Tracy Marchini's Blog

I’m so excited to share that my first book launch will be on May 4, 2021 at 7pm EST through Silver Unicorn Books!

You can pre-order personalized copies of Princesses Can Fix It! through Silver Unicorn – just add who you’d like me to sign it to in the personalization/comments box when you order!

You can also pre-order Princesses at:Bookshop.orgB&NAmazonTarget WalmartIndigo

I’ll be joined by fellow author and BookEnds colleague James McGowan, author of the forthcoming Good Night, Oppy, and if our Slack and BookEnds YouTube videos are any indication, it’s going to be a great time!

Please save the date, and I’ll be sharing the registration information as soon as I have it.

(I also have tons of good news to share as an agent to wrap up 2020, and I hope to share that with you here on the blog soon as well!)

Preorders now available for Princesses Can Fix It! on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Indiebound, and you can add the book to your Goodreads.

For a personalized, autographed copy, you can pre-order from The Silver Unicorn! 

"A surprising gem." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Chicken Wants a Nap is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and your favorite independent bookstore!

The post Save the Date: Virtual Book Launch for PRINCESSES CAN FIX IT! appeared first on Tracy Marchini - Literary Agent & Children's Author.

We continue to live in unprecedented times, and that includes the way publishing seems to be working lately.

Publishing has always been known as both a slow moving business and a cyclical one, but that seems to be exaggerated lately. For myself and many of my colleagues, when publishers moved to work-from-home in March and April, things felt like they might grind to a halt. We were still selling books, but it was taking longer to get things like contract drafts, responses to contract changes and to finalize deal memos as publishers had to acclimate to having all of their regular meetings via video call, etc.

Then suddenly in July everything took off – it felt as if all the offers that publishers weren’t making in the previous months were suddenly being made now. And that also went for agent queries – suddenly our boxes were full of notifications from writers who had offers of representation from other agents. Editors were telling me that everything had become more competitive – that they were bringing several things to boards but unable to get any of them. And these weren’t small houses – these were big publishers being outbid by others.

If July was the top of the bell curve, then it seems we went on the downswing again in September. Offers are still being made and I am still selling books, but not with the furious pace of July. The same for offers of representation – I can see that people are still being offered representation from other agents, but not with the same (frankly, unsustainable) three-in-one-day pace as before. What did start coming in was all the contract drafts from those books sold in July, and which I’m still negotiating with publishers now.

I think that the uncertainty – of the pandemic, of the coming election, etc. – is exaggerating the publishing cycle in a way that I have never seen before. Even during the Great Recession of 2008, things slowed and we watched in horror as there were two days in a row of massive layoffs – but the regular pace of publishing just seemed to get slower and quieter all the way around.

Granted, this is one look from one agent at one agency, but it seems like we weren’t the only ones experiencing this.

So as authors, what do we do?

I know that you’ll probably groan when you read this – but the answer is, stay the course.

Keep writing. Keep submitting. Keep reading. Keep going.

If things slow down again towards the end of the year, I am sure they will pick back up again in the months after. Publishers will always need books to sell, and that also means they will always need manuscripts to buy and to fill their lists for the coming years.

I have to remind myself of this too sometimes, as an author and as an agent. Especially when we get into the later part of the Fall, which even in a typical year publishing does slow down between Thanksgiving and Christmas. But as Jessica Faust and I were saying the other day – October is just another month.

We keep writing, reading and submitting.

On a personal note, Princesses Can Fix It! is now available for preorder on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, and you can add the book to your Goodreads. I’m also working on some super fun stuff – a virtual book launch (which I hope you’ll consider attending!), some fun printables for classroom and home use, and a cover reveal with KidLit411.

Stay well and vote!

"A surprising gem." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Chicken Wants a Nap is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and your favorite independent bookstore!

Preorders now available for Princesses Can Fix It! on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, or you can add the book to your Goodreads. (Link to Bookshop.org coming soon!)

The post How it feels to be an agent right now. appeared first on Tracy Marchini - Literary Agent & Children's Author.

Usually in publishing, we have some sort of summer slowdown – but this year has been unusual in that way as well. July was one of my busiest months as an agent, and things are just starting to settle. But it was a ton of good news for my clients, and I certainly can’t complain.

I also had some good news as an author as well – Princesses Can Fix It! was featured in the Publisher’s Weekly Spring Preview!

