Tag Archives: publishing

Little Brother Books welcomes LOL Surprise, Barbie, and Fortnite to the annuals roster

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LOL Surprise, Barbie, Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft will each be expanding their presence across the children’s Annuals market, thanks to a bolstered new portfolio of titles to launch from Little Brother Books.

The UK Annuals publisher is preparing to launch a range of six new titles this spring/summer, which will include three Fun, Play and Learn titles hitting shelves this May, featuring the popular toy brands LOL Surprise and Barbie. The pair will be joined by World of Dinosaurs.

This season will also see the launch of three Ultimate Gaming Guides, including GamesWarrior’s Ultimate Guide to Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft.

All six titles will feature new content created exclusively by Little Brother Books and will each be priced at £5.99. The series will go on sale this mlnth across Amazon, TJ Morris, Sainsbury’s, Smyths Toys, and other book retailers.

Little Brother Books believes that high visibility at retail is key to driving impulse sales and has been successful in placing 1000s of dedicated FSDU/POS in major retailers over recent years.

Matthew Reynolds, MD at Little Brother Books, said: “Our mid-year Annuals and Gaming Guides launching this season are testament to our success in refreshing this market and I’m thrilled that we have six titles to delight parents and children alike this summer with six of the hottest properties in the market.

“Despite 2020’s challenges, Little Brother Books once again dominated the Annuals market, and we retained our position as the number one publisher in this sector for the third consecutive year with unrivaled distribution for our leading brands.

“2021 is shaping up to be even more successful with other major retailers coming onboard, as well as exciting new brands joining our portfolio.”

The Point. 1888 nets Farshore for CoComelon book publishing in the UK, Eire and Poland

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The hit preschool property and leading children’s series, CoComelon has bolstered its portfolio of international licensees once more, this time tapping Farshore for children’s book publishing across the UK, Eire, and Poland. The deal was brokered by Moonbug’s European licensing agent, The Point. 1888.

CoComelon is a preschool phenomenon currently dominating the digital space and, according to the firm, is set to become one of the biggest global preschool brands across all categories. It is the number one children’s and educational channel on YouTube worldwide, seeing more than 100 billion views globally.

The Moonbug series has spent the most consecutive days in Netflix’s top ten programs across both adult and children’s shows, and in 2021 it has been the most streamed Netflix show beating Bridgerton to the top spot.

Launching with two titles in October 2021, Farshore will publish CoComelon’s most watched and popular songs in bright, bold board book format for preschoolers to sing along with, followed by further publishing in 2022.

CoComelon Bath Song Board Book includes the main character JJ and his brother TomTom from the hugely popular and catchy Bath Song episode. Children can sing along to another much-loved classic with CoComelon Wheels on the Bus Board Book.

Zoe Masters, brands and licensing publisher at Farshore, said: “We are delighted to be publishing CoComelon in this joint deal with HarperCollins Poland. We are incredibly proud to bring Moonbug’s hugely successful entertaining educational content to life in our book publishing.

“At Farshore we are committed to ensuring a love of reading from an early age, and our CoComelon titles will provide fun and engaging books for children to share and enjoy time and time again. The books are launching in 2021 and we couldn’t be happier with the response from retail we have received so far.”

Katie Wilkinson, senior commercial manager at ThePoint.1888, added: “Farshore’s purpose is to make every child a proud reader so I am absolutely thrilled that we are working with them on this epic brand. Cocomelon has joined the digital kid’s entertainment space and achieved growth like no one has seen before, currently it is the most viewed You Tube channel in the world and second most subscribed.

“This lends itself to publishing perfectly and I’m excited to see the first titles later this year and then the ever growing title list rollout in 2022 and beyond.”

CoComelon Bath Song Board Book and CoComelon Wheels on the Bus Board Book publishes on 30th September 2021, for children aged one to four.

Paddington Bear is taking over the British Library this summer with exclusive exhibition

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Paddington Bear is taking over the British Library this summer with the launch of a special, family-friendly exhibition celebrating 60 years of one of the world’s most beloved bears.

Paddington: The Story of a Bear will run at the library from July 9th to October 31st with an exhibitions spanning the 60 years since the character was first published by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 1958. The exhibition will feature over 50 books, documents, film clips, and original artworks as it explores the creation of Michael Bond’s Paddington in full.

The exhibition will also feature activities for visitors to practise their hard stares, take their own self ‘pawtrait’ and follow the trail of marmalade left by Paddington, as well as a special printed guide for families. Two local primary schools in Camden – Argyle Primary School and Edith Neville Primary School – have been working with the Library since November 2020 to create new content for display in the exhibition for all visitors to enjoy. 

