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In the Spotlight
 The Importance of Accessibility Editing in Picture BooksFor children with special educational needs and disabilities, there are some exciting accommodations being made within the children’s publishing industry. This doesn’t mean separate books for kids who may have dyslexia or dyspraxia, ADHD, autism, a visual impairment, or a physical disability like cerebral palsy. Instead, accessibility editing makes titles more inclusive and readable through specific design choices. more  In the News
 Federal Appeals Court Won’t Rehear ‘Iowa Safe Schools’ CaseA federal appeals court declined a petition for an en banc hearing for Iowa Safe Schools v. Reynolds, one of two cases challenging hundreds of book removals in K–12 classrooms and gender-related school restrictions under Iowa Senate File 496. more  SCBWI Launches New Golden Kite Award for TranslationThe Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators has announced the creation of a new category in its annual peer-selected awards program. The Golden Kite Award for Translation will be presented to an exceptional children’s book that has been translated into English. more  Authors Guild Issues Updated AI Best Practices for WritersAs questions continue to swirl around how to ethically and legally use AI in the writing and publishing of books, the Guild has updated its guidance to help authors better navigate the changing landscape. more  ALA Workers Make Progress Toward Labor UnionUnion-eligible employees of the American Library Association are voting on a union, ALA Workers United, this month, with ballots to be tallied on May 27. more
Anniversary News
 A Quartet of Imprints Mark Memorable MilestonesAs 2026 approaches its midpoint, several children’s publishers are spotlighting significant anniversaries. We checked in with the individuals at the editorial helms of these imprints to ask about the genesis and evolution of each venture and publishing highlights of this landmark year. more On the Scene
 Library of Congress Opens a Doorway for Curious KidsWhen the Library of Congress unveiled its new experiential research gallery designed for youth ages eight to 15 to the general public on May 9, an eager crowd of 1,100 people streamed in to explore The Source: Where Curiosity Sparks Discovery. PW had a first-hand look at the space. more Licensing News
 Partners in Play: Penguin Brings Melissa & Doug to Preschool ReadersPenguin Young Readers will debut its first three titles under a new license with Melissa & Doug, the preschool toy brand known for its wooden, sustainable, and realistic role-playing and developmental toys, in the fall. The relationship began with an idea from Cecily Kaiser, VP and publisher of the RISE x Penguin Workshop imprint. more   In Conversation
 Michaela Allen and P. Anneka Lynch Youth justice workers Michaela Allen (l.) and P. Anneka Lynch bring their compassion for young people to Let Me Be Honest: 28 Young Artists on Surviving an Uncertain World. This mixed media YA anthology, which they co-edited, features work from Canadian teens and highlights their experiences growing up today. The duo spoke about bringing the collection to life, and using harm-reduction discussions and workshops to help their students. more Q & A
 Benjamin Alire SáenzIn 1991, PEN/Faulkner Award–winning author and poet Benjamin Alire Sáenz experienced an unthinkable tragedy when his 13-year-old niece, Amy, was shot and killed in a bowling alley along with three other people. We spoke with the author about his new YA novel inspired by the event, When The World Was Happy, the ability to create understanding through storytelling, and why young readers need books that reflect their reality. Q: What role do you think fiction plays in helping to build empathy and awareness of social issues in young people? A: Fiction is safe. The world around young people is not. Whatever the novel is about, it’s just a novel, and that creates a distance—but at the same time, reading is an incredibly intimate experience. And I think reading contemporary novels does indeed touch young adults, and it sometimes helps create change in them. Books can change a life. They changed mine. more Out Next Week
