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Spotlight on Bologna
 Bologna 2025: Spring Brings Hope for Sustainability and SolidarityThe 62nd edition of the Bologna Children’s Book Fair opened to sunny skies on Monday, March 31, drawing an estimated 1,500 exhibitors from 90 countries and regions around the world. Many of the conversations among publishers and onstage in panels underscored the interconnectedness of children’s books and global politics. more   Bologna Children's Book Fair 2025: Global Publishing OutlookInternational publishers attending the fair were delighted to find solidarity in their shared mission to entertain and educate children—while keeping a close eye on AI, America, and world events. more  Bologna 2025: Going GraphicThe global graphic novel market is getting more attention at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair this year, with an expanded number of exhibitors and panels dedicated to the topic. more   Awards News
 Marion Brunet Wins Astrid Lindgren Memorial AwardFrench author Marion Brunet is the winner of the 2025 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the world’s largest children’s book prize, with the laureate receiving five million Swedish kronor (nearly $500,000 at present exchange rates). The award was announced live from Stockholm on April 1, and broadcast simultaneously from the Bologna Fair. more  Six International Publishers Take Home PrizesThe winners of the BOP – Bologna Prize for the Best Children’s Publishers of the Year and the BolognaRagazzi Awards were announced on Monday at a ceremony at the historic Palazzo Re Enzo. During the event, Elena Pasoli (r.), director of the BCBF, presented a special plaque to Hedwige Pasquet, chairman of Gallimard Jeunesse. more Out Next Week
 Hot Off the Presses: Week of April 7 Among the books hitting shelves next week are a picture book about a king’s new ban ahead of his birthday, a middle grade book following a tween’s budding romance, a YA series finale about a choice between love and loyalty, and more. more
Rights Report
 Katherine Harrison at Knopf has acquired North American rights to Lambda Award finalist and Nommo Award-winning author Tlotlo Tsamaase's The Bloodwinds and its sequel. The YA dystopian fantasy duology features a girl from an underground city beneath post-apocalyptic Botswana who discovers a dangerous secret while on a mission aboveground, a truth that's been buried as deep as the city itself, and a love as fierce as the wind. Publication is planned for fall 2026; Chelsea Eberly at Greenhouse Literary Agency did the six-figure deal on behalf of Dovetail Fiction/Working Partners and Naomi Davis at BookEnds Literary Agency.  Nick Magliato at Penguin Workshop has bought Limelight by Broadway actor Andrew Keenan-Bolger, a YA novel pitched as Fame meets Rent set in 1990s New York City, about a boy beginning his first year at a competitive high school for the performing arts, who must reconcile his insecurity and his identity as he steps into the spotlight. Publication is slated for spring 2026; Jordan Hamessley at JABberwocky Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.  Ardyce Alspach at Union Square Kids has acquired Unnamed Bones by Bram Stoker winner Lora Senf (The Clackity). Pitched as a YA Inside Out in Hell and set on an island in the Pacific Northwest wilderness that shouldn't exist, it follows four stranded teens who can no longer trust each other or themselves as they fight to survive against an unseen enemy who isn't sharing its agenda or rules, and the broken girl whose emotions have faces and personalities, who make their way to the outside world after they discover they can escape the seedy motel she's built in her mind to lock them away. Publication is set for winter 2027; Ali Herring at Spencerhill Associates did the deal for world rights.  Jessica Smith at Simon Pulse has bought the YA contemporary novel Until Next Summer by Allison Ashley (If Tomorrow Never Comes). In this seaside romance set in a New England town, a girl starts to fall for the boy she and her best friend had long ago agreed was off-limits, while also getting to know a new boy in town who helps her realize she doesn't have to be a side character in her own life. Publication is scheduled for summer 2026; Kim Lionetti at BookEnds Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.  Krista Marino at Delacorte Press has acquired There Are Ghosts Here by Adrienne Tooley (The Third Daughter), a contemporary speculative thriller in which a girl arrives at a halfway house with no memory, to meet two sinister girls who seem to already know her, for a stay that devolves into horrifying revelations. Publication is planned for summer 2026; Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret sold world English rights.  