Alexandra Cooper at Quill Tree has bought, at auction, Sher Lee's YA fantasy debut Legend of the White Snake—a gender-flipped reimagining of one of China's four famous folktales, with the xianxia vibes of A Magic Steeped in Poison and the queer romance of Dark Rise. A white snake spirit transforms into a teen boy and must hide his identity when he meets and falls in love with a headstrong prince hunting for a white snake to create an antidote to cure his dying mother. Publication is set for summer 2024; Jessica Regel at Helm Literary did the two-book deal for North American rights.
Eileen Rothschild at Wednesday Books has acquired at auction Elle McNicoll's YA debut, Some Like It Cold. In this YA romance, 18-year-old Jasper Montgomery returns home during the holidays to say goodbye, but old relationships come to light, tensions rise and a certain brooding film buff starts to look like a very big reason to stay. Publication is scheduled for fall 2024; Lauren Gardner at Bell Lomax Moreton brokered the two-book deal for North American rights.
Elizabeth Lee at Penguin Workshop has bought, for six figures at auction, world English rights to Revenge Arc by Louisa Onomé (l.), illustrated by ONeillJones, a feminist YA graphic novel in which a group of teen girls at a kickboxing gym decide to get revenge on a boy who wronged them, until it turns out things are more complicated than throwing the first punch. Publication is slated for fall 2025; Claire Friedman at InkWell Management represented the author, and Claire Draper at the Bent Agency represented the illustrator.
Sarah Alpert at Algonquin Young Readers has acquired Bad Kid: My Life as a "Troubled Teen" by Sofia Szamosi (Unretouchable), a YA graphic memoir following Sofia's adolescence being sent away to residential treatment centers for teenagers. The book explores how damaging labels can be—from Good Kid to Bad Kid—and how they shape our choices and identities throughout our lives. Publication is planned for 2025; Jennifer Weltz at Jean V. Naggar Literary Agency sold North American rights.
Nick Thomas at Levine Querido has bought The Girl, The Ring, and the Baseball Bat, the second YA novel from Pura Belpré Honoree and PW Flying Start Camille Gomera-Tavarez. The novel follows three teens in Jersey City who each find a magical talisman of power and influence that send them on interweaving journeys of discovery. Publication is scheduled for fall 2023; the author represented herself in the deal for world rights.
Tamara Grasty at Page Street YA has acquired Don't Be a Drag by Skye Quinlan (Forward March), a sapphic YA contemporary about depressed teen Briar Vincent who, while spending the summer in NYC with her drag queen older brother, accidentally stirs up trouble by entering an annual drag king competition and kicking off a rivalry with overconfident (and unfairly attractive) performer Spencer Read. Publication is set for 2024; Moe Ferrara at Bookends Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world English rights.
Caroline Abbey at Random House has bought, in an exclusive submission, two books in Stacy McAnulty's (The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl) new middle grade series The Evers, to be co-edited by Jenna Lettice. In the first book, Forever Twelve, when Ivy enrolls in an elite boarding school, her academic ambitions—and her life—are jeopardized by a group of immortal 12-year-olds known as the Evers. Publication is planned for fall 2023 and fall 2024; Lori Kilkelly at LK Literary Agency handled the two-book deal for world English rights.
Stacey Barney at Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Books has acquired, in a preempt, A Year Without a Home by V.T. Bidania (the Astrid and Apollo series), a fictionalized memoir in verse about the author's Hmong family's experience as refugees during the Vietnam War. When 11-year-old Gao Sheng is forced to leave her home in the mountains of Laos and lands in a refugee camp in Thailand, she must search to find herself in the midst of losing everything she once knew and loved. Publication is slated for summer 2025; Laurel Symonds while at the Bent Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Jessica Smith at Aladdin has bought world English rights to The Lovelace Society by Marie Benedict (l.) and Courtney Sheinmel, a historical middle grade novel about a girl who is admitted to the prestigious Lovelace Academy in London and discovers the Academy is much more than it appears when she's given the mission to travel to Switzerland and witness Mileva Einstein craft theories that will change physics forever. Publication is scheduled for spring 2025; Laura Dail at Laura Dail Literary Agency did the deal.
Sally Morgridge at Holiday House has acquired, in an exclusive submission, world rights to Fire Escape: How Animals and Plants Survive Wildfires by Jessica Stremer (l.) (Great Carrier Reef), illustrated by Michael Garland. This middle grade nonfiction explores how animals detect and respond to wildfires, the positive changes that occur to the landscape after the flames die out, and how the increased frequency and severity of wildfires due to global warming is changing everything. Publication is set for summer 2024; Natascha Morris at the Tobias Literary represented the author, and the illustrator represented himself.
Carina Licon at Henry Holt has bought world rights, in an exclusive submission, to Bodega Cat, first in a young middle grade series by Hilda Eunice Burgos (l.), illustrated by Siara Faison. Each book will be set in its respective family's bustling bodega and revolve around the friendship between a bodega owner's kid and their newly adopted furry friend. The first book is planned for spring 2024; the author and illustrator represented themselves.
Grace Maccarone at Holiday House has acquired in an exclusive submission, two new readers by author-illustrator Joe Cepeda, starting with The Best Worst Camp-Out Ever, about a boy and his father on their first camping trip together, and even though things don't go as planned, the adventure makes for the best worst camping trip ever. Publication is slated for spring 2024; Jennifer Rofé at Andrea Brown Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.
