Scholastic Acquires Self-Published Fantasy Series
Posted on January 7, 2005
Scholastic has acquired the North American book rights to Patrick Carman's self-published trilogy, The Land of Elyon, a new series set in a fantasy world in which animals can talk and enchanted stones can see the future. In January 2005, Scholastic will publish The Dark Hills Divide (Ages 9-12), the first of three books in the series in a new hardcover edition.
Scholastic will be launching the series with a uniquely fashioned 22-city United States media blitz starting in January 2005 in Seattle. The tour will conclude four months later in New York City. Patrick Carman will visit with hundreds of schools and bookstores as he criss-crosses the United States in a Land of Elyon tour bus. The bus, conceived by the author, will also be home to Patrick's wife and two children for the duration of the tour.
Author signings will also feature a topographical model of the mythical Land of Elyon and a video of how it was made, and early sketches from Patrick Carman of the maps that are included in the books. The tour will be promoted by a $200,000 marketing campaign, including radio promotions on stations most popular with tween audiences.
A Northwest native, Patrick Carman published The Land of Elyon in paperback in November 2003. It quickly became a self-publishing phenomenon, selling over 5,000 copies in the Northwest in three months, with some book signings drawing as many as 400 fans. Total sales for the self-published version of The Dark Hills Divide exceeded 10,000 copies, with book signing events routinely enjoying hundreds of fans from schools where the author speaks before attending the signing events.
Craig Walker, vice president and editorial director for Scholastic in New York, said that Scholastic expects Carman's trilogy to be a major seller in 2005. "We were drawn to this classic fantasy for its strong female heroine, one of those unexpected heroes, like a Frodo in Lord of the Rings," said Walker. "This, coupled with Carman's incredible ability to connect with kids during his school and bookstore tours, makes him a perfect fit for Scholastic."
Carman, a self-made businessman, put over $25,000 into Dark Hills Divide. He hired professionals to do artwork, design, editing and publicity, then set up school visits and bookstore signings to stimulate sales. He was invited to speak to booksellers, attending the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association conference, guaranteeing even more buzz.
The Dark Hills Divide grew out of stories Carman told his young daughters. It focuses on a young girl, who explores what lies beyond her walled kingdom and stumbles onto a plot to destroy the Land of Elyon from within. Scholastic will publish the remaining two titles in the series in Fall 2005 and Summer 2006.
Patrick Carman has also developed an interactive website (landofelyon.com) for fans of the series which features sample chapters, photo galleries, character sketches, readers and teacher forums, information about the books, as well as author and tour schedules.
During his career, Carman has also created a series of popular board games including Applause, and founded Mywebpal.com, developing it into the third largest provider of online newspaper publishing in the United States before selling it in 2002. In addition to speaking about his books, Carman addresses youth and adults alike about the effect that the Internet has had on culture and how reading can be used as an important and entertaining alternative to TV and the Internet. Carman grew up in Salem, Oregon, and currently lives in Washington State with his wife, Karen, and daughters Reece and Sierra, now seven and nine.