Publishing Industry Lowdown (June 27-July 1)

For those of you who missed the revealing of this new feature, Sooz’s YA Publishing Industry Lowdow, the general idea is that I’d share the biggest news in the young adult and middle grade publishing world each Friday–big deals, important changes, etc.

So, let’s get started–there were a LOT of deals this week!!

Deals

Marni Bates’s young adult FAUXMANCE, in which a teenager dives into a music hottie’s cruise ship stateroom due to seasickness and they send the Hollywood gossip machine into overdrive by innocently spending the night together; then he has to make their fauxmance look real to save the band’s family-friendly image, for publication in 2012.

Andrew Smith’s young adult WINGER, about a fourteen-year-old at boarding school who grapples with living in the dorm for trouble makers, falling for his female best friend who thinks of him as just a kid, and playing wing on the Varsity rugby team with some of his frightening new dorm-mates, and ONCE THERE WERE BIRDS, a futuristic novel with echoes of the Wild West, about a teen boxer who escapes from a prison school for boys and is followed by a younger kid who is determined to stick with him, but who has his own secret agenda and something to prove, for publication in Spring 2013.

Newbery Honor and NYT bestselling author Ingrid Law’s middle grade GYPSY, continuing the story of the Beaumont family in this third novel about an eventful, magical 13th birthday.

Sarah Lean’s middle grade debut A DOG CALLED HOMELESS, about a girl who refuses to speak after her mother’s death because no one ever listens to her, but finds her decision challenged when she starts seeing her mom, always accompanied by a homeless wolfhound, which seems to have something important to convey about her mother’s last wishes for her daughter.

Donna Cooner’s young adult SKINNY, about a girl whose obesity and negative thoughts stand in the way of her dreams of becoming a singer and finding love, until she begins a long, hard journey of self-discovery and reinvention culminating in gastric-bypass surgery, only to find that love was never dependent on her size, for publication in 2012.

Screenwriter of RV and Daddy Day Care Geoff Rodkey’s middle grade debut THE CHRONICLES OF EGG, alternately pitched as The Princess Bride with 13 year-olds and Harry Potter with Pirates, for publication beginning in summer 2012.

BILLY ELLIOT kid coach and Broadway dancer Tim Federle’s middle grade BETTER NATE THAN EVER, a debut novel and a gentle coming-out story about a small-town middle-grader, who sneaks onto a Greyhound bus and spends two glorious days in New York City, where he tries out for ET: The Broadway Musical, and learns a lot about casting calls, stage mothers, unforgiving wardrobe choices, his heroic aunt…and himself.

Gina Cascone and Annette Cascone’s middle grade GRAVE SECRETS, WITCHING GAME, THE BEAST OF BASKERVILLE, INVASION OF THE APPLEHEADS, ALONG CAME THE SPIDER, GRANDPA’S MONSTER MOVIES, for publication in January 2012.

Cecil Castellucci’s young adult THE TIN STAR and A STONE IN THE SKY, a two part series pitched as Casablanca recast, re-envisioned, and set on a space station.

National Book Award finalist Beth Kephart’s young adult SMALL DAMAGES, a coming-of-age story set in southern Spain about the difficult choices a teenaged girl must face when she gets pregnant, for publication in Summer 2012.

John Otte’s young adult FAILSTATE, while competing on “America’s Next Superhero” reality show, a man embarks on a quest for justice when a fellow contestant is viciously murdered and his out-of-control powers destroy the crime scene and all forensic evidence .

(Source: Publisher’s Marketplace*)

Other News

The very hilarious and very popular author John Green (Looking for Alaska, Paper Town) will sign all pre-orders of his next novel, The Fault in Our Stars.  HOW FREAKING COOL IS THAT!?  As a result of this very cool announcement, his book is now #1 on Amazon and B&N–even though it’s not due out for almost another year!

Red Fox Literary has opened its doors (or inbox, I suppose.  This agency, which is a venture between agent Karen Grencik and editor Abigail Samoun, will represent authors writing for all ages, from picture books through YA, and Grencik is “currently looking for stories about real life and real people. “I want stories where character development is front and center,” she said. Um, they LITERALLY have the cutest, most amazing website EVER MADE. Go check it out!

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers is releasing a series of books featuring the Muppets!  YAY! I don’t know about you, but this made me inordinately happy.

Own an old cruddy e-reader? Well, if you take that baby to a Barnes & Noble and upgrade to a NOOK, you get 30 FREE books! Pretty sweet deal, huh?

For those of you who don’t know how author blurbing works (the little quotes on book covers that declare how amazing a book is, Amazon’s new publishing imprint is messing with the tried-and-true method.  I can’t lie: I’m kinda upset over this. Although blurbs don’t always sell books, the quoted author does take time to read a book, and he/she will only comment if he/she enjoyed the book.  Blurbs are an actually authentic way for readers to know if they might like what they’re buying!

Drew Barrymore will be producing and directing Heist Society–the Ally Carter YA thriller series.  This is fantastic news–to me at least.

You tell me: Is there any industry news-bite I missed? Do you have an significant news you want to share?


*Note: Because Publishers Marketplace requires a paid subscription, I’m only sharing part of the information here–basically, just author names and pitches. If you want to know deal sizes (e.g. advances), editors, publishers, and agents, I highly recommend you sign up for PM–it’s totally worth the cost!

Marni Bates’s FAUXMANCE, in which a teenager dives into a music hottie’s cruise ship stateroom due to seasickness and they send the Hollywood gossip machine into overdrive by innocently spending the night together; then he has to make their fauxmance look real to save the band’s family-friendly image, to Megan Records at Kensington Children’s, in a nice deal, for publication in 2012, by Laurie McLean at Larsen/Pomada Literary Agents (World).

Andrew Smith’s WINGER, about a fourteen-year-old at boarding school who grapples with living in the dorm for trouble makers, falling for his female best friend who thinks of him as just a kid, and playing wing on the Varsity rugby team with some of his frightening new dorm-mates, and ONCE THERE WERE BIRDS, a futuristic novel with echoes of the Wild West, about a teen boxer who escapes from a prison school for boys and is followed by a younger kid who is determined to stick with him, but who has his own secret agenda and something to prove, to David Gale at Simon & Schuster Children’s, for publication in Spring 2013, by Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary Agency (World English).
ljrennert@mac.com