Liz Bicknell at Candlewick has acquired world rights to Cress Watercress, written by Gregory Maguire (l.). Cress Watercress, a thoughtful young rabbit, has lost her father, and the family must move house. This anthropomorphized animal adventure is about growing up, moving on, and finding home. David Litchfield will illustrate; publication is planned for spring 2022. Moses Cardona at John Hawkins and Associates represented the author, and Anne Moore Armstrong at the Bright Agency represented the artist.
Ken Wright at Viking has bought author David Arnold's fourth YA novel, The Electric Kingdom; Dana Leydig will edit. Pitched as Station Eleven for YA, the book is set in a world where swarms of infected Flies roam the earth, and a girl and her dog navigate the woods of post-apocalyptic New England in search of a mythical portal. Publication is scheduled for spring 2021; Daniel Lazar at Writers House negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Natashya Wilson at Inkyard Press has acquired, at auction, The Keeper of Night plus a sequel by debut author Kylie Lee Baker. The dark fantasy stars a half-Reaper, half-Shinigami, caught between her two worlds and belonging to neither, who fights monsters and struggles for acceptance in a 19th-century Japan that is haunted by the Goddess of Death. Publication is set for fall 2021; Mary C. Moore at Kimberley Cameron & Associates did the deal for world English rights.
Ann Kelley at Random House Studio has bought an untitled YA graphic novel by Liz Montague, the first black female cartoonist to be published in the New Yorker. The coming-of-age memoir deals with issues of identity and community and chronicles the author's path to becoming an artist. Publication is slated for fall 2022; Wendi Gu at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates brokered the deal for world rights.
Vicki Lame at Wednesday Books has acquired world English rights to Ashley Schumacher's Full Flight, a YA contemporary novel told in alternating perspectives, about an exuberant girl and a solitary boy who are forced to work together on a duet in their small-town marching band. With rumors flying and time running out before the big competition, the two must perfect their music while coming to terms with the loneliness they are both battling. The book is planned for publication in 2022; Thao Le at Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency negotiated the deal.
Krista Vitola at Simon & Schuster has bought, in a preempt, Shanna Miles's debut YA novel, For All We Know. Pitched as Cloud Atlas meets The Sun Is Also a Star, the story follows two teens fated to repeat their love story across hundreds of lifetimes, from 14th-century Mali to the distant future, as they struggle to break the cycle. Publication is scheduled for fall 2021; John Cusick at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management brokered the deal for world rights.
Kat Brzozowski at Swoon Reads has acquired The Scientific Method for Getting Luckie by Heather Truett, in which a teen boy uses the scientific method drilled into him by his scientist father to begin a kissing experiment. But the experiment gets messy, and Stephen will have to come clean if he wants to win one special girl's heart. Publication is set for spring/summer 2021; Hilary Harwell at kt literary handled the deal for world rights.
Susan Rich at Little, Brown has bought Kathleen Lane's Pity Party, a darkly comic middle grade collection that explores everyday anxieties though short stories, a personality quiz, a fortune telling machine, an interactive choose your own catastrophe, and more, in a life-affirming reminder of just how much misery loves company. Publication is slated for fall 2020; Charlotte Sheedy at Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency sold world rights.
Emily Feinberg at Roaring Brook acquired Maxwell Eaton III's (The Truth About- series) Survival Scout, a nonfiction middle-grade graphic novel series in which a girl repeatedly (and somehow humorously) escapes natural and human-caused disasters with carefully detailed survival skills, a level head, grit, and the running commentary of at least one know-it-all skunk. Simultaneous publication for the first two titles, Lost in the Mountains and Tsunami, is planned for winter 2023; Rosemary Stimola at Stimola Literary Studio negotiated the deal for North American rights.
Taylor Norman at Chronicle has bought Pura Belpre Honor author Rebecca Balcarcel's next middle grade novel, Luz. Injured soccer star Luz is having a hard enough time reframing her identity as a computer programmer, but when her father reveals a secret from his native Guatemala, she learns what it means to truly start over-by first opening her heart. Publication is set for spring 2022; Katie Grimm at Don Congdon Associates did the deal for world English rights.
Tara Weikum at HarperCollins has acquired, in a two-book deal, debut author Yvette Clark's middle-grade novel, Glitter Gets Everywhere. The book centers on 12-year-old Kitty, whose mother has recently died, and who must leave her cozy life in London for an exciting-if not entirely welcome-adventure in New York City. Publication is scheduled for summer 2021; Elizabeth Bewley at Sterling Lord Literistic brokered the deal for world English rights.
Jeff Fuerst at Reycraft has bought Chasing Bigfoot by Art Coulson. This middle grade novel follows a Cherokee teen who travels to the hills of North Carolina with his family of storytellers and encounters a mysterious creature, unscrupulous treasure hunters, and a boulder with ancient writing that only he can read, which could be the key to the greatest mystery of all. Publication is slated for fall 2021; Jacqui Lipton at Raven Quill Literary Agency handled the deal for world rights.
Cecily Kaiser at RISE x Penguin Workshop has acquired two projects by Rob Hodgson: The Cloud Book, a long-form picture book that follows a cloud on her journey through the weather cycle, and an untitled board book of spider web opposites. Publication is planned for spring 2021 and summer 2021, respectively; Andrea Morrison at Writers House negotiated the deal for world rights.
Ariel Richardson at Chronicle has bought, in an exclusive submission, world rights to Where Can You Find a Book?, the debut picture book by Jane Mount (Bibliophile), founder of Ideal Bookshelf. The book explores all the places children discover books and develop a love of reading, from their local library to bookmobiles and biblioburros. An untitled reading-themed activity journal was included in the two-book deal. Publication is set for fall 2022; Kate Woodrow at Present Perfect did the deal.
Carol Hinz at Lerner/Carolrhoda acquired, in an exclusive submission, world rights to Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper. The book traces the history of African Americans in the Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa and chronicles the devastation that occurred in 1921 when a white mob attacked the black community. Publication is scheduled to coincide with the 100th anniversary in spring 2021; Rubin Pfeffer at Rubin Pfeffer Content represented the author, and the illustrator represented himself in the deal.
Stephanie Pitts at Putnam has bought world rights to Lisa Tolin's picture book debut, How to Be a Rock Star, a whimsical how-to guide on starting a rock band. Daniel Duncan will illustrate. Publication is slated for summer 2022; Lindsay Davis Auld at Writers House represented Tolin, and Anne Moore Armstrong at the Bright Agency represented Duncan.
Tamar Mays at HarperCollins has bought world rights to Ruby's Reunion Day Dinner by Angela Dalton (l.), illustrated by Jestenia Southerland. The picture book is about a girl who struggles to find what would be her perfect "signature dish" to add to her family's reunion day dinner. Publication is planned for winter 2022; Mary Cummings at Betsy Amster Literary Enterprises represented the author, and James Burns at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.
Nan Froman at Groundwood Books has acquired world rights to When I Listen to Silence by Jean E. Pendziwol (l.), illustrated by Carmen Mok, a picture book exploration of the bursts of creativity and inspiration that can come through stillness and silence. Publication is scheduled for spring 2022; the author represented herself, and Emily van Beek at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management represented the illustrator.
Naomi Krueger at Beaming Books has bought world rights to Opening the Road: Victor Hugo Green and His Green Book, written by Keila Dawson (l.) and illustrated by Alleanna Harris. This nonfiction picture book tells the untold true story of the postman who wrote the Green Book travel guides published from 1936 to 1966 that African Americans used to plan safe road trips and vacations. Publication is slated for spring 2021; Dawn Frederick at Red Sofa Literary represented the author, and Lucie Luddington at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.