NEWS

Delacorte Press to Publish New Nicola Yoon YA Novel in June

Nicola Yoon, Author Photo Credit: Sonya Sones

Nicola Yoon, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also a Star, will release a new contemporary YA, INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING, it was announced by Beverly Horowitz, SVP, Publisher, Delacorte Press. The novel, which will be released on June 1, 2021, is Yoon’s highly anticipated follow-up to 2016’s The Sun Is Also a Star, which earned rave reviews and was a National Book Award finalist. Wendy Loggia, Senior Executive Editor, Delacorte Press, Yoon’s longtime editor, will edit and acquired World Rights from Sara Shandler and Joelle Hobeika at Alloy Entertainment. This news comes on the heels of the announcement of Joy Revolution, an imprint dedicated to young adult romance novels by people of color, about people of color, which Nicola and her husband, David, will lead.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING is the first new book from Yoon in nearly five years, following her first two critically acclaimed, bestselling novels. The Sun Is Also a Star, a #1 New York Times bestseller, received six starred reviews and was selected as a National Book Award finalist. It was made into a major motion picture in 2019, starring Yara Shahidi and Charles Melton. Yoon’s debut novel, Everything, Everything, also earned widespread praise and become an instant #1 New York Times bestseller, marking the first time a Black woman held the #1 spot on the young adult list. It was adapted into a major motion picture starring Amandla Stenberg in 2017.

“Nicola Yoon is such an incredible talent, and we’re thrilled to be publishing INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING,” says Loggia. “We know fans have been eagerly waiting for the next Nicola Yoon novel, and it will not disappoint. It has all the heart, hope, and swoon-worthy romance readers have come to expect from her work.”

In her new novel, fans will recognize the many beloved hallmarks of a Nicola Yoon novel—inventive storytelling, unconventional style, and compelling emotional resonance. INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING follows a girl named Evie who doesn’t believe in love—especially after she witnesses a couple kiss and suddenly experiences a vision of how their romance began . . . and how it will end. As Evie tries to understand why the visions keep happening, she finds herself at a dance studio, learning to waltz, foxtrot, and tango with a boy named X. X is everything that Evie is not: adventurous, passionate, daring. Falling for X is definitely not what Evie had in mind. If her visions of heartbreak have taught her anything, it’s that no one escapes love unscathed. But as she and X dance around and toward each other, Evie is forced to question all she thought she knew about life . . . and love.

Simultaneous English-language editions of INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING will be published in Canada by Penguin Random House Canada, and in the UK and British Commonwealth territories by Penguin Random House Children’s Books UK. The book will also be published in translation in 16 additional languages, including Bulgarian (IBIS Publishing House, Bulgaria), Czech (Albatros Media a.s.), Danish (CarlsenPuls), Dutch (Querido), French (Bayard Editions), German (cbj/Penguin Random House Verlagsgruppe), Italian (Sperling & Kupfer), Polish (Wydawnictwo Dolnośląskie—Publicat), Portuguese (Brazil: Editora Arqueiro, Portugal: Editorial Presença), Romanian (YoungArt, an imprint of Grupul Editorial ART), Russian (Clever Media Group), Serbian (Urban Reads), Slovak (Albatros Slovakia), Spanish (Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial), and Ukrainian (Ranok Publishing House).

Follow the conversation about INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING via #instructionsfordancing.