Recently in Deals Category

Gabrielle Zevin Signs To Macmillan For Trilogy

Macmillan Children's Books has acquired a new trilogy called Birthright by Elsewhere author Gabrielle Zevin, who was previously published by Bloomsbury.
UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, were bought in the books from Douglas Stewart at Sterling Lord Literistic agency in the US, in a deal brokered by the UK sub-agent, Shirley Stewart of the Shirley Stewart Literary Agency.
The first part of the trilogy, All These Things I've Done, will be published in April 2012

Nosy Crow acquires two picture books by Waterstone's 'Picture This' short-listed illustrator Steven Lenton

Kate Burns, Head of Picture Books for Nosy Crow says:

From the moment the animator and merchandise designer and illustrator, Steven Lenton, came to see us in our tiny offices, I knew that we had to publish him. And it had to be special. His genuine enthusiasm for children's books and literature combined with his fabulous talent translated into a portfolio full of images with a contemporary, fresh palette, and wonderful characterisations of both people and animals - an increasingly rare ability! His work has a timeless quality, genuine warmth and is also really funny.
We feel he is a rare new talent and we are thrilled to be publishing his debut picture book, a hilarious tale about two bungling burglar dogs who come good in the end, written by the award-winning author, Tracey Corderoy. Tracey's first book for Nosy Crow, Hubble Bubble, Granny Trouble is illustrated by the highly acclaimed and award-winning Joe Berger and is out this month.

Steven says:

My ambition has always to be a children's book maker and I'm very proud to be realising this dream with Nosy Crow. I feel that the Nosy Crow team really understand my work, which I hope will sit nicely in their fantastic list!

In a three-book deal for world rights excluding USA that was brokered with Caroline Sheldon of the Caroline Sheldon Literary Agency, Orchard Books have acquired Slated, a psychological thriller from debut author, Teri Terry.

This is the first major acquisition for the new Publishing Director of Orchard Books, Megan Larkin, who says: "Slated is a remarkable debut; it completely gets under your skin, and lingers in your mind long after you've finished reading it. It's haunting, tense and thought-provoking. We're thrilled to be launching such an exciting new author on the Orchard Books teen list."

Slated is Teri Terry's first novel. She lives in Buckinghamshire and is an active member of SCWBI. She currently divides her time between writing, working in a library, and doing a research MA on the depiction of terrorism in Young Adult literature since the 9-11 attacks in America.

HarperCollins Acquisition

from The Bookseller:

HarperCollins Children's Books has bought two books from Silver Smarties Prize-winning author Jeanne Willis. Editorial director Harriet Wilson bought world rights, including TV, film and merchandising, from Catherine Clarke at Felicity Bryan Associates. The first book in the Penguin Pandemonium series will be published in January 2012.

Nosy Crow Foreign Rights Deal

Nosy Crow announcement:

We've been cooking up a deal on our apps for a while, and today we announced that Carlsen will be publishing in German, and Gallimard Jeunesse will be publishing in French, a full range of Nosy Crow's story book apps, beginning with our The Three Little Pigs app. The picture shows Carlsen's Klaus Humann (right) and Frank Kuehne (left) with Kate, signing the agreement on the Nosy Crow stand today.

Nosy Crow Acquire The Grunts

Nosy Crow hass announced that it will publish four newly-acquired illustrated novels about The Grunts family, written by Philip Ardagh, with black-and-white drawings by Axel Scheffler.

Kate Wilson said, "Philip makes me laugh - as a person and as an author. Always has done, always will. His combination of professionalism and irreverence make him the perfect Nosy Crow author, and we are pleased and flattered that he's chosen to publish with us. Pairing him with Axel Scheffler is going to make this an utterly irresistible series for children of 7 and up."

Ursula Jones signs to Inside Pocket for five figure sum

Independent children's publisher Inside Pocket announced today that they have signed a four book deal with award winning children's author, Ursula Jones - best known for her Witch's Children picture book texts (illustrated by Russell Ayto) - for a five figure advance. Three of the books make up a trilogy set in a strange world of slave cities, power struggles and betrayal, and the fourth is a stand alone novel about a children's acting troupe in the 1930s.

Inside Pocket's Creative Director, Christoph Kenshole, said: "Ursula brings a wonderful exuberance to her writing, drawing on her theatrical background and we are thrilled to be working with her."

Ursula Jones has had a long and highly successful career writing for children. Early on she wrote seventeen plays for children, six of which were subsequently produced in Australia, USA, Canada, New Zealand, Holland and Germany. During a year spent as Dramaturge for the London based Unicorn Theatre For Children, she wrote three Street Shows, which formed part of a Royal National Theatre street programme. One play, Monkey Puzzle, was then commissioned as the British contribution to a European Festival of Theatre for Young People

She helped create, and was one of the players in, a show for three actors who set out on a self-funded tour of Europe and parts of Asia for the benefit of children in the care of UNESCO and the Save The Children Fund. It was then filmed for BBC Children's TV. She has also scripted twenty-six episodes of Green Claws, a BBC TV series for young children.

