Publishers Marketplace: Erin Murphy

--World rights to Chris Barton's (author of Sibert Honor book THE DAY-GLO BROTHERS and NYT bestseller SHARK VS. TRAIN) nonfiction picture book JOHN DOBSON IS PART OF THE SKY, a look at the defense-worker-turned-monk-turned-astronomer and influential inventor of the Dobsonian telescope, which can be made from cast-off materials, to Yolanda Scott at Charlesbridge, by Erin Murphy.
--World rights to Ammi-Joan Paquette's PARADOX, a fast-paced YA survival adventure in which a teenage girl wakes up alone in a rocket on a hostile planet with no memories of her past, and must fight her way past natural obstacles, snares, and one very hungry giant worm before the timer on her wrist ticks down to zero, with the fate of humanity hanging in the balance, to Jim Thomas at Random House Children's, by Erin Murphy.
--World rights to Jean Reidy's picture book TOO PRINCESSY!, reuniting her with TOO PURPLEY! and TOO PICKLEY! illustrator Genevieve Leloup, this time focusing on a fussy toddler finding the just-right playtime option, to Michelle Nagler of Bloomsbury Children's, by Erin Murphy. (Michele Manasse represents Leloup.)
--World English rights to THE TIPTOE GUIDE TO TRACKING FAIRIES author Ammi-Joan Paquette's picture book A GHOST IN THE HOUSE, a fun journey through a haunted house full of spooky sounds and creatures, to Kate Fletcher at Candlewick, by Erin Murphy.
--North American rights to Anna Staniszewski's debut MY UN-FAIRY TALE LIFE, about a 12-year-old who goes on missions to save magical kingdoms--but with bloodthirsty unicorns, manic clowns, and an insanely useless gnome sidekick, she's not sure she's cut out for the job anymore, to Rebecca Frazer at Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, by Ammi-Joan Paquette.
--World rights to CHRISTMAS FARM and RED RUBBER BOOT DAY author Mary Lyn Ray's THE STAR BOOK, to be illustrated by two-time Caldecott Honor medalist Marla Frazee, to Allyn Johnston at Beach Lane Books, for publication in fall 2011, by Erin Murphy for Ray.
--North American rights to THE TIPTOE GUIDE TO TRACKING FAIRIES author Ammi-Joan Paquette's lyrical first novel, LUCHI, UNDAUNTED, in which a 13-year-old girl born and raised in a Thai prison ventures out into the world after the death of her mother, seeking to uncover the secrets her mother left behind and find the American family she has never met, to Stacy Cantor at Walker Children's, by Erin Murphy.
--Tara Lazar's debut picture book THE MONSTORE, about a shop which sells only the most useful monsters, and has only one rule: no refunds, no exchanges, to Emily Lawrence at Aladdin, for publication in summer 2012, by Ammi-Joan Paquette.
--North American rights to picture book author Audrey Vernick's debut WATER BALLOON, a contemporary story of friendship and first love set in the tender emotional territory of the last summer before high school, to Jennifer Greene at Clarion, by Erin Murphy.
--World rights to Jennifer Nielsen's middle-grade trilogy THE ORPHAN PRINCE, in which three orphans are recruited to compete in a treacherous plan to impersonate a lost prince and thus prevent a civil war--but that's just the start of the deception, to Lisa Sandell at Scholastic, in a good deal, in a pre-empt, by Ammi-Joan Paquette.
--World rights to Eric Pinder's picture book IF ALL OF THE ANIMALS CAME INSIDE, to be illustrated by celebrated ARTHUR creator Marc Brown, about a child who imagines the chaos that would ensue if zoo animals became house pets, to Lauren Hodge and Liza Baker at Little, Brown Children's, for Spring 2012 publication, by Ammi-Joan Paquette.
--World rights to TRIGGER and BIG FAT MANIFESTO author Susan Vaught's untitled new novel, in which a seventeen-year-old faces his coming adulthood with a felony on his record that will shape the rest of his life, all because of a mutually consenting "sexting" incident with his girlfriend three years earlier, to Margaret Miller at Bloomsbury, by Erin Murphy.
--North American rights to Trent Reedy's debut WORDS IN THE DUST, about a thirteen-year-old Afghan girl who dreams of a better life, based on the real experiences of people the author met while serving in Afghanistan, to Cheryl Klein at Arthur A. Levine Books, for publication in Spring 2011, by Ammi-Joan Paquette.