Princesses Can Fix It! (Page Street Kids, May 2021) is now available to pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Indiebound. You can also add the book to your Goodreads. (Pre-orders and Goodreads adds are much appreciated, and truly do impact the success of a book, so I thank you in advance for your support!)

I’m also thrilled to share that I’m now represented as an author by my colleague, Naomi Davis, at BookEnds Literary!

Recently Published

A Gift for Amma: Market Day in India by Meera Sriram and illustrated by Mariona Cabassa (Barefoot Books, August 14, 2020)

Hug? by Charlene Chua (Kids Can Press, September 1, 2020)

Solomon the Lion by Kristina Jones (Penguin Random House South Africa, September 2020)

 

Starred Reviews and Best of Lists

Two(!!) of my clients’ books are listed in the Amazon Top 20 Best Children’s Books of the Year So Far! (Did I run around the house yelling “I’m 10% of the list!!” Yes. Yes I did.)

Rita Lorraine Hubbard and Oge Mora’s The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read (RH/Anne Schwartz Books, 2020) is an Amazon Top 20 Best Children’s Book of the Year So Far and the top pick in children’s non-fiction! The Oldest Student was also selected as one of NPR’s 100 Favorite Books for Young Readers!

Tara Luebbe, Becky Cattie and Victoria Maderna‘s Ronan the Librarian (Macmillan/Roaring Brook, 2020) is an Amazon Top 20 Best Children’s Book of the Year So Far and a “Best Babysitter” in the Amazon Editor’s “Top 20 Yearbook Superlatives!”

Margaret Finnegan‘s We Could Be Heroes was also selected as an Amazon Prime Box Pick for August!

Meera Sriram and Mariona Cabassa’s A Gift for Amma: Market Day in India (Barefoot Books, September 2020) received a second starred review, this one from School Library Journal!

New Deals

Deeba Zargarpur at Simon & Schuster has acquired, in a two-book deal, The Monster in the Bathhouse, author-illustrator ‘s U.S. debut. Set in an Iranian bathhouse, this story follows a group of children who are convinced that there is a monster—a Div—wreaking havoc on the eve of Nowruz, and must uncover the truth before the bathhouse closes for New Year celebrations. Publication is scheduled for spring 2022; Tracy Marchini at BookEnds Literary represented the creator for world rights.

Rotem Moscovich at Knopf has bought world rights for two picture books by Minh Lê. The first, The Blur, will be illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat, fellow collaborator on Drawn Together, and follows a baby with superhero-like abilities and the parents who are racing to keep up. The second, Real to Me, to be illustrated by Raissa Figueroa, follows a surprising development after an imaginary friend disappears. Publication is set for summer 2022 and summer 2023, respectively. Stephen Barbara at InkWell Management represented Lê; Jodi Reamer at Writers House represented Santat, and Natascha Morris and Tracy Marchini at BookEnds Literary represented Figueroa.

Kat Zhang‘s Amy Wu and the Warm Welcome, the third book in the Amy Wu series, about a Chinese American girl who figures out the best way to welcome the new kid at school, illustrated by Charlene Chua, to Jennifer Ung at Simon & Schuster Children’s, for publication in summer 2022, by Emmanuelle Morgen at Stonesong for the author, and by Tracy Marchini at BookEnds for the illustrator (world). Film: Alice Lawson at Gersh.

Tracy Gates at Viking has bought debut author-illustrator Tim Kleyn‘s Set Sail for Pancakes, the story of a girl and her grandfather as they set off on their boat to gather the tastiest eggs and finest flour for the best pancakes, only to find that perhaps the most important ingredient of all is love. Publication is planned for summer 2022; Tracy Marchini at BookEnds brokered the two-book deal for world English rights.

Christina Pulles at Albert Whitman has bought world rights to More Than Just a Game: The Black Origins of Basketball, a nonfiction picture book by debut author Madison Moore, illustrated by Adisa Kareem. The book celebrates the Black history of the sport, its effect on Black communities, and the players and leagues who made it into the game it is today. Publication is set for fall 2021; the author represented herself, and Tracy Marchini at BookEnds Literary represented the illustrator.

New Clients

These last few months, I’ve been thrilled to welcome the following new clients to #TeamMarchini and BookEnds Jr.!