Annie Berger at Sourcebooks Fire has bought, in an exclusive submission, We're Not Safe Here by Rin Chupeco (The Bone Witch). One teen searches for the truth about his missing younger brother and learns all about his town's literal monsters during the hunt in this chilling horror novel told through video transcripts, online message boards, and news reports. Publication is slated for fall 2025; Rebecca Podos at Neighborhood Literary sold world rights.  Della Farrell at Holiday House has acquired Portraits of Eleanor: Medieval Warrior Queen by Mary Ann Cappiello, a YA biography of Eleanor of Aquitaine that tears away 800 years of mistruths to reveal a complex portrait of a compelling woman who defied expectations of her time. Publication is scheduled for spring 2027; Eve Adler at Red Fox Literary sold world rights.  Tricia Lin at Random House has bought North American rights at auction to Echostrike by debut author Yusof Hassan, an action-adventure upper middle grade series for fans of Alex Rider, in which a boy is enlisted by spies to join an elite team of extraordinary kids with the mission to expose a global conspiracy—and in doing so hopefully solve his father's murder. Publication is set for spring 2027; Gemma Cooper at Gemma Cooper Literary did the three-book deal.  Erica Finkel at Abrams Fanfare has acquired the first two books in a middle grade graphic novel series by Tommy Greenwald (l.), illustrated by Berat Pekmezci, which will take place in the same world as Greenwald's Game Changer novels. The Imperfect Season is a story about a high school freshman football team, which is chasing an undefeated season while facing a series of challenges on and off the field. Publication is planned for fall 2027, with the second book to follow in fall 2028; Amy Thrall Flynn at Aevitas Creative Management represented the author, and Emily Fernandez at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.  Calista Brill at First Second has bought The Monkey King by Alina Chau, a middle grade graphic novel that follows the origin story of Sun Wukong, the iconic Monkey King from the Chinese classic, Journey to the West—Uproar in Heaven; Kiara Valdez will edit. Publication is slated for fall 2026; Marietta B. Zacker at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency brokered the deal for North American rights.  Justin Krasner at Sourcebooks eXplore has acquired, in an exclusive submission, an as-yet-untitled collection of biographies of notable Jewish Americans, focused on their lives as kids around bar and bat mitzvah age, by National Jewish Book Award winner Joshua S. Levy. Publication is scheduled for summer 2027; Elana Roth Parker at Laura Dail Literary Agency negotiated the deal for world rights.  Siobhan Ciminera at Simon Spotlight has bought world rights to Sherlock Roach, Bug Detective by Joe McGee (l.), illustrated by Jannie Ho, an early reader graphic novel in which a bug detective takes on the insect underworld and must use his genius to solve the case before he gets sucked inside the dreaded vacuum for good. Publication is set for fall 2026; Jennifer March Soloway at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and Mela Bolinao at MB Artists represented the illustrator.  Courtney Code at Abrams has acquired Earth: One Planet's Epic Story by Jennifer Thermes (A Place Called America), a picture book that follows the sweeping history of planet Earth and the plant and animal life that has evolved upon it through the ages. Publication is planned for fall 2026; Marietta B. Zacker at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency brokered the deal for world English rights.  Karen Lotz and Susan Van Metre while at Candlewick bought Lily-May's Joyful Day by Schneider Honor author John Schu (l.), illustrated by Holly Hatam, a celebration of the cascading joy that arises from acts of collective inspiration. Publication is slated for fall 2026; Molly O'Neill at Root Literary sold world English rights for the author, and Christy Ewers at the CAT Agency sold world rights for the artist.  Nancy Mercado and Rosie Ahmed while at Dial Books for Young Readers have acquired world rights to Talk to the Hand by Sesame Street puppeteer Megan Piphus (l.), illustrated by Niña Mata. The picture book follows a girl who learns how to use a puppet to be brave and find her voice. Publication is set for summer 2026; Gwen Beal at United Talent Agency represented the author, and Christy Ewers at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.  Suzy Capozzi at Union Square Kids has bought world rights to One Scoop or Two? And Other Ice Cream Questions by Marissa Walsh (l.), illustrated by Alex Willmore, about the seemingly limitless and extremely tasty combinations available at an ice cream stand. Publication is scheduled for winter 2027; Janna Morishima at Janna Co. represented the author, and Nicky Lander at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.  Lauri Hornik at Penguin/Rocky Pond Books has acquired world rights to I'm Sorry for the Bagel Burps: A Yom Kippur Apology by Jacob Sager Weinstein (l.), illustrated by Jason Kirschner, a picture book about sibling rivalry, forgiveness, and burps that smell like cream cheese and lox, all set against the backdrop of the Jewish Day of Atonement. Publication is slated for fall 2026; Ammi-Joan Paquette while at Erin Murphy Literary Agency represented the author, and Teresa Kietlinski at Bookmark Literary Agency represented the artist. IN THE MEDIA