Paddington is a timeless and universal story of desire for home, acceptance and a sense of belonging, which appeals to all ages. Featuring books, documents, film clips and original illustrations, highlights will include, a First Edition of A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond, illustrated by Peggy Fortnum, the original review of A Bear Called Paddington by Barbara Ker Wilson in 1958, and a selection of photographs and memorabilia of Michael Bond on loan from his family.

It will also feature clips from the Paddington movies and sound recordings such as Michael Bond talking about the process of creating Paddington’s stories, as well as original illustrations of Paddington stories by artists including Peggy Fortnum, David McKee and RW Alley.

Alison Bailey, lead curator of Paddington: The Story of a Bear, said: “Paddington: The Story of a Bear is a fun, family-friendly exhibition recalling the many faces of Paddington we’ve come to know and love in original artwork, books, and scenes from TV and film adaptations.

“This exhibition reminds us why, over 60 years on from his creation, Paddington still resonates with people of all ages, wherever they are in the world. We hope visitors enjoy following this loveable bear on his adventures and discovering his stories.”

Sophie Kopaczynski, CEO at Copyrights Group said: “As Paddington brand owners we are delighted to be working with the British Library on this fantastic exhibition. 

“The exhibition invites families and fans – old and new – into the world of Paddington, full of adventure and kindness, through a wide variety of mediums, books to original artworks, letters to objects, film footage to exclusive TV clips. 

“It is always a pleasure to be able to introduce Paddington to a new audience and to offer new and exciting content for existing fans.”

There will be a series of events and adult learning courses inspired by the exhibition, as well as workshops for families and relaxed openings for children on the autism spectrum.

School groups can enjoy exclusive timed slots including free, activity-led facilitated workshops for Primary students.

Coolabi’s Warrior Cats leaps onto Roblox with the new Warrior Cats: Ultimate Edition game

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The independent international media group, Coolabi  has partnered with Roblox specialists, Aldrich-Callen Studios to develop a new 3D role-play game for global online platform Roblox. The game will be based on its best-selling fantasy brand, Warrior Cats.

The new ‘Warrior Cats: Ultimate Edition’ game will be set within the Forest Territory from the hit book series and will invite players to create and customise their own cat character, explore the vast world of Warriors, join a Clan, and interact with other players to make their own Warrior Cats story.

Warriors is a feline fantasy book series about five clans of wild cats – ShadowClan, RiverClan, ThunderClan, WindClan and StarClan. The series was created by Working Partners, a Coolabi Group company, and has become a publishing hit following the release of over 80 titles, spanning 38 languages and sold over 41 million copies to date. The most recent book, Warriors: The Broken Code: The Place of No Stars, is also a New York Times bestseller, debuting at number eight.

The news of the interactive game comes two years after the launch of the award-winning WarriorCats.com, an official digital destination for Warriors’ ever-growing global fan community, which attracted over 1.3 million visitors in 2020. Since the book series launched, legions of passionate fans across the globe have created fan art, animation and fiction, with user-generated content receiving over 42 million monthly views collectively on YouTube.

There are also over 1000 dedicated Warriors YouTube channels with a new fan video uploaded every 30 mins on average.

Last year Coolabi Group conducted a survey with over 10,000 members of its Warrior Cats fanbase established that not only do they love gaming, but Roblox was one of the most popular online platforms.

Naomi Dare, director of digital at Coolabi Group, said: “We’re excited to be launching a Warriors game on Roblox as we know that so many nine to 12 year olds are on the platform, with over half of this age group in the USA playing on Roblox at least once a week. This tends to be the age that people start reading Warriors, so not only does it serve our existing fan base who are desperate to role play in a Warriors world, but it should also attract new fans to the brand too.”

The ‘Warrior Cats: Ultimate Edition’ Roblox game is free to play on Roblox and out now.

Acamar Films builds on UK licensing success for hit preschool IP Bing

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The popular kids’ property and pre-school series, Bing is continuing to expand its UK licensing programme, building on the success the IP has seen across the toys and wider consumer product space to date.

Last year, demand for Bing products enjoyed an 11 per cent year on year increase, while this year, Acamar Films – the London-based studio behind the IP – has welcomed strategic new categories to the portfolio, dialing the UK licensing programme up to 25 licensees in total.

Not only will 2021 Bing move into bathtime and dental products with Solent, but also launch onto the children’s audio system, Tonies, as the platform prepares to deliver an audio storytelling experience for all Bingsters, slated for a 2022 release.

It follows a string year of sales growth across Bing’s master toy range with Golden Bear, a line that saw sales increase 115 per cent year on year in 2020. Golden Bear will be expanding the collection with the introduction of Nicky, a new character from the latest series, as well as siblings Coco and Charlie.

New lines for Autumn/Winter include a musical dancing Bing and a large play-set of Bing’s House. For the very first time, bath toys will be available for Bingsters with the new wind up Bathtime Boat set to make a splash at retail.