 Hot Off the Press: Week of May 18 Among the books hitting shelves next week are a picture book highlighting a child’s flight of fancy, a middle grade novel in verse about a tween motocross athlete, a YA sports romance starring queer cheerleaders, and more. more In Brief
 In Brief: May 14, 2026Recently, an actor shared her new children’s project, an annual festival celebrated graphic novels, an author launched a political YA novel, and a beloved children’s character commemorated an anniversary. more
Rights Report
 Alvina Ling at Little, Brown/Alvina Ling Books has acquired It Begins with the End by Samira Ahmed, in an exclusive submission. The novel-in-verse, set during WWII, starts on the day a young British spy is set to be executed by the Nazis, and reverses back through her memories of a life filled with resistance, courage, and love. Publication is scheduled for spring 2027; Joanna Volpe at New Leaf Literary & Media sold world English rights.  Liz Szabla at Feiwel and Friends has bought, in an exclusive submission, Last Night at the Carnival Graveyard, Newbery Honor author Gennifer Choldenko's middle grade novel, pitched as Toy Story meets The Fault in Our Stars, about a sick kid who desperately wants his best friend back, spots a metal dinosaur pulling a wagon of unsold toys from a defunct toy store, and the chase is on. Publication is set for spring 2027; Elizabeth Harding at Curtis Brown Ltd. sold North American rights.  Emily Daluga at Chronicle Books has acquired Next Stop Nowhere, a new middle grade novel by K.A. Holt. In this science fiction novel-in-verse, an orphan living by his wits in an intergalactic mining colony finds himself facing new and annoying questions of morality when he's hired by shadowy residents of a seedy waypoint hotel to deliver their black-market goods and messages via secret branches of the colony's space elevator. Publication is planned for spring 2028; Ammi-Joan Paquette at Aevitas Creative Management sold world English rights.  Robyn Chapman at First Second has bought In the Cards by Atla Hrafney (l.), illustrated by Barbara Mazzi, a middle grade graphic novel about a highly competitive girl who has to choose between being a good friend and being the champion at a collectible card game tournament. Publication is scheduled for 2028; the writer and artist negotiated the deal for world rights (excluding Iceland).  Amy Fitzgerald at Lerner/Carolrhoda has acquired North American English rights to Spirit of the Crocodile by Aaron Fa'Aoso (l.) and Michelle Scott Tucker. This middle grade novel set in Australia's Torres Strait Islands follows 12-year-old Ezra as he navigates the challenges that come with growing up and the impact of climate change on his tiny community. Publication is slated for spring 2027; Carey Schroeter at Allen & Unwin brokered the deal.  Barry Jowett at Cormorant Books has bought Madam Morta's Phantasmagoria by Marina Cohen, a horror-themed middle grade reimagining of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In the novel, 12-year-old Emmy must decide if having her lifelong dream of becoming a great horror film director is worth the sacrifices she'll have to make. Publication is set for spring 2027; Lesley Sabga at the Seymour Agency sold world English rights.  Tara Walker at Tundra has acquired The Fan Brothers' The Clockwork Menagerie, a timely environmental fable about the invention of clockwork animals designed to heal a dying planet. Publication is planned for spring 2027; Kirsten Hall at Catbird Productions negotiated the deal for world rights.  Esther Hernandez at Knopf has bought world rights to Summers in Syria by National Book Award winner Shifa Saltagi Safadi (l.), illustrated by Hatem Aly, a picture book about a girl who experiences her first summer in Syria. Publication is scheduled for summer 2028; Janine Le at Janine Le Literary Agency represented the author, and James Burns at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.  Luana Kay Horry at HarperCollins has acquired world rights to Golden: A Story of Queen Mother Yaa Asantewaa by B. Sharise Moore (l.), illustrated by Dominique Ramsey, a picture book about how the Ashanti queen protected her people and their Golden Stool. Publication is slated for summer 2028; Laurie McLean at Fuse Literary represented the author, and Kelly Sonnack at Andrea Brown Literary Agency represented the artist.  