Awesome Agency News

Happy post-Labor Day madness, everyone!

I don't know if you know this, but after Labor Day starts one of publishing's Busy Seasons.  Lots of subbing projects to editors, lots of networking events, lots of submissions received (though, this is kind of all the time), lots of meetings with foreign publishers pre-Frankfurt Book Fair, etc. etc. And usually, there are also a number of books coming out at this time.

Between Labor Day and New Year's Day, NCLit has 13 books coming out--!!!  (see the complete list below) And we're starting it off with a bang.  Yesterday, on Labor Day, we had two books launch:

Kirk Scroggs' Tales of a Sixth Grade Muppet

Kody Keplinger's Shut Out

In addition to these Announcements of Awesome, there is even more good news for our very own Kirk Scroggs.  Wizard Hat Productions has optioned his first series, Wiley & Grampa's Creature Features, to develop an animated comedy series for boys 6-11 yrs old.
Read more about it here!

And to top it all off, I came in today to find a fantastic review for Erica O'Rourke's Torn in my Inbox, from School Library Journal, see (totally bolded the best parts!): 

Gr 7 Up–It’s an increasingly common premise: a magic world coexisting with the non-magic, one chosen individual possessing special powers, an ambiguous prophecy, and an urgent need to save the world. Except in this novel, the protagonist isn’t the chosen one. In fact, she is murdered before the book even begins, leaving behind her best friend, Mo Fitzgerald, who doesn’t even know that magic exists. Mo has always stayed below the radar and in theshadow of Verity. But even she could tell that the creatures that killed her friend weren’t human, and she’s determined to figure out what happened. Her journey takes her into a realm filled with magic-users called Arcs, demonlike Darklings, and a power struggle that threatens all stability. In addition, Mo’s family may or may not be involved with the mob, so it’s not just supernatural baddies that she has to watch out for. O’Rourke’s heroine is refreshing: determined, spunky, and unpredictable. The two requisite love interests are more formulaic, but Torn should still satisfy readers with an insatiable thirst for well-written, fast-paced fantasy and leave them eager for the next installment in the series.–Eliza Langhans, Hatfield Public Library, MA

Thank you, Eliza Langhans for this awesome review!

Now, if you want to keep up with what NCLit Books are being pubbed in the next few months, make a note of this list:

9/5/11 - Tales of a Sixth Grade Muppet by Kirk Scroggs (Disney/Little Brown)

9/5/11 - Shut Out by Kody Keplinger (Poppy/Little Brown)

9/20/11 - Just Before Dawn by Rochelle Alers (Arabesque/Harlequin)

9/20/11 - Bride for a Night by Rosemary Rogers (HQN)

10/18/11 - Capital Wives by Rochelle Alers (Kimani Press/Harlequin)

10/25/11 - The Shadow Reader by Sandy Williams (Ace/Berkley)

12/6/11 - Surrender ~A Haunting Emma Novel~ by Lee Nichols (Bloomsbury Children's)

12/27/11 - The Rotten Adventures of Zachary Ruthless 2: The Stench of Goodness by Allan Woodrow (HarperCollins Children's)

12/27/11 - Living Violet by Jaime Reed (Dafina/KTeen)

1/1/12 - Sanctuary Cove ~A Cavanaugh Island Novel~ by Rochelle Alers (Forever/Grand Central)

Also newly packaged and coming out in mass market paperback:

10/1/11 - Pieces of Sky by Kaki Warner (Berkley Sensation)

11/1/11 - Open Country by Kaki Warner (Berkley Sensation)

12/1/11 - Chasing the Sun by Kaki Warner (Berkley Sensation)

I think we've kicked off this latest season nicely. :-)