the latter will mark the author’s
middle grade debut. Macmillan said
the MG novel “follows a black girl
gamer who discovers that she’s the
reincarnated King Arthur and must
find her knights before she can face
off against the evil Morgana.” The two
YA novels will be part of McKinney’s
Nightmare-Verse series; A Crown So
Cursed, set for fall 2020, will be the
third entry in the series. The other YA
title will be a series prequel. Victoria Marini at the Irene
Goodman Agency represented McKinney.■ NBA Winner Fights
Racism at Kokila
Kokila’s Namrata Tripathi bought
world rights to two books by National
Book Award–winner Ibram X. Kendi.
The first title, the board book Antiracist
Baby, will be illustrated by Ashley
Lukashevsky. (Kendi’s recently
released How to Be an Antiracist is a
current bestseller.) Kokila said the
book will “empower parents and the
youngest children to discuss and uproot racism in our society
and in ourselves”; it’s scheduled for summer 2020. The second
title, Goodnight Racism, does not yet have a publication date.
Ayesha Pande at Pande Literary represented Kendi, while
Wendi Gu at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates represented
Lukashevsky.■ Candlewick Buys Pride
Picture Book
In a world rights deal, Katie Cun-
ningham at Candlewick Press bought
a picture book titled ‘Twas the Night
Before Pride. Clelia Gore at Martin
Literary & Media Management repre-
sented author Joanna McClintick,
saying the book, set the night before
the Pride March, follows “a queer
family preparing for the next day’s
festivities, remembering the technicolor revelry of years
past... and reaffirming just what it means to have pride.”
Set for spring 2022, the book will be illustrated by Juana
Medina; she was represented by Gillian MacKenzie at
MacKenzie Wolf.DEAL OF THE WEEK
DEALS
By Rachel Deahl■ Brooks’s ‘Devolution’ to Del Rey
Max Brooks, author of the smash hit World War Z, will
release a new novel in spring 2020 about the Bigfoot
legend. Devolution, originally
acquired a few years ago by then-
Crown publisher Molly Stern, has
just been announced as a forth-
coming Del Rey title. (Stern left Del
Rey parent Penguin Random House
in December 2018, after the Crown
and Random House divisions were
merged.) PRH said Julian Pavia
worked with Stern on the deal, and
now he and Sarah Peed will be
editing the title together. Jonny Geller at Curtis Brown Ltd.
brokered the North American rights acquisition on behalf
of Brooks. Del Rey described the novel as a “found-docu-
ment” work that “chronicles a horrific Sasquatch attack on
an isolated Pacific Northwest eco-community.” When asked
why the announcement is coming well after the acquisition,
PRH said the news was held until “a cover, excerpt, and
publication date were ready to release.”■ Lit Prof Sells Romance
Trilogy
After a three-house auction, Kate
Seaver at Berkley won world rights,
for six figures, to a historical romance
trilogy by Joanna Ruocco. The author,
represented by Tara Gelsomino at One
Track Literary Agency, is a writing pro-
fessor at Wake Forest University and a
Pushcart Prize winner. Gelsomino said
Ruocco, who’s writing the series under the pen name Joanna
Lowell, is “somewhat renowned in the experimental literary
fiction world” and will mix her literary instincts with “com-
mercial tropes” for the books. The series is set in Victorian-
era London and follows an art student who, Gelsomino
explained, “paints a scandalous nude portrait of a stranger
only to discover her muse is actually the Duke of Weston.”
The first book in the trilogy is set for spring 2021.■ McKinney Closes Treble at Imprint
For Macmillan’s Imprint, Weslie Turner nabbed world rights
to three books by L.L. McKinney. Under the deal, McKinney
will write two young adult titles and a middle grade title;©^ j e f fwat t sa m e r i c a nu n i v e r s i t yBrooksRuoccoKendiMcKinneyMcClintick18 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ SEPTEMBER 2, 2019