--World rights to Lynda Mullaly Hunt's debut ONE FOR THE MURPHYS, in which a street-smart 13-year-old becomes a foster child and is folded into a family that shows her a side of life she didn't think existed, breaking down her walls and teaching her that not only can she love other people, but she can let them love her, too, to Nancy Paulsen for the new Nancy Paulsen Books imprint at Penguin, for publication in spring 2011, by Erin Murphy.
--World rights to Mary Lindsey's YA novel SHATTERED SOULS, a dark and dangerous forbidden love story about a Speaker who helps lingering ghosts pass to the spirit world and the Protector who has pledged to serve her, to Jill Santopolo at Philomel, by Ammi-Joan Paquette.
--World rights to RED GLASS author Laura Resau's THE JADE NOTEBOOK, sequel to THE INDIGO NOTEBOOK and the forthcoming THE RUBY NOTEBOOK, in which a world traveler and her flighty mother continue their adventures, this time in Oaxaca, Mexico, where she faces danger while trying to protect local sea turtles, again to Stephanie Elliott at Delacorte, by Erin Murphy.
--World rights to the fourth book in R.L. LaFevers's NATHANIEL FLUDD: BEASTOLOGIST chapter book series, set in France, in which Nate, gremlin Greasle, and Aunt Phil close in on adversary Obediah Fludd, news of Nate's parents, and the fate of the last unicorns, again to be illustrated by Kelly Murphy, again to Kate O'Sullivan at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, by Erin Murphy.
--World rights to ALL THE WORLD author Liz Garton Scanlon's picture book THINK BIG, a lyrical celebration of imagination and creativity in many child-friendly forms, to Michelle H. Nagler at Bloomsbury Children's by Erin Murphy.
--World English rights to Erin E. Moulton’s debut novel, MAPLE T. RITTLE AND THE QUEST FOR A MIRACLE, a contemporary middle-grade tale of sisterhood, survival, and the healing power of love, following two girls who set off into the wilderness in search of a miracle for their baby sister, to Jill Santopolo at Philomel, by Ammi-Joan Paquette.
--World English rights to Michelle Ray's debut YA novel OPHELIA LIVE, a contemporary retelling of Shakespeare’s HAMLET with a celebrity twist, from the point of view of a kick-ass Ophelia who is neither suicidal nor anyone’s pushover, to Alvina Ling at Little, Brown/Poppy, at auction, for publication in spring 2011, by Ammi-Joan Paquette.
--North American rights to STRUDEL STORIES author Joanne Rocklin's ONE DAY AND ONE AMAZING MORNING ON ORANGE STREET, a gently humorous middle-grade novel revolving around a neighborhood's one remaining orange tree, told in the viewpoints of the street's many inhabitants, past and present, in a two-book deal, at auction, in a very nice deal, to Susan Van Metre and Maggie Lehrman at Amulet, to be edited by Maggie Lehrman, by Erin Murphy.
--World rights to Cynthia Levinson's WE HAVE A JOB: THE 1963 BIRMINGHAM CHILDREN'S MARCH, the true story of 4,000 children who confronted police and allowed themselves to be arrested in order to desegregate the city and revive the floundering civil rights movement, told for middle grade readers through the eyes of four people who actually participated as children, to Kathy Landwehr of Peachtree, at auction, by Erin Murphy.
--World rights to author of THE DAY-GLO BROTHERS Chris Barton's THE AMAZING AGE OF JOHN ROY LYNCH, picture book biography of a man who in ten years went from teenaged field slave to Reconstruction-era Congressman, to Anita Eerdmans at Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, by Erin Murphy.
--World rights to R.L. LaFevers's THEODOSIA AND THE LAST PHAROAH, the fourth book starring the 11-year-old with an impressive knowledge of ancient Egyptian artifacts and a gift for nulling curses, in which Theo returns to Egypt, gets caught up in the machinations of competing secret societies, and edges closer to answering the questions surrounding her own birth, again to Kate O'Sullivan at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's, by Erin Murphy.
--World rights to author of the upcoming SHE LOVED BASEBALL: THE EFFA MANLEY STORY Audrey Vernick's picture book MY BROTHER'S UP, a true-life story about big families, brotherly love, and baseball, focusing on the Acerras, the longest-playing all-brother baseball team ever, to Jennifer Wingertzahn at Clarion, by Erin Murphy.