Sylvie Frank at Penguin/Flamingo Books has bought world rights to Bears on Buses by Debra Hewitt (l.), illustrated by Charlie Alder, a picture book about the pitfalls of taking wild animals on various modes of transit, like monkeys on mini bikes and tigers on trains—but the narrator has an ulterior motive. Publication is set for summer 2028; Ritu Anand at D4EO Literary Agency represented the author, and Emily Fernandez at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator.  Maya Gartner at Phaidon has acquired world rights to The Gold Toilet by Jacob Sager Weinstein (l.), illustrated by Sarah Matuszewski. The picture book tells the real-life story of mischievous Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and the shocking theft of a multimillion-dollar toilet made entirely of gold. Publication is planned for fall 2027; Ammi-Joan Paquette at Aevitas Creative Management represented the author, and Laura Hemsley at the Bright Agency represented the illustrator. IN THE MEDIA
FEATURED REVIEWS
 No Place on EarthAndrea Beatriz Arango. Random House, $17.99 (256p) ISBN 979-8-217-11943-1 In this empathetic, lightly speculative novel, 11-year-old Gustavo Santos-Costa is worried about leaving Puerto Rico for a national park that’s home to “dangerous wildlife.” His family—particularly his father—teases him for his “sensitive” nature, which manifests in frighteningly realistic nightmares and the feeling of what he calls “chapines” in his stomach. Unnervingly, Gustavo’s aloof new classmate Kordell starts appearing in them. more  Bite MeJennifer Dugan, illus. by Kit Seaton. Putnam, $24.99 hardcover (240p) ISBN 978-0-593-85870-7; $17.99 paper ISBN 978-0-593-85871-4 Dugan and Seaton reteam in a whirlwind sapphic supernatural graphic novel. The same night that high school senior Poe gets the courage to rekindle her relationship with former flame Jolie, a pair of vampires attack and turn Poe. A few days later, however, Poe awakens in a buried coffin. Realizing she somehow survived the event, Poe digs herself out of her grave and finds refuge with members of a local vampire nest. more  How to Train Your Evil RobotJoy McCullough, illus. by Eduardo Medeiros. Sourcebooks Explore, $14.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4642-5840-4 After arriving by post, ERO (“also known as Evil Robot Overlord”), which the text implies is AI-powered, asks to be placed on its charging base “so I may destroy all human beings.” ERO’s kid recipient is initially wowed by the robot’s claimed capability to learn “everything you know within five hours and twelve minutes.” But when it declares the family dog an obstacle to its plans, the unflappable child declines to charge the robot. This cannily irreverent book punches well above its weight. more  All the Queen’s CursesAlyssa Hollingsworth. Page Street, $21.99 (384p) ISBN 979-8-89003-486-1 Sixteen-year-old Kit, who believes herself prospectless, experiences chronic pain caused by a “wasting sickness” while enduring physical abuse from her stepfather. Her stepsister and confidant, Catharine, meanwhile, is poised to marry Idris of the Northern Isles, whom Kit secretly covets. When a fae tricks Kit into swapping bodies with Catharine, Kit is privately thrilled and relieved, even as she harbors concern for Catharine’s future. Seeking a remedy for the switch, the sisters travel from the mainland to Idris’s home, only to find Idris beset by a deadly curse. more  Spaghetti CodeKarlie Kloss, with Vicky Fang, illus. by Remi Jose. Roaring Brook, $19.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-250-85288-5 When a neighbor’s pasta restaurant becomes so successful that demand outstrips supply, young Kelly Kent, who loves to “tinker, code, and build,” offers to assist with a bespoke technological fix. The pale-skinned child first observes, then builds. Finally, “It’s time to code!” As Kelly works to produce “a perfect plate” of pasta, the commands expand into a “tangled mess.” A diner’s request for spaghetti pie proves a breaking point until the protagonist tidies up the unwieldy code. more |
May 14, 2026
 
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People  Noreen Herits will be joining TvS Media Group as VP, publicity, on June 1; she was most recently VP, executive director of publicity and media strategy at Random House Children’s Books. In Case You Missed It Book Bans Increasingly Target Nonfiction, PEN America Reports | ||||
