Today on the site, I’m delighted to reveal the cover of the upcoming Just Ask Elsie by Ari Koontz, a contemporary Middle Grade novel releasing June 16, 2026, from Feiwel & Friends! Here’s the story:
Elsie Parker is having a totally normal fifth grade year.
Fractions and conjunctions―check.
Stressing about middle school―check.
Body-positive puberty class at church that also covers feelings and identities―check.
Okay, maybe that last one isn’t so normal. It’s a little weird (and awkward) to spend her Sundays talking periods, B.O., and pimples. But Elsie’s also learning a lot more than she’s heard in her public-school health class ― like the difference between sex and gender, and what consent is, and what it might mean that she can’t stop blushing around a certain cute girl at her school.
When her puberty lessons become the school’s latest gossip, Elsie’s totally humiliated… until she finds an anonymous note in her locker from a classmate who wants to know more, and realizes that other kids might have embarrassing questions of their own.
Starting an underground advice board wasn’t exactly in her plans, but Elsie won’t pass up a chance to turn her reputation around ― or to share words and labels that have not-so-accidentally been left off their curriculum. But when the principal tries to shut down the unauthorized puberty talk, Elsie has to decide what she’s willing to risk to tell the truth to kids who really need to hear it.
And here’s the adorable cover, designed by Julia Bianchi with art by Isabelle Duffy!
Ari Koontz is a queer nonbinary writer and educator with an MFA in creative writing from Northern Michigan University. They’re dedicated to telling full-hearted stories of bravery and whimsy in every possible genre, centering the beautiful complexities of queer identity and community, and supporting their local public library. A born-and-raised Midwestern UU, Ari lives close to where the water meets the woods and loves to take long walks when they should be writing. Just Ask Elsie is their debut novel.
Today on the site I am utterly delighted to be revealing the cover of Clock Hands by Marieke Nijkamp and Sylvia Bi, a middle grade graphic novel with a nonbinary protagonist releasing April 21, 2026 from Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins! Clock Hands is a companion to Ink Girls, but can be read entirely on its own. Here’s the story:
Raising your voice can change everything.
Vale has always dreamed of being a metalworker’s apprentice. But in Siannerra, the guilds rule with an iron fist, and their apprenticeship fees are impossibly high. So Vale and their guildless family must make do with the pennies and scraps they’re able to cobble together from work on the docks or in the market.
Until Maestro Giuseppi arrives from abroad, determined to build the city’s first astronomical clock. He doesn’t care for fees or exclusionary practices—and he sees Vale’s talent. He invites Vale into his workshop, and for a while Vale believes all their dreams are coming true. But everything in Siannerra belongs to the guilds, and if anyone tries to break free, there are consequences. Sometimes the gravest of consequences. Still, Vale refuses to stop dreaming. Or fighting. With the help of their friends, they plan to take on the might of the guilds. And together, they may just be strong enough to bend iron to their will.
A stand-alone companion to the acclaimed Ink Girls.
And here’s the fabulous cover, illustrated by Sylvia Bi and designed by Sylvie Le Floc’h!
Marieke Nijkamp (she/they) is the author of Splinter & Ash; Ink Girls, a middle grade graphic novel illustrated by Sylvia Bi; as well as several books for young adults, which include #1 New York Times bestsellers, a critically acclaimed anthology, graphic novels, and comics. She studied philosophy and medieval history, and when she isn’t writing, she loves to garden, roll dice, and daydream. Marieke Nijkamp lives and writes in Small Town, the Netherlands.
Sylvia Bi is the illustrator of the graphic novel Ink Girls, written by Marieke Nijkamp, and loves drawing stories with expansive, vibrant worlds, an undercurrent of chaos, and girls running on rooftops. A graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, she explores and shares diverse stories and experiences through the power of a (digital) pen. She is also a book designer, a frog enthusiast, and an avid earring collector. Sylvia Bi lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Today on the site I’m delighted to welcome Rebecca Bendheim, author of the upcoming lesbian Middle Grade When You’re Brave Enough, which releases April 7, 2026 from Viking Books for Young Readers! Here’s the story:
A heartfelt, gorgeously written debut middle grade novel about best friends, first crushes, and coming out—perfect for fans of Kyle Lukoff and Jake Maia Arlow.
