Lusia Harris was an Olympian and the first WOMAN to be officially drafted by the National Basketball Association and her story will inspire so many young readers. Matched with Keith Mallett’s gorgeous illustrations, this is going to be a wonderful book.

Carolyn Yoder at Calkins Creek has acquired North American rights to Give the Ball to Lucy by Alice Faye Duncan (Memphis, Martin, and the Mountaintop; Just Like a Mama), illustrated by Keith Mallet, a picture book that details the story of Lusia Harris, a U.S. Olympian from the Mississippi Delta and the first woman to be officially drafted by the National Basketball Association. Publication is planned for 2024; Tricia Lawrence at Erin Murphy Literary represented the author, and the illustrator was unagented.  

Congratulations, Alice Faye!

—Tricia