BlueSkye Licensing has partnered with the independent publishing house Elliott & Thompson to develop a family edutainment franchise programme around the Sunday Times’ best-selling Prisonsers of Geography book series.
Written by Tim Marshall and first published in 2015, Prisoners of Geography has sold upwards of 1.5 million copies to date with global retail sales now exceeding $20 million. The book combines geography, history, and politics in an informative and accessible way. A sequel, The Power of Geography has already been scheduled for 2021.
“Extending the franchise is a natural step forward for Tim’s books,” said Elliott and Thompson chairman, Lorne Forsyth, who has appointed Maggy Harris at BlueSkye to develop the family-centric digital and game based licensing programme.
The licensing programme will primarily focus on Tim’s extraordinary grasp of his subject matter, the factual content, and the beautiful illustrated edition artwork.
Harris said: “This franchise is a great example of licensing opportunities coming from an ever increasing and broad range of sources. ‘Prisoners of Geography’ fits perfectly into the huge demand for quality, factual, fun family and digital entertainment which the 2020 lockdown world has accelerated …Tim’s books provide fresh, timeless content for our changing times.”
BlueSkye will target the family edutainment sector with a licensing programme that will be ‘perfect for fans of maps and facts’ and will encompass board games, strategy games, quizzes and puzzle games, as well as digital apps, experiential, gifts, stationery, posters and cards.
Creatively, licensees will be able to access multiple design assets sourced from the stunning illustrated edition.
Elliott and Thompson’s Lorne, added: “It is a timely and welcome business development opportunity. We are a growing publishing house at the heart of the creative independent publishing sector. We look forward to working with Maggy, our licensed partners and Tim to build a uniquely different, but successful, multimedia franchise.”
