Emily Meehan and Hannah Allaman at Disney's Hyperion imprint have acquired, in a preempt, North American rights for #pitmad participant Christine Lynn Herman's debut YA novel, The Devouring Gray, and a sequel. Pitched as a cross between Stranger Things and The Raven Boys, the contemporary fantasy features a group of four teens with the power to protect their town from a monster, if their families’ dark secrets don't devour them first. Publication of the first book is set for spring 2019, and spring 2020 for the sequel. Kelly Sonnack at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency did the deal; Taryn Fagerness at the Taryn Fagerness Literary Agency is handling foreign rights.
Kaylan Adair at Candlewick has bought world English rights to Matt Burns's Smooth, a YA debut pitched as Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret for the male teen psyche. The book follows a boy trying to figure out if the medication for severe acne he's counting on to improve his social life is also making him stressed out and lonely, or if that's just a side effect of being 15. Publication is planned for 2020; Katelyn Detweiler at Jill Grinberg Literary Management negotiated the deal.
Leila Sales at Viking has acquired When I Was Summer, a debut YA novel by J.B. Howard, about a bass guitarist who uses her rock band's statewide tour as an excuse to search for her birth parents and an understanding of her true self, all while trying not to fall for the band's very talented and very unavailable lead singer. Publication is scheduled for spring 2019; Liz Parker at Inkwell Management brokered the deal.
Jillian Manning at Blink has bought We Were Beautiful, a contemporary YA novel by The Cupcake Queen and Frosted Kisses author Heather Hepler. The book follows a teen navigating a summer in New York City, whose scars are a constant reminder of the car crash that killed her sister. Publication is slated for spring 2019; Erin Murphy at Erin Murphy Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.
Jocelyn Davies at HarperTeen has preempted Anna Bright's debut, The Beholder, a YA romance pitched as Cinderella meets The Odyssey and The Selection. When Selah, Seneschal-elect of Potomac, is publicly rejected on the eve of her engagement, her stepmother forces her to set sail across the Atlantic with an itinerary full of suitors to court before she can return home. But as she navigates the rough waters of political alliances, friendship, and love, Selah realizes that her stepmother has her own dark motives for sending her on the journey. Publication is tentatively set for spring 2019; Elana Roth Parker at Laura Dail Literary agency brokered the two-book deal for North American rights.
Reka Simonsen at S&S/Atheneum has acquired, at auction, North American rights to debut author J. Kasper Kramer's The Story That Cannot Be Told, a middle-grade novel that weaves together folklore and history to tell the story of a girl sent to live with her estranged grandparents in a remote mountain village during the final months of Communist reign in Romania, where she must find her voice and the strength to use it to survive the danger she thought she left behind. Publication is planned for fall 2019, the 30th anniversary of the Romanian Revolution; Yishai Seidman at Dunow, Carson & Lerner Literary Agency negotiated the deal.
Ashley Hearn at Page Street has bought The Night We Met by Katherine Fleet, about Outer Banks teenager Meredith, who's torn between the boy she secretly meets every night and the cocky new guy in town. As secrets unfold and her reality erodes away, she discovers there are some decisions you can never take back. Publication is scheduled for winter 2019; Carrie Pestritto at Prospect Agency handled the deal for world rights.
Julie Bliven at Charlesbridge has acquired world rights to Hillary Homzie's middle grade chapter-book series, launching with Ellie May on Presidents' Day and Ellie May on April Fools' Day, illustrated by Jeffrey Ebbeler. When it's time to celebrate holidays in the classroom, second-grader Ellie May can get a little overzealous, often learning about honesty and patience through trial and error. Publication is slated for fall 2018; Victoria Arms at Wells Arms Literary represented the author, and Mela Bolinao at MB Artists represented the illustrator.
