Publishers Weekly is reporting that Neil Gaiman has signed a five-book deal with HarperCollins, in a deal negotiated by agent Merrilee Heifetz of Writers House, HC Children’s Editor-in-Chief Kate Morgan Jackson, and Executive Editor Rosemary Brosnan. The deal includes three novels and two picture books.
PW says the picture books will feature a new character: a little panda named Chu, who is known for having “an outsized sneeze.” The first book, Chu’s Day, will be illustrated by Adam Rex, for publication next January.
The three novels include a middle-grade book called Fortunately, the Milk, to be illustrated by Skottie Young. HC says this book is “an ode to the pleasure and wonders of storytelling itself.” The second book in the deal will be a sequel to Gaiman’s 2009 Odd and the Frost Giants.