Meanwhile, 8th Wonder boasts a raft of new wooden toys and games to add to their Bing range, marking the Bing Skittles and Carry Along House as high performers, while MV Sports will be widening its retail footprint with additional listings of its wheeled and outdoor toys.

In publishing terms, Bing continues to perform well for HarperCollins, who witnessed a 62 per cent year on year net sales growth in 2020 and has nine new titles scheduled for release this year.

Juliet Matthews, publisher, media and brands, HarperCollins Children’s Books, said: “Thanks to strong support across retail and increased range space, Bing’s backlist continues to perform well alongside exciting new titles such as Bing and the Fire Engine and the timely vaccination picture book with stickers, Doctor Bing. Our single sound novelty title The Rainybow Song is a stand out title, selling 1k copies consistently every week.”

Softlines have also expanded across daywear and outerwear from licensees Fashion UK and William Lamb. There will be a specific growth in girlswear to match the boyswear offering and new lines include dresses, sweatshirts, joggers, trainers and rucksacks.

“We are excited to see the growth of Bing across our girlswear, boys and unisex lines,” said Hannah Miles, joint managing director at Fashion UK. “The trend guide collections bring fresh opportunities to tailor creative to each retailer and offer gorgeous designs to our consumers and their Bingsters.”

Aykroyds and TDP continue to build their business year-on-year and Smiffys has introduced an additional girls’ dress up line to their range with Sula, which launched exclusively with Tu at Argos/Sainsburys ahead of World Book Day 2021.

Continuing the focus on Acamar Films’ direct-to-consumer relationships, e-commerce hub The Bing Store will be expanding its product offering further in 2021.

Louise Simmonds, head of UK licensing and merchandising at Acamar Films, said: “It is wonderful to see steady growth across our consumer product programme for 2021 and the support from our partners during such tough times.

“Bing’s timeless and relatable core values, alongside the growing audience engagement we are seeing across our content, digital and social platforms, provides a reliable and trusted foundation for the year ahead.”

Masha and the Bear secures its first publishing deal in Japan as Animaccord partners with Kodansha

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Animaccord has secured its first publishing deal in the Japanese market for its flagship children’s property, Masha and the Bear.

The international licensing company and entertainment studio has partnered with Kodansha Ltd in a move that sees the company firm up its global presence by tapping into Japan’s publishing sector. The new licensed picture books – in both physical and e-book format – will feature original stories based on the Masha and the Bear series.

The first title in the series launched across Japan earlier this month, with a story that takes inspiration from one of the animated series’ best-loved episodes Laundry Day and Jam Day.

Nikolay Apukhtin, senior licensing manager for APAC, Animaccord, said: “We are very excited about the opportunity to bring Masha and the Bear picture books to Japanese readers and extremely grateful to our partners from Kodansha ltd. for believing in the brand from the very beginning by choosing our IP and developing the original stories best suited for the little audience in Japan.”

Yuri Sakai, editor in charge, Kodansha Ltd. added: “Masha and the Bear finally arrived to Japan. We are going to tell Japanese Children about delightful days of cute Masha and you-always-can-rely-on Bear through our picture books.”

Comic book series Trese enters licensing arena with Reemsborko as Netflix series readies to land

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Ablaze Publishing’s award-winning comic, Trese, is making its leap into the licensing arena, having appointed the pop culture licensing entity, Reemsborko as its global representative across all categories for merchandising.

The deal marks the latest addition to the portfolio for Reemsborko, founded by Max Arguile, who earlier this week welcomed the webcomic and clothing brand Zombie Makeout Club to its library of pop culture and fan-focused brands.

Created by writer Budjette Tan and the artist Kajo Baldisimo, Trese is set in Manila where the mythical creatures of Filipino folklore live in hiding among humans. The story follows the heroine Alexandra Trese as she battles with a criminal underworld run by malevolent supernatural beings.

The comic has seen seven volumes released within the Philippines to date, and are now being steadily republished worldwide by Ablaze.

Clothing is about to appear in the US courtesy of two apparel licensees and apparel is in discussion already in Europe. Reemsborko’s Max Arguile believes that the property is due to become ‘even more popular this year when the animated version starts on Netflix.’

He said: “Trese is phenomenal storytelling. Budjette and Kajo first learned of these mythical beasts as kids via bed-time stories from their parents. Once the Netflix series hits, we should already have product in the market for the fans.”

Rich Young, co-founder of Ablaze, said: “We are delighted to have Reemsborko on-board helping create a must-have range of merchandising for Trese. This is going to be great.”

Non-fiction publisher DK partners with Mrs Wordsmith for series of kids’ learning books

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The illustrated non-fiction global publisher, DK has embarked on a new partnership with the learning company, Mrs Wordsmith with a new series of curriculum-based titles, featuring captivating illustrations and learning materials.

