Compiled by Cecilia Cackley

This is a series keeping track of the book deals announced by Latinx writers and illustrators. The purpose of this series is to celebrate book deals by authors and illustrators in our community and to advocate for more of them. If you are an agent and you have a Latinx client who just announced a deal, you can let me know on Twitter, @citymousedc. If you are a Latinx author or illustrator writing for children or young adults, and you just got a book deal, send me a message and we will celebrate with you! Here’s to many more wonderful books in the years to come.

July 3

Stacy Whitman at Lee & Low/Tu Books has bought 2014 New Visions Award finalist On These Magic Shores by Yamile Saied Méndez. The middle grade novel is about Minerva, who wants to be a normal kid and grow up to be the first Latina president of the U.S. But with her mother missing and no family to help her, she fights to keep her sisters safe and out of foster care—with the help of a friend and some fairy dust. Publication is planned for 2020. Author agent: Linda Camacho at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency.

 

Sylvie Frank at S&S/Wiseman has bought a middle grade novel, provisionally titled Santiago, by 2017 Pura Belpré Honor author Alexandra Diaz. The story is about a boy’s search for a family and a home as he navigates the perilous border between the U.S. and Mexico. Publication is slated for spring 2020. Author agent: Sarah Davies at Greenhouse Literary.

July 10

None.

July 12

Hannah Allaman and Emily Meehan at Disney Hyperion have acquired world rights to the graphic novel adaptation of Melissa de la Cruz’s The Isle of the Lost, book one of the Descendants series, adapted by Robert Venditti, illustrated by Kat Fajardo. Publication is planned for fall 2018. Illustrator agent: Linda Camacho at Gallt and Zacker Literary Agency.

 

Kristine Enderle at Magination Press has acquired world rights to Pat Mora‘s (l.) Singing Nana, illustrated by Alyssa Bermudez. The picture book, about a Latina grandmother who is showing early signs of dementia, has sprinklings of Spanish and a recipe for cherry empanadas. The book will release in September 2019. Author agent: Elizabeth Harding at Curtis Brown. Illustrator agent: Claire Easton at Painted Words.

July 17

None.

July 19

Ashley Hearn at Page Street has acquired Isabel Ibañez‘s debut fantasy, Woven in Moonlight, an #OwnVoices Bolivian-inspired political fantasy. In the book, a magically gifted weaver plays the role of double agent to restore her queen to a troubled throne, but upon confronting a masked vigilante and a warm-hearted princess, she discovers that corruption comes in all forms. Publication is set for fall 2019. Author agent: Mary C. Moore at Kimberley Cameron & Associates.

 

Ada Zhang at Sterling has acquired Serena Williams—G.O.A.T: Making the Case for the Greatest of All Time by Tami Charles (Like Vanessa), a nonfiction sports biography of Serena Williams that makes the argument that she is the greatest tennis player of all time, and aims to show readers how to make a clear, well-researched argument themselves. Publication is scheduled for spring 2019. Author agent: Lara Perkins at Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

July 24

None.

July 26

Shana Corey and Maria Modugno at Random House have bought world rights to Who Took My Nap? by Chris Grabenstein (l.), illustrated by Leo Espinosa. The debut picture book by Grabenstein, author of the Mr. Lemoncello’s Library series, tells the story of an energetic toddler who vehemently resists taking a nap until all the naps are used up and a spare one needs to be found. Publication is set for spring 2020.

July 31

None.

August 7

Monica Jean at Delacorte has acquired Lisa Allen-Agostini‘s Home Home, the story of a Trinidadian girl’s journey to recovery from a mental illness after she is sent to live with her estranged, lesbian aunt and removed from anything and everyone she knows to be home. Publication is set for spring 2020. Author agent: Margot Edwards at Rights Consultancy.

