Mallory Loehr at Random House has acquired four middle-grade novels – a series and a standalone fantasy novel – by Bruce Coville. The first book in the deal, Diary of a Mad Brownie, tells the story of Jamie, the messiest girl in Abbot's Cove, who inherits the family's Brownie, a fairy whose sole purpose is to help organize Jamie's life. It quickly feels like a curse for everyone. It's the first book in a proposed series and is slated for spring 2015. Joe Monti at Barry Goldblatt Literary brokered the deal for North American rights.
Virginia Duncan at Greenwillow bought world rights in a pre-empt to an untitled debut novel by Amy Zhang, about a teen girl who attempts suicide, told from the perspective of her neglected childhood imaginary friend. The book is scheduled for fall 2014; Emily S. Keyes of the L. Perkins Agency was the agent.
Tracy Mack at Scholastic has bought picture book author-illustrator Jeremy Tankard's chapter book debut, called Clover the Uncredible. In it, a spunky second grader is convinced that her superpowers have prepared her for anything, from robots and dinosaurs to the ultimate challenge of making new friends at a new school. Publication is slated for 2015; Holly McGhee at Pippin Properties did the deal for North American rights.
Wendy Loggia at Delacorte has bought a YA novel called The Third Twin by Dirty Little Secrets author C.J. Omololu. In the story, identical twins invent a third sister as a cover to date and dump hot but temporary boys, only to find themselves stalked and impersonated by the sister who doesn't exist, while their ex-dates turn up dead. Publication is scheduled for 2015; Sarah Davies at the Greenhouse Literary Agency did the deal for North American rights.
Aubrey Poole of Sourcebooks has acquired a middle-grade debut from YA author Jen Calonita, called Fairy Tale Reform School. In the book, a petty thief named Gilly is thrown into a school staffed by reformed fairy tale villains. Laura Dail of the Laura Dail Literary Agency did the two-book deal for world English rights.
Julie Strauss-Gabel has acquired a YA memoir by 15-year-old Maya Van Wagenen, billed as a "Julie & Julia for teens." Her book, Popular: Vintage Wisdom for the Modern Geek, chronicles the year that the eighth-grader spent working her way through a Guide for Teenage Popularity from the 1950s, and applying its "quaint-yet-timeless instructions" to her life in an exploration of what it means to be popular. Daniel Lazar at Writers House brokered the two-book deal for North American rights.
David Levithan at Scholastic bought a new YA trilogy by Ally Carter (Heist Society and Gallagher Girls) called Embassy Row. The story line centers on a teenage Army brat named Grace, the only granddaughter of a powerful ambassador. Grace returns to the U.S. after years summering abroad to solve the mystery surrounding her mother's death. The first book in the series is set for 2015; Kristin Nelson at Nelson Literary did the deal for North American rights.
Katherine Tegen has acquired North American rights to a new series by YA author Susane Colasanti called City Love. Billed as a romance and sisterhood series, the books center on three teens who are somewhere between childhood and adulthood, and are struggling to find the balance between their ambitions, their pasts, and their own hearts. The first book in the series is scheduled for summer 2015; Emily van Beek at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management did the mid-six-figure, three-book deal.
Namrata Tripathi at Atheneum Books for Young Readers has acquired Infinite Sky by debut novelist Chelsey "C.J." Flood, a book that asks if it is possible to keep loving somebody when they kill someone you love. In the novel, 13-year-old Iris watches a family of gypsies set up an illegal camp near her house. When Iris's secret friendship with the gypsy boy, Trick, blooms into something more, tensions run high, and Iris struggles to find where her loyalties lie. The book is scheduled for May 2014; Catherine Drayton of InkWell Management did the deal on behalf of Catherine Clarke at Felicity Bryan.
Maggie Lehrman at Abrams/Amulet has signed Edgar Award nominee Mary Jane Beaufrand for the tentatively titled To Believe in David Bowie. Set against the gritty backdrop of Portland, Ore., it's the story of best friends, music, and murder. A spring 2015 publication is planned; Steven Chudney from the Chudney Agency brokered the deal for world English rights.
Bethany Strout at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers has bought Kate Hannigan's The Detective's Assistant, about the first female detective in the U.S., Kate Warne, and her spirited (and fictional) 11-year-old niece, Nell. Together they thwart an assassination attempt on Abraham Lincoln's life (the real-life Baltimore Plot). Spring 2015 is the pub date; Jennifer Mattson at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency did the deal for world rights.
Caroline Abbey at Bloomsbury has acquired world rights to Brianna Caplan Sayres's picture book Tiara-Saurus Rex, a tale of a very competitive dinosaur named Tina and some disappearing contestants at the Miss Dinosaur Pageant. Mike Boldt will illustrate, and publication is slated for summer 2014. Teresa Kietlinski at Prospect Agency was the agent for Sayres, and Jennifer Rofé at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency was the agent for Boldt.