First up is Adisa Kareem, whose art is absolutely stunning. As soon as I saw his color study (below) on #drawingwhileblack, I immediately took a look at the rest of his portfolio. His work is perfect for books where the setting is just as important as the character, and I’m thrilled to say that his debut book as an illustrator will be out next fall!

I also welcomed debut author Carrie Tillotson, whose picture books and board books are so full of fun and mischief! She also has some beautiful non-fiction, and I can’t wait to see what else is in store for her!

I’m also thrilled to welcome Teresa Robeson and Katherine Kuehne to #TeamMarchini!

Teresa Robeson is the APALA award winning author of Queen of Physics: How Wu Chien Shiung Helped Unlock the Secrets of the Atom (Sterling, 2019) and the author of the forthcoming Two Bicycles in Beijing (Albert Whitman, 2020). She is a serious amateur astronomer (how cool!) and I am so excited for both her non-fiction and fiction works to come!

Katherine Kuehne is an author-illustrator with a fantastic sense of character and a warm and inviting style! I’m so excited to share her author-illustrator dummy with editors – it’s bright and cheerful and full of mischief!

Personal News

Did I mention that Princesses Can Fix It! (Page Street Kids, May 4, 2021) is now available to pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Indiebound, and available to add on Goodreads?

I’m so excited for this book, and I’m working on some fun things, like a cover reveal, some printables and a virtual book launch! I’m also still thrilled to be part of the Picture Book Scribblers and the 2021 STEAM Team! 

MSWL of the Month

This month (and potentially into the holidays), to be fair to both my current clients and queriers, I’m closed to queries (with the exception of industry or client referrals) in order to catch up on the requested manuscripts and queries I already have.

If you want to be emailed when I reopen, you can join The Quacktory, since I always announce it there!

Last Month in The Quacktory

In the last issue of The Quacktory, I talked about ways that you can boost the authors whose books you want to keep on the shelves – including and especially BIPOC voices – even while we’re physically distancing and regardless of your budget! This month, I’m going to talk a little bit about how the pandemic has changed the day to day in publishing from an agent’s perspective.

To get my monthly newsletter delivered to your inbox, you can join The Quacktory. (This month’s issue goes out on Tuesday!)

"A surprising gem." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Chicken Wants a Nap is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and your favorite independent bookstore!

Preorders now available for Princesses Can Fix It! on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, or you can add the book to your Goodreads. (Link to Bookshop.org coming soon!)

The post July – Sept 2020 Agent and Author News for #TeamMarchini appeared first on Tracy Marchini - Literary Agent & Children's Author.

How to Write Your First Picture Book in Five Steps
Step 1: Read

Read a number of picture books published within the last five years to get a sense of the market and the language of contemporary picture books. For suggestions, check out the list of ALA Notable Children’s Books and books from debut picture book groups, like the Picture Book Scribblers.

Step 2: Brainstorm

Think about the feelings and questions you had as a child and what you loved most about your favorite books. To kickstart your brainstorming, try joining Tara Lazar’s Storystorm for a month of brainstorming prompts!

Step 3: Develop

Pick your most interesting idea from your brainstorming session and develop your concept.

Ask yourself:

What will today’s child reader love about this idea?
How can I twist or push this idea further?
Has this been done before, and how is my idea different?

Step 4: Draft

Write your first draft.

For more on this blog about writing picture books, check out:

The 3 Most Common Reasons I Pass on Picture Books As An Agent
Tips for Creating Child Appeal in Your Picture Books
9 Factors of A Successful Picture Book
Who chooses the illustrator for picture books?
When do you use illustration notes in a picture book manuscript?
How can you tell if you’re using picture book language?
Try three times and fail – a quick breakdown of traditional picture book structure
I understand picture book structure, so what’s stopping me from getting an agent?
Reader question: Is picture book structure for non-fiction the same as fiction?

Step 5: Revise

Find a critique group and work with other writers to polish your story. If you’re looking for a critique group, you can join SCBWI and/or look for their regional and national conferences, get involved with the Highlights Foundation to meet other writers and/or put the word out on social media that you’re looking for a critique group.

Repeat step 5 until your story shines!

"A surprising gem." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Chicken Wants a Nap is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and your favorite independent bookstore!

Preorders now available for Princesses Can Fix It! on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, or you can add the book to your Goodreads. (Link to Bookshop.org coming soon!)

