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In the Spotlight
 Magic Cat to Reissue Margaret Atwood Middle Grade Novel The publisher will release a newly illustrated edition of two-time Booker Prize winner Atwood’s children’s book, For the Birds, in spring 2027. Publication is set for March 23 in the U.S., and for March 25 in the U.K. Featuring art by Júlia Sardà, the book—which was previously published in Canada in 1990—also includes a new foreword by the author. more  In the News
 2026 NBA Longlist for Young People’s Literature Announced The National Book Foundation has revealed the longlist for this year’s National Book Award for Young People’s Literature. The five finalists will be named on October 6, and the winner will be announced during the 77th awards ceremony on November 18, in New York City. more  U.K. Children’s Media Conference to Be Held During LBFThe annual Children’s Media Conference is relocating from Sheffield to London next year, and will take place March 16–17, during the 2027 edition of the London Book Fair. Now in its 24th year, the CMC is the U.K.’s primary conference focused on children’s media. more  Dr. Seuss Enterprises and First Book Celebrate Back-to-School with Book Donations The global entertainment company and the national literacy nonprofit are marking the start of the school year with a countrywide campaign, providing backpacks full of books and school supplies to 50 classrooms in 50 states. more Hispanic Heritage Month
 Making Room to Show the Gray Areas of Discrimination in Middle Grade BooksJackie Garcia-Morales is the author of Pesky Roots/Raíces Fastidiosas, a bilingual middle grade novel publishing on October 31 with Piñata Books. She is also a literary agent at Storm Literary Agency. Here, Garcia-Morales calls on members of the children’s publishing community to expand the canon in order to help readers recognize and respond to subtle forms of othering. more   World Kid Lit Month
 A Walk Through Bruno Munari’s ‘In the Fog of Milan’ Riccardo Vecchio is an artist and the chair of the MFA in illustration as visual essay at the School of Visual Arts. He’s also the co-curator of Building Books. Corraini Edizioni: Children, Art, Design, and Everything Else, on view now through September 28 at the SVA Flatiron Project Space in Manhattan. Here, we reprint Vecchio’s essay—which he wrote to accompany the exhibit—on his tactile memories of reading Bruno Munari’s 1968 picture book Nella Nebbia di Milano as a young person in Milan. more  Minding the Gap: PW Talks with Sawad Hussain and Nour Jaljuli Palestinian teens search for answers to a decades-old mystery in present-day Paris in The Necklace of Seven Souls (Yonder, Sept.), a YA novel by Hooda Shawa, illustrated by Nada Esmaeel and translated from the Arabic by Sawad Hussain and Nour Jaljuli. Hussain (l.) and Jaljuli (r.) discussed how they approached their translation work, and how the project reshaped their understanding of their own family histories. more Licensing News
 Licensing Hotline: September 2026 HarperCollins’s HarperPop imprint has introduced a new DC Comics publishing program for kids, featuring well-known heroes and villains, from Crypto to Catwoman. Read on for news about Macmillan’s license with Palm Pals, Happy Yak’s new Herdy books, author Joy Berry’s IP plans, and more. more Four Questions
 ‘The Reality We Live In’: PW Talks with Sarah Everett The author considers the relationship between technology and human grief in her new speculative middle grade novel, The Continuation of Summer Dillon (HarperCollins, Sept. 15). Everett spoke with us about crafting a non-human heroine, and how speculative fiction offers a safe space to ask difficult questions. more
Rights Report
 Kwame Alexander and Margaret Raymo at Sourcebooks/Kwame Alexander Books have acquired world rights for the eight-book fantasy series Rage of Angels by Lola Stvil. In the eponymously titled first book, 16-year-old Emmy Baxter is caught in a war between angels and demons where she falls for the one angel she can never have, and discovers that their forbidden love could cost them everything, including humanity itself. Publication is slated for spring 2027; Allison Remcheck at Stimola Literary Studio did the six-figure deal.  Alvina Ling at Little, Brown/Alvina Ling Books preempted North American rights to Olivia Sun's debut We Rose from the Sea. This multigenerational dual-POV YA paranormal fantasy follows a teenage girl reaping the consequences of a millennium-old curse tied to her maternal bloodline and sea demon ancestors. Publication is scheduled for fall 2027; Gwen Beal at United Talent Agency negotiated the two-book deal.  