Caitlyn Dlouhy, for her eponymous imprint at S&S/Atheneum, has acquired debut novel Genesis Begins Again by Alicia Williams at auction. The middle-grade novel deals with family and body image, as 13-year-old Genesis struggles with the shade of her skin. Dlouhy also acquired a second, untitled novel by Williams. Publication is scheduled for winter 2017; Brenda Bowen of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates did the two-book deal for world English rights.

Laura Schreiber at Disney-Hyperion has bought at auction The Bastard Table by Andrew Shvarts, a YA fantasy debut in which the bastard daughter of the Lord of the West and a group of fellow outcasts witness her father commit a murder, and are forced to go on the run to save a princess and prevent a war. Publication is slated for summer 2017; Sara Crowe at Harvey Klinger brokered the three-book deal for world rights.

Viana Siniscalchi at HarperCollins imprint Balzer + Bray has acquired Danielle Mages Amato's debut novel, The Memory of Objects. When a 15-year-old uses her new ability to access the powerful memories attached to objects in order to resurrect her brother's reputation after he dies of a suspected overdose, she is plunged into the world of psychometry, murderabilia, and the underbelly of political corruption and social inequality in Washington, D.C. Publication is set for winter 2017; Lana Popovic at Chalberg & Sussman negotiated the two-book deal for North American rights.

Erin Clarke at Knopf has bought The Capybara Conspiracy, a middle-grade novel by Erica S. Perl in which non-jocks kidnap their sports-obsessed school's beloved mascot, Cappy the Capybara. The book will be published in fall 2016, with a second untitled middle grade novel to follow in fall 2017. Carrie Hannigan of the HSG Agency brokered the deal for U.S./Canadian rights.

Liza Kaplan at Philomel has acquired Benjamin, a middle-grade novel in verse by Kelsey Sutton. Benjamin lives on the moon, keeping watch over the world below but caring nothing for the lives he observes... until he discovers Sam, a girl who makes him long for more. Publication is planned for summer 2017, to follow the 2016 publication of Sutton's The Lonely Ones; Beth Miller at Writers House negotiated the deal for world rights.

Liz Szabla at Feiwel and Friends has bought Courage, a middle-grade novel by James Preller. Eleven-year-old William Meriwether Miller's summer plans are abruptly pushed aside when his typically not-there father announces that they are going on a road trip to retrace the steps of Lewis and Clark. It's scheduled for fall 2016; Rosemary Stimola of Stimola Literary Studio brokered the deal for North American rights.

Nancy Paulsen, for her eponymous imprint at Penguin, has acquired Maxi's Secrets, the first middle-grade novel by Lynn Plourde. Timminy is the shortest kid in fifth grade, and he's afraid the teasing will get even worse when he adopts an enormous dog named Maxi. As it turns out, Maxi is deaf. And, along with the take-charge blind girl next door, Maxi's got a lot to teach Timminy about accepting yourself for who you are. Publication is slated for spring 2016; Susan Cohen at Writers House represented the author in the deal for world rights.

Allyn Johnston at S&S's Beach Lane Books has bought, in a preempt, Sarah Aronson's picture book biography Just Like Rube Goldberg. The book tells how the cartoonist, commentator, animator, entertainer, and inventor became a household name through a life story as circuitous as his crazy machines. Publication is tentatively scheduled for 2017; Sarah Davies at the Greenhouse Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.

Jill Davis at HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books has bought world rights to Even Fairies Fart, a picture book by psychotherapist Jennifer Stinson that addresses the embarrassing things we all do. Rebecca Ashdown is set to illustrate, and publication is scheduled for summer 2017. Liza Dawson of Liza Dawson Associates represented the author, and Anne Moore Armstrong of The Bright Group represented the illustrator.

Arthur A. Levine at Scholastic has acquired the first middle grade novel from Room author Emma Donoghue, for his eponymous imprint. InThe Lotterys Plus One, when Sumac Lottery's racist, homophobic grandfather nearly burns his house down, he has to move in with her family, a volatile situation about which no one is happy, least of all Sumac, who has to give up her room. Publication is scheduled for February 2017; Kathleen Anderson of Anderson Literary Agency brokered the deal for U.S. rights.

Julie Strauss-Gabel at Dutton has bought the first middle-grade novel by Ally Condie, author of the Matched trilogy for teens. Summerlostfollows 12-year-old Cedar, who is struggling to accept the sudden deaths of her father and younger brother. At the titular summer camp, organized by a Shakespearean theater troupe, the young heroine, in Condie's words, “finds herself surprised by the wonderful, magical feeling of falling into an unexpected friendship” as she “explores long-held mysteries within her community and concerning those she loves.” Publication is slated for April 2016; Jodi Reamer at Writers House negotiated the deal for North American rights.