The post How To Write Your First Picture Book in 5 Steps appeared first on Tracy Marchini - Literary Agent & Children's Author.

Publishing is moving more slowly these days for a number of reasons, but I’m very excited for the above #TeamMarchini books that are publishing this year, and whose covers have recently been revealed!

Starred Reviews and Best of Lists

Meera Sriram‘s A Gift for Amma: Market Day in India (Barefoot Books, September 2020) received a starred review from Foreword Magazine!

New Clients

These last few months, I’ve been thrilled to welcome the following new clients to #TeamMarchini and BookEnds Jr.!

First up is Cristina Oxtra, who queried me with a beautiful picture book about a Filipino girl and her grandfather. I don’t want to say too much about the plot, but it just hit me right in the heart and I am so excited to bring this heartwarming story to readers!

Amanda Abler queried me with a YA non-fiction proposal that is full of narrative tension! It’s a story about scientists, but it’s also a story about what it’s like to be a woman working in what was still seen as a “man’s” world. It’s such a fantastic, engaging read, and I’m excited for her picture book and YA non-fiction!

I’m also excited to represent Walter Geoffrey the Frenchie, a pooch with an incredibly unique bark and a host of stories and opportunities for readers of all ages. I’m so excited to see what trouble Walter and her little sister CharChar get into!

View this post on Instagram

OMG I cannot believe two of my favs talked about my baby boy this morning on @goodmorningamerica… Y’all know how much I love them! And big thank you’s to all those who DM’d me about it!!! #LIFEISMADE @jenniferaniston @reesewitherspoon

A post shared by Walter Geoffrey (@waltergeoffreythefrenchie) on Oct 28, 2019 at 8:54am PDT

 

And most recently, I signed author-illustrator Tim Kleyn. There’s so much heart in his stories, and his art has such a sweet and lovely – and yet, still very contemporary – feel to it, and I know that kids and their parents are going to love it, too!

(Also, how could I not love this??)

BIG NEWS! I signed with an agent yesterday! Her name is @TracyMarchini (@bookendslit). She likes ducks a lot, and she thinks we can sell a lot of books together. pic.twitter.com/4784sdbzR9

— Tim Kleyn (@timothykleyn) June 13, 2020

Personal News

I recently joined the 2021 Picture Book Scribblers! (Thank you to everybody that responded to my Twitter question about open groups!) It’s super fun to be talking about Princesses Can Fix It! with other 2021 authors, and in particular to see so many familiar names/faces in the group (including two of my own clients at BookEnds – Meera Sriram and Jocelyn Rish!)

You can keep up with all of us on Instagram and Twitter!

I also had a chance to see Julia Christians’ interior art and cover for Princesses Can Fix It! and I love it! While it’s still a bit early for a cover reveal, I am so, so excited for when I can share that with you.

In the meantime, I’m finally listening to James and playing with Instagram stories. Here’s the first (and only!) one I’ve made thus far.

MSWL of the Month

More Black children’s illustrator queries, please! I’d love to see more portfolios in my queries from Black illustrators looking to work on picture books, chapter books and graphic novels for children and teens. (And to be clear, this isn’t just for this month – this is a forever mswl.)

You can query me at http://queryme.online/tmarchini for this and any other of my #mswls any time I’m open to queries.

Last Month in The Quacktory

In the last issue of the Quacktory, I talked about creating in difficult times. This month, I’ll talk about ways that you can boost the authors whose books you want to keep on the shelves – including and especially BIPOC voices – even while we’re physically distancing and regardless of your budget!

To get my monthly newsletter delivered to your inbox, you can join The Quacktory. (This month’s issue goes out tomorrow!)

"A surprising gem." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Chicken Wants a Nap is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and your favorite independent bookstore!

Preorders now available for Princesses Can Fix It! on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, or you can add the book to your Goodreads. (Link to Bookshop.org coming soon!)

The post June 2020 Agent and Author News and #mswl appeared first on Tracy Marchini - Literary Agent & Children's Author.

Publishing is moving more slowly these days for a number of reasons, but I’m very excited for the above #TeamMarchini books that are publishing this year, and whose covers have recently been revealed!

Starred Reviews and Best of Lists

Meera Sriram‘s A Gift for Amma: Market Day in India (Barefoot Books, September 2020) received a starred review from Foreword Magazine!

