Disney Publishing Worldwide Announces Multi-Book Deal with Internationally Bestselling...

Tue Apr 1, 2008 6:00am EDT

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Disney Publishing Worldwide Announces Multi-Book Deal with Internationally Bestselling Author Rick Riordan

Author of Blockbuster Percy Jackson Series Announces Two New
Projects

1 Million Copy First Printing Announced for Fourth Book in Percy
Series
BOLOGNA, Italy--(Business Wire)--
Rick Riordan, the multi-award-winning, New York Times bestselling
author of the internationally beloved Percy Jackson and the Olympians
series, has signed a multi-book deal - which includes a new, original
fantasy series - with Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW). The
announcement was made today at the Bologna Book Fair by Jonathan
Yaged, vice president and U.S. publisher, DPW.

"When we originally published the first Percy Jackson book in
2005, we knew we had something truly special on our hands," said
Yaged. "Rick's ability to speak to kids has impassioned readers around
the world - he is adored by children, parents, educators, and
booksellers who all wait with bated breath for his next books. We are
absolutely delighted to continue to publish with Rick and look forward
to continued success."

As a response to the huge anticipation from retailers, DPW has
announced a first printing of 1 million books for the fourth book in
the Percy Jackson series, The Battle of the Labyrinth, which goes on
sale in the U.S. on May 6th. As part of launch day celebrations, Rick
Riordan will appear at BookPeople in Austin, TX and take part in
chariot races, a Pit of Targarus, and interact with a centaur.
BookPeople will also be hosting Camp Half-Blood, a camp for kids based
on the Percy Jackson books, throughout the summer of 2008.

A brand new website, www.PercyJacksonBooks.com, will launch in the
U.S. in April 2008. The site will feature never-before-seen images of
characters from the books, exclusive content, interactive games, tour
information, and Percy-related news.

The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series has been sold in more
than 15 countries and has sold more than 1.6 million copies to date in
the U.S. The first book, The Lightning Thief, debuted in the summer of
2005, was a New York Times Notable Book, a Today Show/Al Roker's Book
Club Selection, and has been optioned for a feature film to Twentieth
Century Fox. The Sea of Monsters was a Publishers Weekly and BookSense
national bestseller. The most recent title, The Titan's Curse, debuted
at #1 on the New York Times children's series bestseller list; the
series has remained on the list since the launch of the third book.

Riordan's Percy Jackson series features a twelve-year-old dyslexic
boy who discovers he is the modern-day son of a Greek god. The novels
draw on Riordan's experience with his older son who was diagnosed with
ADHD and dyslexia. After recounting the stories of gods and heroes, he
ran out of myths and his son asked him to make up a new story. Over
the course of a few nights the story of Percy Jackson came to life and
at the suggestion of his son, he wrote what became The Lightning
Thief.

For fifteen years, Rick taught English and history at public and
private middle schools in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Texas. In
2002, Saint Mary's Hall honored him with the school's first Master
Teacher Award.

His adult fiction has won the top three national awards in the
mystery genre - the Edgar, the Anthony and the Shamus. He has
presented workshops for such organizations as the International
Reading Association, the California Association of Independent
Schools, the National Council for Teachers of English, the Colonial
Williamsburg Teacher Institute and the Texas Library Association. His
short fiction has appeared in Mary Higgins Clark Mystery Magazine and
Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine. In 2003, he was inducted into the
Texas Institute of Letters.

Rick lives in San Antonio, Texas with his wife and two sons.

Disney Book Group is part of Disney Publishing Worldwide (DPW).
Disney Book Group's imprints include Hyperion Books for Children, Jump
at the Sun, Disney Press, and Disney Editions. DPW is the world's
largest publisher of children's books and magazines, with over 400
children's magazines published and 120 million children's books sold
each year. Headquartered in New York, DPW publishes books and
magazines in 85 languages in 75 countries, reaching more than 100
million readers each month.

Disney Publishing Worldwide
Deborah Bass, 818-544-0682
Deborah.Bass@disney.com