Before she moved from Austin to Rhode Island, everybody knew Lacey as one half of an inseparable duo: Lacey-and-Grace, best friends since they were toddlers. Grace and her moms were practically family. But at school, being lumped together with overeager, worm-obsessed, crushes-on-everyone Grace meant Lacey never quite fit in—and that’s why at her new middle school, Lacey plans to reinvent herself. This time, she’s going to be cool. She’s going to be normal.
At first, everything seems to go as planned. Lacey makes new friends right away, she finds a rabbi to help her prepare for the bat mitzvah that got deprioritized by her parents in the chaos of the move, and she even gets cast in the lead role of the eighth-grade musical. Which is when things start to get stressful, because it turns out the students at her new school have a long-standing, unofficial tradition: No matter what the show is, in the final performance, the leads always kiss for real.
Lacey’s never kissed anyone before—she’s not even sure she’s ever had a crush. And in Bye, Bye, Birdie, there are a few different co-lead kiss possibilities for Lacey to choose from. There’s confident, cocky Andre. There’s sweet, friendly Jaden. And then there’s the other new girl at school: dryly funny, impossibly cool Violet.
But while her new friends and older sister create whiteboard wall charts and botched field trip schemes to help her decide, suddenly Lacey can’t stop thinking about Grace, who she was so sure she wanted to leave behind. When Grace comes back into her life, Lacey needs to decide if she’s brave enough to be who she really is, in front of the person who matters most.
And here’s the lovely cover, designed by Anabeth Bostrup and illustrated by Chantal Horeis!
Rebecca Bendheim is a middle school teacher, poet, and graduate of Vanderbilt and VCFA’s MFA program in writing for children and young adults, where she wrote her critical thesis on queer middle grade. She has performed her poetry on NPR, at Lambda Litfest, and as a member of Austin’s Typewriter Rodeo poetry troupe. Rebecca lives in Austin with her fianceé, a corgi-chihuahua mix puppy, and an orange cat and can be found on social media @RebeccaBendheim.
Today on the site, I’m delighted to welcome back Nicole Melleby to reveal the cover of her upcoming Middle Grade, Brady Mason’s Perfect Fit, releasing January 13th, 2026 from Little, Brown! Here’s the story:
ANNIE meets Vogue’s Anna Wintour in this middle grade novel about a sports-obsessed foster kid who, through a twist of fate, reunites with her glamorous birth mom.
Brady Mason couldn’t care less about fashion. She likes what she knows: baseball, comfortable clothes, and pork roll with egg and cheese. When Brady’s friends notice that she looks strangely like fashion editor Elena Lavigne, they start the rumor that Brady is Elena’s long-lost daughter. They’ll make a few TikTok videos, get some fun buzz online about their similarities, and that will be the end of it.
But when a DNA test confirms that Brady is Elena’s long-lost daughter, she’s summoned to Manhattan to live with her. The only problem: Elena’s high-fashion life clashes with Brady’s tomboy antics, and Elena doesn’t know how to be a mother any more than Brady knows how to be a daughter. But the more time passes, the more Brady sees what they have in common, and she starts wondering…if she and Elena are both searching for a family, could the two of them be the right fit?
Balancing humor and heart, here is a winning story of hard-fought growth and found family.
And here’s the delightful cover, designed by Patrick Hulse with art by Svetla Radivoeva!
Nicole Melleby, a Jersey native, is the author of highly praised middle-grade books, including the Lambda Literary finalist Hurricane Season and ALA Notable Children’s book How to Become a Planet. She is currently on the faculty of the Hamline University MFA for Writing for Children and Young Adults, and lives with her wife and their cats, whose needs for attention oddly align with Nicole’s writing schedule.
Today on the site I’m delighted to welcome Esme Symes-Smith to reveal the cover of the fourth and final book in the MG fantasy Sir Callie series, Sir Callie and the Final Stand, which releases October 14, 2025 from Labyrinth Road/PRH! Here’s the story:
In the conclusion of this bestselling fantasy series a nonbinary knight-in-training, a reluctant crown prince, a fierce young witch, and her resilient twin brother must fight for the heart of their kingdom against tyranny, once and for all.