New Clients

These last few months, I’ve been thrilled to welcome the following new clients to #TeamMarchini and BookEnds Jr.!

First up is Cristina Oxtra, who queried me with a beautiful picture book about a Filipino girl and her grandfather. I don’t want to say too much about the plot, but it just hit me right in the heart and I am so excited to bring this heartwarming story to readers!

Amanda Abler queried me with a YA non-fiction proposal that is full of narrative tension! It’s a story about scientists, but it’s also a story about what it’s like to be a woman working in what was still seen as a “man’s” world. It’s such a fantastic, engaging read, and I’m excited for her picture book and YA non-fiction!

I’m also excited to represent Walter Geoffrey the Frenchie, a pooch with an incredibly unique bark and a host of stories and opportunities for readers of all ages. I’m so excited to see what trouble Walter and her little sister CharChar get into!

View this post on Instagram

OMG I cannot believe two of my favs talked about my baby boy this morning on @goodmorningamerica… Y’all know how much I love them! And big thank you’s to all those who DM’d me about it!!! #LIFEISMADE @jenniferaniston @reesewitherspoon

A post shared by Walter Geoffrey (@waltergeoffreythefrenchie) on Oct 28, 2019 at 8:54am PDT

 

And most recently, I signed author-illustrator Tim Kleyn. There’s so much heart in his stories, and his art has such a sweet and lovely – and yet, still very contemporary – feel to it, and I know that kids and their parents are going to love it, too!

(Also, how could I not love this??)

BIG NEWS! I signed with an agent yesterday! Her name is @TracyMarchini (@bookendslit). She likes ducks a lot, and she thinks we can sell a lot of books together. pic.twitter.com/4784sdbzR9

— Tim Kleyn (@timothykleyn) June 13, 2020

Personal News

I recently joined the 2021 Picture Book Scribblers! (Thank you to everybody that responded to my Twitter question about open groups!) It’s super fun to be talking about Princesses Can Fix It! with other 2021 authors, and in particular to see so many familiar names/faces in the group (including two of my own clients at BookEnds – Meera Sriram and Jocelyn Rish!)

You can keep up with all of us on Instagram and Twitter!

I also had a chance to see Julia Christians’ interior art and cover for Princesses Can Fix It! and I love it! While it’s still a bit early for a cover reveal, I am so, so excited for when I can share that with you.

In the meantime, I’m finally listening to James and playing with Instagram stories. Here’s the first (and only!) one I’ve made thus far.

MSWL of the Month

More Black children’s illustrator queries, please! I’d love to see more portfolios in my queries from Black illustrators looking to work on picture books, chapter books and graphic novels for children and teens. (And to be clear, this isn’t just for this month – this is a forever mswl.)

You can query me at http://queryme.online/tmarchini for this and any other of my #mswls any time I’m open to queries.

Last Month in The Quacktory

In the last issue of the Quacktory, I talked about creating in difficult times. This month, I’ll talk about ways that you can boost the authors whose books you want to keep on the shelves – including and especially BIPOC voices – even while we’re physically distancing and regardless of your budget!

To get my monthly newsletter delivered to your inbox, you can join The Quacktory. (This month’s issue goes out tomorrow!)

"A surprising gem." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Chicken Wants a Nap is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and your favorite independent bookstore!

The post June 2020 Round Up and #mswl appeared first on Tracy Marchini - Literary Agent & Children's Author.

It’s publication week for Tara Luebbe and Becky Cattie‘s Ronan the Librarian, and I’m excited to share the pitch I used to submit the manuscript to editors in the hopes that it’ll help you with your own querying. (For other pitches that I’ve shared, you can also check out the How I Pitched tag here on the blog.)

 

 

The Pitch:

Dear Claire,

I hope all is well, and that you had a fantastic holiday weekend!

I’m thrilled to send you [R]ONAN THE LIBRARIAN, a picture book by Tara Luebbe and Becky Cattie.

[R]onan was a mighty barbarian. He invaded. He raided. And back home, he traded – until he found his first book.

“Barbarians raid, not read,” said his friend Helgi.

But [R]onan was not deterred. He invaded. He raided. And he read. And then he built a library to spread his love of reading with his fellow barbarians. But can he get them to see that books are treasures worth pillaging too?

[R]ONAN THE LIBRARIAN is a humorous look at what happens when a mighty raider is initiated into the world of reading.

