Surfer Maya Gabeira has book deal with children’s publisher

NEW YORK (AP) — One of the world’s greatest big-wave surfers, Brazil’s Maya Gabeira, has embarked on a kid-friendly adventure. The seven-time winner of the World Surf League Big Wave Award has a deal with Abrams Children’s Books for two picture stories and a young adult memoir. The first picture book is called “Maya and the Beast.” The publisher says it’s a fairy tale of big waves and even bigger courage. It’s illustrated by Ramona Kaulitzki and comes out Aug. 2. The 34-year-old Gabeira is credited by Guinness World Records for surfing the highest wave ever by a woman. That was a 73-foot wave in Nazaré, Portugal in 2020.