Groundwood Books has acquired world rights to Matt James’s picture book GARBAGE PICKING CHARLIE. The story is described as a celebration of the value of community, resourcefulness, and perspective. Publication is expected for fall 2020. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser of Westwood Creative Artists.

Groundwood Books’s Semareh Al-Hillal has acquired world rights to Sara O’Leary’s picture books A KID IS A KID IS A KID and PERCY’S MUSEUM. O’Leary’s follow-up to A Family Is a Family Is a Family will be illustrated by Qin Leng and Percy’s Museum, about adapting to change and taking the time to notice everyday wonders, will be illustrated by Carmen Mok. Percy’s Museum will be released in spring 2021 and A Kid Is a Kid Is a Kid will be released in fall 2021. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser of Westwood Creative Artists.

Simon & Schuster Canada’s Nita Pronovost and Kevin Hanson have acquired world rights to Omar Mouallem’s PRAYING TO THE WEST. The book is described as a blend of memoir, history, and journalism that tells the history of Muslims in the Americas. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser of Westwood Creative Artists.

Owlkids Books’s Karen Boersma has acquired Caroline Adderson’s AVALANCE! and DRAGONS!, the first two books in the Pierre and Paul series. The series will comprise bilingual picture books that feature two boys, one French and one English, illustrated by Alice Carter. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists.

Shanghai Educational Publishing House Co. has acquired rights in China to doctors David Goldbloom and Pier Bryden’s HOW CAN I HELP?. The deal was arranged by Cindy Zhang at Andrew Nurnberg Associates International, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for Michael Levine.

Forbes has acquired Hungarian rights to Anna Porter’s BUYING A BETTER WORLD. The deal was arranged by Peter Bolza at Katai & Bolza Literary Agents, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists for John Pearce.

Fundacja Pogranicze has renewed Polish rights to Josef Skvorecky’s THE MIRACLE GAME. The deal was arranged by Tomasz Berezinski at Graal Literary Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists.

Wydawnictwo Czarne SP Z O.O. have acquired Polish rights to Skvorecky’s collection of short stories. The deal was arranged by Tomasz Berezinski at Graal Literary Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler at Westwood Creative Artists.

Tundra Books’s Tara Walker has acquired world rights to Caroline Adderson’s debut graphic novel ONCE UPON A TIME. The book is described as a charming and inventive story about the value of punctuation, to be illustrated by Roman Muradov. Publication is expected in spring 2021. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists.

Knopf Canada’s Craig Pyette has acquired world rights to historian John Boyko’s THE DEVIL’S TRICK: HOW CANADA FOUGHT THE VIETNAM WAR. The book is described as a bold expose on the spinning of a secret web of diplomatic, military, and economic interdependence between the United States and Canada during the Vietnam War. Publication will be in April 2020 to coincide with the 45th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists.

Ten Speed Press’s Kaitlin Ketchum has acquired rights to Toronto photographer Ian Brown’s AMERICAN DREAMS in a six-figure deal at auction. The photography book is described as a powerful and bipartisan collection that features 175 portraits of Americans from all walks of life alongside their handwritten statements about their American dream. Publication is expected for spring 2020. The deal was arranged by Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists.

McClelland & Stewart’s Martha Kanya-Forstner has acquired Canadian English rights to writer Jenny Heijun Wills’s OLDER SISTER. NOT NECESSARILY RELATED. The debut memoir deals with rediscovered culture and the painful ripple effects following a child’s removal from a family. The book will be published in fall 2019. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists.

Penguin Random House Canada’s Anne Collins has acquired Tessa McWatt’s SHAME ON ME: AN ANATOMY OF RACE AND BELONGING. The book is an analysis of the race debate from a personal perspective. Publication is expected in winter 2020. The North American English rights were arranged by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists. Philip Gwyn Jones at Scribe U.K. acquired U.K. and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) for publication in fall 2019 in a prior deal.

Tundra Books’s Tara Walker has also acquired world rights to Sara O’Leary’s THIS IS RUBY. With illustrations by Alea Marley, the book is about a girl who loves paleontology. Publication is expected in Fall 2020. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists (World).

Pajama Press’s Gail Winskill has acquired Canadian English rights to Ailsa Ross’s THE GIRL WHO RODE A SHARK: AND OTHER STORIES OF DARING WOMEN. The book, illustrated by Amy Blackwell, tells inspiring stories of girls and women from around the world who were warriors, scientists, artists and athletes, explorers, and adventurers. Publication is expected for September 2019. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser of Westwood Creative Artists.

