and Christy T. Ewers at Christina A. Tugeau Artist Agency represented the illustrator.
Rebecca Glaser and Anna Erickson at Amicus Ink have acquired world rights to Little Tiger and Little Panda by Julie Abery (l.), illustrated by Suzie Mason. The rhyming board books follow the playful cubs as they slip, trip, slide and glide into trouble while discovering their new world. Publication is slated for spring 2019; Essie White at Storm Literary Agency represented the author, and Lucie Luddington at Bright Educational represented the illustrator.
Nicole Raymond at Candlewick has bought author-illustrator Joowon Oh's debut picture book, The Gift, in which a grandfather is excited because today is his favorite day of the week—a day that is all about dumplings and a visit with his granddaughter. Publication is planned for 2019; Steven Chudney at the Chudney Agency handled the deal for world rights.
Kelsey Skea at Amazon/Two Lions has acquired Lindsay Ward's new picture book, This Book Is Gray. Gray doesn't get enough credit, but is fighting back; he is going to write his own best story and it is going to be gray, gray, gray. Except the Colors just keep butting in. Publication is scheduled for spring 2019; Emily van Beek at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management brokered the deal for world rights.
Rob Broder at Ripple Grove Press has bought world rights to L.K. James's debut picture book, The Full House & the Empty House, in which two houses, despite their differences, are close friends. Publication is set for 2018; the author-illustrator was unagented.
