Publishing Industry Lowdown (October 3-7)

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

SPY DOG series author Andrew Cope’s RACCOON RAMPAGE, featuring a group of daring raccoons pulling off the heist of their lives, in a two-book deal, for publication starting in May 2012.

2011 Guardian Children’s Prize short-listed author of Return to Ribblestrop, Andy Mulligan’s RIBBLESTROP FOREVER! for publication in early 2013.

Karen Schwabach’s middle grade JINX, the story of an apprentice to a semi-good wizard who strikes out into a cursed forest of killer trees in search of the magic the wizard stole from him, in a three-book deal, for publication in Winter 2013.

April Tucholke’s debut young adult BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA, pitched as Stephen King meets IMAGINARY GIRLS, in which a 16-year-old allows a crooked-smiling liar with sweet eyes and a mysterious past to board at her family’s crumbling estate and finds herself pulled between love and fear as strange events grip her town. (Yay! Congrats, April!! ♥)

Julia Mary Gibson’s middle grade THE COPPER HAND, about a girl living in a summer resort town on Lake Michigan in the early 1900s who discovers an ancient artifact that can grant wishes — for both the good and the not good.

Author and editorial director at Scholastic David Levithan’s young adult A, in which the genderless main character “A” inhabits a new person’s body every day of his/her life, quickly establishing how to navigate that person’s life, from personality traits and clothing styles to parents at the breakfast table; inhabiting one boy’s body, A falls for his girlfriend and soon is doing everything possible to get back to her, in a two-book deal.

David Gilmour’s THE PERFECT ORDER OF THINGS (previously AFTERBURN), about a man revisiting traumatic moments from his past in order to release their hold on him.

Author of Tithe and The Spiderwick Chronicles Holly Black’s young adult THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN, set in the not-so-distant future, where the vampire population has surged, resulting in the establishment of Coldtowns, quarantined cities of vampires and humans where predator and prey coexist in a never-ending blood party of revelry, with vlogs, live feeds, and YouTube videos constantly streaming from the endless parties at vampire mansions, in a two-book deal, for publication in Fall 2013.

(Source: Publisher’s Marketplace)

Other News

In case you haven’t seen it, the website here has a new look. Let me know what you think about the latest design here. Also, I’ll be gone next week, but when I return the following week, I’ll catch you up on all the missed book deals.

In search of graphics? Maybe for a book cover or your blog? Well, Flickr has just announced 200 million Creative Commons licensed photos available. Freaking COOL. When it comes time for me to make a book trailer, I will so be checking this out.

Simon & Schuster is launching a book club on Facebook, called Something to Read About. I don’t really use Facebook, but if I did, I’d probably be into something like this. Any excuse to discuss books is okay by me.

The 2011 Nobel Prize winner for Literature was announced: Tomas Tranströmer, a Swedish poet. Perhaps I’m admitting some giant gap in my education/culture, but…I’ve never heard of this person. ::sigh::

In case you missed All Hallows Read last year, you can partake THIS year by giving someone you know a scary book. Neil Gaiman started this tradition in 2010, and I rather like it–I have a perfectly terrifying book more people should read: House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski. This book is SO scary, that I literally was only capable of reading it in busy, public places and during daylight. So stay tuned for a creeeeepy giveaway closer to Halloween… 😉

Curious about the YA market? This is an incredibly interesting article about the YA decade and what’s to come.

And finally, who’s going to the Frankfurt Book Fair next week? Not I, sadly… But one day! One day, I’ll make an appearance. 🙂

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

♥