MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
May 1 – May 9, 2008 Edition
Penguin, DK
to Publish Star Wars®:
The Clone Wars
NEW YORK & LONDON/4/29/08– The Penguin Group will publish a series of books based on the upcoming feature film and television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which is in production at Lucasfilm Animation. The books will debut this summer, in advance of the August 15th theatrical release of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
The license between Lucasfilm Ltd. and The Penguin Young Readers Group marks the first global licensed publishing program based on the action-packed, CG-animated Clone Wars. The program spans multiple imprints within Penguin Young Readers Group (USA), DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley) and Penguin Group (UK).
The Clone Wars takes place between Episodes II and III of the Stars Wars Saga and will be released in the U.S. by Warner Bros. on August 15th. International release dates will be announced soon. In the fall, The Clone Wars will continue as a prime-time television series on the Cartoon Network and TNT.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars takes audiences on incredible new Star Wars adventures, combining the legendary storytelling of Lucasfilm with an eye-popping, signature animation style.
Debra Dorfman, President and Publisher of Grosset & Dunlap and Price Stern Sloan commented: “We are thrilled to be Lucasfilm’s publishing partner for this property.” She continued: “Our entire group was creatively and emotionally invested in putting together the publishing and marketing plans for Star Wars: The Clone Wars. This is one of the most exciting events in licensing in a really long time!”
Alex Allan, Category Publisher DK Licensing, said “we have had a long, creative partnership with Lucasfilm that has been wonderfully collaborative and fruitful. The Clone Wars franchise has exciting new content that is sure to appeal to a new generation of young readers around the world.” She continued: “DK Publishing is really excited about taking this new material, which will encompass hundreds of hours of animation, into our bestselling nonfiction formats.”
Eric Huang, Category Publisher Brands & Licensing at Penguin UK, added: “Penguin Group UK is delighted to be a part of the global Clone Wars publishing agreement shared across imprints and with our sister companies around the world. We’re all massive Star Wars fans and are proud to be part of this next Star Wars franchise.”
The US on-sale date is July 26, 2008 and the UK on-sale date ids August 7, 2008. The complete global publishing program includes:
Grosset & Dunlap (US)
The New Padawan (reader)
Battle at Teth (8 x 8”)
The Battle Begins (picture book)
Intergalactic Adventure (activity book)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (movie novel; published in the UK by Puffin)
The Galactic Photobook
DK Publishing (US, UK)
Clone Wars: The Visual Guide
Clone Wars: Ultimate Sticker Book
DK Reader Level 1: Watch Out for Jabba the Hutt
DK Reader Level 2: Anakin in Action
Funfax (UK only)
Puffin (UK)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (movie novel)
Ladybird (UK)
Press Out ‘n’ Build
Intergalactic Adventures Book (activity book)
Prepare for Battle (activity book)
Official Movie Storybook
Front Row Seat Storybook
To find out more about Star Wars, visit www.starwars.com.
About Penguin Young Readers Group:
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. Please visit www.penguin.com/youngreaders
About Penguin Group and DK Publishing
DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley) is the visionary book publisher renowned for pioneering a distinctive, highly visual style in its books for adults and children, including Eyewitness Books for children, Eyewitness Travel Guides, and numerous award-winning titles. DK is a division Penguin Group (www.penguin.com), one of the world’s largest English-language trade book publishers, owning a wide range of imprints and trademarks, including: Penguin Books, Berkley Books, Dutton, Ladybird, Frederick Warne, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, Grosset & Dunlap, New American Library, The Penguin Press, Philomel, Plume, Puffin, Riverhead Books, and Viking, among others. Penguin Group has established divisions and key market positions in the United States, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, Canada, India, China, New Zealand and Ireland. Penguin Group is part of Pearson plc, the world’s largest book publishing company.
