Antonia Markiet at HarperCollins acquired U.S. and Commonwealth rights to a new poetry collection by Shel Silverstein. The beloved children's author died in 1999, and the new book, which is not yet titled, will feature never-before-published poems and illustrations akin to 2005's posthumous Runny Babbit. The title will include spoonerisms about the character and introduce new ones. Publication is scheduled for fall 2017; the deal was unagented.

Liesa Abrams at Simon Pulse has acquired at auction B&N.com editorial director Emma Chastain's debut YA novel, A Year in the Life of Chloe Snow, in a two-book, six-figure deal. Told in 365 diary entries over the course of Chloe's freshman year of high school – a year in which her mother leaves and Chloe falls in love with the (very taken) most popular senior boy, lands the lead in the school play, and feuds with her best friend. Publication is planned for spring 2017; Carrie Hannigan and Jesseca Salky at Hannigan Salky Getzler brokered the deal for North American rights.

Andrew Harwell at HarperCollins has preempted They Both Die at the End and a second untitled YA novel by Adam Silvera. Set in a near-future New York City where a service alerts people on the day they will die, the novel follows teens Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio, who meet using the Last Friend app and are faced with the challenge of living a lifetime on their End Day. Publication is slated for fall 2017; Brooks Sherman at the Bent Agency negotiated the deal for world English rights.

Natashya Wilson at Harlequin Teen has bought debut author Keira Drake's YA fantasy The Continent. In the story, a privileged cartographer from a country in which war has been abolished is stranded on an isolated continent populated by two warring nations. Publication is scheduled for winter 2017; Jim McCarthy at Dystel & Goderich Literary Management brokered the three-book deal for world English rights.

Donna Bray of HarperCollins's Balzer + Bray imprint at has won at auction Terri Libenson's debut, Invisible Emmie, an illustrated novel about two very different girls – shy, wallflower Emmie, and popular, cheery Katie – whose worlds collide when a love letter falls into the wrong hands and they both realize they have feelings for the same boy. Publication is set for spring/summer 2017. Daniel Lazar at Writers House negotiated the two-book deal for North American rights, and has closed deals in 10 additional territories thus far.

Jotham Burrello at Elephant Rock Books has acquired world rights to The Art of Holding On and Letting Go, a YA novel by Kristin Bartley Lenz. Set in Ecuador, Michigan, and California, the book is about the transformative power of nature, love and loss, and the discovery that home can be somewhere very different from where you started. The author won the Elephant Rocks Sheehan YA Book Prize. Publication is slated for September 2016; Carrie Pestritto at Prospect Agency did the deal.

Sara Sargent at HarperCollins has bought Amy Bleuel's Project Semicolon: Your Story Isn't Over. This book from suicide-awareness organization Project Semicolon chronicles the global phenomenon of the semicolon tattoo, combining photos of individuals' tattoos with their stories about struggling with suicide and mental illness. Publication is scheduled for 2017; the author was unagented.

Calista Brill at First Second Books has bought world English rights to the YA graphic novelBloom, written by Kevin Panetta and illustrated by Savanna Ganucheau. The book tells the story of Ari and Hector, who fall in love working together at a bakery. Publication is slated for winter 2018; Charlie Olsen at Inkwell represented Panetta and Ganucheau.

Erin Black at Scholastic has acquired Victoria Scott's first middle grade novel, Hear the Wolves, in which wolves attack an impoverished Alaskan town during a blizzard, including a deafened 12-year-old girl, after the residents eradicate the wolves' food source. Publication is planned for 2017; Sara Crowe at Harvey Klinger did the deal for world rights.

Alison Weiss at Sky Pony Press has bought the first three books in Lucy's Lab, a STEM-based chapter book series by Michelle Houts, in which second grader Lucy Marie Watkins, who loves bugs, mud, and everything that looks like science, will explore the world around her. Each book will tie into a different science topic. The first two books,Lucy Saves Some Squirrels and Solids, Liquids, Guess Who's Got Gas?, are scheduled for spring 2017, with the third to release in fall 2017; Karen Grencik at Red Fox Literary brokered the deal for world rights.

Julie Bennett at Ten Speed Press has acquired world rights to Kate Schatz (l.) and Miriam Klein Stahl's Rad Women Worldwide: Artists and Athletes, Pirates and Punks, and Other Revolutionaries Who Shaped History, a sequel to their Rad American Women A-Z. This new volume takes a look at iconic and influential women around the world, from Frida Kahlo to Miriam Makeba and many more. Publication is slated for fall 2016; Charlotte Sheedy at Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency represented Schatz and Steven Malk at Writers House represented Stahl.

Liza Baker at Scholastic has bought Old MacDonald by Gris Grimly, a picture book reinterpretation of the classic folk song with unexpected twists and cameos, plus a second, untitled picture book. Publication is set for fall 2017; Steven Malk at Writers House brokered the two-book deal for world rights.


Melanie Nolan at Knopf has bought debut author-illustrator Jiyeon Pak's My Grandpa's Chair, the story of a girl's efforts to help her grandfather find a new chair, and help him overcome grief at the same time. Publication is planned for fall 2017; John Rudolph at Dystel & Goderich negotiated the deal for world rights.

Sylvie Frank at S&S's Paula Wiseman Books has acquired world rights to Megan Wagner Lloyd's (l.) picture book, Paper Mice, about two paper-cut creatures that venture out alone in the dark house in search of adventure but wind up finding a friend. Phoebe Wahl will illustrate. Publication is set for spring 2018; Ammi-Joan Paquette at Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented Lloyd and Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented Wahl.

Andrea Welch at S&S's Beach Lane Books has acquired world rights to Kate Dopirak's (l.) picture book Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Car, an automotive twist on the classic, to be illustrated by Mary Peterson. Publication is scheduled for spring 2018; Tracey Adams at Adams Literary represented Dopirak and Jennifer Rofe at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented Peterson.

Allison Wortche at Knopf has bought A Small Blue Whale and a Friendship Tale by Beth Ferry (l.), illustrated by debut artist Lisa Mundorff. The book is the story of a lonely blue whale searching for a friend, inspired by a trio of penguins that the illustrator had drawn. Publication is planned for fall 2017; Elena Giovinazzo at Pippin Properties represented the author and Heather Alexander, also at Pippin Properties, represented the illustrator in the deal for North American rights.