Recent Book Deals

A sample of recent deals, as reported in Publishers Marketplace. This list is by no means exhaustive!
Subscribers to PubMarketplace can view older and more in-depth deal listings here.

PB Author-Illustrator

Caldecott Honoree Cindy Derby's COLD PIZZA, about a turtle pizza chef whose pies are immaculate, but whose slow delivery times cause problems, to Roaring Brook Press, in an exclusive submission, for publication in spring 2027

PB Graphic Novel Spinoff​

Cathy Camper and Raul the Third's LOWRIDERS BLAST OFF: HIGH FLYER, FLAT TIRE, a spinoff from the Lowriders in Space graphic novel series, in which the Lowriders crew get ready for a parade but an unexpected flat threatens to stall their interstellar fun, to Chronicle Children's, for publication in spring 2027

​Picture Book Nonfiction

Martha Brockenbrough's A GIFT OF DUST, illustrating how Saharan dust transforms our planet, from slowing hurricanes to nourishing our forests, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal, to Knopf Children's, in a two-book deal, for publication in summer 2025

YA Noir

Edgar Award winner and Stonewall Honor author James Klise's I'LL TAKE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE, a noir set in Chicago in the summer of 1934, in which a queer teen's naive get-rich-quick scheme leads to deadly criminal consequences, to Algonquin Young Readers, for publication in 2023.

Author-Illustrator Picture Book

Geisel Honor-winning author-illustrator Sergio Ruzzier's BIANCA AND THE BUTTERFLY, about a young polar bear who befriends a butterfly and encounters new experiences, to  Harper Children's, for publication in winter 2025.

Illustrated YA 

Author-illustrator Phoebe Wahl's PHOEBE'S DIARY, an illustrated novel in journal format based on the author's own teenage diaries, illuminating the glorious turmoil and ecstasy of adolescence, woven with themes of body and sex positivity, sold at auction to Little, Brown Children's.

Funny Picture Book

HOW TO READ A STORY author Kate Messner's A VERY SCARY STORY (BY TERRIFYING KITTEN), which follows an extremely fierce and teeny-tiny kitten who really wants to scare you, illustrated by MacKenzie Haley, to Farrar, Straus Children's, for publication in spring 2023.

Intense Young Adult

Morris Award finalist Stephanie Oakes's THE MEADOWS, pitched as a YA THE HANDMAIDS TALE meets NEVER LET ME GO, centering around a queer girl who has pretended to "reform" following years in a government-sanctioned conversion therapy center, but can't forget the girl she left behind, and so resolves to find her, to Dial.

Follow-up to NYT Bestseller

ZOMBIE AND BRAIN GO TO SCHOOL by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic and Laan Cham, a follow-up to the NYT-bestselling ZOMBIE AND BRAIN ARE FRIENDS, in which the deadly cute duo spend a pun-filled day learning just how much fun a brain can have in the classroom, to Bloomsbury Children's, in an exclusive submission, for publication in spring 2027

MG Historical Fiction

WILD BIRD author Diane Zahler's THE QUEEN'S GRANDDAUGHTER, based on real history, following 12-year-old Blanca of Castile who is chosen to become the next princess of France and must suddenly learn how to follow in the footsteps of her grandmother, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, to Roaring Brook Press, for publication in winter 2026

MG Novel in Verse

Kate Messner's THE TROUBLE WITH HEROES, pitched as WILD meets BECAUSE OF WINN DIXIE, in which a grieving middle schooler vandalizes a cemetery, destroys the headstone of a legendary local mountain climber, and is sentenced to climb all 46 Adirondack High Peaks with the dead woman's dog, to Bloomsbury Children's, in an exclusive submission, for publication in spring 2025

YA Graphic Novel Debut

Danish cartoonist Askel Aden's LOVE, MISHA, pitched as "A Goofy Movie meets Spirited Away," about a non-binary teen and their mother who, during a contentious road trip, take a wrong turn that lands them in the Realm of the Spirits; there they are surrounded by trickster spirits who aren't so keen on human trespassers, with no obvious way out, to First Second, for publication in Spring 2025.

Middle Grade Contemporary

Lindsey Leavitt's NORTH OF SUPERNOVA, which follows a 12-year-old Virgo who devotes her summer to learning astrology, fortune-telling, and crystals so she can bust up her new blended family and take control of her destiny, to Godwin Books in a two-book deal.

Middle Grade Contemporary

Schneider Family Award Honoree Sarah Kapit's SECOND CHANCE SUMMER, in which ex-best friends unexpectedly attend the same theatre camp and major drama ensues, to Holt Children's, in an exclusive submission.

Middle Grade Nonfiction

Environmental educator Nancy Castaldo's HUDSON RIVERKEEPER, which explores both New York's great river itself, and the people who do the vital work to maintain and protect it; part of the Books for a Better Earth program, to Holiday House, for publication in spring 2024.