LARK AND KASIM START A REVOLUTION
Fall 2022, Abrams, TBD pp
Seventeen-year-old nonbinary, neurodivergent Lark Winters wants to be published, but they’ve only been receiving rejection after rejection from literary agents. They believe that their only way to succeed is to get over 50K followers on Twitter, and they’re well on their way—until one night when their former best friend and now number one enemy, Kasim Youngblood, accidentally posts onto Lark’s Twitter account.
Kasim’s thread is a declaration of his unrequited love for someone he fears hates him, and when it goes viral, Lark is afraid of backlash they might receive if they announce that it was actually Kasim’s thread. Lark pretends that they wrote it, even saying that the thread had been about their own secret crush, Eli, when pushed for details, and entering an online-famous romance with them.
As it becomes increasingly clear that Kasim actually wrote the thread about Lark, they must unravel their own feelings for Kasim and his girlfriend Sable, face online attacks and bullies in real life, and learn accountability for their own mistakes—a path that helps them begin to feel a revolutionary self-love.
DRAMATIC RIGHTS
Please contact Addison Duffy at UTA.
MOONFLOWER
Summer 2022, Scholastic, TBD pp
The award-winning author of Hurricane Child and King and the Dragonflies brings another unflinching story of identity and hope to young readers.
Every night, twelve-year-old Moon leaves for the spirit realm where they meet with Wolf, their one and only friend, and attempt to escape into the stars forever. Moon doesn’t want to be in the world of the living. Their mom forces them to go to therapy, but they don’t speak anymore, not when there aren’t any words that describe their pain; and at school, in their small class, Moon is afraid they’ll be bullied again, like they were the year before.
When the Keeper of the spirit realm promises to help Moon stay in the stars forever in exchange for bringing her a handful of starlight, Moon inadvertently helps the Keeper attack the spirit world, putting Wolf and the other spirit beings into a deep sleep. With the help of new friends, Moon must begin their own healing journey to save the spirit realm, meeting with ancestors and guardians who teach Moon that they are not alone, that they are loved, and help Moon discover their own answer to their question: what is the meaning of life?
Lambda Literary, Stonewall, and National Book Award winner Kacen Callender delivers another heartfelt story about what it means to be true to yourself. In sweeping, lyrical prose, they uncover the truths of growing up that have made them an award-winning author.
DRAMATIC RIGHTS
Please contact Addison Duffy at UTA.
FELIX EVER AFTER
May 2020, Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 368 pp
From National Book, Stonewall, and Lambda Literary Award-winning author Kacen Callender comes a poignant story of identity and self-discovery, layered with romance.
Felix Love has never been in love, and he’s painfully aware of the irony. What’s worse is that, despite being proud of his identity, Felix also secretly fears that he’s one marginalization too many—Black, queer, and transgender—to get his own happily ever after. But when his plans to get revenge on a transphobic anonymous bully via catfishing lands him in a quasi-love triangle, he’ll learn a thing or two about falling in love—and recognizing the love that may have been there all along.
FELIX EVER AFTER is an empowering, compulsively readable trans coming-of-age story with a happy and romantic ending. It deals with issues of gender identity and questioning, especially within the larger LGBTQIA+ community and features a cast of queer main characters of color who identify across the spectrum on their gender and sexuality—important intersectional representation not often seen in YA lit.
STARRED REVIEWS
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL – “Full of warmth, love, and support, this is an important story and an essential purchase.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY – “Callender (King and the Dragonflies) excels, producing an exhilarating cast of queer characters, many of whom are people of color, who are as relatable as they are realistic, and a whodunit that will keep readers guessing to the last twist… This top-notch depiction of a messy, complicated, romantic young artist navigating the bumpy road to self-love and self-determination sticks its landing at every turn.”
BOOKLIST – “From its stunning cover art to the rich, messy, nuanced narrative at its heart, this is an unforgettable story of friendship, heartbreak, forgiveness, and self-discovery, crafted by an author whose obvious respect for teen readers radiates from every page.”
ACCOLADES
- Won a Stonewall Honor
- Debuted on the Indie Bestsellers List
- Junior Library Guild Selection
- A Vanity Fair and Forbes best book of 2020
- A New York Public Library and Chicago Public library best book of 2020
- A 2021 YALSA pick for best fiction for young adults
INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS
| Czech | Euromedia Group |
| French | Editions Slalom |
| German | Bastei Lubbe AG |
| Italian | Mondadori |
| Polish | Wydawnictwo Nowa Baśń |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | Editora Nacional |
| Spanish | Kakao Books |
| UK | Faber |
DRAMATIC RIGHTS
Please contact Addison Duffy at UTA.
TV series in development at Amazon.
KING AND THE DRAGONFLIES
February 2020, Scholastic, 272 pp
From the Stonewall and Lambda Book Award-winning author of HURRICANE CHILD comes the National Book Award-winning novel about loss, grief, and finding the courage to discover one’s identity.