Helston and its champions have been torn apart by war. Finally reunited after being scattered across the realm fighting personal battles, Callie, Elowen, Edwyn and Willow must prepare to step into the roles they’ve been training for: Champion, Witch, Knight and King.
Even if it feels like their best will never be enough to conquer the infection of hate that has spread across Wyndebrel, even when their numbers seem so small compared to the might of their enemies, they must hold true to their mission: to create a better and safer realm for everyone.
With the aid of Eyrewood, Fairkeep, and the dragons, they are as ready as they’ll ever be to ride on Helston and Dumoor, to confront the newly crowned King Peran and the Witch Queen, and finally define what peace truly means. And there is a single truth Callie and friends must cling to: The battle is still worth fighting even when victory seems impossible.
Before we get to the cover, here’s a note from author Esme Symes-Smith:
Dearest Readers,
All the way back in the beginning, I promised you a happy ending, and a light at the end of the darkness. Even though SIR CALLIE is a fantasy story full of magic and dragons, it has always been important to me that it feels real.
There were many times in writing where a happy ending felt impossible, and I struggled to believe in it for myself. Of course, as the author, I could give my characters a Happily Ever After in just a few words, but I wanted it to feel real. I wanted to leave you with the certainty that they’re going to be okay, not just in the last few pages, but long after the book is finished.
It’s hard to believe in happy endings right now, when everything I know to be good and true is ignored in favor of all the things I know to be bad. But I have come to learn that I am not at the end of my story, only the dark middle when everything feels hopeless and it would be so much easier to quit than to keep fighting. I feel the way Callie did, and Willow and Elowen and Edwyn. I feel like a kid in a grownup’s world, witnessing all the wrong and trying to be heard. It feels like a battle that I keep losing, over and over.
But, you know what? I’m going to get up and fight again, even if I lose. I’m going to keep speaking, even if no one hears me. And I’m going to keep believing that my story only ends when I’ve won. I’m just not at that part of the story yet.
Throughout my journey with SIR CALLIE, I have been reminded so many times why the fight is worth fighting, and what the happy ending looks like. It’s in the fierce hope of the readers, and it’s that hope which keeps my own kindled.
Everyone’s journey is their own, everyone has their own way of being a hero, and everyone’s happy ending is a little bit different with a single commonality: the right to live as yourself with those who see you and love you, all the way through.
Thank you for giving me hope.
Be brave, be kind, be you.
Love, Esme Symes-Smith
And here’s the fierce cover, illustrated by Kate Sheridan!
Bio: After cutting their teeth on a steady diet of fan fiction in the Southwest of England, Esme Symes-Smith wandered north to Wales for their degree in literature and creative writing, then promptly migrated to Missouri after meeting their wife on Tumblr.
In their spare time, they take care of the next generation as a preschool teacher, and run their local chapter of Good Books, Young Troublemakers.
Today on the site, I’m thrilled to reveal the cover for Athlete is Agender, an exciting upcoming nonfiction Middle Grade anthology about queer and trans athletes edited by Katherine Locke and Nicole Melleby and releasing from Christy Ottaviano Books on May 13, 2025! Here to talk about it are Katherine and Nicole:
Today on the site I’m delighted to reveal the cover of Mountain Upside Down by Sara Ryan, a contemporary Middle Grade by the author of my favorite early Sapphic YA, releasing February 11, 2025 from Dutton Books for Young Readers! Here’s the story:
A funny and heartfelt LGBTQIA+ middle grade novel set against the backdrop of family drama and a library funding campaign in a small town.
Alex Eager lives in Faillin, OR with her grandmother, a retired librarian. Life should be great for Alex, since she finally worked up the courage to ask her best friend PJ if they could be more than friends and she said yes. But their new relationship will have to be long distance, because PJ is moving. On top of that, Alex is worried that something is wrong with her increasingly forgetful grandmother. And to make matters worse, Faillin is holding a referendum on library funding, and things aren’t looking good. Will anything good for Alex ever last?