--World rights to author of the forthcoming ALL THE WORLD (illustrated by Marla Frazee) Liz Garton Scanlon's picture book NOODLE AND LOU, about a worm and a bird who have an unlikely and unconditional friendship, to be published in summer 2010 and illustrated by MR. PUTTER AND TABBY's Arthur Howard, to Allyn Johnston at Beach Lane Books, by Erin Murphy.
--World English rights to debut author-illustrator C.G. Young's untitled picture book about a pig named Toast, whose job is to grant children's wishes, and the girl who becomes his best friend, to Liz Szabla at Feiwel & Friends, by Erin Murphy.
--World rights to Audrey Vernick's picture book SO YOU WANT TO BE A ROCK STAR, which challenges kids of all ages to find out if they have what it takes to rock the world (or at least their living rooms), to Stacy Cantor at Walker Children's, by Erin Murphy.
--World rights to Jean Reidy's THERE'S A CORNER IN MY HOUSE, to be illustrated by Robert Neubecker, creator of WOW! CITY and WOW! SCHOOL!, a subversive look at what might happen when a kid with a big imagination is stuck in time out, to Tamson Weston at Disney, by Erin Murphy, with Linda Pratt at Sheldon Fogelman Agency representing Neubecker.
--World rights to author of HOW NOT TO BE POPULAR Jennifer Ziegler's SASS & STUPIDITY, the contemporary tale of two very different sisters, their broken family, and their dating adventures, loosely based on Jane Austen's SENSE & SENSIBILITY, again to Stephanie Elliott at Delacorte, by Erin Murphy.
--World English rights to author of RED GLASS Laura Resau's QUEEN OF WATER, based on the life story of co-author Maria Virginia Farinango, who left her family in an impoverished indigenous Ecuadorian village as a 7-year-old to be a servant, and struggled to hold onto her spirit throughout her oppressive girlhood, ultimately reclaiming her identity as an indígena at the age of 16, to Stephanie Elliott at Delacorte, by Erin Murphy.
--World rights to NOT NORMAN author Kelly Bennett's picture book VAMPIRE BABY, to Sarah Ketchersid at Candlewick, by Erin Murphy.
--World English rights to novelist and nature writer Brenda Peterson and photographer Robin Lindsey's picture book about the phenomenon of seal sitting, in which people (including children) keep vigil over baby seals while their mothers swim off to fish, to Christy Ottaviano at Christy Ottaviano Books/Holt Children's, by Erin Murphy.
--World rights to author of MAYBELLE IN THE SOUP and MAYBELLE GOES TO TEA Katie Speck's new chapter book, MAYBELLE AT THE FAIR, with Paul Ratz de Tagyos illustrating, the third chapter book featuring the spunky cockroach with the gastronomi obsession, again to Reka Simonsen at Holt Children's, by Erin Murphy.
--World rights to author of THE THREE BEARS CHRISTMAS Kathy Duval's I THINK I SEE A UFO, a bouncy, irreverent picture book account of an alien landing in rural Texas, in which the little green men are infatuated with barbecue and hoedowns, to Tamson Weston of Disney Hyperion Books, by Erin Murphy.
--World rights to BLOOD AND FLOWERS, in which a troupe of puppeteers, including a member of a royal Faerie family and a teenaged runaway, stage elaborate illegal shows blending magic and social commentary, by Penny Blubaugh, author of the forthcoming SERENDIPITY MARKET, to Jill Santopolo at Laura Geringer Books, by Erin Murphy,
--World rights to Jean Reidy's picture book MY OWN LITTLE PIECE OF THE UNIVERSE, a cumulative verse celebrating a child's comforting sense of place, to Tamson Weston of Hyperion Books for Children.
--Chris Barton's, CAN I SEE YOUR ID?, a YA collection of profiles of real-life impostors ranging from charlatans to survivors, to Nancy Mercado at Dial, by Erin Murphy.
--World rights to Elizabeth Van Steenwyk's picture book BLACKSMITH'S SONG, in which a child learns to communicate messages to travelers on the Underground Railway using his father's hammer and anvil before his family joins the others traveling to freedom, to Kathy Landwehr at Peachtree Publishers, by Erin Murphy.