RANDOM HOUSE TO PUBLISH OFFICIAL
YA NOVELS BASED ON FOUR DC COMICS SUPER HERO ICONS,BY FOUR BESTSELLING AUTHORS
Wonder Woman™, Batman™, Catwoman™, and Superman™ novels to release beginning in 2017
New York, NY, March 31, 2016—Random House Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, has partnered with Warner Bros. Consumer Products and DC Entertainment to publish official young adult novels featuring four iconic DC Comics Super Hero characters beginning in 2017. Wonder Woman will be written by Leigh Bardugo, Batman will be written by Marie Lu, Superman will be written by Matt de la Peña, and Catwoman will be written by Sarah J. Maas. The four-book deal for world rights was announced today by Mallory Loehr, Senior Vice President, Publisher of the Random House Books for Young Readers Group.
The deal was negotiated by Loehr, Michelle H. Nagler, Associate Publishing Director, Random House Children’s Books, and Dennis R. Shealy, Editorial Director of Licensed Publishing, Random House/Golden Books Young Readers Group. The books will be edited by Chelsea Eberly, Editor.
Each of the four YA novels will feature one DC Comics Super Hero icon, and will embrace themes of good vs. evil, coming-of-age romance, and Super Heroes from unexpected places who have the determination to achieve seemingly impossible dreams.
Wonder Woman will release at the end of August 2017, followed by Batman, Superman, and Catwoman.
This news comes on the heels of the recent publication of Wonder Woman at Super Hero High, the first book in the middle-grade book series by Lisa Yee, which introduces readers to female Super Heroes of the DC Comics universe during their high school years—prior to discovering their full super power potential.
“Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, and Catwoman have been fan favorites for so long, and it is an incredible honor for us to now have this group of acclaimed young adult authors become part of the legacy—and we know there is a vast audience of teen and adult readers worldwide who will join in our excitement,” says Loehr.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
LEIGH BARDUGO is the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling YA author of the Grisha trilogy (SHADOW AND BONE, SIEGE AND STORM, and RUIN AND RISING). Her new YA fantasy, SIX OF CROWS, was a New York Times Notable Book and an ALA-YALSA Top Ten Pick of 2016. The Grisha books have been sold in 30 territories, and the first trilogy is in development with DreamWorks for a book-to-film adaptation to be produced by David Heyman. Leigh was born in Jerusalem, grew up in Los Angeles, and graduated from Yale University. These days, she lives and writes in Hollywood, California. She is represented by Joanna Volpe of New Leaf Literary & Media.
MARIE LU is the #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling YA author of the Legend trilogy (LEGEND, PRODIGY, and CHAMPION). The Young Elites fantasy trilogy reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list, and Fox and Temple Hill have bought the film rights. The Legend trilogy has been sold in 24 territories. Born in 1984 in China, Marie’s family left Beijing for the United States in 1989. Marie was an art director in the video game industry but now writes full time. She lives in Los Angeles. She is represented by Kristin Nelson of Nelson Literary Agency.
MATT DE LA PEÑA is a New York Times bestselling and Newbery Medal–winning author. He has penned six critically acclaimed YA novels, including MEXICAN WHITEBOY and THE LIVING, for which he received the Pura Belpré Author Honor Award. BALL DON’T LIE was named an ALA-YALSA Best Book for Young Adults and an ALA-YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers and was developed into a motion picture in 2008 featuring Ludacris, Nick Cannon, and Emilie de Ravin. Matt’s picture book LAST STOP ON MARKET STREET was awarded a Newbery Medal, with illustrator Christian Robinson’s artwork being awarded a Caldecott Honor. Matt received his MFA in creative writing from San Diego State University and his BA from the University of the Pacific, which he attended on a full basketball scholarship. Matt lives in Brooklyn, New York, with his family. He teaches creative writing and visits high schools and colleges throughout the country. He is represented by Steven Malk of Writers House.
SARAH J. MAAS is the New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling YA fantasy author of the Throne of Glass series (THRONE OF GLASS, CROWN OF MIDNIGHT, HEIR OF FIRE, QUEEN OF SHADOWS, and THE ASSASSIN’S BLADE) and the Court of Thorns and Roses series. She wrote the first incarnation of the Throne of Glass series when she was just sixteen. It has since sold in 30 territories, and QUEEN OF SHADOWS won the 2015 Goodreads Choice Award for Best YA Sci-fi/Fantasy. The Throne of Glass series is being developed for television by the Mark Gordon Company, and A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES is being developed for feature film by Tempo Productions and David Garrett’s Mister Smith Entertainment. A New York native, Sarah lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and dog. She graduated magna cum laude from Hamilton College in 2008 with a degree in creative writing and a minor in religious studies. She is represented by Tamar Rydzinski of the Laura Dail Literary Agency.
Random House Children’s Books is the world’s largest English-language children’s trade book publisher. Creating books for toddlers through young adult readers, in all formats from board books to activity books to picture books, novels, ebooks, and apps, the imprints of Random House Children’s Books bring together award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise characters, and multimillion-copy series. Random House Children’s Books is a division of Penguin Random House LLC.
About Warner Bros. Consumer Products
Warner Bros. Consumer Products, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organizations in the world.
DC Entertainment, home of DC Comics (Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, The Flash), Vertigo (Sandman, Fables), and MAD, is the creative division charged with strategically integrating its content across Warner Bros. Entertainment and Time Warner. DC Entertainment works in concert with many key Warner Bros. divisions to unleash its stories and characters across all media, including but not limited to film, television, consumer products, home entertainment, and interactive games. Publishing thousands of comic books, graphic novels and magazines each year, DC Entertainment is one of the largest English-language publishers of comics in the world.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Random House Children’s Books
Dominique Cimina
Director, Publicity & Corporate Communications
BATMAN, SUPERMAN, WONDER WOMAN, CATWOMAN and all related characters and elements © & ™ DC Comics and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (s16). DC SUPER HERO GIRLS and all related characters and elements © & ™ DC Comics. (s16)