Lauren Smulski and Natashya Wilson at Harlequin Teen have acquired Laurie Forest's debut The Black Witch, first in a fantasy series set in the magical, diverse realm of Earthea. There a fiercely determined heroine must embrace a power she never knew she had in order to protect everyone she loves from the darkness sweeping across their world. Publication is set for spring 2017; Carrie Hannigan at Hannigan Salky Getzler Agency did the two-book deal for world rights.

Rotem Moscovich at Disney-Hyperion has bought at auction the first three titles in the Beatrice Zinker, Upside Down Thinker chapter book series, from debut author-illustrator Shelley Johannes. The books chart the adventures of a third-grader with a topsy-turvy point of view; publication of the first installment is scheduled for fall 2017. Stephen Barr at Writers House brokered the deal for world rights, excluding UK/Commonwealth.

Caitlyn Dlouhy at S&S/Atheneum's Caitlyn Dlouhy Books has acquired Alison McGhee's middle grade novel Pablo and Birday, which follows a boy who, as a baby, crossed the ocean in an inflatable pool. Accompanied on his journey by a parrot, he is eventually raised by a small fishing community. Publication is projected for summer 2017; Heather Alexander at Pippin Properties did the deal for North American rights.

Marissa Grossman at Razorbill has bought Dragons vs. Drones, a new middle grade series from Wesley King. Pitched as part Eragon, partTransformers, the books follow a young computer genius who is chased by sleek, high-tech drones into a land populated by Godzilla-size dragons, setting off a war that only he can stop. Publication for the first book is slated for spring 2016; Brianne Johnson at Writers House negotiated the two-book deal for world rights.

Stacy Whitman at Lee & Low's Tu Books has acquired world rights to Pura Belpré Award winner Guadalupe Garcia McCall's Joaquin's Rebellion, in a two-book deal. It's a YA Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1915 Texas during the height of the Mexican revolution, about a Mexican-American teen trying to protect his family's ranch and his sweetheart's safety while caught between the Texas Rangers and Mexican revolutionaries. Publication is set for fall 2016, with a sequel,The Long Journey Home, scheduled for 2017. The deal was unagented.

Joy Peskin at Farrar, Straus and Giroux has bought, at auction, debut author Alexandra Ballard's YA novel, The Art of Losing, narrated by a girl in a residential treatment center for an eating disorder. Publication is scheduled for spring 2017; Kent Wolf of Lippincott Massie McQuilkin brokered the two-book deal for North American rights.

Jordan Hamessley at Adaptive Books has acquired Bryce Moore's The Memory Thief, in which 11-year-old Benji meets people who can show and manipulate memories; soon, a lot of people in town are acting like someone has stolen their minds, including Benji's twin sister Kelly. Publication is slated for spring 2016; Eddie Schneider of JABberwocky Literary Agency negotiated the deal for North American rights, with film rights handled by The Gotham Group.

Liz Szabla at Feiwel and Friends has bought Vanguard by Ann Aguirre, set in the same world as her Razorland saga, which chronicles the adventures of Tegan and the warrior-poet who loves her. Publication is scheduled for spring 2017; Laura Bradford of Bradford Literary Agency brokered the deal for North American rights.

Susan Van Metre at Abrams has acquired Sheela Chari's Find Me in Dobbs Ferry, a middle-grade mystery in which 12-year-old neighbors Myla and Peter search for clues surrounding the link between a coveted necklace and the disappearance of Peter's brother. Along the graffiti-covered train lines north of New York City, the unlikely pair encounter parkour-performing thugs, cryptic street art, and missing diamonds before uncovering the family secret that started it all. Publication is set for spring 2017; Steven Malk at Writers House did the deal for North American rights.

Jennifer Besser of Putnam will publish singer/songwriter Justin Roberts's picture bookHenry Hopendower and Other Truly Impossible Things, the second in a previous two-book deal, to be illustrated by Deborah Hocking. (The first picture book, The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade, illustrated by Christian Robinson, was published last fall.) In Henry Hopendower, the magician honors his grandfather by finding the magic in everything and nothing. Publication is set for spring 2016; Tricia Davey at Davey Literary & Media represented the author and Lori Kilkelly at Rodeen Literary Management represented illustrator Deborah Hocking in the deal for world rights.

Catherine Onder at Bloomsbury has secured, in a pre-empt, Piggy in Love and a second book in the series by author-illustrator Trevor Lai, founder of Up, an animation and content studio in China. The picture book tells the story of a young pig who is eager to make a new friend. Publication is slated for December 2016; Jennifer Rofé at Andrea Brown Literary Agency negotiated the six-figure deal for world rights.

Laura Godwin at Henry Holt has bought, in a preempt, Blue Moon, a picture book by Sara O'Leary, illustrated by Ashley Crowley. The book presents a world filled with magic and possibility in the glow of a blue moon. Publication is scheduled for fall 2017; Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions represented Crowley, and Jackie Kaiser of Westwood Creative Artists represented O'Leary in the deal for world rights.