Tara Luebbe and Becky Cattie are a sibling co-writing team whose debut picture book, SHARK NATE-O, is forthcoming from Little Bee in Spring 2018.  Two more picture books are forthcoming from Albert Whitman in 2018 and 2019.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Best,

Tracy

 

I hope this helps as you craft your own picture book query letters, and that you’ll check out this fantastic picture book by Tara Luebbe and Becky Cattie, illustrated by Victoria Maderna and published by Macmillan/Roaring Brook Press!

On a more personal note, it’s also interesting for me to come back to this pitch and see where the authors and I were in our careers when this book sold back in mid-2017, compared to this week, when the book is published. Tara and Becky now have six published books (including Ronan) and for me, this was my first auction as an agent at BookEnds.

"A surprising gem." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Chicken Wants a Nap is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and your favorite independent bookstore!

The post How I Pitched RONAN THE LIBRARIAN by Tara Luebbe and Becky Cattie appeared first on Tracy Marchini - Literary Agent & Children's Author.

*I missed the March update as we all acclimated to our new normal and as a nation, I think, collectively grieved this worldwide change. I hope you and yours are all healthy and well. Over here, we are well and trying to celebrate the bright spots where we find them. With that said…*

This month, I have some big personal news! My second picture book as an author, Princesses Can Fix It! is coming in 2021 from Page Street Kids!

From the deal announcement:

Courtney Burke at Page Street Kids has bought world rights to Princesses Can Fix It! by literary agent Tracy Marchini (Chicken Wants a Nap); Julia Christians will illustrate. A STEM-focused take on The Twelve Dancing Princesses, the story follows three princesses who use the six simple machines in their nighttime secret workshop to solve the king’s alligator problem and prove that proper princesses can build, invent, and experiment after all. Publication is set for spring 2021; Jenna Pocius at Red Fox Literary represented the author, and Susan McCabe at Lilla Rogers Studio represented the illustrator.

My clients also have some fun news, and when things reopen, you can (hopefully) check out the Wow Bao! chain of kiosk restaurants for copies of Charlene Chua’s Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao and coloring sheets. Also, a big congratulations to Sally Deng on the sale of Warrior Princess: The Story of Khutulun and another book to FSG! More on the deal below!

Publishing this Month

Going Up! by Sherry J. Lee and illustrated by Charlene Chua (Kids Can Press, April 7, 2020)

Genius Jolene by Sara Cassidy and illustrated by Charlene Chua (Orca Books, April 7, 2020)

Ronan the Librarian by Tara Luebbe and Becky Cattie, illustrated by Victoria Maderna (Macmillan/Roaring Brook Press, April 21, 2020)

Starred Reviews and Best of Lists

Jennifer Robin Barr‘s Goodbye, Mr. Spalding (BMK/Calkins Creek, March 2019) was named as a 2020 Bank Street Best Book!

Rita Lorraine Hubbard and Oge Mora’s The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read (RH/Anne Schwartz Books, January 2020) was one of twenty books selected for the 2021 & 2022 Choose to Read Ohio booklist!

Tara Luebbe and Becky Cattie‘s Ronan the Librarian is a Junior Library Guild Selection!

New Deals

Trisha de Guzman at FSG has acquired, at auction, in a two-book, six-figure deal, Warrior Princess: The Story of Khutulun by author-illustrator Sally Deng. The book follows the life of the great-great granddaughter of Genghis Khan, a princess who could rule on the battlefield as well as—or better—than any soldier, and when faced with a potential marriage, learns that sometimes the best way to serve one’s community is to stay true to oneself. Publication is slated for winter 2022; a second, untitled book will publish in winter 2023. Tracy Marchini at BookEnds did the deal for world English rights.

Alexis Orgera and Chad Reynolds at Penny Candy Books have bought world rights to Between Two Worlds: The Art and Life of Amrita Sher-Gil by Meera Sriram. This picture book biography follows the titular Indian-Hungarian painter, who blended Eastern and Western traditions to paint that which was not previously seen in fine art—the workers, the forgotten, and, most especially, the sadness that the women around her carried. Ruchi Bakshi Sharma will illustrate. Publication is scheduled for spring 2021; Tracy Marchini at BookEnds Literary represented the author, and the illustrator represented herself.

