NEW YORK, April 29 /PRNewswire/ -- HarperCollins Publishers
announced today that it has acquired North American rights
to Wildwood, a middle-grade series by Colin Meloy, illustrated by acclaimed artist
Carson
Ellis. Wildwood is a classic tale of
adventure, magic, and danger, set in an alternate version of
modern-day Portland, Oregon. Meloy
is the lead singer and songwriter of The Decemberists,
the highly celebrated and uncommonly literary band.
The three-book deal was negotiated by Donna Bray, Co-Publisher of the Balzer &
Bray imprint at HarperCollins, with Steven
Malk of Writers House, after an auction involving five other
publishers. The first book is scheduled for publication in Fall
2011.
"Storytelling and rich imagery are hallmarks of Colin's songs,
so writing a novel seems like a perfect next step for him," said
Donna Bray of Balzer & Bray.
"Wildwood is both incredibly original yet timeless –
nothing less than an American Narnia. We're thrilled to introduce
such an exciting new voice in children's literature."
Steven Malk of Writers House
added, "Colin and Carson tap into the greatest potential of an
illustrated novel; the words and images invigorate each other in a
way readers rarely get to experience."
"The germ of this series goes back a long way," Meloy said. "For
me, this is the culmination of a long-term collaboration with
Carson, matching words and art. I grew up on a steady diet of
Lloyd Alexander, Roald Dahl, and Tolkien; this is our humble
paean to that grand tradition of epic adventure stories." Ellis
commented, "Wildwood is a project very close to my
heart - the collaboration that Colin and I have been dreaming about
for years."
Colin Meloy formed The
Decemberists in 2000, with his singing and songwriting providing
the core for the band's singular music. Their most recent
album, The Hazards of Love, debuted at #1 on the
iTunes Store album chart and at #14 on the Billboard 200. The band
has sold more than one million albums worldwide. Carson Ellis first rose to prominence as the
artist who created the band's iconic visual look, and has gone on
to illustrate bestselling books such as The Mysterious
Benedict Society and Lemony Snicket's The Composer
is Dead.
ABOUT HARPERCOLLINS CHILDREN'S BOOKS
HarperCollins Children's Books is one of the leading
publishers of children's books. Respected worldwide for its
tradition of publishing quality, award-winning books for young
readers, HarperCollins is home to many timeless
treasures—Charlotte's Web, The Chronicles of Narnia,
Goodnight Moon, Where the
Sidewalk Ends, the Ramona series, Where the Wild
Things Are; and popular new classics—The Graveyard Book,
A Series of Unfortunate Events, Warriors, and Fancy
Nancy. HarperCollins Children's Books has published some of the
world's foremost authors and illustrators and has won numerous
awards including the Newbery Medal, the Caldecott Medal, the Printz
Award and the Geisel Award. HarperCollins Children's Books is a
division of HarperCollins Publishers, one of the leading
English-language publishers in the world and a subsidiary of News
Corporation (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A; ASX: NCP, NCPDP). Consistently at
the forefront of innovation and technological advancement,
HarperCollins is the first publisher to digitize its content and
create a global digital warehouse to protect the rights of its
authors, meet consumer demand and generate additional business
opportunities. Headquartered in New
York, HarperCollins has publishing groups in the US,
Canada, the UK, Australia/New
Zealand, and India. You can
visit HarperCollins Children's Books at
www.harpercollinschildrens.com and HarperCollins Publishers at
www.harpercollins.com.
SOURCE HarperCollins Publishers