I’m excited to share the news (officially on the blog!) that Hanna’s debut novel, When You Write Back, will become a published book!

Rachel Diebel at Feiwel and Friends has acquired debut author and 2025 Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award winner Hanna R. Neier‘s When You Write Back, a middle grade novel written in letters between 12-year-old Ellie and her school-assigned pen pal, Daniel. When Ellie realizes their letters are traveling through time, and that Daniel is a Jewish kid living in 1942 Nazi-occupied Paris, she is determined to save him before time runs out. Publication is planned for winter 2027; Laura Crockett at Triada US brokered the deal for world English rights.

Hanna and I connected over her adult historical fiction a few years ago. At the time she was firmly in the adult historical space, and we went on wide submission with this incredible novel inspired by true stories and family history. Someday I hope to return to it, but as a year or two went by, Hanna admitted to me that she was interested in middle grade. One of the benefits of being a Triada client is that if the client is interested in a different market or genre than their agent’s forte or wishlist, there’s likely someone else at the agency who could rep the client for that specific project. Though I’m not actively seeking middle grade, I do know the market, the editors, and their wishlists for that space, so I’m happy to continue representing my clients’ projects here. In other words, Hanna and I could continue this partnership as usual!

We had lots of discussions about the middle grade market, what sells to publishers, how they perform once available to the public, setting our expectations, etc. She took my advice to heart, and also bent the guidelines along the way (*wink* haha! She knows.). I was genuinely very nervous about how this would turn out because middle grade is difficult to sell these days.

She submitted her draft to the Sydney Taylor Manuscript Award judging panel in fall 2024, because why not. She also sent it to me. I read the manuscript and got all teary, it was so beautifully crafted. We had a few tweaks to make here and there, but otherwise I felt it was strong and ready for submission. We just needed to wait for the judges to make their decision, as the rules stipulated the manuscript couldn’t be sent to publishers till after the winner was announced.

New Year’s Eve 2024, Hanna called, texted, and emailed me in all caps, celebratory emojis, exclamation points, a shaky but happy voice. It was almost like receiving an offer of publication call, only flipped around because I was the one receiving the messages, not delivering them! I called her back and she shared the wonderful news: she won the award!

And boy did we use that to our advantage for submission! Publishers were interested in her project, and it wasn’t very long until Rachel came forward and spoke so highly of When You Write Back, how it moved her, touched her, spoke to her. I had Rachel and Hanna speak to each other, and everything seemed to click into place. It felt right.

…and the rest is history!

Congratulations, Hanna! You’re going to be a published author!

The Goodreads librarians already have it ready for you to add to your TBR!