Emily Easton at Random House/Crown has acquired world rights to three books in the Will Wilder middle-grade adventure series, by CNN contributor Raymond Arroyo. Book one, titled Will Wilder: The Relic of Perilous Falls, is scheduled for publication in spring 2016. Books two and three will follow in 2017 and 2018. The series follows a thrill-seeking boy with a mysterious family heritage who discovers ancient objects of rare power – relics he must protect from terrifying demons that will do anything to possess them. Francis (Chip) X. Flaherty, Jr. brokered the deal.

Jennifer Klonsky and Emilia Rhodes at HarperTeen have bought Katharine McGee's debut The Thousandth Floor in a preempt. Set in 2118, the trilogy follows the scandalous lives of teens in Manhattan's new 1000-story skyscraper. The first book is slated for publication in 2017. Josh Bank, Sara Shandler and Joelle Hobeika at Alloy Entertainment negotiated the deal for North American rights. Internationally, rights have been preempted by Dogan Egmont in Turkey, Editora Rocco in Brazil, Moon in Holland, and Michel Lafon in France; and sold to Vulkan in Serbia, Piemme in Italy and Aschehoug in Norway; with auctions currently taking place in Spain, Germany and the U.K.

Mallory Loehr and Michelle Nagler at Random House have acquired Jessica Day George's Stolen Crowns YA series, in which the princesses of fairytales – grown up and living their Happily Ever After – disappear one day, leaving their daughters and sons to save them all. Publication will begin in 2016; Amy Jameson did the two-book deal for world rights.


Liz Szabla at Feiwel and Friends has bought the next two YA novels byShutter author Courtney Alameda. The first, Pitch Dark, is set against a future of marauding space scavengers and deadly aliens who kill with sound. Publication is scheduled for fall 2016, with the second book to follow in fall 2017. John M. Cusick at Greenhouse Literary negotiated the deal for North American rights.

Kristen Pettit at HarperTeen has acquired world rights to YA spy thrillerLiberty by Andrea Portes, author of Anatomy of a Misfit. Co-created with screenwriter Joel Silverman, the novel introduces 18-year-old Paige Nolan, caught up in her family's past dealings in international espionage and recruited by the CIA; it's due out in summer 2017. Two untitled YA novels by Portes complete the three-book, six-figure deal, brokered by Rosemary Stimola of the Stimola Literary Studio.

Connie Hsu at Roaring Brook Press has bought Saving Montgomery Sole, a YA novel from Mariko Tamaki. The story follows Montgomery Sole, a 15-year-old girl who forms a Mystery Club to explore paranormal phenomena, but finds that the real mystery is understanding why people suck, how she fell for the wrong guy, and why frozen yogurt solves all of life's problems. Publication is set for winter 2016; Charlotte Sheedy of Charlotte Sheedy Literary negotiated the two-book deal for world rights excluding Canadian English.

Pam Gruber at Little, Brown has acquired Josh Sundquist's first work of fiction, Sunrises Get All the Hype, about a teenage boy who was born blind but undergoes an experimental surgery that will give him sight, raising questions about the nature of perception, love, and romantic attraction. It's slated for fall 2016; Lucy Carson at the Friedrich Agency did the deal for world rights.

Arthur Levine at Scholastic's Arthur A. Levine Books has bought Mike Jung's new middle-grade novel Unidentified Suburban Object, about a 12-year-old Korean-American girl who sets out to explore her heritage and comes to some startling extraterrestrial discoveries. The book is scheduled for publication in 2016; Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency negotiated the deal for North American rights.

Jennifer Besser of Putnam has acquired Alexandra Boiger's debut as author in a two-book deal featuring two best friends and aspiring Olympians. The first book, Max and Marla, will publish in fall 2015; Marcia Wernick of Wernick & Pratt brokered the deal for North American rights.


Celia Lee at Scholastic has bought David Landis's Papercuttables, a paper craft adventure book that allows users to build monsters. Publication is scheduled for summer 2016; Jennifer Rofé at Andrea Brown Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.


Donna Bray at HarperCollins imprint Balzer + Bray has acquired at auction three picture books by author-illustrator Tim Miller. Moo Moo in a Tutu, a friendship story between an adventurous cow and a very loyal duck, will be the first book in the Moo Moo and Mr. Quackers Adventures series. Publication of the first book is planned for early 2017; Erica Rand Silverman at Sterling Lord Literistic negotiated the deal for world rights.

Alessandra Balzer at imprint Balzer + Bray has bought Worm Loves Worm by debut author J.J. Austrian, illustrated by Little Elliot, Big Citycreator Mike Curato. In the picture book, which is scheduled for 2016, Worm loves Worm and they want to be married. But who will wear the gown and who will wear the tux… and does it really matter? The author is unagented; Brenda Bowen of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates represented the artist in the deal for world rights.

Andrea Spooner and Deirdre Jones at Little, Brown has acquired in a preempt debut author Brandt Lewis’s Fingers for Lunch, a playtime rhyme in which parents and children can place their fingers through holes that disappear one by one as a hungry little monster tries to gobble them up. Cori Doerrfeld will illustrate; publication is scheduled for spring 2016. An additional, untitled project was acquired in the deal for world rights; Duvall Osteen at Aragi represented the author, and Rachel Orr at Prospect Agency represented the illustrator.

Emma Ledbetter at S&S/Atheneum has bought world rights to The Snurtch, the next picture book from author Sean Ferrell (l.) and illustrator Charles Santoso. In the book, a girl named Ruthie has a problem at school: a giant scribble monster that gets her into all kinds of trouble. Publication is scheduled for fall 2016. Brooks Sherman of the Bent Agency represented the author on behalf of Janet Reid at FinePrint Literary Management, and Justin Rucker of Shannon Associates represented the illustrator.