DIARY OF A WIMPY KID GOES GLOBAL!
FIRST EVER WORLDWIDE AUTHOR TOUR FOR THE NOVEMBER 3, 2015 RELEASE OF DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: OLD SCHOOL
Bestselling author Jeff Kinney visits FIFTEEN International VENUES
NEW YORK, NY—October 13, 2016—Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS, announces today the cities for bestselling author Jeff Kinney’s unprecedented worldwide author tour. Promoting the release of book 10, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School, the itinerary includes stops in fifteen cities on five continents, where the series has topped bestseller lists for more than eight years.
Working closely with the local publishers, Kinney, who was named one of Time magazine’s most influential people in the world, will be featured in major media outlets, meet tens of thousands of fans during author events held in major venues, and will discover local cultures. A dynamic multi-platform social-media campaign, which will include videos documenting each tour stop, will be coordinated with all publisher partners. Fans can also stay up to date on Jeff Kinney’s travel at www.wimpykid.com/globaltour. Upon publication of book 10 there will be more than 164 million copies of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series in print around the globe.
Worldwide tour cities include:
New York, NY
Boston, MA
Tokyo, Japan
Beijing, China
Sydney, Australia
Madrid, Spain
London, UK
Lisbon, Portugal
Frankfurt, Germany
Athens, Greece
Istanbul, Turkey
Bucharest, Romania
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Riga, Latvia
Rio de Janerio, Brazil
“I’m incredibly excited to be embarking on a global tour to celebrate the launch of my tenth book. One of the biggest surprises of my life is that kids from all over the world seem to relate to Greg Heffley and his comic struggles,” says Jeff Kinney. “What I’ve learned is that childhood itself is a universal condition that transcends culture and language. I can’t wait to meet as many Wimpy Kid fans in as many countries as possible during the tour. I’m sure my life will be enriched beyond measure.”
Participating Wimpy Kid book 10 tour publishers include the originating publisher, ABRAMS, in the United States, Poplar Publishing in Japan, Guangdong New Century Publishing House in China, Penguin Random House in Australia, RBA Group in Spain, Penguin Random House in the United Kingdom, 20/20 Editora in Portugal, Baumhaus Verlag in Germany, Psichogios Publications in Greece, Epsilon in Turkey, Editura Art in Romania, De Fontein in The Netherlands, Zvaigzne ABC in Lativa, and V&R Editoras in Brazil.
“The Diary of a Wimpy Kid books and series has had an incredible reach all around the world,” says Michael Jacobs, president and CEO of ABRAMS. “We are thrilled and privileged to organize this truly global tour so that Jeff can meet his fans—kids, parents and caregivers, teachers, librarians and booksellers worldwide to coincide with the release of Old School.”
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School follows Wimpy Kid Greg Heffley as he goes on a weeklong field trip to a farm and deals with a generation gap between the kids and their chaperones. The November 3 coordinated global on-sale tour is a milestone for the Wimpy Kid series and for children’s book publishing.
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series has been a fixture on the USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists. The series has remained on the New York Times bestseller lists since the publication of the first book, for more than 425 weeks total, and more than 325 on the series list. The books have been sold in more than 53 editions in 48 languages. Published by Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS, Kinney’s work has been widely praised for its ability to turn reluctant readers on to books. Three movies based on the book series have grossed more than $250 million internationally. Jeff Kinney won two Children’s Choice Book Awards. Books in the series have won numerous awards voted on by students and teachers around the globe. The Wimpy Kid Island (Wimpy Wonderland) on poptropica.com, a virtual world for kids, remains one of the most visited on the site.
Founded by Harry N. Abrams in 1949, ABRAMS is the preeminent publisher of high-quality art and illustrated books. Now a subsidiary of La Martinière Groupe, ABRAMS is the publisher of bestsellers such as the wildly popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney, the award-winning cookbooks of Alton Brown, and the stunning photography of Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s Earth from Above. ABRAMS publishes books in the areas of art, photography, cooking, interior design, comics, craft, fashion, sports, and pop culture, as well as children’s books and general interest. The company’s imprints include Abrams; Abrams Appleseed; Abrams ComicArts; Abrams Image; Abrams Noterie; Abrams Books for Young Readers; and Amulet Books. www.abramsbooks.com
