Bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid Author Jeff Kinney Brings Laughter and Literacy Around the World
New York, NY — Jeff Kinney, author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, is on an unprecedented global tour to meet and greet international readers of his books in support of the release of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School, the 10th book in the wildly successful series. Working closely with local publishers in 15 cities on five continents, Kinney is being featured in major media outlets, meeting thousands of fans at sold-out events, and experiencing local cultures.
“Jeff has traveled internationally to support the publication of his books before but never on this scale,” said Michael Jacobs, president and CEO of ABRAMS. “The power of reading as well as the universal appeal of the humor and situations in the books is evident everywhere Jeff goes. No matter what language or where the books are published, kids relate to Greg Heffley. It’s truly amazing and heartening to witness the global phenomenon that is Diary of a Wimpy Kid.”
A dynamic multiplatform social-media campaign, which includes video documenting each tour stop, has been coordinated internationally with all publisher partners. On November 3, the worldwide release day of Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School, Jeff Kinney was in Tokyo, Japan to launch the book at a major press conference with more than thirty media outlets and a sold-out room filled with fans. Kinney also sampled local cuisines, visited ancient temples, and saw the bright lights of Shibuya, the “Times Square” of Japan.
“We were thrilled to launch book 10 in Japan and to host Jeff the day Old School went on sale. The Wimpy Kid events were a tremendous success,” said Eri Tanaka, deputy editor in chief at Poplar Publishing. “Long queues of families lined up hours before the events actually started. The children were really excited—so eager to ask Jeff questions, flock around him, and shake his hand.”
From Japan, Kinney traveled to Bejing, China, where New Century Publishing and Southern Publishing hosted press and fans to announce that there are more than 6 million copies of Wimpy Kid books in print in China. Jeff also squeezed in a visit to the Forbidden City and enjoyed traditional Chinese Peking Duck.
Upon arrival in Sydney, Australia, Kinney was interviewed for a major feature in the Sydney Morning Herald about the sold-out event with bestselling Australian author Andy Griffiths at the City Recital Hall for the Sydney Writers Festival. He made time to tour Darling Harbour, walk by the famous Sydney Opera House, and witness local wildlife.
The Wimpy Kid Global Tour continues until December 9, with stops in Spain, England, Portugal, Germany, Greece, Turkey, Romania, the Netherlands, and Latvia up next.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School follows Wimpy Kid Greg Heffley as he goes on a weeklong field trip to a farm and deals with a generation gap between the kids and their chaperones. The November 3 coordinated global on-sale tour is a milestone for the Wimpy Kid series and for children’s book publishing.
The Diary of a Wimpy Kid series has been a fixture on the USA Today, Wall Street Journal, andPublishers Weekly bestseller lists. The series has remained on the New York Times bestseller lists since the publication of the first book, for more than 445 weeks total, and more than 345 weeks on the series list. The books have been sold in more than 53 editions in 48 languages. Published by Amulet Books, an imprint of ABRAMS, Kinney’s work has been widely praised for its ability to turn reluctant readers on to books. Three movies based on the book series have grossed more than $250 million internationally. Jeff Kinney won two Children’s Choice Book Awards. Books in the series have won numerous awards voted on by students and teachers around the globe. The Wimpy Kid Island (Wimpy Wonderland) on poptropica.com, a virtual world for kids, remains one of the most visited on the site.
Founded by Harry N. Abrams in 1949, ABRAMS is the preeminent publisher of high quality art and illustrated books. Now a subsidiary of La Martinière Groupe, ABRAMS is the publisher of bestsellers such as the wildly popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney, the award-winning cookbooks of Alton Brown, and the stunning photography of Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s Earth from Above. ABRAMS publishes books in the areas of art, photography, cooking, interior design, craft, fashion, sports, pop culture, comics, as well as children’s books and general interest. The company’s imprints include Abrams; Abrams Appleseed; Abrams ComicArts; Abrams Image; Abrams Books for Young Readers; Amulet Books; and Stewart, Tabori & Chang. www.abramsbooks.com
Participating Wimpy Kid book 10 tour publishers include the originating publisher, ABRAMS, in the United States; Poplar Publishing in Japan; Guangdong New Century Publishing House in China; Penguin Random House in Australia; RBA Group in Spain; Penguin Random House in the United Kingdom; 20/20 Editora in Portugal; Baumhaus Verlag in Germany; Psichogios Publications in Greece; Epsilon in Turkey; Editura Art in Romania; De Fontein in the Netherlands; Zvaigzne ABC in Lativa; and V&R Editoras in Brazil.
