Corus Entertainment’s Kids Can Press (KCP), the award-winning publisher of over 700 books for children, whose history spans over 40 years, has announced a new imprint, KCP Loft, which will focus entirely on Young Adult (YA) fiction and nonfiction, with respected editor Kate Egan at the helm as Editorial Director at Large.Geared to readers 14 and up with crossover appeal to adult readers, KCP Loft explores the first loves and deep friendships, the heartbreak and life-altering crossroads on the road to adulthood.

KCP Loft will release four novels in 2017, including Zenn Diagram from debut, Chicago-area novelist Wendy Brant; Textrovert, based on Lindsey Summers’s wildly popular Wattpad novel; Just a Normal Tuesday by Daytime Emmy Award–winning writer and producer Kim Turrisi; and Keeping the Beat, originally published as Drummer Girl to critical acclaim in the UK, from screenwriter and journalist Bridget Tyler and Canadian author and producer Jeff Norton.

“We are thrilled that our imprint will be expertly curated by Kate Egan,” said Lisa Lyons Johnston, President of Kids Can Press. “One of the genre’s most highly regarded editors, Kate has a 20-year publishing track record and is notable for her YA experience, including her work on the phenomenal Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. Kate has already brought her considerable knowledge, talent and energy to Loft, and we look forward to the fresh voices she’ll discover.”

“I’m so excited to be working with Lisa and her team to build a new list from the ground up,” added Egan. “Opportunities like this don’t come around very often, especially from a publisher with the stature of Kids Can Press and a parent company like Corus that shares and supports our vision for a dynamic list with the potential to grow beyond books.”

Reporting to KCP President Lisa Lyons Johnston, Egan will make acquisitions decisions in collaboration with an advisory panel of Kids Can Press and Corus team members and serve as editor on all Loft titles. The KCP Loft team has the distinct advantage of being able to work with Corus colleagues to expand and develop projects from page to screen and vice versa. In some instances, books will be considered for Corus-affiliated TV or web programming, and appropriate broadcast content will be considered for book adaptations.