Karen Nagel at S&S/Aladdin has bought, at auction, the first four books of a chapter book series by Peanut Butter and Brains author Joe McGee. Junior Monster Scouts is about the adventures of Wolf Boy, Franky, and Drac, who aren't just monsters—they are Junior Monster Scouts—and kids of the classic monsters of old. These kid monsters aren't scary. though; they just want to help people in The Village. The first two books of the series will be published in fall 2019; Linda Epstein at Emerald City Literary Agency handled the deal for world rights.
Jennifer M. Brown at Knopf has acquired This Is the Tree We Planted by Kate McMullan. Inspired by Earth Day, the book provides a window into a tree's role in nurturing all kinds of life through its leafy branches. Publication is set for fall 2020; Holly McGhee at Pippin Properties negotiated the deal for world rights.
Amanda Maciel at Scholastic has bought four early chapter books in the new Mermaids to the Rescue series by Lisa Ann Scott, featuring mermaids who team up with sea ponies to keep their underwater world safe. Publication for all four books is planned for 2019; Jennifer Unter of the Unter Agency brokered the deal for world rights.
Chris Paul and Liz Bicknell at Candlewick have acquired Yoko Tanaka's Dandelion's Dream, a wordless picture book that explores the unexpected aspiration of a dandelion to be a real lion. Publication is projected for fall 2019; Steven Malk at Writers House did the deal for world rights.
Christianne Jones at Capstone has bought Awesome! by illustrator and storyteller Craig Shuttlewood. The book introduces Marvin the moose and Woody the beaver, who are best friends—until Marvin does something awesome and Woody remains ordinary. Publication is scheduled for summer 2018; Alli Brydon at Bright Agency represented the author-illustrator in the deal for world rights.
Christine Krones at HMH has acquired world rights to Steve Mack's I Love Science and I Love Space by Allison Wortche. The interactive board book series introduces scientific concepts to babies and toddlers, encouraging them to observe and appreciate the world around them. The books are slated for publication in spring 2019; Lori Nowicki at Painted Words negotiated the two-book deal.
Tara Walker at Tundra has bought world rights to The Secret Fawn, a picture book by Kallie George (l.), illustrated by Elly MacKay. A child is always missing things, because she's the littlest, but on an expedition to find the deer the rest of her family got a chance to see, she experiences something even more magical. Publication is set for fall 2020; Emily van Beek at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management represented the author and illustrator.
Ben Rosenthal at HarperCollins/Tegen has acquired Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree by Nigerian novelist and journalist Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani (l.), with an afterword by Italian journalist Viviana Mazza. The YA novel, based on personal conversations with survivors, gives voice to the Chibok girls and the thousands of girls who have been kidnapped by Boko Haram over the past few years. Publication is set for fall 2018; Jess Regel at Foundry Literary + Media brokered the deal for North American rights.
Wesley Adams at Farrar, Straus and Giroux has bought world rights to Little Mo: The Story of a Forgotten Young Running Revolutionary by Headstrong author Rachel Swaby and Kit Fox, who first teamed up to report the story for the Human Race podcast. The YA biography tells the tale of a 13-year-old Toronto girl named Maureen Wilton who broke the women's world marathon record in 1967, an achievement that was greeted with controversy and misogynistic accusations of cheating that caused Maureen to leave the sport two years later. The book is slated for winter 2019; Mackenzie Brady Watson at Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency brokered the deal.
Arianne Lewin at Putnam has acquired, at auction, the Aurelian Cycle trilogy by debut novelist Rosaria Munda. The first book in the series, titled The Dragonlord’s Son, was inspired by Plato’s Republic. Told from a dual point of view, the story is pitched as Aegon Targaryen and Hermione Granger with dragons, set in the aftermath of a bloody revolution. The books are planned for spring 2019, 2020, and 2021; Danielle Burby at Nelson Literary Agency brokered the six-figure deal for North American rights.
