Publishing Industry Lowdown (August 8-12)

It’s that day again–time for Sooz’s YA and MG Publishing Industry Lowdow. The general idea is that I share the biggest news in the young adult and middle grade publishing world each Friday–big deal*, important changes, etc.

Note: My source for deal news is Publishers Marketplace, which requires a paid subscription. As such 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!

We’ve got a rather spare week this time, so let’s get started, shall we?

Deals

SHATTERED SOULS author Mary Lindsey’s young adult ANNABEL, pitched as a dark retelling of Poe’s final poem Annabel Lee, pitting a pair of star-crossed lovers in a doomed struggle with forces of ancient malice and evil.

NYT bestselling author Molly Cochran’s young adult POISON, the sequel to LEGACY, in which a girl is up to her wand in trouble when four girls who’ve tormented her at school fall unconscious at her feet and she’s blamed for their mysterious comas; to clear herself, she turns sleuth, only to discover when others begin falling ill that she may not be quite as innocent as she believes.

Janet Gurtler’s young adult JUST BREATHE, in which a girl struggles with boy problems and serious regret after accidentally killing a boy she barely knows when she kisses him after consuming a peanut butter sandwich, not aware he has a deathly allergy to peanuts .

FAT CAMP author Deborah Blumenthal’s young adult THE LIFEGUARD, about a teen girl’s obsession with a lifeguard with extraordinary looks and mystical powers, for publication in March 2012.

Christopher Healy’s middle grade THE HERO’S GUIDE TO SAVING YOUR KINGDOM, the first in a series set in a world where Prince Charming is not one prince but four, all of whom have serious issues with heroism and complicated relationships with their princesses — Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Rapunzel, respectively — in a three-book deal.

2011 Edgar Nominee Barnabas Miller’s new young adult novel THE FAINTEST TRACES, for publication in 2013.

Six-time NBA All-Star and New York Knicks captain Amar’e Stoudemire’s middle grad STAT: Standing Tall and Talented, a chapter book series based on his life, starting with HOME COURT, the story of how an 11-year-old Amar’e uses his intelligence and athletic ability to face down an older group of boys who are bullying his friends, for publication beginning in August 2012.

Christie Craig’s books #4 and 5 in the young adult Shadow Falls series, featuring a camp of teens with supernatural abilities.

RITA-nominated romance writer Emily McKay’s young adult THE FARM, for publication in 2012.

(Source: Publisher’s Marketplace*)

Other News

William Sleator, one of my personal favorite children’s books writers of the 70s, 80s, and 90s, passed away last week. His MG/YA novels were terrifying, horrifying, and downright amazing. Green Futures of Tycho, Interstellar Pig, and House of Stairs remain some of my favorites in the science fiction/dystopian/horror genre.

Interestingly enough, publishing sales were on the rise in 2010 with a growth of 3.1%. But, what makes this particularly interesting is that this growth is almost entirely due to digital products offsetting declines in print formats!! In fact, ebook sales rose a whopping 38.9% in 2010. If you guys are still waffling on ebooks, now’s the time to get over it.

Lionsgate, the creators of The Hunger Games movie, have declared that the sequel, Catching Fire, will come out Thanksgiving of 2013. I refuse to react to this until I know if they do a good job with The Hunger Games. The pressure is on, my friends.

So, I don’t know about you guys, but I grew up with Babar the Elephant. I was kinda shocked to learn he is still around and that new book are still coming out! I loved Babar, so to this I say, “Yay!”

And finally, in what’s being called a “score against Apple“, Amazon has released its Kindle Cloud Reader app, which allows readers to access their Kindle ebooks virtually anywhere so long as they have a web browser. As a Kindle owner, myself, I gotta say: pretty cool.

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!