Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Agent, graphic novel, jasmine florentine

Adventures of Maker Girl & Professor Smarts OGN by Jasmine Florentine

The Adventures of Maker Girl and Professor Smarts is a new series of graphic novels by debut graphic novelist Jasmine Florentine in a two-book deal with world rights picked up by Hilary Van Dusen and Olivia Swomley at Candlewick/MIT Kids.

 Twelve-year-old best friends Yaya and Chuy prove that you don't have to have superpowers to defeat supervillains; all you need is a love for physics and engineering and a knack for trouble.

Jasmine Florentine, author of the new Hex Allen And The Clanksmiths novels describes herself as "a mechanical design engineer, children's author-illustrator, and maker. My mission is to combine art, storytelling, and technology to design creative learning experiences to engage kids with STEM" and that "I received an MS and a BS from MIT in mechanical engineering, where I focused on product design. Before moving abroad, I worked as both a mechanical engineer and visual artist for FIRST—a non-profit that runs robotics competitions for students. While there, I worked with the engineering team on the game concept, designed mechanical components of the game arena, and led the visual design. I've also worked as a mechatronics engineer at a robotics company and led the mechanical design on a project to integrate a race car helmet with EEG. Outside of my engineering work, I've focused on using stories and games to engage kids with STEM. My first novel, Hex Allen and the Clanksmiths (The Innovation Press, 2022) is a middle-grade STEM fantasy quest that includes illustrated instructions for readers to build DIY projects. More recently, I acquired literary agent representation for a STEM graphic novel. Outside of traditional publishing, I'm co-writing a STEM live-action roleplaying game as part of a research initiative to engage preteen girls with coding, and have been exploring using the micro:bit to design and create instructions for STEM/STEAM-based projects, like paper robots. Moving forward, I want to explore more interactive forms of STEM storytelling that invite the audience to become active participants by making. I'm especially excited about combining digital games, interactive comic books, or live experiences with hands-on STEM building challenges."

The Adventures of Maker Girl and Professor Smarts is to be published in the spring of 2024 with the sequel in the spring of 2025. Jasmine Florentine's agent Jemiscoe Chambers-Black at Andrea Brown Literary Agency negotiated the deal.

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