Mountain Upside Down is a beautifully crafted story of a thirteen-year-old girl finding her place in her family and her community. It’s a queer-positive story that doesn’t center coming out. It’s a story of a library’s role in a community that doesn’t feature book banning. And it’s a story of long-held family secrets and resentment that focuses not on final resolution but learning how to communicate again.
And here’s the sweet cover, designed by Anna Booth with art by Ana von Huben!
Sara grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the only child of two librarians in a book-filled house. Their writing has been honored by Lambda Literary, the Eisner Awards, the American Library Association, and the Oregon Book Awards, among other recognition. Sara has worked as a fast-food cashier, a theater technician, a stringed-instruments-and-accessories seller, a preparer of materials for science experiments, a web designer for “JIFFY” Mix (briefly!), a teen services librarian, and a writing teacher. They’ve served as a mentor for We Need Diverse Books and a master class instructor with Writing the Other. Sara lives in Portland, Oregon.
Today on the site, I’m thrilled to reveal the cover of Crushing It by Erin Becker, a contemporary sports Middle Grade releasing from Penguin Workshop on August 6, 2024! Here’s the story:
On the soccer field, Magic Mel is in her element. She’s ready to lead her team to victory at the city championship in her new role as captain. Off the field, however, is a totally different story. Mel can’t get a handle on her class presentation, her friend group has completely dissolved, and her ex-friend-current-teammate, Tory, is being the worst. The only place she feels like herself is in her text conversations where she shares her secret poetry with BTtoYouPlease.
Tory McNally, on the other hand, is keeping everything together, thank you very much. So what if her mom is more preoccupied with her craft projects and new husband than her, or that she’s down to one IRL friend because of annoying, overly peppy “Magic” Mel? She’s perfectly fine, and even when she maybe isn’t, she’s got NotEmilyD to text with.
As the championships loom closer, everything around Mel and Tory starts to get more and more complicated: the dynamics on the field, the rift between their friend group, and, as they connect anonymously online, maybe even their feelings for each other . . .
From debut author Erin Becker comes an action-packed but tender novel about first romance, queer identity, and learning how to be brave when it matters the most.
And here’s the action-packed cover, designed by Jay Emmanuel with art by Ricardo Bessa!
Erin Becker is an author and marketer living in Washington, DC. She grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, studied English and Creative Writing at UNC-Chapel Hill, and holds her MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her first novel, Crushing It, will be published by Penguin Young Readers in August 2024.
Ari Koontz is a queer nonbinary writer and educator with an MFA in creative writing from Northern Michigan University. They’re dedicated to telling full-hearted stories of bravery and whimsy in every possible genre, centering the beautiful complexities of queer identity and community, and supporting their local public library. A born-and-raised Midwestern UU, Ari lives close to where the water meets the woods and loves to take long walks when they should be writing. Just Ask Elsie is their debut novel.
Marieke Nijkamp (she/they) is the author of Splinter & Ash; Ink Girls, a middle grade graphic novel illustrated by Sylvia Bi; as well as several books for young adults, which include #1 New York Times bestsellers, a critically acclaimed anthology, graphic novels, and comics. She studied philosophy and medieval history, and when she isn’t writing, she loves to garden, roll dice, and daydream. Marieke Nijkamp lives and writes in Small Town, the Netherlands.
Sylvia Bi is the illustrator of the graphic novel Ink Girls, written by Marieke Nijkamp, and loves drawing stories with expansive, vibrant worlds, an undercurrent of chaos, and girls running on rooftops. A graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, she explores and shares diverse stories and experiences through the power of a (digital) pen. She is also a book designer, a frog enthusiast, and an avid earring collector. Sylvia Bi lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Nicole Melleby, a Jersey native, is the author of highly praised middle-grade books, including the Lambda Literary finalist Hurricane Season and ALA Notable Children’s book How to Become a Planet. She is currently on the faculty of the Hamline University MFA for Writing for Children and Young Adults, and lives with her wife and their cats, whose needs for attention oddly align with Nicole’s writing schedule.
Bio: After cutting their teeth on a steady diet of fan fiction in the Southwest of England, Esme Symes-Smith wandered north to Wales for their degree in literature and creative writing, then promptly migrated to Missouri after meeting their wife on Tumblr.
