Narnia Fan Spy Reepicheep, Knight of Narnia, wrote to us about the return of Narnia.com earlier today. Initially, when I went to the domain, it still went to the Disney website. I believe that the DNS hadn’t updated in my area yet.

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We know straight from themselves that Stephen McFeely and Christopher Markus again share writing duties on Voyage of the Dawn Treader. We were also told that the third draft was recently completed. Now, writer Steven Knight joins them to help write it.

Walden Media is becoming a publisher, partnering with HarperCollins Children’s Books to launch Walden Pond Press.

As part of the multiyear pact, the venture will acquire and publish books for young readers. Naturally, it also plans to turn several of its tomes into film adaptations or pair up properties with other filmmakers.

First published title will be “The Will of Will Wolfkin,” by screenwriter Steven Knight, who penned the pics “Dirty Pretty Things,” “Eastern Promises” and “Amazing Grace.”

Knight is also scripting the third installment of the “Narnia” series, “Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” which Michael Apted is helming.

Variety.com for the rest

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Today HarperCollins Children’s Books announces the launch of its “Read It Before You See It” global digital campaign for C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia. The massive web presence focuses attention on the seven books in the series as a lead in to the Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media release of ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian’ film on May 16, 2008.

You can find their Facebook Fan Page here

HarperCollins and online agency Special Ops Media (http://www.specialopsmedia.com) are taking Narnia to where the readers live-online, working together to create a viral campaign that takes a 50-year-old classic brand to Web 2.0.

Extensive promotions on Facebook and MySpace, a custom Prince Caspian widget and “Enter to Win” consumer contests are among the Web 2.0 initiatives that will reach new and existing fans of Narnia in surprising interactive ways, presenting an enhanced look at the beloved world that is Narnia.

“Our comprehensive, highly-targeted “Read It Before You See It” online campaign allows us to leverage all our Narnia assets to create interactive, viral platforms. These will expand our audience by further engaging it and increasing its user-experience with the franchise, to grow readership in advance of the film,” said Diane Naughton, Vice President of Marketing, HarperCollins Children’s Books.

The Narnia “Read It Before You See It” campaign includes:

– Extensive promotion on social community sites Facebook and MySpace; including profiles for Prince Caspian and Narnia.
– A custom widget for MySpace with streaming daily content: movie info, trivia quiz and a countdown clock.
– A special application for Facebook-the Narnia Trivia Challenge- utilizing new technology. Fans can “join the battle” with Prince Caspian as one of their favorite Narnians, answer up to 100 questions, unlock unique content, and challenge a friend to beat their score.
– “Read It Before You See It” dedicated microsite, http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/narnia features a sweepstakes, games, information about the books, author, illustrator and much more.
– “Read It Before You See It” “Enter to Win” consumer contest (March 11th-April 11th)
– Grand Prize: 2 tickets to the NYC premier of Prince Caspian the movie.
– 1st Prize: A Narnia treasure chest filled with Narnia books, games, toys, plush, costumes.
– 2nd Prize: A complete library of Prince Caspian movie tie-in books.
– 3rd Prize: A Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Wii video game.
– Online advertising on nick.com and nickjr.com (1,080,000 impressions).
– NeoPets.com interactive game: “Which character are you?” for kids on NeoPets.com with advertising and links to the microsite, trailer and special features.
– Multiple partnerships with major online portals beginning with Yahoo! Kids (4 million unique visitors each month) to feature e-cards from the Pevensie children, and KOL, the kids division of America Online, (1.2 unique visitors each month) which will offer a read-a-long of a chapter a week with prizing.

In 2005, ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ film was a huge success, earning more than $750 million worldwide, second only to ‘Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith’ as the top box office that year. Disney’s own research showed that the Narnia books were clearly a major driver of ticket sales-with the release of the movie HarperCollins sold more than 17 million units in the U.S. alone.

Clive Staples Lewis, known as Jack to his friends, was born in 1898. Lewis and his good friend J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, were part of the Inklings, an informal writers’ club that met at a local pub to discuss story ideas. Lewis’s fascination with fairy tales, myths, and ancient legends, coupled with inspiration drawn from his childhood, led him to write The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, one of the best-loved books of all time. Six further books followed to become the immensely popular The Chronicles of Narnia. The final title in the series, The Last Battle, was awarded the Carnegie Medal, one of the highest marks of excellence in children’s literature.