Twelve-year-old Kingston James is sure his brother Khalid has turned into a dragonfly after his sudden death, shedding what King considers was his first skin to live down by the bayou in their small Louisiana town. Khalid visits King in his dreams, but tells him not to tell anyone that he’s become a dragonfly, and so King keeps the secret to himself as he watches his parents evolve through their grief, and works through his own building anger and sadness at having lost his brother. To make matters worse, just days before his death, Khalid overheard King’s best friend Sandy telling King a secret—that he thinks he might be gay—so Khalid made King end their friendship. But when King finds Sandy hiding in a tent in his backyard, he agrees to help Sandy escape from his abusive father, and the two begin an adventure as they build their own private paradise down by the bayou and amongst the dragonflies. THE THING ABOUT JELLYFISH meets THE STARS BENEATH OUR FEET.
STARRED REVIEWS
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL – “An intense, gripping tale of love, loss, and friendship featuring a black youth grappling with his dreams and his identity. Recommended for all middle grade collections.
THE HORN BOOK – “Masterfully balances resonant themes of grief, love, family, friendship, racism, sexuality, and coming-of-age.”
BOOKLIST – “Strongly recommended for all children’s collections.”
SHELF AWARENESS – “Kacen Callender’s second middle-grade novel deftly confronts racism and homophobia as a black teen struggles to find “a new normal” after the sudden death of his brother.”
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY – “Callender…returns to middle grade in this powerful tale of grief, intersectional identity, and love.”
ACCOLADES
- 2020 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature
- 2020 Coretta Scott King Honor
- 2020 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
- A 2020 School Library Journal Best Book
- A 2020 Publishers Weekly Best Book
- A 2020 Barnes & Noble Best Book
- A 2020 Shelf Awareness Best Book
- 2020 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award finalist
- A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection
INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS
| Dutch | Querido Kinderboeken |
| Italian | Feltrinelli |
| Korean | Sakyejul Publishing Ltd. |
| Portuguese (Brazil) | Editora Nacional |
| UK | Scholastic UK |
NOTE: English Audio rights sold to Scholastic Audio
THIS IS KIND OF AN EPIC LOVE STORY
October 2018, Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 304 pp
A fluffy romantic comedy that plays with the friends-to-lovers and second-chance tropes featuring diverse LBGTQ+ teens from National Book Award winning author Kacen Callender.
Nathan Bird is a film buff, but he’s a firm disbeliever in real-life happy endings. Still reeling from the death of his father and the recent demise of his relationship with his best friend Florence, he doesn’t always make the best choices and certainly not any that would paint him as a hero. But when his old childhood friend (and former crush) Oliver moves back into town, he’s faced with another chance to self-sabotage, or maybe instead, he’ll realize that sometimes when you fall in love, someone might catch you.
STARRED REVIEWS
KIRKUS – “…a delightful cast of teenage characters who feel so authentic that readers will be scanning their school cafeterias for them. The author has a talent for capturing the earnest-yet-awkward cadence of teenspeak, and they explore the humor and pathos of adolescent relationships in a way that demonstrates a deep respect for the teen audience… A delightful testimony to the enduring power of love.”
ACCOLADES
- 2018 Lambda Literary Award Finalist
- ALA Rainbow List
- 2019 YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers
- Kirkus Best of YA 2018 list
- An Amazon Best YA of Nov 2018
INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS
| Dutch | Querido Kinderboeken |
| Spanish | Kakao Books |
NOTE: Sold in a pre-empt
HURRICANE CHILD
March 2018, Scholastic, 224 pp
A lyrical, debut middle grade novel with a touch of magical realism and LGBTQ+ themes, about first friendship, first love, and finding self-acceptance from National Book Award winning author Kacen Callender.
12-year-old Caroline Murphy is a Hurricane Child, having been born during a hurricane in the US Virgin Islands which is said to be a sign of bad luck. Caroline has certainly had her share: she’s hated by her classmates and was abandoned by her mother years before. She can also see things others can’t—at least until the new girl Kalinda crosses her path, who can see the same ghostly figures as Caroline. In the midst of a building hurricane and while discovering a crush on her new classmate despite the local homophobia, Caroline sets out to find her mother—and answers—once and for all.
STARRED REVIEWS
PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY – “Callender’s debut enriches the growing body of LGBTQ fiction for upper-elementary- and middle-school students. Visceral, pensive, and memorable.”
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL – “An excellent and nuanced coming-of-age tale with a dash of magical realism for readers who enjoy character-driven novels, especially those with middle grade LGBTQ+ characterizations.”
KIRKUS – “Embedding [their] appealing protagonist in a fully realized Caribbean setting, Callender has readers rooting for Caroline the whole way.”
ACCOLADES
- 2019 Stonewall Book Award
- 2019 Lambda Literary Award
- An American Booksellers Association “Indies Introduce” Pick of Winter/Spring 2018
- ALA Rainbow List
- Kirkus Best Children’s Books of 2018
- SLJ’s Best Books of 2018
- ALA Top 10 First Novels for Youth of 2018
INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS
| Spanish | Kakao Books |
| UK | Scholastic UK |
DRAMATIC RIGHTS
Please contact Addison Duffy at UTA.
NOTE: Sold at auction.