Claire Stetzer at Bloomsbury has bought world rights to Jessica Kulekjian‘s fiction debut, First Notes of Spring, a picture book about a badger who is excluded from the band that wakes up spring each year, and decides to march to the beat of her own drum. Jennifer Bower will illustrate. Publication is planned for winter 2022; Tracy Marchini and James McGowan at BookEnds represented the author, and Jennifer March Soloway at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the illustrator.

Rebecca Glaser at Amicus Ink has bought world rights to One Blue Gnu by Danna Smith. The picture book is a colorful counting romp at the zoo, where a box of misplaced cell phones leads one blue gnu to call two white sheep, who plan a party—beep beep beep! Ana Zurita will illustrate. Publication is set for spring 2021; Tracy Marchini at BookEnds Literary represented the author, and Chiara Patsias at IMC Literary Agency represented the illustrator.

Rob Valois at Penguin Workshop has bought world rights to John Micklos Jr.‘s Raindrops to Rainbow. The story is about a girl who experiences a thunderstorm and learns that only with a little rain can we see the beauty of a rainbow. Charlene Chua will illustrate; publication is scheduled for spring 2021. Erin Murphy at Erin Murphy Literary represented the author, and Tracy Marchini at BookEnds Literary represented the illustrator.

New Clients

In March, I welcomed two new clients! 

I’m thrilled to share that I’m now representing author-illustrator Sina Merabian, whose portfolio is full of things both macabre and lighthearted. I absolutely love how she has three different variations on Dracula in her portfolio, from the classic horror feel to a more humorous picture book and a heartwarming, queer middle grade scene.

I also welcomed author Mike Downs, whose non-fiction I am super excited about! We have talked about so many awesome ideas for young readers and I can’t wait till we’re able to share more news about his forthcoming books! 

Personal News

My big news is Princesses Can Fix It! of course, but I also used Brad Mondo’s YouTube haircut tutorial a couple weeks ago, and honestly, I’m pretty dang happy with how it turned out! (Plus, I home bleached my hair just like I was back in undergrad. Definitely needed the purple shampoo to tone it down – which is something that I don’t think I was aware of/existed when I was in college – but I’m pretty happy with that, too. It took longer for me to get used to than I thought it would though, since I pretty much spent years as a bottle blonde in my twenties. Weird.) 

MSWL of the Month

I’m looking for more clever, witty picture books with a pop culture sensibility, chapter books and young graphic novels with series potential, and middle grade that’s full of hope.

And as always, I’d love to see more author-illustrators in my inbox that really explore the advantages of being able to juxtapose art and text yourself!

You can query me at http://queryme.online/tmarchini for this and any other of my #mswls any time I’m open to queries.

Last Month in The Quacktory

In the last issue of The Quacktory, I talked about what it means to write from the heart, and how that sometimes gets muddled when we’re also trying to write for the market. This month, I’ll be talking about creating in difficult times.

To get my monthly newsletter delivered to your inbox, you can join The Quacktory. (This month’s issue goes out tomorrow!)

"A surprising gem." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Chicken Wants a Nap is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and your favorite independent bookstore!

The post April 2020 Round Up and #mswl appeared first on Tracy Marchini - Literary Agent & Children's Author.

I tweeted some science-related #mswls earlier this summer, but I thought it’d be helpful to collate them here and share! Here goes:

I would love to see a trade NF book exploring antarctica and climate change. (This idea is not fully formed, so bear with me…) So like, why protecting antarctica is important, who “owns” antarctica, what is actually physically present (animals, research stations, etc) written in a way that’s super engaging for young readers (perhaps picture book or middle grade)
Space, astronomy, astrophysics.
A book about how going to the moon now would be different than it was when the US went in 1969 (technology changes, etc.) for kids or teens.
amazing stories about what human, animal or plant bodies can do (e.g. more like on a cellular/biology level, not biographies)
NF books about scientific discoveries made by LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, disabled, non-christian, and/or neurodiverse people (particularly for an mg or ya audience, though open to pbs as well).
a how-to book for teens about divestment and eco-activism
books that emphasize the bridge between science and the arts
I went through a phase years ago where I read a lot of books on the history of math
NF pbs that are written using a super engaging hook or concept

This would all have to be for the trade non-fiction audience, since I don’t rep books in the educational market. Hope this helps, and if you have something that might be a fit, you can query me here!

"A surprising gem." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Chicken Wants a Nap is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target and your favorite independent bookstore!