Laura Schreiber at Disney's Hyperion imprint has bought Ten Blind Dates, a YA novel from Ashley Elston, author of This Is Our Story. Pitched as The Holiday meets My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the story is about a girl who breaks up with her boyfriend before the holidays and finds herself set up by her family, all eager to help mend her broken heart, on 10 blind dates over 10 days. Publication is scheduled for fall 2019; Sarah Davies at Greenhouse Literary handled the deal for North American rights.
Hilary Van Dusen at Candlewick has acquired Beyond Magenta author-photographer and 2015 Stonewall Honor recipient Susan Kuklin's new YA nonfiction book. The as yet untitled book will focus, through words and photography, on refugees who fled war-torn home countries to make a new life in the United States. Publication is set for spring 2020; Brianne Johnson at Writers House brokered the deal for world English rights.
Eric Wight at Rodale Kids has bought Gina Loveless's Puberty Is Gross, But Also Really Awesome, a look at the fascinating and funky changes that happen to the human body during puberty. Publication is planned for winter 2019; Alec Shane at Writers House brokered the deal for world rights.
Karen Lotz at Candlewick has acquired rights to two books from Also an Octopus author Maggie Tokuda-Hall. The first is a picture book, which tells the true story of the author's grandparents who met and fell in love while imprisoned in the Minidoka internment camp. The second is a debut YA fantasy, The Mermaid, the Witch and the Sea, a story of magic and mayhem set aboard a pirate ship; it is tentatively slated for 2019. Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency did both deals for world rights.
Kate Harrison at Dial has bought Brian Biggs's The Walk, a picture book that tells the story of an astronaut's day in space. Publication is scheduled for fall 2019; Steven Malk at Writers House brokered the two-book deal for world rights.
Ruta Rimas at S&S/McElderry has bought, on exclusive submission, Gabrielle Prendergast's (l.) If Pluto Was a Pea, in which two children compare and contrast planets with objects for a contextualization of the magnitude of size. Rebecca Gerlings will illustrate; publication is slated for summer 2019. Barbara Poelle at Irene Goodman represented the author in the deal for world rights, and Chloe Morgan at Plum Pudding Illustration represented the illustrator.
Susan Kochan at Putnam has acquired author-illustrator Kimberly Gee's picture book, Up, Up, Up, Down!, about a busy toddler's day, full of ups and downs shown through opposites. Publication is set for summer 2019; Kelly Sonnack at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency handled the deal for world rights.
Orli Zuravicky at Scholastic has acquired world rights to the picture book Jackie & Mona Lisa by Nina Gruener (l.), illustrated by Heidi Smith. The book gives the true account of Jackie Kennedy's successful attempt to secure a transatlantic visit from the famous Mona Lisa. Publication is planned for 2019; Caryn Wiseman at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions represented the artist.
Andrea Welch and Allyn Johnston at S&S/Beach Lane have bought world rights to Liz Garton Scanlon's (l.) Thank You, Garden, a picture book tribute to gardens and gardening, illustrated by Simone Shin. Publication is scheduled for spring 2020; Erin Murphy at Erin Murphy Literary represented the author, and Kelly Sonnack at Andrea Brown Literary represented the illustrator.
Christian Trimmer at Holt has acquired two nonfiction picture books by Stacy McAnulty (l.), both illustrated by Stevie Lewis. Sun! One in a Billion tells the history of the sun—all 4.6 billion years—from the point of view of the sun himself. An as yet untitled "autobiography" of the moon will follow. Publication is slated for fall 2018 and spring 2019, respectively; Lori Kilkelly at Rodeen Literary Management represented McAnulty, and Lewis represented herself in the deal for world rights.
Brett Duquette at Sterling has bought world rights to Sara Shacter's (l.) picture book, Just So Willow, featuring a picky polar bear who is learning to loosen up and have fun. Stephanie Laberis will illustrate; publication is planned for fall 2019. Adriana Dominguez at Full Circle Literary Agency represented the author, and Anne Moore Armstrong at Bright USA represented the illustrator.
