Amy Spalding’s THE REECE MALCOLM LIST, about a daughter reconnecting with her reclusive bestselling author mother, and finding a place for herself at a performing arts high school, and INK IS THICKER THAN WATER, centered around a family-run tattoo parlour in St. Louis, to Stacy Cantor Abrams at Entangled Children’s, in a nice deal, for publication in Spring 2013, by Kate Schafer Testerman at kt literary (World).

Huzzah! Hooray for both Amy and Stacy, who are already bonding on Twitter over shared images of their dogs.

I can’t wait to tell you more about these books as their pub dates approach!

Virginia Duncan at HarperCollins’s Greenwillow Books took North American rights, in a six-figure deal, to Salvage by Alexandra Duncan (no relation). Another YA science fiction entry, the book, which Kate Testerman at KT Literary sold, has what the publisher calls a “feminist slant” and follows a teenager raised on a male-run spaceship who comes to a scorched future Earth where she settles on a “floating island of garbage and debris.” Author Duncan is a librarian in North Carolina and has written a number of short stories, including “Amor Fugit,” which initially ran in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and then appeared in the anthology The Year’s Best Science Fiction & Fantasy, 2011 (Prime Books). Greenwillow has Salvage set for a 2013 release.

Hooray for Alexandra and Virginia!

Jason Rekulak at Quirk Books acquired the as yet untitled sequel to Ransom Riggs’s bestselling YA novel Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Slated to be published in spring 2013, the sequel will continue the story of the children on the remote Welsh island, incorporating a new set of vintage photographs to guide the story. The first book grew out of Riggs’s passion for collecting vintage photos. For this next installment, he has already collected more than 1000 images. Film rights to both books have been sold to 20th Century Fox, with Chernin Entertainment producing. Kate Schafer Testerman of KT Literary, LLC negotiated the deal.

Hooray!

Author of ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS and the Fall 2011 title LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR, Stephanie Perkins’s ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER, again to Julie Strauss-Gabel at Dutton Children’s, in a nice deal for publication in Fall 2012, by Kate Schafer Testerman at kt literary (World English).

Then, there was this:

Author of BAD TASTE IN BOYS and Class of 2011 member, Carrie Harris’s next Kate Grable novel BAD HAIR DAY, plus a second untitled YA novel, again to Wendy Loggia at Delacorte, in a nice deal, for publication in Summer 2012 and 2013, by Kate Schafer Testerman at kt literary (World English).

There was also this:

New York Times-bestselling author of THE FALLEN Thomas E. Sniegoski’s next two novels in his Remy Chandler series, about an angel moonlighting on Earth as a private investigator, once again to Ginjer Buchanan at Ace/Roc, in a nice deal, for publication in Fall 2012 and 2013, by Kate Schafer Testerman at kt literary (World).

And this:

Author of the multi-starred SMALL PERSONS WITH WINGS (Dial, January 2011) and THE UNNAMEABLES (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, October 2008), Ellen Booraem’s CONNOR’S BANSHEE, in which a Irish-American boy is visited by a banshee prophetizing death for someone in his family, once again to Kathy Dawson at Dial Books For Young Readers, for publication in Spring 2012, by Kate Schafer Testerman at kt literary (World).

And there’s more to come!

Trish Doller’s THE NEW NORMAL, about a young Marine home from Afghanistan, dealing with PTSD and trying to find his place in a life that no longer fits, to Michelle Nagler at Bloomsbury, at auction, in a nice deal, by Kate Schafer Testerman at kt literary (World English).

Some of you may recall Trish’s guest blog from my earlier vacation this year where she talked about having that first deal for your debut novel get cancelled, and the pressure that can place on an author for the next book. Well, I will admit now that I, too, felt a little of that pressure, which is why it was so gratifying, as an agent and as a huge fan of Trish’s, to not only have strong interest in THE NEW NORMAL from several editors, but ultimately, to close the deal after an auction.

This is when being an agent feels AMAZING.

I can’t wait until the whole world meets Travis, the incredible hero of THE NEW NORMAL. You’re going to fall in love.

Author of ALBATROSS and BAND GEEK LOVE, Josie Bloss’s FAKING FAITH, about a teen shunned for a “sexting” incident who fakes her identity to fit in online with a community of ultra-conservative homeschooled teenage girls, again to Brian Farrey of Flux, in a nice deal, for publication in Fall 2011, by Kate Schafer Testerman of kt literary (NA).

And a question for my readers. Have you ever met someone in person that you first connected with online, on a blog, forum, or some other site (but not a dating site, which is specifically for the purpose of meeting people face to face)?

I think most of my readers know I have. Rexroth and I first “met” playing a computer game, and in the online forums for that game, then extended our friendship to our respective personal blogs before finally meeting in person and beginning to date. The rest is nerd history.

