Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Agent, Celeste Pewter, graphic novbel, henry holt, Lauren Dimaya, Midnight Race

The Midnight Race By Celeste Pewter And Lauren Dimaya For 2028

The Midnight Race graphic novel by Celeste Pewter and Lauren Dimaya from Henry Holt for 2028

Published Mon, 08 Sep 2025 05:57:05 -0500

Article Summary

The Midnight Race is a 2028 middle-grade graphic novel by Celeste Pewter and Lauren Dimaya.
A Chinese American girl must race the Chinese zodiac animals to cure her grandfather’s illness.
Celeste Pewter is an acclaimed political strategist and writer, known for advocacy and viral essays.
Lauren Dimaya is a celebrated Filipino-American illustrator with major publishing collaborations.

The Midnight Race by Celeste Pewter and Lauren Dimaya is a middle-grade graphic novel about a Chinese American girl who finds herself competing against the animals of the Chinese zodiac in a race whose prize is a cure for her beloved grandfather's illness. Ann Marie Wong and Kate Farrell at Henry Holt have bought world publishing rights to The Midnight Race, and it will be published in the winter of 2028. Celeste Pewter's agent, Molly Ker Hawn at the Bent Agency, and Lauren Dimaya's agent, Marietta B. Zacker at Gallt & Zacker Literary Agency, negotiated the deal.

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Celeste Pewter is a political strategist, policy communicator, and nationally published writer whose work has shaped legislation, presidential campaigns, and public discourse on civic engagement and democratic resilience. She currently serves as the digital communications manager for a Washington, D.C. think tank. A former political staffer, Celeste has written speeches for elected officials and has appeared in CNN, Teen Vogue, The Los Angeles Times, and USA Today. NPR's Cognoscenti once named her a prospective "Joan Didion of Our Times," and she was featured on the Asian American Journalists Association's inaugural list of 100 influential voices. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Celeste organised a high-profile author sign-on letter supporting the Harris-Walz ticket and advised the campaign on AAPI outreach and coalition strategy. She has previously advised multiple candidates on national security communications and voter mobilisation. As a legislative advocate, Celeste led successful efforts to expand internship access at the state and federal levels and has been a key voice in equity-driven education and labour policy reform. In 2025, following an arrest for domestic violence, charged later dropped, she launched a statewide campaign to reform California Penal Code §13701 — a bill now moving toward legislative sponsorship. And her resultant essay "I Didn't Expect to Make Friends in Jail" (Harper's Bazaar, 2025) as well as "Vincent Chin's Death Changed Asian American History" (Teen Vogue, 2020), have gone viral, sparked academic case studies, and helped elevate survivor narratives across the country. Celeste holds degrees from the University of California, Irvine, King's College London, and Johns Hopkins University. She is the author of multiple forthcoming books from Bloomsbury and Henry Holt.

Lauren Dimaya is a Filipino-American illustrator based in New York City, and has been working with Remy Lai on their new YA graphic novel for spring next year, The Demon's Prince, and has previously worked for Scholastic, HarperCollins, Hachette, Walker Books, Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, TourBox, Studio Drydock's Wylde Flowers, AthraPlay Podcast as well as producing an online course on visual storytelling, CLASS101.

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