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In the Spotlight
 This Summer, Moomins Are Taking the New York Botanical Garden by StormNYBG is bringing Finnish author-illustrator Tove Jansson’s idyllic Moominvalley to the real world with its Summer of Moomin exhibition, on view through September 13. It’s the latest example of the recent resurgence that Jansson’s creations have seen in the U.S. more  Children’s Institute Preview
 CI2026: Indie Booksellers Convene in Chicagoland While librarians meet in Chicago for the ALA annual, more than 600 booksellers and industry professionals will gather Friday, June 26, to Monday, June 29 in nearby Schaumburg for four days of author presentations, educational sessions, and, yes, karaoke. more  Chicago Bookstores Have ‘Found Their Own Groove’ The bookstore tours on June 27 reflect the area’s vibrant, diverse, and sprawling bookselling scene: there are a record 22 stops total for two full-day and three half-day groups, along with a lunch stop at Sourcebooks’ Naperville headquarters. more  Authors and Illustrators to MeetDozens of creators, working across genres ranging from humor to romantasy and more, will be addressing booksellers, signing books, and giving away ARCs at the ABA's upcoming CI conference. more  ‘To Be Gifted Language’: PW Talks with Elizabeth Acevedo Carnegie Medalist and NAACP Image Award winner Elizabeth Acevedo returns to the YA literary scene after a four-year hiatus with Anger Is Only a Shadow. We spoke with her ahead of Children's Institute, where she will deliver the opening keynote on Saturday with Jasmine Guillory and Nicola Yoon. more  ‘The Time of My Life’: PW Talks with Jasmine Guillory Adult romance author Jasmine Guillory is preparing to charm a new audience with her first YA novel, It’s Only Dancing, inspired by the classic 1987 film Dirty Dancing. In a recent conversation, the CI2026 keynoter discussed why the pivot felt so natural to her. more   In Memoriam
 Obituary: Jane YolenJane Yolen, distinguished author of more than 400 books for young people, spanning a range of genres from original folk and fairy tales to fantasy, historical fiction, and poetry, died June 11. She was 87. Author Bruce Coville, who collaborated with Yolen on a variety of projects, said, “Jane was a fountain of stories wrapped inside a human body, a wizard with words who had a ferocious drive." more Reading Roundup
 Soccer-Themed Books for Young Readers The 2026 World Cup is officially underway, and kids and teens can celebrate with this slate of soccer-centric titles that highlight the history of the game, key players, and the important lessons that sports can offer for everyday life. more Q & A
 Sarah HowdenPickles are having a moment—though that was not on Sarah Howden’s mind when she was writing her comically philosophical picture book The Wise Picklle. Illustrated with equal parts sweetness and tang by Sabina Hahn, the book follows a googly-eyed pickle that dispenses Zen-like truths. PW spoke with Howden about what got her in this pickle, and how to lift heavy topics with a light touch. Q: Of all the things to make wise and mortal, what made a discarded pickle the right vessel for you? A: I was thinking about the transition of things: is there any way I could write about, like, the way a rock erodes and becomes sand? And it wasn’t coming together. Then this pickle just came to me. I thought, it started with the brine and ends in the sea—a different place, but one that’s also similar. It began cohering. It’s the only time a story just started to unfold for me. more
Rights Report
 Mekisha Telfer at FSG has acquired, in a preempt, Welcome Home, Stranger by Yoojin Grace Wuertz, a dual-POV YA debut pitched as Crash Landing on You meets Pachinko, about a Korean American teen whose life is upended when her grandmother reveals they have relatives in North Korea—including a 17-year-old cousin who recently defected and is on her way to spend a year with them in suburban New Jersey. Publication is scheduled for spring 2027; Janine Kamouh at WME brokered the deal for North American rights.  Jordan Brown at Clarion Books has bought, at auction, Angharad Hill's debut YA novel The Memory Bottle. When Prudence's mother disappears, leaving her alone in Victorian London, Prue's quest leads her from the city's seediest slums to its most opulent halls of power—and entangles her in a conspiracy involving a mysterious new procedure called "tapping," in which memories can be extracted from a person's mind. Publication is planned for fall 2027; Molly Ker Hawn at David Higham Associates handled the two-book deal for North American rights.  Miriam Weinberg at Tor has acquired, in an exclusive submission, We Won't Be Here When It Ends, a YA dystopian horror novel by Mark Oshiro (Into the Light). When Arturo Ruiz's parents abandon him with the chilling warning "We won't be here when it ends," he's left to face the mysterious silent beings watching his every move and the end of the world as he knows it. Publication is tentatively slated for winter 2027. DongWon Song at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency did the three-book deal for North American rights; the author is now represented by Jordan Hill and Trinica Sampson-Vera at New Leaf Literary & Media.  