Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS, will launch an original middle-grade fiction series based on Lumberjanes, the bestselling graphic novel series published by BOOM! Studios, it was announced today by Andrew Smith, senior vice president and publisher of ABRAMS Children’s Books. In addition to the middle-grade novels, other formats that dive deeper into the world of Lumberjanes are also planned. The publishing program, which is for world rights, was acquired by Smith and Susan Van Metre, vice president and editor-in-chief, and was negotiated with Filip Sablik, president of publishing and marketing at BOOM! Studios. Charlotte Sheedy at Charlotte Sheedy Literary represented Tamaki, and Charlie Olsen at Inkwell Management Literary Agency represented Allen in the deal. Van Metre will edit the books.
Bringing the beloved Lumberjanes characters into a novel format for the first time, the series features original adventures that reveal back stories of scouts Jo, April, Molly, Mal, and Ripley, and introduces a host of new supernatural mischief-makers around the camp for Hardcore Lady Types. The series will be written by New York Times bestselling author and Printz Honor winner Mariko Tamaki, and illustrated with black-and-white art throughout by Brooke Allen, one of the original creators and illustrators of the Lumberjanes comics. Book One in the Lumberjanes series will publish in October 2017 with a first printing of 150,000 copies.
“We are huge fans of the Lumberjanes and are so excited to extend the beloved, action-packed, and inclusive world of the comics into the world of middle-grade fiction and beyond. We can’t wait for existing fans and new readers alike to dive into the epic new adventure that Mariko and Brooke have created,” says Smith. “We also look forward to announcing further collaborations with BOOM! Studios in the coming months.”
The New York Times bestselling Lumberjanes is a comic and graphic novel series created by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, and Brooke Allen that was launched under BOOM!’s BOOM! Box imprint in 2014. Since its initial release, the series has won multiple Eisner and Harvey Awards along with a GLAAD Media Award, and routinely lands on “Best Of” and “Top Ten” lists across the industry. Lumberjanes has sold over 800,000 copies and is available in more than six languages worldwide. In 2015, 20th Century Fox optioned Lumberjanes for development as a feature film with screenwriter Will Widger. In 2016, the studio announced the attachment of Emily Carmichael to direct the film. Also in 2016, BOOM! published Lumberjanes/Gotham Academy, a crossover series with DC Comics.
“Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Noelle Stevenson, and Brooke Allen created something incredibly rare with Lumberjanes, a series that has not only been critically acclaimed and a sales phenomenon, but a property that has ushered in widespread changes throughout the comic publishing industry,” says Sablik. “They and everyone at BOOM! love the books ABRAMS publishes and couldn’t be more excited to see Mariko and Brooke extend the world of Lumberjanes for middle-grade readers and beyond.”
In this new middle-grade series, readers are welcomed to Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types. The five scouts of Roanoke cabin—Jo, April, Molly, Mal, and Ripley—love their summers at camp. They get to hang out with their best friends, earn Lumberjane scout badges, annoy their no-nonsense counselor Jen . . . and go on supernatural adventures. In the series opener, when the challenge-loving April leads the girls on a hike up the tallest mountain they’ve ever seen, things don’t go quite as planned. For one thing, the mountain might not be a mountain. Also, unicorns.
An aggressive marketing campaign for the Lumberjanes novel series is planned, including joint promotion with BOOM! studios, Comic-Con promotion, national publicity, author appearances, retail promotion and a large social media presence.
