Harper Goes Hollywood

HarperFestival and HarperEntertainment have acquired a number of high-profile TV and film licenses.

HarperFestival will publish a range of titles for children 4-7 based on the March 2005 3D animated film Robots, from Fox and Blue Sky Studios, the same companies responsible for 2002's Ice Age. The film is based on a concept by HarperCollins author William Joyce, who is involved in developing the tie-ins. "The main attraction was that Bill Joyce was the creative force," said Emily Brenner, HarperFestival editorial director. HarperFestival also will release books based on Sony's 2D-animated TV series AstroBoy, which airs on the Kids WB!. "It was the beauty of the animation that appealed to us," said Brenner. "There's a real attention to detail and characterization that you don't see in some of the anime that's out there."

Meanwhile, HarperEntertainment will publish tie-ins to New York Minute, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's first theatrical film, as well as a new trilogy of books, Graduation Summer. "Not since their 16th birthday two years ago have we had such a ripe opportunity for promotion," said Hope Innelli, v-p and editorial director at HarperEntertainment. Support for the tie-in books will include a sweepstakes in which the winner will attend the movie premiere; the trilogy will be backed by a sweepstakes focusing on elementary and middle schools. More than 35 million Mary-Kate and Ashley books have been sold domestically since 1990.