Vanessa Aguirre at Wednesday Books has bought, in an exclusive submission, The Deathless Graces by Mara Rutherford, a darkly romantic YA fantasy about an empire that stands on fallen gods and sacrifices girls to keep the dormant gods from waking. When a young woman's closest friend is condemned to death as one of the sacrifices, she must resurrect a monstrous deity to save her—only to fall for the god she awakens. Publication is planned for spring/summer 2028; Uwe Stender at Triada US handled the two-book deal for North American rights.  Alyson Day at HarperCollins has acquired, at auction, Bottle Blonde by Elle Grenier (This Wretched Beauty), a YA rom-com that follows a determined theater nerd who is sure that the key to living out her picture-perfect senior year is landing her dream part as Elle Woods in Legally Blonde the Musical; she'll need to nail her audition, but first she needs to come out as a trans girl. Publication is set for May 2027; Alexandra Levick at Writers House brokered the two-book, six-figure deal for North American rights.  Karen Chaplin while at Quill Tree bought Not a Dog by Evan Griffith (Manatee Summer); Alyssa Miele will edit. This middle grade novel in verse follows Ollie, a boy who wants an emotional support dog to help him cope with his overwhelming anxiety, but whose parents instead get him a skittish cat. Publication is scheduled for summer 2027; Michael Bourret at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret sold world English rights.  Janine O'Malley at Farrar, Straus and Giroux has acquired Loyalist, Patriot, Spy by Schneider Award–winner Alyssa Colman (Where Only Troubles Grow). This historical middle grade novel set during the American Revolution, about a Loyalist boy and a Patriot girl who track a spy through British-occupied New York, was inspired by the real-life Culper Spy Ring. Publication is slated for fall 2027; Sarah Landis at Sterling Lord Literistic sold North American rights.  Heidi Hill at Blue Dot Kids has bought North American, Australian, and New Zealand English rights to The Unlikely Odyssey of Boreas Wind, a middle grade novel by Mina Witteman (l.), illustrated by Carlos Vélez. Translated from Dutch into English by the author, the novel follows a reluctant 12-year-old who joins his family on a sailing adventure, where storms, danger, and encounters with people from around the world teach him about courage, connection, and the power to make a difference. Publication is set for spring 2027; Sophie Mulder at Ploegsma represented the author, and Alice Jin Zhang at Astound US represented the illustrator.  Connie Hsu at Fifth Color Press has acquired The Play That Plays Around by Caldecott Honoree Jason Griffin, a picture book about a self-serious theater director and his star actor who decides to add his own fun spin to the script, resulting in mishaps that inspire the director to embrace the unexpected and be more playful with his play. Publication is planned for fall 2027; Elena Giovinazzo at Heirloom Literary negotiated the deal for world rights.  Taylor Norman at Holiday House/Neal Porter Books has bought Andrea D'Aquino's The Wild Beside You, in which an enigmatic narrator observes a girl and a coyote living side by side, sometimes aware of each other and sometimes not, in an homage to the wildness among, around, and above our human urban lives. Publication is slated for spring 2028; Debbie Bibo at Debbie Bibo Agency did the deal for world rights.  Laura Godwin at Holt/Godwin Books has acquired Hello Halo-Halo, written and illustrated by Little Elliot creator Mike Curato, a picture book that celebrates halo-halo, the sweet, colorful, popular dessert of the Philippines, and how to make it, eat it, and share it with family. Publication is scheduled for April 2027; Brenda Bowen at the Book Group sold world rights.  Luana Horry at HarperCollins has bought Fern and the Fox by Sophie Diao, a folktale-inspired picture book about a girl named Fern and the day that her forest playtime collides with her mama's fantastical stories in an adventure to a woodland realm. Publication is planned for fall 2027; Hannah Mann at Writers House sold world rights.  Feather Flores while at Atheneum acquired world rights to A Drop of Kindness, a picture book by Newbery Honor author Andrea Wang (l.), illustrated by Sally Soweol Han. This original folktale follows a water buffalo who must choose whether or not to share the little she has with her neighbors during a drought, demonstrating the Chinese proverb, "A drop of water shall be returned with a gushing spring." Kristie Choi will edit; publication is set for spring 2029. Erin Murphy at Aevitas represented the author, and Annabel Barker at Annabel Barker Agency represented the illustrator.  Kendra Levin at Simon & Schuster has bought world rights to My Pet Raptor by Josh Funk (l.) (Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast), illustrated by Billy Yong (Green Jolene). After a spelling bee disaster jumbles all the words in town, a kid must save his pet parrot, now a raptor, on an adventure through the rat (not art) museum, on a sub (not bus), and other anagrammable mishaps. Publication is slated for spring 2028; Kathleen Rushall at Andrea Brown Literary represented the author, and Tamara Shannon at Shannon Associates represented the illustrator.  