Claudia Gabel at HarperCollins has bought 13TH STREET, a new chapter book series from Pura Belpré Honor author David Bowles and illustrator Shane Clester, described as a Latinx Stranger Things adventure for kids ages 5-8, in which three cousins find themselves drawn into a strange world full of monsters. Publication is set for Summer 2020; Taylor Martindale Kean at Full Circle Literary represented the author and Justin Rucker at Shannon Associates represented the illustrator in the six-book deal for World rights.
Publication Date: July 7, 2020 (for the first 3 books)
David Bowles (c) Paul Chouy, UTRGV
Author David Bowles:
David Bowles is a Mexican-American author from south Texas, where he teaches at the University of Texas Río Grande Valley. He has written several titles, most notably The Smoking Mirror (Pura Belpré Honor Book) and They Call Me Güero (Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award, Claudia Lewis Award for Excellence in Poetry, Pura Belpré Honor Book, Walter Dean Myers Honor Book).
His work has also been published in multiple anthologies, plus venues such as School Library Journal, Bookbird, Knowledge Quest, Rattle, Translation Review, and the Journal of Children’s Literature.
In 2017, David was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters.
Illustrator, Shane Clester
Illustrator Shane Clester:
Largely self taught, Shane has been a professional illustrator since 2005. Initially working in comics and storyboards, Shane has transitioned to his real passion—children’s books—even self-publishing several of his own. Shane’s commitment and work ethic are unrivaled, with many clients going on to become personal friends. Above all else, Shane values his flexibility, diversity and determination to produce nothing less than perfect. Shane currently lives in Florida with his wonderful wife and their two tots. When not illustrating, he can usually be found by his in-laws' pool.