FEATURED REVIEWS
  Seven Skies All at OnceTed Kooser, illus. by Matt Myers. Candlewick, $18.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-5362-2900-4 In lusciously stroked spreads, Myers paints two children on the rooftops of facing brick buildings, a clothesline strung between them. As they wave at each other and their caretakers peg laundry on the line, another sort of washing rolls through behind them: building an extended metaphor, Kooser describes various cloud types as celestial laundry hung out by the skies. more  The Friendship Train: A True Story of Helping Debbie Levy, illus. by Boris Kulikov. Bloomsbury, $20.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-5476-0802-7 In Washington, D.C., following WWII, journalist Drew Pearson had an idea: a cross-country “Friendship Train” that Americans could fill with food staples for eventual delivery to Europe. Children rallied to the cause, contributing their “ice-cream nickels” and trick-or-treating for donations instead of candy. Sweeping historically informed spreads convey a nation galvanized as the ever-growing train winds across the United States. more  Let Sleeping Cats LieBrian Bilston. Macmillan, $14.99 (128p) ISBN 978-1-03-505055-0 British poet Bilston delivers heart-wrenching insight and frequent laughs in this pet-themed poetry collection. Featured alongside these silly and irreverent moments are poems that evoke tears, as in a verse about a pet yearning for a chance to be “the one” adopted from a shelter, and another about a beleaguered child persevering through an awful day because their dog awaits them at home. more  Coffeeshop in an Alternate UniverseC.B. Lee. Macmillan/Feiwel and Friends, $19.99 hardcover (400p) ISBN 978-1-250-77802-4; $14.99 paper ISBN 978-1-250-41733-6 Two ambitious heroines driven by personal and familial goals must contend with high-stakes conflicts surrounding prophecy, conspiracy, and potential catastrophe in this realms-hopping romantasy. Epic world-saving plotting mixes with intimate star-crossed love and touches of magic and mischief, making for a satisfying and cozy read. more  Never Thought I’d End Up HereAnn Liang. Scholastic Press, $19.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-5461-1067-5 In this quintessential rom-com by Liang, Leah Zhang, a former model, turns a cultural excursion into an opportunity for revenge on Cyrus, her childhood nemesis. But as she learns more about Cyrus, she’s torn between vengeance and romance. Hilarious and heartfelt, this story of budding young love simultaneously emphasizes the connections between romantic partners, between the characters and their culture, and with themselves. more  The TournamentRebecca Barrow. McElderry, $21.99 (416p) ISBN 978-1-6659-3230-1 Seventeen-year-old scholarship student Max—who grapples with internalized shame about her family’s less affluent lifestyle, relative to her peers—endeavors to win the Tierney Cup, an annual survivalist competition. Her plans are derailed when she learns that her former best friend Nora and transfer student Teddy will be participating as well. Barrow weaves a stunning tapestry of complex character flaws and motivations while creeping toward a haunting climax. more |
April 2, 2025
  
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People Molly B. Ellis has been promoted to senior VP, publicity at Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, from VP, executive director of publicity.On-Sale Calendar  Young readers can spring into new books out this month. For the earliest of readers, there’s ¡Mistaco! by Eliza Kinkz; Anything by Rebecca Stead, illus. by Gracey Zhang, and The Littlest Drop by Sascha Alper, illus. by Jerry Pinkney and Brian Pinkney. Middle grade readers can look forward to Candle Island by Lauren Wolk, The Gods’ Revenge by Katherine Marsh, and The Reel Wish by Yamile Saied Méndez. On the YA front, there’s Fearless by Lauren Roberts, Boys with Sharp Teeth by Jenni Howell, Run Away with Me by Brian Selznick, and The Summer I Ate the Rich by Maika Moulite, and Maritza Moulite. For more books releasing this April, check out PW's On-Sale Calendar here. In Case You Missed It Suzanne Collins Has Another Hit in ‘Sunrise on the Reaping’more more | ||