Nick Magliato at Penguin Workshop has acquired world rights to Fire Truck Chuck by Mary E. Cronin (l.), illustrated by Alison Hawkins (Mac & Cheese), a picture book about a pint-sized engine eager to prove himself on his very first emergency call, where his small size turns out to be his secret strength. Publication is scheduled for spring 2028; Lori Steel at SteelWorks Literary negotiated the deal for the author and illustrator.  Naseem Hrab at Kids Can Press has bought Yukiko and the Little Black Cat by Sarah Tsiang (l.), illustrated by Joey Ng, a contemporary graphic retelling of a traditional Japanese fairy tale, in which young Yukiko braves the treacherous and magical Cat Mountain in search of her stray cat friend and learns that her newfound courage can also help her escape her troubled home life. Olga Kidisevic will edit; publication is planned for spring 2029. Katie Bircher while at Sara Crowe Literary sold world rights. IN THE MEDIA
FEATURED REVIEWS
  The Great Cake Caper (Cinnamon Crumb, Baking Detective #1)Harry Woodgate. Atheneum, $19.99 (352p) ISBN 979-8-3471-1438-2; $9.99 paper ISBN 979-8-3471-1437-5 In their series-starting middle grade debut, Woodgate dishes up a cozy mystery caper that calls upon elements of The Great British Bake Off. All her life, Cinnamon Crumb’s family bakery, Crumb & Sons, has struggled to compete with Victoria Sponge’s Tea Emporium and Madeleine Macaron’s Mouthwatering Delights, the two best confectioneries in the town of Marzipan. Cinn becomes embroiled in competing investigations after she’s separately recruited by bakery owners Victoria Sponge and Maddie Macaron, who suspect the other of unsavory methods to win. more  Lavender & HemlockLili Wilkinson. Delacorte, $13.99 paper (416p) ISBN 979-8-217-02659-3 In this fervent romantasy, an inescapable realm within a war-torn world provides the backdrop for a gentle sapphic love story. Teenage Tansy, a housemaid, passes her days in their isolated seaside cottage. Merit, a feared Carrion Knight, unwillingly battles against the kingdom’s Bright Guard. As sparks fly between the girls, Merit’s conscience compels her to warn the Bright Guard of an impending Carrion Knight invasion. more  Leina and the Haunted ForestMyriam Dahman and Nicolas Digard, illus. by Júlia Sardà. Kids Can, $21.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-5253-1-5800 In this lavish riff on “Bluebeard,” protagonist Leina quietly ferries firewood-seeking villagers to a forest, which, they whisper, is haunted. When Oren, a passenger around whom Leina “felt particularly shy,” fails to return for three days, she goes searching and finds a human-size, archly mannered toad, Mr. Spadefoot. When he invites her to dinner, then bans her from opening a specific room’s door, she learns his grievances and secrets. more  Luck of the DrawChristine Suggs. Little, Brown Ink, $25.99 (272p) ISBN 978-0-316-59198-0; $18.99 paper ISBN 978-0-316-59200-0 This endearing graphic novel from Suggs, inspired in part by the creator’s own pre-college program experience, follows queer first-generation Mexican American Mar Ortega, an incoming high school senior who’s spending the summer studying illustration at the Baltimore Institute of Art. As Mar flourishes creatively and socially, however, a daunting question looms: Is attending the college of their dreams worth taking on student loan debt? more  The NightMariachiara Di Giorgio. NorthSouth, $21.95 (48p) ISBN 978-0-7358-4628-9 This tantalizing wordless fantasy opens on a rainy night as a loving caretaker departs, leaving two children with a forbidding figure. Does the babysitter, an unsettling presence, mean to do them harm? The two don’t wait to find out. After being hustled into bed, they set out into the dark, sheltering in a cave, where, as the storm lets up, they’re startled by a smiling form with a deer’s delicate hooves. As they follow, the forest unveils itself to them. It's an enticing Brothers Grimm tale turned upside down. more |
September 17, 2026
 
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People Little, Brown Books for Young Readers has one promotion and two new hires. Kelly Moran has been promoted to senior publicity manager, from publicity manager. Bella Santos has joined as editorial assistant for Alvina Ling Books. And Jenna Ellis has joined Little, Brown Books for Young Readers as publicity assistant.Bestsellers  Children’s Frontlist Fiction#1 The Neverfear (Impossible Creatures #3) by Katherine Rundell. Click here  Picture Books#1 You’re My Little Baby Boo by Nicola Edwards, illus. by Natalie Marshall. Click here Follow Us  | ||