 

Tracey Keevan and Esther Cajahuaringa at Disney-Hyperion have acquired world rights to XO, Exoplanet by Deborah Underwood, illustrated by Jorge Lacera, a picture book told partly in letters between the planets of our solar system and an exoplanet. Publication is scheduled for summer 2020. Illustrator agent: John Cusick at Folio Literary Management/Folio Jr.

August 9

None.

August 16

Stephanie Owens Lurie at Disney-Hyperion/Rick Riordan Presents has bought world rights to Tehlor Kay Mejia‘s Paola Santiago and the Drowned Palace, about a 12-year-old aspiring scientist who begins to suspect that the infamous La Llorona is responsible for her best friend’s disappearance, and she must venture into an underwater world to prove it. Publication is scheduled for fall 2020. Author Agent: Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret.

 

Ellen Cormier at Dial has bought at auction author-illustrator Zara Gonzalez Hoang‘s picture book, A Piece of Wild, about Ren, who moves from the forest to the city, and Ava, who takes on the challenge of helping him find magic in his new environment. The story was inspired by the author’s father and his move from Puerto Rico to New York City. Publication is slated for spring 2020. Author agent: Andrea Morrison and Steven Malk at Writers House.

August 23

None.

August 30

Jill Santopolo at Philomel has preempted world rights to Tami Lewis Brown’s (l.) I Really [Don’t] Care, illustrated by Tania de Regil. Inspired by current events, the story is about a child whose selfishness turns into empathy when he discovers that our similarities matter more than our differences. Publication is set for fall 2019. Illustrator agent: Adriana Dominguez at Full Circle Literary.

September 6

Jennifer Ung at Simon Pulse has acquired North American rights, at auction, to Raquel Vasquez Gilliland’s debut, Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything. Pitched as a Mexican Jessica Jones racing through a David Arnold novel with a pitstop in Roswell, the story centers on a Mexican-American girl who discovers that her mother was abducted by aliens. Publication is planned for summer 2020. Author agent: Elizabeth Bewley at Sterling Lord Literistic.

 

Eileen Rothschild at Wednesday Books has acquired world English rights to Francesca Flores‘s debut YA novel, Diamond City. In a city full of half-constructed subway tunnels, hidden magical dens, secret weapons markets, and wolf-sized spiders, a young assassin unravels a conspiracy that could rewrite her city’s history and—if it isn’t stopped—sink her country into a catastrophic war. Publication is set for winter 2020. Author agent: Pete Knapp at Park Literary & Media.

 

Kate Fletcher at Candlewick has bought world rights to Pura Belpré Author Award winner Meg Medina‘s (l.) new picture book, Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away, in which two best friends must say goodbye to each other when one of them moves away. Sonia Sánchez will illustrate; publication is slated for fall 2020. Author agent: Jennifer Rofé at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

 

Candice Keimig at ABDO has acquired world rights to the hi-lo adventure series Gavin McNally’s Year Off by Emma Bland Smith (l.), illustrated by Mirelle Ortega. Gavin spends a year traveling the country with his family in an RV, a trip that provides action, adventure, and even danger, including racing from a wildfire, getting lost in a spooky mountain lodge, and saving baby alligators from poachers. Publication for the set of four books is planned for September 2019. Illustrator agent: Lucie Luddington at the Bright Agency.

 

Rotem Moscovich at Disney-Hyperion has bought The Magical Yet by Angela DiTerlizzi (l.), author of Some Bugs and Just Add Glitter. The book is about the special creature that accompanies each child and helps them accomplish the things they haven’t been able to accomplish—yet. Lorena Alvarez Gómez will illustrate. Publication is set for summer 2020. Illustrator agent: Anne Moore Armstrong at the Bright Agency.

September 11

None.

September 13

Nick Thomas at Scholastic/Levine has acquired The Moon Within author Aida Salazar‘s novel, The Land of the Cranes, a story inspired in part by her own childhood as an undocumented immigrant. The free verse middle grade novel tells the story of nine-year-old Betita, who believes that she and other migrants follow an Aztec prophecy to fly as free as cranes. When her father is deported to Mexico and she and her mother are detained by ICE, she turns to writing picture poems as her own way to fly above the deplorable conditions that she and other cranes experience while they are caged. Publication is set for spring 2020. Author agent: Marietta B. Zacker at the Gallt and Zacker Literary Agency.

