Dutton Children's Books to Publish Walter the Farting Dog

Posted on January 29, 2003

Stephanie Owens Lurie, President and Publisher of Dutton Children's Books; a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, announced that she has acquired the next two Walter the Farting Dog books from authors William Kotzwinkle and Glenn Murray and illustrator Audrey Colman. The deal, which includes world rights in all languages, was brokered by Jennifer Carlson of Dunow & Carlson Literary Agency.

A grassroots phenomenon published by North Atlantic Books and distributed by Publishers Group West in the fall of 2001, there are approximately 120,000 copies of Walter the Farting Dog in print with a reprint of another 50,000 planned. It climbed to #5 on the New York Times Children's Best Seller list during its six-week stint and remains on the BookSense Children's Best Seller list.

About the acquistion, Lurie said, "Walter is a true original, and we welcome him with open arms (well, maybe at arm's length. . .). Seriously, the runaway success of Walter the Farting Dog proves that a picture book can make a huge impact by being fresh and kid-friendly. We look forward to working with Bill, Glenn, and Audrey to take him to new heights."

The next book, Walter the Farting Dog: Trouble at the Yard Sale is slated for publication in 2004 and will be followed by Walter the Farting Dog: Rough Weather Ahead. Puffin Books will publish these two titles in paperback at a later date.