Portage & Main Press’s Catherine Gerbasi has acquired world rights to two more volumes in Tasha Spillett’s SURVIVING THE CITY graphic novel series. The series is about Indigenous kinship, resilience, cultural resurgence, and the anguish of a missing loved one. Publication is expected in Fall 2019 and Fall 2020. The deal was arranged by Jackie Kaiser of Westwood Creative Artists.

Susan Renouf at ECW Press has acquired North American English-language rights to THE RECKONING, Anna Porter’s second art-world thriller featuring Helena Marsh after THE APPRAISAL. The deal was arranged by John Pearce of Westwood Creative Artists for Spring 2021 publication.

CBC News executive and Toronto Star contributor Cathrin Bradbury‘s THE BRIGHT SIDE: RELEARNING THE ART OF OPTIMISM AFTER A BROKEN YEAR, a frank, digressive, funny and inspiring voice-driven memoir that describes how a modern person’s life can change utterly in a single year, even, or perhaps especially, when she is in her pre-dotage years, to Nicole Winstanley and Diane Turbide at Penguin, for publication in Spring 2021, by Jackie Kaiser at Westwood Creative Artists (Canada English).

Troy Wilson (Dog vs. Ultra Dog)’s GOLDIBOOKS AND THE WEE BEAR has been acquired by Running Press Kids for publication in fall 2020. The picture book inverts the classic tale to feature an inquisitive, book-loving bear who raids Goldi’s house for something to read. Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists represented the author in the world rights deal.

Thomas King‘s DreadfulWater mystery series, to Alire (French in North America), by Anna Jarota at Anna Jarota Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

Patricia Joudry and Maurie Pressman’s TWIN SOULS, renewed by Ankh Hermes (Netherlands), by Stijn De Vries at Marianne Schonbach Agency, on behalf of Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Artists for Bruce Westwood.

M.G. Vassanji’s THE BOOK OF SECRETS, to Mamdouh Adwan Publishing House (Arabic), by Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Artists for Bruce Westwood.

Douglas & McIntyre has aquired Canadian English rights to adventure traveller Bruce Kirkby‘s KINGDOM OF THE SKY: From Distraction to Stillness, a Family Journey in the Forgotten Himalaya, a memoir which focuses primarily on the Kirkby family’s three months spent living amongst the Lamas of Zanskar Valley, and explores the themes of modern distraction, the loss of ancient wisdom, and the author’s personal coming to terms with his elder son’s diagnosis on the autism spectrum. The deal was arranged by Anna Comfort O’Keeffe at D&M and John Pearce and Chris Casuccio at Westwood Creative Artists for Fall 2020 publication.

Katie Hearn at Annick Press acquired world rights to Tiffany Stone’s new picture book TALLULAH PLAYS THE TUBA, about a diminutive but resourceful girl determined to master her favourite instrument, for publication in October 2019.  Hilary McMahon of Westwood Creative Artists represented Stone on the deal.  Sandy Nichols was brought on board by Annick to illustrate.

Anna Comfort O’Keeffe at Douglas & McIntyre has acquired North American English-language rights to three novels (two adult and one YA) by Charles Demers, author of Property Values. The two adult novels are mysteries featuring a psychiatrist, Acadian-born Dr Annick Boudreau, as the detective. Each mystery in the series will spotlight a different mental-health issue. PRIMARY OBSESSIONS and SUICIDAL THOUGHTS will be published in 2020 and 2021 respectively. The YA book, entitled THE GODSON, features a young boy who is fighting back against bullying and prejudice at a US military base where his father, a former mobster who has enrolled in Witness Protection, is being held. Deals for all three books were arranged by John Pearce of Westwood Creative Artists.

Harriet Low at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has bought Calgary writer Alexandra Latos‘s debut YA novel UNDER SHIFTING STARS, about twins struggling for belonging: Audrey, who feels responsible for her brother’s tragic death and wants to leave her alternative classroom for public school, and Clare, who is hiding the turmoil she’s feeling about her sexuality and gender. Publication is scheduled for fall 2020; Hilary McMahon at Westwood Creative Artists brokered the deal for world rights.

Mondadori have renewed their license for Spanish rights to Rohinton Mistry’s A FINE BALANCE. The deal was arranged by Sandra Bruna & Jordi Ribolleda of Sandra Bruna Agency on behalf of Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Artists for Bruce Westwood.

Romanian rights to Jay Ingram’s THE SCIENCE OF WHY 3 to Editura Niculescu. The deal was arranged by Andreea Focsaneanu of Simona Kessler Agency on behalf of Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Artists for Jackie Kaiser.

French rights to Darrel McLeod’s MAMASKATCH to VLB Editeur/Groupe VilleMarie Litterature, at auction. The deal was arranged by Meg Wheeler of Westwood Creative Artists.