Diane Landolf, while at Random House, bought world rights to Happy Korean Lunar New Year! by TV personality and content creator Michelle W. Park (l.), illustrated by Hyewon Yum, a picture book about two sisters who learn about the traditions of Seollal and the importance of family as they prepare to celebrate the holiday; Maria Correa will edit. Publication is scheduled for fall 2024; Elizabeth Rudnick at Gillian MacKenzie Agency represented the author, and Sean McCarthy at Sean McCarthy Literary Agency represented the illustrator.
Denise Johnstone-Burt at the Walker Books Group has acquired world rights to two picture books from Anne Twist (l.), with Lydia Abel at Candlewick Press editing in the U.S. The first book by debut author Twist will be Betty and the Mysterious Visitor, illustrated by Emily Sutton, a picture book about a girl and her grandmother who pick fruit and make jam, until nighttime visits from a badger send the garden into chaos. Publication is set for September 2023; Cait Hoyt at Creative Artists Agency represented the author, and the illustrator was unagented.
Maria Correa at Random House has bought world rights to When Breathing Is Too Loud by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic (l.), illustrated by Gabrielle Grimard, a picture book that helps to process the big emotions a child experiences during a school lockdown drill. Publication is slated for summer 2025; Jordan Hamessley at New Leaf Literary & Media represented the author, and Claire Morance at Painted Words represented the illustrator.
Karen Boss at Charlesbridge has acquired, in a preempt, world rights to Irma Black Honoree Shana Keller's (l.) picture book Cecilia: Underground Railroad Cinderella, illustrated by Coretta Scott King Honoree Laura Freeman, in which an enslaved girl longs for freedom and receives assistance from the cook to plan for a way to meet someone called Moses who can help her get to the North. Publication is planned for summer 2025; Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and Janet DeCarlo at Storybook Arts represented the illustrator.
Lisa Yoskowitz at Little, Brown has bought, and Erika Turner will edit, a picture book written by 2023 Sydney Taylor Book Award Silver Medalist A.J. Sass (l.) titled Shabbat Is…, about the many ways readers and their families can celebrate their day of rest, illustrated by 2023 Sydney Taylor Picture Book Notable illustrator Noa Kelner. Publication is set for fall 2024; Jordan Hamessley at New Leaf Literary & Media represented the author, and Tracy Marchini at BookEnds represented the artist in the deal for world rights.
Celia Lee at Simon & Schuster has acquired an updated version of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas by author-illustrator Candice Bradley, to center around a Black family anticipating the wonder and magic of the season, including a visit from Black Santa Claus. Publication is scheduled for fall 2024; Jennifer Rofé at Andrea Brown Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Julie Bliven at Charlesbridge has bought world rights to Daniela Ramirez's (l.) debut picture book, Welcome Home, Esmerelda, about a Mexican American girl navigating a move to the U.S. after only living overseas because of her father's job in the military. Maribel Lechuga will illustrate; publication is slated for summer 2025. Charlotte Wenger at Prospect Agency represented the author, and Kate Powell at Astound US represented the illustrator.
Emily Settle at Feiwel and Friends has acquired world English rights to The Precious Load on My Back by Marzieh Abbas (l.), illustrated by Anain Shaikh, which tells the true story of Roshan, Pakistan's first camel library. Publication is planned for summer 2025; Lynnette Novak at the Seymour Agency represented the author and illustrator.
Melissa Manlove at Chronicle Books has bought world rights to Smash, Crash, Topple, Roll, Sibert Medalist Catherine Thimmesh's introduction to Rube Goldberg's life and creative legacy, part biography, part inspiration, and part physics how-to, which puts the tools for making real-life Rube Goldberg machines in readers' hands, illustrated by Shanda McCloskey. Publication is set for fall 2024; the author was unagented, and Erica Rand Silverman at Stimola Literary Studio represented the illustrator.
Kathy Landwehr at Peachtree has acquired world rights to Ernö Rubik and His Magic Cube, a debut picture book biography by Kerry Aradhya (l.), illustrated by Kara Kramer (Make Meatballs Sing!), a picture book biography of Hungarian puzzle enthusiast and professor Ernö Rubik, the creative mind behind the Rubik's Cube. Publication is scheduled for summer 2024; Sarah Stephens at Red Fox Literary represented the author, and Stephanie Fretwell-Hill at Red Fox Literary represented the illustrator.
Farrin Jacobs at Little, Brown has bought world rights to A Banquet for Cecilia by Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature winner Julie Leung (l.), illustrated by Geisel Award Honoree Melissa Iwai, a picture book biography about Cecilia Chiang, a restaurateur and chef who helped change the way people thought about Chinese food in America. Publication is slated for winter 2025; Wendi Gu at GreenburgerKids represented the author, and Christy Ewers at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.
Lisa Rosinsky and Kate DePalma at Barefoot Books have acquired Boogie in the Bronx! by Jackie Azúa Kramer (l.) (Dorothy & Herbert), illustrated by Jana Glatt (To Carnival!); Bree Reyes will edit. Residents in a 10-story Bronx apartment dance and count their way down to the neighborhood block party in this singalong featuring Latin, Afro-Latin, and African American dance and music from throughout the Americas. Publication is planned for fall 2023; Stephen Fraser at the Jennifer de Chiara Agency represented the author, and the illustrator represented herself in the deal for world rights.
Dani Valladares at Mayo Clinic Press Kids has bought world rights to The Rainbow Parade by Rick Hendrix (l.) and Shane Jordan (c.), illustrated by Jieting Chen (r.), in an exclusive submission. The picture book celebrates what it means to accept oneself through the colorful lens of a Pride Parade. Publication is set for April 2024; Jessica Watterson at the Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency represented Hendrix and Jordan, and Robbin Brosterman at the Bright Agency represented Chen.
