YOUNG ADULT
Angela Townsend's AMAROK, set in a remote Alaskan town, when a runaway is kidnapped by an evil man and his black wolf, whom she later discovers is a boy enslaved by an ancient shaman; she must find the strength to save herself and the wolf, and in turn discover what love truly means, to Kate Kaynak at Spencer Hill Press.
Denise Lewis Patrick’s LIFE GETS TWISTED pitched as the THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET twisted with the Southern African-American experience unearthing the raw reality of prejudice, courage, perseverance and love to Andrew Karre at Carolrhoda Lab.
Robin Mellom's BUSTED, a companion novel to DITCHED, in which a girl takes a job running errands for an eccentric couple and finds herself involved in the crazy world of LA nightlife but after a misunderstanding lands her in jail, she has one fateful night to clear her name, help a rising movie starlet avoid the paparazzi and find Adam, the coworker who is quickly stealing her heart, to Christian Trimmer at Disney-Hyperion, for publication in Winter 2013.
Janet Gurtler's WHO I KISSED in which a girl struggles with boy problems and serious regret after accidentally killing a boy she barely knows when she kisses him after consuming a peanut butter sandwich, not aware he has a deathly allergy to peanuts, to Leah Hultenschmidt at Sourcebooks Fire
Beck McDowell’s debut THIS IS NOT A DRILL, a thriller told from alternating viewpoints of two teens who must protect kindergarteners from a soldier with post-traumatic stress disorder who opens fire in the classroom to Nancy Paulsen of Nancy Paulsen Books at Penguin Young Readers, for publication in Fall 2012.
Martha Brockenbrough’s YA debut DEVINE INTERVENTION to Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic in which a guardian angel in a rehabilitation program for wayward souls accidentally kills the girl he's supposed to watch over, fails to get her into heaven, and may or may not cause lasting psychological damage to a squirrel.
Laura Ellen's debut BLIND SPOT, an edgy murder mystery romance that explores what happens to a good girl whose simple wish of fitting in and attracting, then keeping, the hottest guy in her school, compels her to make way too many wrong choices, to Karen Grove at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's, for publication in Fall 2012.
Six-time RWA Golden Heart finalist Shelley Coriell's debut WELCOME CALLER, THIS IS CHLOE pitched as THE BREAKFAST CLUB meets WKRP IN CINCINNATI in which an ex-popular girl, forced to join the misfit staff of her high school’s struggling radio station, dispenses relationship advice on a late night call-in show only to find she has a lot to learn about love, loneliness, and lasting friendships to Maggie Lehrman at Amulet Books/Abrams, for publication in Spring 2012.
Kelly Milner Halls, eds.'s GIRL MEETS BOY, twelve original "he said/she said" paired stories written just for this collection by Joseph Bruchac, Chris Cruther, Terry Davis, Rebecca Fjelland Davis, Kelly Milner Halls, James Howe, Cynthia Leitich Smith, Randy Powell, Sara Ryan, Terry Trueman, Rita Williams-Garcia, and Ellen Wittlinger, to Kelli Chipponeri at Chronicle, for publication in Spring 2012.
Janet Gurtler's IF I TELL, about a teenager who survives and even thrives in a small-minded town as the mistaken product of an African American football player and his 16 year old blond princess, until she makes a huge mistake of her own, to Leah Hultenschmidt at Sourcebooks, for publication in Fall 2011.
Julie Williams's IT'S NOT THE END OF THE WORLD, pitched as a La Cage aux Folles-inspired YA, about a girl genius who must thwart her unconventional family's demise in which her mother, her father, and her father's new boyfriend, all live under the same roof, while dealing with her Jehovah's Witness grandmother's prediction of the end of the world, to Nancy Mercado at Roaring Brook Press, in a pre-empt, for publication in Spring 2012 .
Robin Mellom's debut DITCHED, pitched as THE HANGOVER for teens, in which a girl finds herself lying in a ditch the morning after her prom with no memory of the last twelve hours which includes a disappearing prom date, a Tinkerbell tattoo, and a dog-swapping escapade, to Christian Trimmer at Disney-Hyperion, in a very nice deal, in a two-book deal, for publication in Winter 2012.