 

Lisa Rosinsky at Barefoot Books has acquired the picture book That’s Not My Bed by debut author Erin Gunti (l.). Pitched via #KidPit on Twitter, the book is about a girl who is spending her first night at a homeless shelter with her mother, and who takes comfort in imagining they are on a fantastical adventure. Gunti drew on her experience as a child abuse and neglect investigator. Mexican artist Esteli Meza will illustrate; publication is set for fall 2019.

September 18

Alexis Orgera and Chad Reynolds at Penny Candy Books have signed a deal with debut picture book author Dani Gabriel and artist Robert Liu-Trujillo (Furqan’s First Flat Top) for world rights to Sam Not Samuel, a picture book about a transgender boy and his family’s journey through his transition. The book was inspired by the author’s son’s story, and will be published on September 10, 2019.

September 20

Liza Kaplan at Philomel has acquired Jenny Torres Sanchez‘s new book, In Exile. Told from the alternating points of view of four immigrant teens and the infamous death train known as La Bestia that carries them across the Mexican-U.S. border, the book charts the emotional and physical struggles of being forced to leave behind everything and everyone you’ve ever known in search of survival and a better life. Publication is slated for spring 2020. Author agent: Kerry Sparks at Levine Greenberg Rostan.

 

Nikki Garcia at Little, Brown has bought Jennifer Torres‘s The Fresh New Face of Griselda, a middle grade novel about Griselda’s struggles with the changes in her family after they lose their home, and her plan to fix their problems by selling makeup at school. Publication is planned for fall 2019. Author agent:  Jennifer Laughran at Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

September 25

Connie Hsu at Roaring Brook Press has bought world rights to Kevin Noble Maillard‘s Fry Bread, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal. Told in verse, the book explores the culture and history surrounding this Native staple, and how it brings together family and community through love and tradition. Publication is scheduled for fall 2019. Illustrator agent:Stefanie Von Borstel at Full Circle Literary.

 

Karen Boss at Charlesbridge has acquired world rights to co-authors Jessica Betancourt-Perez (l.) and Karen Lynn Williams‘s (center) picture book, A Thousand White Butterflies, illustrated by Gina Maldonado. Isabella is new to the United States from Colombia, and she misses her papa; a snow day delays her starting school, but then she makes a new friend. Publication is planned for summer 2020. Illustrator agent: Lisa Musing at Advocate Art.

September 27

Karen Lotz at Candlewick Press has acquired, in a seven-house auction, librarian and Ambassador of School Libraries for Scholastic Book Fairs John Schu‘s debut pictdure book, This Is a Story. The story is an exploration of books, humanity, and the need for connection. Caldecott Honor artist Lauren Castillo (Nana in the City) will illustrate; the book is set to publish globally in 2022. Illustrator agent: Paul Rodeen at Rodeen Literary Management.

October 2

Jes Negrón at Kane Press/StarBerry Books has acquired world rights to debut author Valerie Bolling‘s (l.) Let’s Dance!, illustrated by Maine Diaz. The picture book showcases dances from all over the world, with rhythmic prose that encourages readers to tap, spin, and boogie along. Publication is slated for spring 2020. Illustrator agent: Mela Bolinao

October 4

Megan Tingley at Little, Brown has bought, in a preempt, world rights to three works by debut author-illustrator Ani Castillo, launching with Ping, a picture book that humorously explores the challenges and joys of self-expression and social connection. Publication is planned for fall 2019. Author agent: Samantha Haywood and Amy Tompkins at Transatlantic Agency.

October 11

None.

October 16

None.

October 18

None.

