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Brown Books Publishing Group Closes Large Rights Deal with Chinese Publisher for Children's Books by Bill Martin Jr, Michael Sampson and Bonnie J. Johnson
Friday, March 4, 2022
Rights Deal for Four Children's Books Includes Six-Figure Advance
DALLAS, Feb. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Brown Books Publishing Group's President and COO Tom Reale has closed a Chinese rights deal for three books by Bill Martin Jr and Michael Sampson, and one book by Michael Sampson and Bonnie J. Johnson, with China South Booky Culture Media Co., LTD, the world's sixth-largest publisher. While not all details of the agreement are public, it is the largest children's rights deal in China in the past year, with a six-figure advance greater than the amount Scholastic paid for the Harry Potter series. All three books by Bill Martin Jr and Michael Sampson will be illustrated by Nathalie Beauvois, including Armadillo Antics, Ten Little Squirrels and Bing! Bang! Chugga! Beep! Film industry art director and cinematographer Joshua Sampson, the author's son, will illustrate The Pig, the Elephant, and the Wisecracking Bird by Sampson and Johnson. All four books will be imprinted with Booky Kids in association with China South Booky Culture Media Co., LTD, and will carry the Brown Books Kids colophon.
Reale has also closed a co-edition agreement with Bateman Books of Auckland, who will carry Armadillo Antics in New Zealand and Australia, with an option for the further three titles. Brown Books is currently considering additional partnerships around the world.
"We're in conversation about commercial and animation rights on all four books in addition to agented foreign rights across Asia and Europe. We're open to discussions regarding additional English co-editions outside of the U.S.," Reale said.
The authors are all represented by Ron Zollshan with KirchoffWohlberg, while Nathalie Beauvois is represented by Lisa Pomerantz with Illustration Online. Brown Books is represented overseas by John Moore of Media Solutions in Tokyo.
Some have called Bill Martin Jr "America's favorite children's author." He wrote for almost 60 years, producing classics like Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Bill Martin Jr was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame posthumously in 2018 by the International Literacy Association.
Michael Sampson earned his Ph.D. in reading in the 1970s, when he established a lifelong friendship with Bill Martin Jr. They went on to write 21 books together, including Chicka Chicka 1, 2, 3. Sampson was recently named a Fulbright Scholar.
Bonnie J. Johnson, Ph.D. is the author and co-author of eight books. Johnson was a co-nominee for Best Education Book of the Year by the Association of American Publishers and was named an Eminent Literacy Scholar by The e-Journal of Literacy and Social Responsibility.
Nathalie Beauvois is a freelance illustrator living in Argentina. She has a graphic design background and has illustrated books and magazines in countries all over the world.
Joshua Sampson graduated with a BFA from UT Austin, earned his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and lives in Los Angeles. Sampson works in movies, TV, painting, illustration, music, pottery and carpentry. He has worked on critically acclaimed works Minari (2020) and the reboot of Fairly Oddparents (2022).
Media Contact
Amy Goppert, Brown Books Publishing, (972) 381-0009, Amy.Goppert@theagencyatbb.com
Twitter
SOURCE Brown Books Publishing
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