In recent years, authors and agents have struggled to find a place in the market for contemporary YA, given the boom in fantasy and romantasy. Signifying a potential bright spot for the category, Liz Szabla, VP and associate publisher, Feiwel and Friends, has acquired, at auction, Something Bright and Beautiful by debut author Cathryn Free. Described as a romantic coming-of-age YA novel in the vein of Sarah Dessen, the book is slated for release in April 2027. Sara Shandler at the Book Group negotiated the deal for North American rights. Rights have now sold in 10 territories, and Kassie Evashevski and Ali Lefkowitz at Anonymous have signed for TV/film rights.
The standalone novel follows the story of Ellie, who, while mourning the death of her teen brother, encounters a mysterious boy on a midnight run. As they become closer, Ellie, always interested in astrophysics, begins to think the cosmos has brought them together. But the universe has more surprises in store for her.
Shandler said that the manuscript stood out for her instantly, comping it to John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, You’ve Reached Sam by Dustin Thao, and If I Stay by Gayle Forman. Formerly editor-in-chief at Alloy Entertainment, she turned to agenting earlier this year. “Something Bright and Beautiful was my very first submission as an agent,” she says. “I knew it was the YA book I’d been searching for. It is a true coming-of-age—with a slow-burn-to-kissing—that I could put in the hands of even young YA readers, which is a part of the demographic I believe is often overlooked.”
Once Free signed with Shander, it was a race to get the submission ready for the Bologna Book Fair, which was just a few weeks away. The extra effort paid off with preempts from Mondadori in Italy and S. Fischer Verlag in Germany even before the fair started, creating buzz with U.S. editors when it opened. And post-Bologna, First Ink, Macmillan Children’s Books’ new imprint in the U.K., bought the book at auction.
Szabla described Something Bright and Beautiful as “refreshing, immersive, and unputdownable right from the start,” saying she was “drawn in by the strong emotional heartbeat of a character dealing with the complicated journey of working through trauma and trusting in life again.” In the current market, the debut stood out for another reason. “Reading Something Bright and Beautiful reminded me how appealing and accessible contemporary, realistic fiction is among all the fantasy and romantasy stories.”
A middle-school language arts, science, and history teacher from Wisconsin, Free told PW she reads a lot of YA and middle grade novels because of her work, and cited Dessen and Nicola Yoon among her favorite authors, and Yoon’s Everything, Everything as one of her all-time favorite reads. She began writing fiction around 10 years ago. Something Bright and Beautiful was the third novel she sent out on submission. She found that contemporary realistic has been a hard sell in recent years. “It just wasn’t what people were looking for.”
With Something Bright and Beautiful, however, the process was different from the start, with offers for representation and sales happening quickly. The story is “very personal,” Free said. “It’s inspired by a close friend who lost a child.” In the face of the tragedy, she realized stories can offer solace. “Grief wrecks everyone in different ways,” she said. “I hope anyone who is grieving will be able to know that there is still hope.”