October 23

Ann Kelley at Random House/Schwartz & Wade has acquired world rights to Angela Burke Kunkel‘s (l.) Digging for Words: José Alberto Gutiérrez and the Library He Built, illustrated by Paola Escobar. The book tells the story of a garbage collector in Bogotá, known as the “Lord of the Books,” whose library project began with a single discarded book found on his garbage route, and has expanded to provide reading material to more than 200 schools, organizations, and libraries across Colombia. Publication is planned for fall 2020.

October 25

T.S. Ferguson at Inkyard Press has bought, at auction, world rights to Come On In, a YA anthology covering the experience of immigration, curated and edited by Adi Alsaid. The book features short stories by YA authors who are either immigrants or the children of immigrants, including Samira Ahmed, Zoraida Córdova, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Maurene Goo, Justine Larbalestier, Sona Charaipotra, and many others. The book is set for fall 2020. Author agent: Pete Knapp at Park Literary & Media.

 

Caitlyn Dlouhy at Atheneum/Dlouhy has acquired world rights to Jump at De Sun by Alicia D. Williams (l.) (Genesis Begins Again), a picture book biography of Zora Neale Hurston. Jacqueline Alcantara, the inaugural winner of the We Need Diverse Books Illustration Mentorship Award, will illustrate. Publication is scheduled for spring 2021. Illustrator agent: Adriana Dominguez at Full Circle Literary.

October 30

Weslie Turner at Macmillan/Imprint has acquired, at auction, Zoraida Córdova (l.) and Natalie C. Parker‘s YA fantasy anthology, Vampires Never Get Old, featuring fresh takes on old souls with vampire stories by Samira Ahmed, Dhonielle Clayton, Tessa Gratton, Heidi Heilig, Julie Murphy, Mark Oshiro, Rebecca Roanhorse, Laura Ruby, Victoria “V.E.” Schwab, and Kayla Whaley. Publication is planned for fall 2020. Author agent: Lara Perkins at Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

November 1

None.

November 6

Joanna Cárdenas at Kokila has bought Each Tiny Spark, a middle grade novel by Pura Belpré Author Honor recipient Pablo Cartaya. In the story, sixth-grader Emilia Torres reconnects with her father over the art of welding as he adjusts from active duty to civilian life and their larger community reckons with the effects of redistricting. The book will publish in summer 2019. Author agent: Jess Regel at Foundry Literary + Media.

November 8

Erin Clarke at Knopf has bought, in an exclusive submission, author of Show and Prove and Efrain’s Secret Sofia Quintero‘s #Krisette, about a teenage girl’s struggle to understand why the police killing of her older sister Krisette fails to spark demands for justice. Inspired by #SayHerName, it features the central theme: “Krisette was deeply flawed and undeniably deserved to live.” Publication is planned for fall 2020. Author agent: Johanna V. Castillo at Writers House.

 

Kelsey Skea of Amazon/Two Lions has acquired world rights to Nancy Viau‘s Pruett & Soo, illustrated by Jorge Lacera, about an alien whose orderly black-and-white world is upended when he meets an alien from a colorful planet. Publication is set for summer 2020. Illustrator agent: John Cusick at Folio Jr./Folio Literary Management.

November 13

Jennifer Greene at Clarion has bought Natalia Sylvester‘s Running, a YA debut featuring 15-year-old Cuban-American Marianna Ruiz, whose father is running for president, in a novel about waking up, standing up, and what happens when you stop seeing your Dad as your hero—while the whole country is watching. Publication is planned for spring 2020. Author agent: Laura Dail at Laura Dail Literary Agency.

 

Amanda Ramirez at Simon & Schuster has bought world English rights to Anika Fajardo‘s debut middle grade novel, What If a Fish, featuring 11-year-old, half-Colombian Eddie Aguado. When his older half-brother’s trip to visit Eddie in Minnesota is canceled, Eddie—who has never left his hometown—is sent to spend the summer in Colombia instead. What follows is a generational story of family, identity, and all the things you can find at the end of a fishing line. Publication is planned for summer 2020. Author agent: Thao Le at Sandra Dijsktra Literary Agency.

