Publishing Industry Lowdown (Sept. 26-30)

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 deals, important changes, etc.

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!

Now, let’s get started!!

Deals

NYT bestselling Rachel Caine’sĀ  young adult Morganville Vampires #13-#15, set in a quiet college town populated and powered by vampires who’ve come to a sort of understanding with the human community – you abide by certain rules, swear fealty to a protector, make your monthly blood donations, and they won’t snack on you.

Yelena Black’s young adult DIABOLICAL trilogy, set in an elite ballet academy, pitched in the vein of Black Swan, in a three-book deal.

Michelle Gagnon’s young adult STRANGELETS, in which six teen strangers from around the globe experience the same bizarre traumatic event and land in a hospital that isn’t quite what it seems, and must band together to escape in spite of deadly individual secrets.

Teri Brown’s young adult HOUDINI’S DAUGHTER, the first book in a new series inspired by The Ghost Club, the real life secret society founded in 1862 to advance mankind’s knowledge of the paranormal, telling the story of the street smart daughter of a renowned performer who will stop at nothing to become the most famous medium who ever lived, as she navigates the underground world of magicians, mediums and mentalists in 1920s New York City.

The Mentalist’s Handbook author Clint March’s GOBLINPROOFING ONE’S CHICKEN COOP and Other Practical Advice from Bakeley’s Guide to the Fairy Kingdom, a complete guide to doing battle with nymphs, trolls, goblins, fairies and other members of the fairy kingdom, for publication in the Fall 2012.

Soman Chainani’s middle grade THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL, in which ordinary boys and girls are trained to become extraordinary fairy tale heroes or villains, for publication in Spring 2013.

Michael Griffo’s young adult MOONGLOW, the first in a supernatural trilogy in which a 16-year-old becomes the victim of a vengeful curse and must come to terms not only with the creature she has become but also with her violent actions over which she has no control.

HRH Princess Sophie Audouin-Mamikonian’s middle grade TARA DUNCAN AND THE SPELLWEAVERS, in which a twelve-year-old finds out she is a Spellweaver and must travel with her friends to OtherWorld to fight against Magister, the Master of the Bloodgraves, and TARA DUNCAN AND THE FORBIDDEN BOOK, for publication in May 2012.

Elisabeth Dahl’s middle grade GENIE WISHES, a poignant look at Fifth Grade through the Class Blogger’s eyes: boy-girl parties, bra-snapping, Junk Food Lunch, mermaid costumes, and not being quite ready to grow up, with line drawings, for publication in 2013.

Cheryl Linn Martin’s middle grade PINEAPPLES IN PERIL, MENEHUNES MISSING, and UKULELES UNDERCOVER, in the THE HAWAIIAN DETECTIVE CLUB series, about young people sleuthing their way through Hawaii solving crimes, to Kristi Huddle at Comfort Children’s, in a three-book deal, by Terry Burns at Hartline Literary Agency.

Ellen Hopkins’s protegee Kristin Clark Venuti’s young adult FREAKBOY, about a guy who plays sports and has a girlfriend (who he loves), and is dealing with his place on the transgender spectrum, in a two-book deal, for publication in Spring 2013.

TYGER TYGER and RED TRUCK author Kersten Hamilton’s steampunk chapter book THE MESMER MENACE, set on the eve of the Great Mesmer War of 1901, featuring a boy inventor, President Teddy Roosevelt, evil hypnotists, robots, a lightning harvester, and a dashingly brave and loyal dachsund named Noodles.

(Source: Publisher’s Marketplace)

Other News

As you all know doubt know, this week is Banned Book Week in the US, which celebrates the freedom to read according to our First Amendment. If you want to help support the cause, then speak out by sharing a video of yourself reading a banned book.

Are you bored with your usual daily (or, um, monthly…) jog? Well, then Zombies, Run! is the app for you. It logs how many hours you run and converts into a zombie tale–the more you run, the deeper into the story you go. OMGosh, I want to start running again JUST for this game.

I’m sure all of you have heard of Amazon’s newest Kindles. As a proud owner of my own Kindle, I gotta say: I want another. That Kindle Fire looks downright wicked. I’m not usually one to get worked up about new technology, yet Amazon has something unique and exciting about their products…

Then again, it sounds like they meet customer demands by providing workers with pretty rough working conditions. Not cool, Amazon, not cool (quite literally, in fact).

Going back to tablets and ereaders, here’s a particularly depressing read that depicts the dystopian future of books. Basically, books will be gone by 2025. ::sigh:: I really hope this gloom and doom doesn’t actually come to pass.

And, still on ebooks, Trident Media Group is the next literary agency (and by far the largest) to launch its own ebook publishing division.

Canadian writers have released a “Bill of Rights” for authors. It’s really interesting read, not to mention, the Bill of Rights is 100% valid for us writers Stateside.

And finally, this isn’t really news, but it’s worth noting. As someone who has written a plus size (more like normal size) character in her own novel–yes, Eleanor in Something Strange and Deadly is supposed to be a curvy gal–it concerns me that so many covers fail to portray the characters accurately. Why do you think this is? My only guess is marketing teams think more copies will sell if the girl on the front is model-thin, but is that really the case?

(P.S. Head over to Let the Words Flow for a chance to win a copy of Kiki Hamilton’s THE FAERIE RING!)

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

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K.A. Barson’s 45 POUNDS, about a girl who doesn’t fit — not into her blended family, and certainly not into Snapz! clothes, and who is certain that if she could lose 45 pounds, her life would be perfectly normal, only to find that there is nothing perfect about normal, to Sharyn November at Viking Children’s, by Sara Crowe at Harvey Klinger (world).