Lauri Hornik at Dial Books for Young Readers has acquired B.J. Novak's The Alphabet Book with No Pictures, a sequel to The Book with No Pictures, which has sold more than a million copies in the U.S. and has been translated into 26 languages. In this non-traditional alphabet book, the publisher said, children will discover how letters work together to build sounds, words and sentences that get increasingly imaginative. The book will have a first printing of 500,000 copies; it's scheduled for September 2017, and will be published simultaneously in the U.K. and Australia/New Zealand by Penguin Random House. Richard Abate of 3 Arts Entertainment sold world English rights.
Calista Brill at First Second Books has bought a YA graphic novel by Lisa Brown called Living Doll. It tells the story of two conjoined twins who remain connected even after one of them dies during an operation to separate them. The book will be published in 2019; Charlotte Sheedy at Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Monica Jean at Delacorte has acquired Hullmetal Girls by Emily Skrutskie (The Abyss Surrounds Us). It was pitched as a YA Battlestar Galactica in which two girls risk everything they have for new lives as mechanically enhanced soldiers; after a rebellion against the governing body forces dark secrets to the surface, the fate of the entire fleet is left in their hands. Publication is slated for summer 2018; Thao Le at Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency sold world English rights.
Rachel Stark at Sky Pony Press has bought Erica Sage’s YA debut, Madness Happens Here, about a snarky teen skeptic who can't get over his sister's suicide, until the ghost of Jack Kerouac and an over-the-top Jesus Camp force him to confront his role in her death. Publication is planned for spring 2018; Natalie Lakosil at Bradford Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.
Andrea Davis Pinkney at Scholastic has acquired One True Way, a historical LGBT middle-grade novel by Shannon Hitchcock (Ruby Lee and Me). Set in the 1970s at Daniel Boone Middle School, where teachers and coaches must hide who they are, and girls who like girls are forced to question their own choices, the story aims to present a fresh take on Annie on My Mind and other classics of the lesbian fiction genre. It will publish in 2018; Deborah Warren at East/West Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Liz Kossnar at Simon & Schuster has bought the first three books in the Mr. Monkey chapter book series written and illustrated by Jeff Mack, about Mr. Monkey, a combination of Curious George and Mr. Bean, who gets into misadventures. The first two, Mr. Monkey Bakes a Cake and Mr. Monkey Visits a School, are publishing simultaneously in summer 2018. Rubin Pfeffer at Rubin Pfeffer Content negotiated the deal for world rights.
Alyssa Mito Pusey at Charlesbridge has acquired Scout's Opposites, a board book by author/photographer J.C. Coates that introduces the basic concept of opposites through puppy photographs. Publication is set for spring 2019. Kelly Sonnack of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency sold world rights.
Beth Terrill at NorthSouth Books has bought world rights to Baptiste Paul's debut picture book, The Field, which follows a group of kids who initiate a pick-up soccer game, even though tropical rains threaten to mess up their plans. It will illustrated by Jacqueline Alcántara, the inaugural winner of the We Need Diverse Books Illustration Mentorship Award. Publication is scheduled for spring 2018; Karen Grencik from Red Fox Literary represented the author and Adriana Dominguez from Full Circle Literary represented the illustrator.
Marilyn Brigham of Amazon/Two Lions has acquired Mrs. Claus Takes the Reins by Sue Fliess, illustrated by Mark Chambers, a picture book about Mrs. Claus taking over for Santa on Christmas Eve when he has the flu and can't drive the sleigh. Publication is slated for fall 2018; Jennifer Unter of the Unter Agency represented the author and Alli Brydon at Bright USA represented the artist.
Susan Rich at Little, Brown has acquired world rights excluding Canada for The Bad Mood and the Stick, a new picture book by Lemony Snicket (l.), illustrated by Matthew Forsythe. In the book, a bad mood wreaks havoc as it moves through the world from character to character, leaving an trail of surprise in its wake: opportunities for laughter, forgiveness, and even love. Publication is scheduled for fall 2017; Charlotte Sheedy at Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency represented the author and Judith Hansen at the Hansen Literary Management represented the artist.
Allison Wortche at Knopf has bought the next two YA novels by Jennifer Niven, bestselling author of All the Bright Places and Holding Up the Universe, which together have sold in more than 60 territories; a feature film based on All the Bright Places is currently in pre-production. Publication for the first book, which will be in the vein of her previous two YA novels, is slated for 2018; Kerry Sparks at Levine Greenberg Rostan negotiated the deal for world rights.
Tiffany Liao at Razorbill has acquired Tochi Onyebuchi's debut Beasts Made of Night, a Nigerian-inspired fantasy set in a world where sin can be magically transferred from sinner to "sin-eater" for a cost, in which a gifted young sin-eater uncovers a dark secret and must rely on his deadly talents to save the kingdom – and his own life. Publication is planned for fall 2017; Noah Ballard of Curtis Brown did the two-book deal for world rights.
Namrata Tripathi at Dial has bought Creaky Acres, a middle-grade graphic novel by First Second editor Calista Brill (l.) and McDuffie Diversity Award-winning illustrator Nilah Magruder, in a three-book deal at auction. The book features a cast of characters at a run-down horse barn, including new girl Nora, who has to adjust to the change from fancy suburb to poor rural community, and from being one of the few black girls riding horses in her area to being the only black kid in the whole town. The first book will publish in spring 2019. Erin Murphy of Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented Brill and Jean Sagendorph of Mansion Street represented Magruder in the deal for world rights.
Traci Todd at Abrams Appleseed has acquired world rights to Bitty Bot author Tim McCanna's Barnyard Boogie, a musical romp starring the Barnyard Band, illustrated by Allison Black. Publication is set for May 2017. Caryn Wiseman at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author and Kelly Sonnack at Andrea Brown now represents the illustrator, who was unagented at the time of the deal.
Jenna Pocius at Little Bee has bought world rights to Tracey Kyle's A Paintbrush for Paco, a picture book about a creative boy who has trouble concentrating and uses art to express himself. Joshua Heinsz will illustrate. Publication is slated for summer 2018; Jennifer Unter of the Unter Agency represented the author and Alli Brydon of Bright USA represented the illustrator.
Andrea Spooner at Little, Brown has acquired at auction Caldecott Honor artist Molly Idle's Pearl, and an untitled follow-up, starring a young mermaid who, when entrusted with a single grain of sand to keep in her care, discovers that performing even the smallest task well can transform not only herself but the world at large. Publication is scheduled for fall 2018; Steven Malk at Writers House brokered the deal for world rights.
Neal Porter at Roaring Brook's Neal Porter Books has bought Water/Land by Christy Hale, an introduction to landforms and their opposite waterforms using Montessori techniques, with colorful die-cut pages. It's planned for 2018; Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio sold world rights.
Mark Siegel at First Second Books has acquired world rights to a graphic novel by Emily Tetri, called Tiger vs. Nightmare. It tells the story of a tiger who makes friends with the monster under his bed, but can they work together to fight off some even bigger monsters? Publication is set for 2019; the author was unagented.
Wayne Barr at Barron's Educational has bought two board books by Jennifer Sattler: My Friend Moe, about a guinea pig and his little friend, and Who's Hatching?, about an interspecies family. Publication dates are summer 2017 and fall 2017; Anna Olswanger of Olswanger Literary did the deal for world rights.