 

Jes Negrón at Kane Press has acquired world rights to the Boys of Fire and Ash and the Movers series author Meaghan McIsaac‘s debut picture book, The Book of Laughs, illustrated by James Rey Sanchez (Irving Berlin, the Immigrant Boy Who Made America Sing), an interactive rhyming read-aloud. Publication is scheduled for spring 2020. Illustrator agent: Alexandra Gehringer at the Bright Agency.

 

Alexis Orgera and Chad Reynolds at Penny Candy have acquired world rights to Luli Gray‘s (l.) final book, The Pear Tree, a retelling of a folktale about an old woman named Esperanza who tricks Señor Death. Madelyn Goodnight will illustrate; the book will be published in late 2019. Author agent: Anna Olswanger at Olswanger Literary.

November 15

Cassandra Pelham Fulton at Scholastic/Graphix has bought, in a four-house auction, two Clementine Fox graphic novels by Leigh Luna. The humorous debut middle-grade series features a cast of animal friends who set off for a day of exploration at a mysterious local island; what follows is an unexpected day of adventure, friendship, and lessons learned. Book one is scheduled for 2020. Author agent: Jen Linnan at Linnan Literary Management.

November 20

None.

November 27

None.

November 29

None.

December 4

Reka Simonsen at S&S/Atheneum has bought at auction Emma Otheguy‘s (l.) picture book, A Sled for Gabo, about a boy and his family’s adjustment to snowy weather and their creative solutions for enjoying a wintry day. Pixar artist Ana Ramírez González will illustrate; Atheneum will publish simultaneous English- and Spanish-language editions in fall 2020. Author agent: Adriana Dominguez at Full Circle Literary. Illustartor agent: Andrea Morrison at Writers House.

December 6

None.

December 11

Mark Siegel at First Second has acquired Call Me Iggy, Jorge Aguirre (l.) and Rafael Rosado‘s middle grade graphic novel about Iggy, a Columbian-American teen who gets help from his grandparent’s ghosts to win over his crush. Publication is scheduled for 2021. Author agent: Tanya McKinnon at McKinnon McIntyre.

December 13

Eileen Rothschild at Wednesday Books has bought, in a six-figure preempt for North American rights, Romina Garber‘s Wolves of No World. Inspired by mythology from Garber’s native Argentina, the story weaves together contemporary issues with fantastical elements to explore the immigrant identity and what it means to be “illegal.” When her mother is arrested by ICE, a 16-year-old girl who thinks she’s hiding in Miami because she’s an illegal immigrant discovers it’s not just her U.S. residency that’s illegal—it’s her entire existence. Publication is planned for spring/summer 2020. Author agent: Laura Rennert at Andrea Brown Literary Agency.

December 18

Anne Hoppe at Clarion has acquired world rights to Rebecca Gomez‘s (l.) picture book Federico and the Wolf, illustrated by Elisa Chavarri, a gender-swapped retelling of “Little Red Riding Hood” with a Mexican-American setting. Publication is scheduled for spring 2020. Author agent: Pam Victorio at D4EO Literary Agency. Illustrator agent: Claire Easton at Painted Words.

December 20

Sonali Fry at Little Bee has bought world rights to Silvia Lopez‘s (l.) Selena Quintanilla: Queen of Tejano Music, a picture book about the iconic queen of Tejano music, Selena Quintanilla, whose trailblazing success opened the door for other Latinx entertainers. Paola Escobar will illustrate; publication is scheduled for spring 2020. Author agent: Karen Grencik at Red Fox Literary. Illustrator agent:Amy Kitcherside at Pickled Ink.

 

 

Cecilia Cackley is a Mexican-American playwright and puppeteer based in Washington, DC. A longtime bookseller, she is currently the Children’s/YA buyer and event coordinator for East City Bookshop on Capitol Hill. Find out more about her art at www.ceciliacackley.com or follow her on Twitter @citymousedc