How about you?

Carrie Harris’ debut novel NO PAIN, NO BRAIN, in which science nerd Kate Grable must cure a zombie outbreak in her high school before she and her homecoming date join the ranks of the walking dead, to Wendy Loggia at Delacorte Press, in a nice deal, by Kate Schafer Testerman at kt literary (World English).

Do check out Carrie’s post for more glee, and, of course, pictures of Richard Simmons.

DISNEY BOOK GROUP ACQUIRES MULTI BOOK SERIES AT AUCTION FROM BEST SELLING AUTHOR MAUREEN JOHNSON

New York, September 10, 2009—Disney-Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Book Group, has acquired a three book series from best selling young adult author Maureen Johnson at a hotly contested auction. The agreement was negotiated by Jennifer Besser, Executive Editor, Disney Book Group, and Kate Schafer Testerman of kt literary.

The series begins with a modern-day thriller about an American high-school student who enrolls at a London boarding school for her junior year. Soon after her arrival, a series of murders begins to take place across the city—on the exact dates and in the exact style of Jack the Ripper. Her ties to the killer bring her in contact with a secret paranormal branch of the British police. The first book in the series will be published in Summer 2011 with a new book following each subsequent summer.

“Maureen has incredible range as a writer,” said Jon Yaged, vice president, US publisher, Disney Book Group. “We’re thrilled to have her join the Disney-Hyperion list—she’s a wonderful addition and a perfect fit.”

Maureen Johnson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and studied writing and theatrical dramaturgy at Columbia University, where she earned her MFA. In addition to writing books, she is also a scriptwriter for the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince videogame. She lives in New York City, and travels to the UK on a regular basis. Her books include The Key to the Golden Firebird, The Bermudez Triangle, 13 Little Blue Envelopes, the Andre Norton-nominated Devilish, Girl at Sea, Suite Scarlett, Let It Snow, and the forthcoming Scarlett Fever. Her works have honored by the New York Public Library, the American Library Association, IndieBound (formerly known as Booksense), and Publishers Weekly’s “Cuffies.”

Since its inception in 1991, Disney Book Group has amassed an array of best selling authors and illustrators, including Rick Riordan and his Percy Jackson series; Kadir Nelson’s We Are the Ship; Gail Carson Levine’s Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand; Sara Pennypacker and Marla Frazee’s Clementine series; Eoin Colfer’s blockbuster Artemis Fowl series; Mo Willems’s Knuffle Bunny Too! and The Pigeon Wants a Puppy; Melissa de la Cruz’s Blue Bloods series; Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson’s Science Fair; Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s American Heroes series; The Runaway Dolls by Ann M. Martin, Laura Godwin, and Brian Selznick; Miles to Go by Miley Cyrus; and Burning Up: On Tour with the Jonas Brothers. Disney Book Group also publishes best selling titles from key Disney franchises, including High School Musical, Disney-Pixar Cars, Disney Fairies, Hannah Montana, and Playhouse Disney properties.

Disney Book Group (DBG) is a unit of Disney Publishing Worldwide, the world’s largest publisher of children’s books and magazines, with over 400 children’s magazines published and 120 million children’s books sold each year. DBG’s vertically integrated imprints include Disney Editions, Disney-Hyperion, Disney-Jump at the Sun, and Disney Press. Headquartered in White Plains, New York, and Milan, Italy, Disney Publishing Worldwide publishes books and magazines in 85 languages in 75 countries, reaching more than 100 million readers each month.

Needless to say, Maureen and I are THRILLED. British rights to this new series, as yet untitled, have also been pre-empted by Harper UK.

Between this, and the sequel to 13 Little Blue Envelopes, also due in Summer 2011, we’re looking forward to a great couple of years!

ANNA AND THE BOY MASTERPIECE by Stephanie Perkins, in which American Anna Oliphant spends a year in a Parisian boarding school and falls for her multi-national classmate, plus a companion novel, LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR, to Julie Strauss-Gabel at Dutton Children’s Books, in a very nice deal at auction, for publication in Fall 2010, by Kate Schafer Testerman at kt literary (World English).

Some of you may have already read Stephanie’s announcement of this deal on her own blog, but this is the official release, with the new, sooner pub date and the fresh off-the-grill new title.

So huge gratz to Stephanie and to Julie!

And you wanna know something else? There’s even MORE great news coming soon…

Julia Karr’s XVI, a near-future thriller in which 15-year-old Nina uncovers the mystery surrounding her mother’s death and her missing father, while dreading the coming of her sixteenth birthday and the government-mandated tattoo that references her sexual status, to Jennifer Bonnell at Penguin Books for Young Readers, for publication in Spring 2011, and a second, untitled novel, in a nice deal, at auction, by Kate Schafer Testerman at kt literary. (World English).

Gratz to Julia, and to Jen!