In an arrangement that will bring a
number of children's book properties into development, Penguin Young Readers
Group, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. and Walden Media LLC, the film
and educational services company, have embarked on a multi-year creative and
strategic joint venture encompassing publishing, film and television. The
agreement was announced today by Doug Whiteman, Executive Vice President of
Penguin Group (USA) Inc./ President of Penguin Young Readers Group and Micheal
Flaherty, President and co-founder of Walden Media.
The joint venture's film and television properties will be derived from
newly published, forthcoming, and backlist titles for which motion picture
rights are available or can be acquired. Penguin Young Readers Group will
also co-publish books adapted from Walden Media screenplays and other tie-in
related titles. Currently, the joint venture encompasses projects emanating
from virtually all of Penguin Young Readers Group's imprints.
These projects include Mike Lupica's Heat (Philomel) Joseph Bruchac's Jim
Thorpe, Original All-American (Dial), Zach Helm's Mr. Magorium's Wonder
Emporium (Dutton and Puffin), The Tortoise and the Hippo, Bob Fuller's
Paddywhack Lane (both Grosset & Dunlap), and Michael Reitman's The Teacher's
Edition (Razorbill). The first jointly published book, Jim Thorpe, Original
All-American (to be published in August 2006) and tells the story of the
legendary athlete's college football days. Thorpe will also be the subject of
the forthcoming Walden Media film Carlisle School.
A key aspect of this joint venture is that Walden Media will maintain a
presence in Penguin's New York offices. Under the direction of Walden Media
Vice President of Publishing Deborah Kovacs, Walden will maintain an active
role in the editorial and marketing process on projects emanating from this
partnership. All books co-published under this joint venture will feature the
Walden Media imprint alongside that of one of Penguin's brands. In addition,
Walden Media and Penguin will combine forces to promote and publicize their
joint projects throughout the education, library and trade markets. The move
marks an expansion into the publishing world for Walden Media.
Penguin Young Readers Group is a global leader in children's publishing.
Its imprints are home to Ludwig Bemelmans, Judy Blume, Jan Brett, Eric Carle,
Roald Dahl, Tomie dePaola, Don Freeman, Eric Hill, Brian Jacques, Robert
McCloskey, A. A. Milne, Richard Peck, Patricia Polacco, and dozens of other
popular authors. Penguin Young Readers Group is also proud of its favorite
characters such as The Little Engine That Could and Nancy Drew and the Hardy
Boys, and modern classic novels like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The
Westing Game, and The Outsiders.
Produced by Walden Media in association with Walt Disney Pictures, the
Academy Award(R)-winning film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch
and the Wardrobe was the top grossing domestic release of the 2005 holiday
season. To date it has made over $700 million in the box office world-wide.
Upcoming Walden Media film releases include Hoot and How to Eat Fried Worms
with New Line Cinema, and Charlotte's Web with Paramount and Nickelodeon
Movies.
Doug Whiteman commented, "I am immensely pleased with the early progress
of this venture. The people with whom we've been working at Walden Media have
all taken a true partnership approach to our relationship, and have been
focused on making great things happen with great books. That is their
mission, and they live and breathe it."
Micheal Flaherty commented, "For years, teachers, after school group
leaders and librarians have been advocating for Walden Media to move into the
publishing space. With the tremendous partnership we've established with our
friends at Penguin, we can finally maximize the strong trust we developed with
our audience and deliver the high level of quality product in publishing that
we do in our films."
Penguin Group (USA) is the U.S. affiliate of the internationally renowned
Penguin Group. Penguin Group (USA) is one of the leading U.S. adult and
children's trade book publishers, owning a wide range of imprints and
trademarks including Berkley Books, Dutton, Frederick Warne, G. P. Putnam's
Sons, Grosset & Dunlap, New American Library, Penguin, Philomel, Plume, Puffin
Books, Riverhead Books and Viking, among others. The Penguin Group is part of
Pearson (FTSE: PSON; NYSE: PSO). Pearson is an international media company
with market leading businesses in education, business information and consumer
publishing. For more information, visit http://www.pearson.com.
Founded by Cary Granat, former president of Miramax Films' Dimension
label, and education reformer Micheal Flaherty, Walden Media, a subsidiary of
the Anschutz Film Group (AFG), specializes in entertainment that sparks the
imagination and curiosity of kids and provides parents and teachers with
materials to continue the learning process. For more information, please
visit http://www.walden.com.
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