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Lauren Oliver has signed a deal with HarperCollins Children’s Books. She plans to write a new young adult duology; the first book will be called Replica.

According to EpicReads.com, this science-fiction story follows “a girl named Lyra, known by the number 24, a replica—human model–who was born, raised, and observed in a clandestine research facility called the Haven Institute. When Lyra escapes from Haven and meets Gemma, a stranger on a perilous quest of her own, earth-shattering secrets are revealed.”

Rosemary Brosnan, an editorial director, negotiated the deal with Stephen Barbara, a literary agent at InkWell Management. The publication date has been scheduled for Sept. 2016.

Writer Rhoda Belleza has signed a two-book deal with the Penguin Young Readers imprint, Razorbill. She plans to create a young adult novel entitled Empress of a Thousand Skies.

Associate editor Tiffany Liao negotiated the deal with InkWell Management literary agent Stephen Barbara. Barbara represented the literary development company Paper Lantern Lit.

According to the announcement, the story for Belleza’s first book follows “two sisters — sole survivors of a murdered royal lineage – must reunite from opposite ends of the galaxy to salvage what’s left of their family dynasty and save the universe from a greater threat.” The publisher has set the release date for Spring 2017.

Literary agent Stephen Barbara will move from Foundry Literary + Media to InkWell Management.

Barbara devoted six years of his career to Foundry. His start date at InkWell is scheduled for January 05, 2015.

Barbara’s full roster of 50 clients will follow him. Some of the authors that Barbara represents includes Rooms author Lauren Oliver, renowned children’s book illustrator Ricardo Cortés, and Edgar Award winner Jack Ferraiolo.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Former HarperCollins Children’s Books and Razorbill editor Lexa Hillyer has inked a two-book deal. HarperCollins Children’s Books will publish the poet’s debut novel in 2015.

The book was described as “a lyrical, heart-wrenching novel about four girls who miraculously relive the summer they were fifteen, discovering friendships, second chances, and one devastating secret.”

Foundry Literary + Media agent Stephen Barbara negotiated the deal with Kate Jackson. Rosemary Brosnan will edit both books.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

I was talking with Agent Stephen Barbara at Foundry Literary + Media (Agent of New York Times and international bestseller Lauren Oliver – Before I Fall, Delirium, etc.). If you attended the NJSCBWI Conference, you met both of them. Anyway, he told me about Children’s Agent and Foreign Right’s Director, Rachel Hecht, at his company who is looking to build her client list. I thought I would share her information with all of you.

As a domestic agent, Rachel is seeking children’s projects of all stripes, from picture books through to young adult fiction, as well as select fiction and non-fiction projects for adults that are wonderfully written and completely absorbing. Drawing on her experience at the forefront of children’s scouting, she loves the thrill of the hunt for new talent and enjoys working closely with authors to develop and refine their projects for submission.

“In terms of adult fiction, the strength of the voice and quality of the writing is what is most important to me.  I am seeking literary as well as upmarket/commercial projects, and would love to see projects with crossover potential as well as those that blur the boundaries between genres – especially in the thriller, fantasy, and historical categories (but a polite no thank you to straight genre writing). For nonfiction, I’m interested in memoirs, pop culture, and narrative nonfiction projects with a great hook – stories that I am unable to put down about topics I had no idea I was interested in.”

Before joining Foundry in 2011, Rachel served as the children’s book scout for Mary Anne Thompson Associates, where she provided exclusive insight into the US publishing world for a diverse roster of foreign publishers. A graduate of Kenyon College with a degree in English, she began her career in New York at Condé Nast before moving into book publishing.

Rachel Hecht accepts paper and email submissions. Please send all digital queries for Rachel [email protected]. For more information on submitting your project, please see the Foundry Submissions page.

Talk tomorrow,

Kathy

A great deal of congratulations are due to Stephen Barbara and his lovely wife, the newly minted YA author Jessica Rothenberg.  Well done, you crazy kids!  Go off and make ye wonderful books together.  You’re both the best of the best of the best.

Stephen Barbara, literary agent with Foundry Literary + Media in New York City has agreed to join us this year at the New Jersey SCBWI Conference being held in Princeton on June 3rd to 5th.  He will be conducting the Writer’s Intensive on Friday afternoon, doing half hour consultative crititques and workshops. 

For those of you who have not met Stephen, he is a great agent, a wonderful person, extremely knowledgable and a mover and shaker in the children’s Industry.  He’s a great addition to the conference and I know you will love him.  If you were on the fence trying to decide if you should attend, this might be just the thing to push you to register.

Stephen focuses on books for young readers from picture books through young adult.  He also does adult fiction and nonfiction geared to a younger demographic, and he has enjoyed some notable successes with debut authors. His clients include:

New York Times bestseller Lauren Oliver, Newbery Medal winner Laura Amy Schlitz, Edgar Award nominee Jack D. Ferraiolo, School Library Journal blogger Betsy Bird, and popular teen author Todd Strasser, among others.

A graduate of the University of Chicago (AB ’02, English), Stephen previously worked at HarperCollins and as Contracts Director of the Donald Maass Agency.

Publishers Marketplace reports 27 children’s book contracts in the last two years – that’s not counting all the film and TV deals.  Many have been from debut authors and many of them have been very good deals. 

Talk Tomorrow,

Kathy

PS:  Don’t cry girls Stephen just got engaged.  Congratulations Stephen!

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