Claire Stetzer while at HarperCollins bought, in an exclusive submission, The Lost Life of Sylvia Song by Ann Liang, a speculative novel about a film student who is grieving her boyfriend when she accidentally stumbles into another world: one where her family never moved from Beijing to San Francisco, and her boyfriend is still alive—but he doesn't know her anymore. Sara Schonfeld will edit; publication is set for winter 2027. Kathleen Rushall at Andrea Brown Literary Agency negotiated the six-figure deal for world English rights.  Wendy McClure at Sourcebooks Fire has acquired world English rights to Take Her Down by Chelsea Ichaso. Tensions run high as four high school soccer players and their families find themselves booked at a remote, rundown lodge during a tournament. When one of them is murdered in the night, the investigation shines a light on everyone, and no one's buried secrets are safe. Publication is scheduled for summer 2027; Uwe Stender at Triada US did the deal.  Alison Romig at Delacorte Press has bought The Unburied Girl, a historical YA thriller by Jordyn Taylor (The Paper Girl of Paris), a dual-timeline story of a modern teen who travels to Poland to find a lost archive created by Jewish resisters in WWII, accompanied by the diaries of her elderly neighbor's long-lost love, and her best friend turned crush. Publication is planned for summer 2028; Danielle Burby at Mad Woman Literary Agency brokered the deal for world rights.  Sean Tulien at Graphic Universe has acquired, in an exclusive submission, Pen Pals by Damian Alexander (Other Boys; Absolutely Everything), a middle grade graphic novel about two boys who meet on a summer vacation and begin a long-distance correspondence leading to friendship and self-discovery. Publication is set for winter 2029; Elizabeth Bennett at Transatlantic Literary Agency sold world rights.  Sarah Howden at Orca has bought two books in the new Genie Meanie series by Mahtab Narsimhan. In book one, a friendship is tested after a girl introduces her best friend to her quirky genie, and in book two, the friends team up to solve a mystery and clear their bully's name without the help of their genie's magic. Book one is slated for fall 2028, and book two is slated for winter 2029; Naomi Davis at BookEnds Literary sold world rights.  Dana Chidiac while at Henry Holt acquired First Day Fiasco by Sarah Kapit (l.), illustrated by Miguelina Milien; Kortney Nash will edit. The middle grade graphic novel follows autistic tween Ellie Goldberg, who, when she finds herself stuck in a time loop on her first day of seventh grade, has a chance to try not to lose her cool or embarrass herself again (and again, and again). Publication is planned for spring 2028; Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the author, and Aliza Hoover at the CAT Agency represented the illustrator.  Nicole Fox at Rise x Penguin Workshop has bought world rights to Dogs!: An Interrupted Concept Book by Audrey Vernick (l.) (When I Redraw the World), illustrated by debut artist Debbie Kennedy, a picture book romp through first concepts, during which dogs completely (and chaotically) take over. Publication is scheduled for spring 2027; Erin Murphy at Aevitas Creative Management represented the author, and Kyle Williams at Wendy Lynn & Co. represented the illustrator.  Andrea Welch at S&S/Beach Lane Books has acquired world rights to Swamp: The Wondrous World of Wetlands by Evan Griffith (l.), illustrated by Kendra Binney. This picture book takes readers on a journey alongside a baby alligator into a lush wetland habitat, showing the beauty, mystery, and importance of this rare and threatened ecosystem. Publication is slated for summer 2027; Michael Bourret at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret represented the author, and Margo Tantau at Tantau Studio represented the illustrator.  Julie Bliven while at Charlesbridge bought world rights to Search for a Unicorn by Alexandra S.D. Hinrichs (l.), and Diane Earley has acquired world rights for illustration by Brittany Cicchese. This picture book follows a boy who hears a story of a unicorn and sets off to find his own to keep as a pet—with an official permit from his town. Publication is set for spring 2028; Stephen Fraser at Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency represented the author, and Jennifer Rofé at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the illustrator.  Katherine Jacobs at Zonderkidz has acquired The Good Lighthouse Keeper and the Lonesome Dog and an untitled second book by ChrisLit Award winning author-illustrator Hannah Harrison. Publication is scheduled for spring 2028; Abigail Samoun at Red Fox Literary sold world English rights.  Sandra Sutter at Gnome Road has bought world rights to Cosmic Cookies by Jen Fier Jasinski (l.), illustrated by Srimalie Bassani, a picture book based on the true story of the first food baked in space from raw ingredients by astronauts at the International Space Station, told from the perspective of the now famous chocolate chip cookie. Publication is planned for spring 2028; the author represented herself, and Alice Jin Zhang at Astound US represented the illustrator. IN THE MEDIA