The post My science-related non-fiction wishlist #mswl appeared first on Tracy Marchini - Literary Agent & Children's Author.

This month, Rita Lorraine Hubbard and Oge Mora’s The Oldest Student was spotted in my colleague’s local paper (Thanks, Jessica A!) and Kat Zhang was featured on NBC 5 for her and Charlene Chua’s Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao!

Publishing this Month

We Could Be Heroes by Margaret Finnegan (S&S/Atheneum, February 2020)

Starred Reviews and Best of Lists

Margaret Finnegan’s We Could Be Heroes (S&S/Atheneum, February 2020) is a Junior Library Guild Selection!

Rita Lorraine Hubbard and Oge Mora’s The Oldest Student: How Mary Walker Learned to Read (RH/Schwartz & Wade, January 2020) has received a fifth(!!) starred review, this time from BookPage. The Oldest Student has also been selected for the Action Book Club under the theme Reading All Around.

Kat Zhang and Charlene Chua’s Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao (S&S/Aladdin, October 2019) has been chosen as one of the Top Ten titles for the Ontario Library Association’s (OLA) Best Bets Committee.

Work from Yvonne Ivinson’s Fox and the Box (HC/Greenwillow, May 2019) was chosen for exhibition as part of the SCBWIBI Illustrators juried show Pictures At Play in London.

New Deals

Carolyn Yoder at Calkins Creek/Boyds Mills & Kane has acquired Thunder and Mercy, a second middle grade by Jennifer Robin Barr (Goodbye, Mr. Spalding). A novel of unfinished business, secret identities and found families, the book throws the protagonist into a historical mystery starring Mount Pleasant (a wedding gift from Benedict Arnold to his bride, Peggy Shippen) and the infamous Agent 355 – a female member of the Culper Spy Ring who helped to expose Arnold, and whose real life identity remains a mystery. Publication is planned for 2022; Tracy Marchini at BookEnds Literary did the deal for World English Language rights.

Anne Shone at Scholastic Canada has acquired Oliver Bounces Back by Alison Hughes, illustrated by Charlene Chua. The book, told in a unique news story format, follows a boy having a very bad day in school but who learns how to “bounce back.” The author represented herself and Tracy Marchini at BookEnds Literary represented the illustrator for World rights.

Allison Cohen at Running Press has acquired, in a pre-empt, Battle of the Butts, a debut non-fiction picture book by Jocelyn Rish and illustrated by David Creighton. In this rump-centric romp, readers create their own criteria and rank their favorite (or least favorite) fannies amongst ten animal competitors. Will it be The Tough Tushie – aka the wombat – who uses its reinforced rump to protect its burrow from predators, or The Fatal Farter – aka the beaded lacewing – who kills termites that prey on it with its farts? With the possibility of new criteria each time, this is a battle that is sure to be fought again and again! Publication is planned for Fall 2021; Tracy Marchini at BookEnds Literary represented the author and Sam Groff at Advocate Art represented the illustrator for World rights.

New Clients

None this month, but I am looking!

I’m particularly interested in seeing more author-illustrators; chapter book, middle grade and YA graphic novelists; inclusive contemporary middle grade and YA novels; LGBTQIA+ picture books (both fiction and non-fiction); and as always – stories that are full of humor and/or heart. I love clever word-play, witty character banter (as long as it still sounds age-appropriate) and stories that are fun/funny and teach me something new about the world.

Personal News

This has been a really bad cold and flu season for me. (Fun fact: we can add one more antibiotic to the list of ones I don’t respond well to!)

MSWL of the Month

As well as the list above, I’d love to see more inclusive books that celebrate love in all its forms!

You can query me at http://queryme.online/tmarchini for this and any other of my #mswls any time I’m open to queries.

Last Month in The Quacktory

Last month I talked about the productivity question I asked myself in 2019 – and the better question I’ll be asking myself in 2020. This month, I’ll be talking about what it means to write from the heart, and how that sometimes gets muddled when we’re also trying to write for the market.

To get my monthly newsletter delivered to your inbox, you can join The Quacktory. (This month’s issue goes out tomorrow!)

"A surprising gem." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Chicken Wants a Nap is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Target and your favorite independent bookstore!

The post February 2020 Round Up and #MSWL appeared first on Tracy Marchini - Literary Agent & Children's Author.