Her picture books include:

The Witch's Children (shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway prize)

The Witch's Children And The Queen (winner of a 2003 gold Smartie Award)

The Witch's Children Go To School (winner of the 2008 inaugural Roald Dahl Funny Prize)

Egmont Press Signs self-published Young Minds Winner

Egmont Press has acquired two books by Siobhan Curham: Dear Dylan and Finding Cherokee Brown, both aimed at girls aged 10 - 15 years old.

Curham self-published Dear Dylan in March 2010 with a print run of just five hundred copies, and immediately won the prestigious Young Minds Award. The book is already receiving rave reviews on Amazon.

Egmont snapped up the books in an intense auction and plans to publish Dear Dylan in July 2011 and Finding Cherokee Brown the year after.

Four Book SF Deal

Disney Publishing imprint Disney-Hyperion has acquired a four-book science fiction series written by Rachel Cohn. Beta, the first book of the YA series, will be published in fall 2012...

From the press release:

The series is set in the island paradise of the Annex, the most exclusive playground on earth. Bioengineered to tropical perfection, it costs a fortune to get there and even more to stay...Two teenage girls--one a human clone and the other the human girl from whom the clone was duplicated--are both stranded in the Annex, and are in love with the same guy.

After The Snow Deal for Greenhouse

Macmillan's Children's Books has won world rights to AFTER THE SNOW by SD Crockett following a hotly contested auction. The titles were bought in conjunction with Jean Feiwel of Macmillan US-owned publisher Feiwel and Friends.

AFTER THE SNOW tells the story of 15-year-old Willo as he tries to survive, alone, in an endlessly wintery environment.

Crockett said: "The winter of 2009 was extremely hard. I asked myself: what would happen if winter never ended?".

Macmillan is to publish in hardback in the first half of 2012, with the US to publish simultaneously.

Hodder Children's Books have acquired an epic, new paranormal romance sequence THE BLESSED by Tonya Hurley. Publication will run simultaneously with Simon & Schuster US in Spring 2012.

Tonya Hurley is the New York Times bestselling author of the Ghost Girl sequence.

Cathryn Summerhayes brokered the deal on behalf of Andy McNicol at William Morris Entertainment. She says: 'It was very exciting to be given the opportunity to sell Tonya Hurley's fabulous new sequence THE BLESSED in the UK. I couldn't be more thrilled to have closed the deal with Emily Thomas at Hodder Children's Books who I know will publish Tonya with the creativity and energy she so deserves.'

New Reid Banks Title for Harper Collins

The Bookseller reports:

HarperCollins Children's Books has bought the rights to a new title by Lynne Reid Banks and illustrator Tony Ross.

Harriet Wilson, editorial director of HC Children's Books, acquired world rights from Caspian Dennis of Abner Stein Literary Agency for Bad Cat, Good Cat. The title is aimed at readers aged five and over and will be published in July 2011

Paranormal YA Series

from The Bookseller:
HarperCollins Children's Books has acquired a the first title in a paranormal new young adult series by debut novelist Kiersten White. Publishing director Rachel Denwood bought UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada for Paranormalcy from HarperCollins US.

Amber Caravéo's first acquisition for the Orion Children's list is the SOUL BEACH trilogy by Kate Harrison, author of the best-selling SECRET SHOPPER novels (also published by Orion).

Rights to the UK & Commonwealth (excluding Canada) have been acquired from Philippa Milnes-Smith at LAW.

The first book in the trilogy, SOUL BEACH, will be published in summer 2011.

Amber Caravéo says of the acquisition:
'As soon as I read the first few pages of Kate's spectacular and sinister SOUL BEACH trilogy, I knew I wanted to publish. I am delighted that my first acquisition for Orion Children's Books could be something that is so original and stand-out in the YA arena.'

Kate Harrison says of her first books for a teen audience:
'I had the idea for Soul Beach after spending far too much of my writing time on Facebook, and beginning to see a darker side to social networking. After I started writing the book, I really hoped that I'd find a publisher who'd feel as excited about the story as I did, so it was fabulous when I met Amber and the team at Orion Children's, as they totally 'got it.' It's also brilliant to be able to give rein to my creepier instincts, and even better that I'm being published by the people at Orion, who have done such a great job with my adult novels.'

Orion Children's Books have announced the acquisition of a new series from the bestselling author of THE ROMAN MYSTERIES, Caroline Lawrence.

In a major deal, negotiated with Clare Pearson of Eddison Pearson Ltd, publisher Fiona Kennedy acquired World English Language (excluding US and Canada) and translation rights for THE WESTERN MYSTERIES: THE CASE OF THE COUNTERFEIT INJUNS and three further 'cases' in the series. US rights will be sold on behalf of Clare Pearson by Brenda Bowen at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates in New York.

Set in Virginia City, Nevada Territory during the 1860s silver boom, the books will follow the varying fortunes of twelve year-old P.K. Pinkerton in a quest for the truth, a family, and the ultimate goal: a position as a 'Private Eye' at the Pinkerton Detective Agency in Chicago.

The first case will be published in hardback in early summer 2011.