Alfred A. Knopf Books For Young Readers Acquires New Novel From Bestselling Author David Levithan

(Press Release) New York, NY, October 5, 2011—Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers has acquired "A," a boundary-pushing young adult novel from bestselling author David Levithan, it was announced today by Nancy Hinkel, Vice President and Publishing Director, Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers. "Quantum Leap" meets "One Day" in this intriguing novel in which the genderless main character A inhabits a new person's body every day of his/her life. "A," and an untitled second novel from Levithan, were acquired by Hinkel from Bill Clegg at William Morris Endeavor.

David Levithan once again proves his literary prowess in this ambitious and original narrative. Each morning, A awakens in a new teenager's body and must quickly establish how to navigate that person's day, from personality traits and clothing styles to parents at the breakfast table. In the novel's opening, A wakes up in the body of Justin and by day's end has fallen for his girlfriend; soon A is doing everything possible to get back to her all while uncontrollably switching bodies on a daily basis. Then, in a sharp turn of events, one of the teens becomes aware of A, and soon A has something else to fight for.

A fascinating examination of identity, relationships, who we are to each other, and the roles we embody, David Levithan expands his repertoire with this truly unique novel. "A" will be published in fall 2012 and supported by a major national marketing and publicity campaign.

"This is a whole new direction for David," says Nancy Hinkel. "The choices A makes throughout the novel are impossible not to talk about. It's a mesmerizing story that people won't be able to put down, one that will surprise and intrigue readers, and attract a whole new audience to David's work."

Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers is an imprint of Random House Children's Books, the world's largest English-language children's trade book publisher. Random House Children's Books is a division of Random House, Inc., whose parent company is Bertelsmann AG, a leading international media company.