FEATURED REVIEWS
  I Will Eat You in the EndDavid Duff, illus. by Marianna Coppo. Holiday House/Porter, $19.99 (72p) ISBN 978-0-8234-6393-0 This Beckettian two-parter lays out the realities of the life cycle with unstinting matter-of-factness and disarming wit. In a somewhat existential cold open, an enormous teal sauropod inadvertently squishes the companion of a pink bowler-hatted worm. Instead of mourning, the surviving invertebrate, appropriately named Frank, begins a candid discussion on the democracy of mortality, explaining that all living things have a beginning and an end, and that everyone needs sustenance. more  Sisters AloneShifa Saltagi Safadi. Putnam, $18.99 (336p) ISBN 979-8-217-11109-1 Blaming herself for her mother’s death six months earlier, Indiana sixth grader Leena withdraws from friends and family. Meanwhile, her older sister Rama wrestles with bubbling anger and intrusive thoughts. When Leena forgets to submit her permission slip for a weeklong school ski trip, the sisters are forced to stay home as a blizzard descends. When worsening conditions and a falling tree branch make their isolated house inhospitable, the pair work together to get help. more  Adam, MineK. Ancrum. HarperCollins, $19.99 (384p) ISBN 978-0-06-344902-2 Ancrum breathes new life into the Frankenstein mythos in this cathartic, transformative novel. After brushing elbows with powerful and learned alchemists, 17-year-old scientist Victor Frankenstein believes that he’s found a way to cheat death and bring the dead back to life. Needing a body on which to test his hypothesis, he targets teenage barkeep Elias Hilfiker, whom Victor abducts and murders. Both brutal and tender, this raw tale surges with palpable emotion. more  Hawk & SparrowAyana Gray. Balzer + Bray, $20.99 (352p) ISBN 978-1-25041-123-5 While attending a technological exhibition, Vesper Evans, 19, witnesses inventor Francis Gladwell reveal a machine capable of instantly replicating spellwork that would take a person years of study to achieve. She then finds Gladwell dead shortly after his presentation. Vesper’s primary suspect is 20-year-old sorcerer Maximilian Kite, and following a rocky introduction, Max, in a bid to prove his innocence, hires Vesper to investigate the murder. more  The Harrow Home for Wayward GirlsJessica Spotswood. Holt, $20.99 (400p) ISBN 978-1-250-43229-2 When 17-year-old Grace Harrow’s parents sell Harrow Home for Wayward Girls to a rich hotelier, the family is hired to manage and operate the property. Grace dreams of escaping the establishment until she meets the new owner’s daughter, 17-year-old bisexual Rose Thorpe. After Grace and Rose realize they’ve both been seeing a haunting image of a screaming, dark-haired girl around the property, they launch an investigation into Harrow Home’s checkered past. It’s a complex and haunting tale. more |
June 16, 2026
 
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People Candlewick Press/Holiday House/Peachtree has one promotion and one new hire. Sarah Howard Parker has been promoted to senior publicist, from publicist. Cara Broel is joining as publicist, beginning June 22; she previously ran the children’s literature blog The Baby Bookworm.In the Winners' Circle  The winners of the annual Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards have been announced. In the picture book category, the winner is Navigating Night by Julie Leung, illus. by Angie Kang (Random House/Schwartz). A Scar Like a River by Lisa Graff (Little, Brown/ Ottaviano) has won in the fiction category. And A World Without Summer: A Volcano Erupts, a Creature Awakens, and the Sun Goes Out by Nicholas Day, illus. by Yas Imamura (Random House Studio), has won for nonfiction. The winners, along with six honorees, will be recognized at an awards ceremony this fall. For more information, click here. Mark Your Calendar  On June 20, the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Mass., will open a new exhibit, titled Soul, Sound, and Voice: The Art of Jerry Pinkney, showcasing the influence of music on the late Caldecott Medalist’s life and work. On view through January 3, 2027, the show features more than 75 works and marks the first retrospective exhibition of Pinkney’s picture book art since his death in 2021. For more information, click here. Sneak Previews  Take a look ahead at some of the big titles for children and teens due out this fall, from picture books to YA novels, in our exclusive roundup. more Bestsellers  | ||