Ralph Fletcher's ALSO KNOWH AS ROWAN POHI, in which a 16-year old boy assumes a new identity in a desperate attempt to shed one life and create another, to Dinah Stevenson at Clarion, for publication in Fall 2011
Sherry Shahan's PURPLE DAZE, a provocative free verse novel set 1965 Los Angeles in which six high school students navigate war, riots, love, rock 'n' roll, school, and friendship, to Kelli Chipponeri at Running Press Kids, for publication in Spring 2011.
Janet Gurtler's I'M NOT HER, a twist on MY SISTER'S KEEPER for teens, in which a brainy high school freshman embraces yet resents the shadow of her beautiful, popular, volleyball-scholarship-bound sister, but when the senior is diagnosed with bone cancer, it drastically changes both sisters' lives, to Sourcebooks Fire for publication in Spring 2011.
MIDDLE GRADE
Robin Mellom's THE CLASSROOM, pitched as MODERN FAMILY for middle graders, in which a documentary crew descends on Westside Middle School to chronicle the life of a seventh grader and epic worrier, and his classmates, to Christian Trimmer at Disney-Hyperion, in a six-figure deal, in a 4-book deal, for publication in Summer 2012.
Sherry Shahan's ICE ISLAND, in which a 12-year-old girl who dreams of competing in the grueling 1,049-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race gets lost during a training run in the untamed Alaskan wilderness during a freak snow storm, to Michelle Poploff at Delacorte.
Ralph Fletcher's GUY-WRITE, the first in a series of humorous how-to-write books for middle-graders, to Christy Ottaviano at Christy Ottaviano Books.
Anastasia Suen's chapter book series ALL-STAR CHEERLEADERS, to Kira Lynn at Kane Miller Books, in a four-book deal, for publication in Fall 2011.
Anastasia Suen’s THE ZOMBIE PROJECT writing for Boxcar Children, Albert Whitman.
Erin Fry’s FAT BOY, in which a 13-year old obese teenager, tired of his life of XXL t-shirts and unrequited crushes, and reeling from his father's recent stroke, joins the cross country team to find out if there's more to life than French fries, to Marilyn Brigham at Marshall Cavendish, for publication in Fall 2012.
Jill Corcoran's DARE TO DREAM...CHANGE THE WORLD, an illustrated anthology of biographical and inspirational paired poems that seek to inform, inspire, ignite middle graders to imagine, persevere and to act; the collection contains works by 30 poets, and is slated to be the first in a series of poetry anthologies, to Kira Lynn at Kane Miller, for publication in Fall 2012.
Contributing Poets: Alice Schertle, J. Patrick Lewis, Kelly Fineman, Jane Yolen, Ellen Hopkins, Julia Durango, Lee Bennett Hopkins, David L. Harrison, Elaine Magliaro, Lisa Wheeler, Tracie Van Zimmer, Hope Anita Smith, Carol Tanzman, Joan Bransfield Graham, Rebecca Kai Dotlich, Laura Purdie Salas, Curtis Crisler, Alan Katz, Rose Horowitz, Marilyn Singer, Joyce Sidman, Hope Vestergaard, Jacqui Robbins, Janet Wong, Stephanie Hemphill, Denise Lewis Patrick, Joyce Lee Wong, Georgia Heard, Jill Corcoran, & Bruce Coville.
PICTURE BOOKS
Jennifer Arena's 100 SNOWMEN, a mathematical rhyming romp with a Where's Waldo artistic twist, to Margery Cuyler at Marshall Cavendish (World).
Aimee Reid's LITTLE GREY, in which a baby elephant dreams of growing big while spending a playful day in the forest with his mother, to Jennifer Arena at Random House Children's, for publication in Fall 2013 (World).
NON-FICTION
International plot consultant Martha Alderson's THE PLOT WHISPERER, in which the author shares her award-winning tips, techniques and multi-sensory approach to plot and the secrets to success for her clientele of best-selling authors, New York editors, and Hollywood movie directors, to Paula Munier at Adams Media, for publication in Fall 2011.
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