Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Publishing Deal - Maureen Johnson

Big news was announced yesterday that Maureen Johnson is moving to Hot Key Books from Harper Collins. Hot Key will publish books 3 and 4 in the Shades of London series and several earlier works. Here're the highlights from the press release:

QUEEN OF TEEN MAUREEN JOHNSON MOVES UK RESIDENCE TO HOT KEY BOOKS

Hot Key Books Editorial Director Sara O’Connor has completed a multi-book deal with The New York Times bestselling YA author Maureen Johnson: three books in the SUITE SCARLETT series, and the final two books in THE SHADES OF LONDON series, currently published in the UK by HarperCollins. At the same time, Hot Key has acquired Johnson’s debut novel THE KEY TO THE GOLDEN FIREBIRD,
never before published in the UK.

Hot Key Books announced the acquisition with a fan-targeted series of video blogs and ‘We Stare Because We Care’ social media campaign – a tongue-in-cheek play on Maureen’s own Twitter description: ‘There's a fine line between good eye contact and the piercing stare of a psychopath. Maureen is on the wrong side of it.’ Fans will be challenged to submit their best stare to win a place
in a Google Hangout with Maureen.

Maureen Johnson says: "I am thrilled to be joining Hot Key Books. I love what they are doing, and I think they are going to be an extremely exciting voice for YA books in the UK. I spend a lot of time in the UK, and being there means a lot to me. I've been practicing the language to fit in: Petrol! Nandos! Twitching! ASBO! Top Gear! I feel READY for this!"

Sara O’Connor says: “Maureen is hilarious, generous and a great spokesperson for teen reading. We can’t wait to celebrate her reign as Queen of Teen in ever more entertaining ways with her fans.”

Hot Key Books acquired the SCARLETT and SHADES UK and Commonwealth rights from KT Literary via RightsMix, and will publish the five titles over the next two years, with the new titles launching
simultaneously with the US editions. THE KEY TO THE GOLDEN FIREBIRD was acquired from Jean McGInley at HarperCollins.

Here's more on the competition.
Maureen Johnson's website is here.

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