The new collection will launch this August with the aim of making learning fun, engaging, and accessible for kids, with materials based on scientific research and proven teaching methods.

The collection has been designed to improve the reading and writing outcomes of children aged four to 11 by building vocabulary, strengthening reading comprehension and helping with every aspect of the English curriculum, from phonics for early learners to spelling and grammar for years one to six. 

Mark Searle, publishing director, DK Licensing, said: “I am incredibly proud to be partnering with Mrs Wordsmith, the global pioneers of educational vocabulary content; their combination of loveable characters and highly credentialed pedagogy makes this publishing programme truly unique.

“As a parent of school-age children, I know how hard it can be to capture their attention and inspire a love of learning. Working together with Mrs Wordsmith, we can strengthen our mission to make learning fun; this new range of educational books and games is perfect for curious learners of any age.” 

Nick Perrett, CEO, Mrs Wordsmith, added: “Everyone at Mrs Wordsmith is absolutely thrilled to begin this partnership with DK, one of the world’s largest and most respected publishers. I can’t think of anyone better placed to help us inspire kids everywhere to read, write, and create, and to help spread our love of literacy around the world.

“We’re still a young, eager company with lots to learn – and with DK by our side, I’m confident that we’ll be learning from the best.” 

DK will publish all of Mrs Wordsmith’s printed products worldwide and in all languages, with six titles first publishing in the UK in August 2021, including workbooks and original formats, plus a family card game and more to follow in 2022. This new programme will provide a complete offering for English learning.

Asmodee’s Aconyte Books secures multi-year deal with Ubisoft to develop Assassin’s Creed novel series

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Asmodee Entertainment’s fiction publishing imprint, Aconyte, has secured a multi-year agreement with Ubisoft to create a series of new novels set within the worlds of the game giant’s Assassin’s Creed franchise. The deal builds on a previous agreement that saw Aconyte names publishing partner for Ubisoft titles Watch Dogs and Tom Clancy’s The Division.

Aconyte’s primary mission is to publish untold stories from new or under-explored corners of the game series’ history-spanning timeline, featuring both characters from the games and totally new creations.

The first fruits of the new deal will be the publication of The Ming Storm this June. The novel is the opening volume of an exciting trilogy set in 16th century China, featuring young assassin Shao Jun. Written by notable Chinese author Yen Leisheng, the novel has already been published in China and France, with editions in several other languages planned.

This will be followed in early 2022 by a new trilogy of novels set in the time of Ubisoft’s latest hit game Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, which offers players the experience of playing as a legendary Viking warrior leading their clan to glory in ninth century England. A third trilogy of novels in a wholly new historical setting is in development too

“We’re absolutely delighted to add Assassin’s Creed to our ranges of new adventures set in the amazing worlds of Ubisoft’s games,” said Aconyte’s publisher, Marc Gascoigne. “The chance to tell wholly new stories set this rich universe, featuring both new and fan-favourite characters, was far too tasty to miss.”

Julien Fabre, Ubisoft associate director, publishing and TV distribution, added: “We are really happy to team up with Asmodee Entertainment. Thanks to their expertise in transmedia storytelling and community engagement, we will expand the Assassin’s Creed universe with new, original stories told through a range of compelling novels.”

Kids audio platform Yoto partners with Ameet and LEGO for Duplo story cards

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Yoto, the audio platform for kids and firm behind the critically acclaimed and award-winning Yoto Player, has detailed a new  partnership with AMEET Publishing and LEGO Duplo.

Under the deal, AMEET will co-create a series of six new audio card packs to complement its well-established LEGO Duplo range. The new series will launch this June.

The new LEGO Duplo series of Yoto Cards will allow early learners to enjoy themes ranging from animals shapes, to mindfulness, using the colourful DUPLO bricks alongside the cards to heighten their imaginative play and motor skill development.

The Yoto Player is a screen-free, camera- and microphone-free connected speaker designed specifically for the use of children from three to twelve years old to safely control their listening by entertaining and educating them while reducing screen-time.

Ben Drury, CEO and co-founder of Yoto, said: “Allowing children to increase their creativity and imagination through play and storytelling is incredibly important for us at Yoto and so working with a like-minded company with the same core values as AMEET and the LEGO Group was a no brainer for us. This partnership is hugely exciting for us with lots more to come so watch this space.”

Dan Shepherd, international sales and marketing director from AMEET, added: “The Yoto cards will bring DUPLO stories, learning, and play to modern families through immersive audio experiences that encourage creativity and storytelling whilst promoting active, physical play. We are proud to partner with an innovative children’s platform like Yoto.”

The co-created audio cards will be available from June 2021.