OLD SCHOOL IS NUMBER ONE
JEFF KINNEY’S NEWEST DIARY OF A WIMPY KID BOOK MAKES HISTORY AS IT TOPS BESTSELLER LISTS AROUND THE GLOBE
New York, NY (November 12, 2015) — Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS, announced today that Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School, the tenth book in Jeff Kinney’s blockbuster series, is the number one bestselling book in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Spain (Catalan), and across Asia. Since it went on sale on Tuesday, November 3 in more than 90 countries simultaneously, the book has had an incredible first week, with more than 1,000,000 copies sold to consumers around the world. It holds the top spots on the New York Times, USA Today, and BookScan lists.
Jeff Kinney’s latest work is not only one of the biggest books of 2015—for adults or children—but a global phenomenon as well, with more than 6.8 million copies of Old School in print worldwide. The Wimpy Kid Global Tour took Kinney to Tokyo, Japan on the book’s release day to launch the book to national publicity and fans, then to Beijing, China and Sydney, Australia for sold-out events and major media interviews. The tour began in Brazil, where thousands of fans greeted Kinney, who then visited New York to appear on national media, including ABC’s Good Morning America.
Publishers around the globe agree that Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School is making history.
Michael Jacobs, President and CEO of ABRAMS, the book’s originating publisher in the United States, said:
“Sales for Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School in the first week have exceeded expectations both here in North America and with all of our amazing on-sale publishing partners worldwide. The book has reached number one on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. As phenomenally as the book has performed for us at ABRAMS and for booksellers and librarians and the kids, parents, teachers and caregivers they serve here, it’s even more incredible how this shows how universal the reach of Old School and Diary of a Wimpy Kid is. The staying power of the franchise and the bestseller-list domination of Old School (now the tenth book in the series to top the charts) are unprecedented. We’re both thankful and in awe.”
Bodo Horn-Rumold, Publisher of Baumhaus Verlag in der Bastei Lübbe AG, Cologne, Germany, said:
“The latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book is our biggest children’s laydown ever. It even exceeded all numbers for our adult titles. Within a few hours after going on sale it was the number one bestselling book in Germany.”
Francesca Dow, Managing Director of Penguin Random House Children’s UK, said:
“We are very proud that Jeff Kinney’s tenth book in the series has reached number one in the UK, beating our fantastic record from last year. We are thrilled to celebrate this truly phenomenal global series.”
Laura Harris, Publishing Director of Penguin Young Readers, Australia said:
“From the moment we published the first Wimpy Kid, Australian children recognized themselves in Greg. We are thrilled that the book is number one in Australia.”
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 was a milestone for the Wimpy Kid series and for children’s book publishing.
Now with more than 164 million copies in print worldwide, 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 445 weeks total, and more than 345 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.
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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, craft, fashion, sports, pop culture, comics, as well as children’s books and general interest. The company’s imprints include Abrams; Abrams Appleseed; Abrams ComicArts; Abrams Image; Abrams Books for Young Readers; Amulet Books; and Stewart, Tabori & Chang; www.abramsbooks.com