HarperCollins Children’s Books is one of the leading publishers of children’s books. Respected worldwide for its tradition of publishing quality, award-winning books for young readers, HarperCollins is home to many timeless treasures-Charlotte’s Web, The Chronicles of Narnia, Goodnight Moon, Where the Sidewalk Ends and Where the Wild Things Are; and popular new classics-A Series of Unfortunate Events, Warriors and Fancy Nancy. HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollins Publishers, one of the leading English language publishers in the world and a subsidiary of News Corporation (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A; ASX: NCP, NCPDP). Headquartered in New York, HarperCollins has publishing groups in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australasia. You can visit HarperCollins Children’s Books at http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com and HarperCollins Publishers at http://www.harpercollins.com.

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At HarperCollins Childrens, they’ve added a new video feature and behind the scenes on the making of the Pop-up book. Here’s what you’ll find there:

Robert Sabuda invited us to visit his New York City studio for a behind-the-scenes look at his creative process. He talked with the book’s editor, Katherine Tegen, about his inspiration for the magic that springs off the pages of The Chronicles of Narnia Pop-up.

HarperCollins Childrens

Take a look at what really goes into designing the complex mechanics of a pop-up book. Robert Sabuda’s production sketches show the intricate details and special effects found in each spread of these hand-assembled books.

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HarperCollins Children’s Books has the tie-in rights to three of next year’s most eagerly-awaited children’s films: the new Indiana Jones sequel, the latest Batman movie and the next C S Lewis adaptation, “Prince Caspian.”

Brand and properties director Claire Harding, who rejoined the publisher from Paramount Pictures this summer, said: “We want to position HarperCollins Children’s as the ‘home’ of blockbuster publishing.”

HC intends to replicate its “read it before you see it” campaign for “Prince Caspian”, out in June 2008. The Narnia tie-in program will kick off in May 2008 and HC will work with Disney on planned retail promotions focusing on high visibility in stores.

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HarperCollins Children’s Books announced today the “Narnia … Beyond the Wardrobe” Educator Sweepstakes. Beginning June 21, 2006 and running through January 31, 2007, the contest offers the chance for a unique behind-the-scenes look at the making of the next blockbuster film in the Narnia franchise, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” from Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, coming to theaters in Summer 2008. This contest is open to all educational professionals ages 18 and over.

One (1) Grand Prize winner will receive a five (5)-day/four(4)-night trip to the set of the forthcoming feature film “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.” The prize package includes roundtrip economy airfare for two, ground transportation to and from the airport, and room accommodations based on double occupancy rates. Approximate retail value of this prize is $5000.

Five (5) First Prize winners will each receive an American Express® Gift Cheque in the amount of $500 and a library of HarperCollins Children’s Books worth $250.

Ten (10) Second Prize winners will each receive a Staples® Gift Certificate in the amount of $250 and a library of HarperCollins Children’s Books worth $100.

To enter the sweepstakes, educators simply complete a quick Narnia Educators Questionnaire online (http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/narniasweeps) and follow the instructions to register for the HarperCollins Teachers and Librarians Newsletter. Entries will be accepted from June 21, 2006 until January 31, 2007.

The HarperCollins Teachers & Librarians Newsletter will keep educators up-to-date on books from HarperCollins Children’s Books that can play an important role in the classroom, library, or curriculum. Every month the newsletter provides information about new and award-winning titles, starred reviews, teaching resources, exclusive author interviews, and more! As a special bonus, recipients are eligible to receive promotional giveaways created just for educators-like free teachers’ editions, classroom kits, and discussion guides for many of our most popular titles.

Winners will be selected at random from entries received. No purchase necessary. Open to U.S. residents (excluding residents of Alaska, Hawaii and U.S. territories and possessions) Age 18 or over as of June 21, 2006. Entries must be received by January 31, 2007. Visit http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/narniasweeps to view the Official Sweepstakes Rules and Regulations.

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The upcoming movie adaptation of CS Lewis’s book, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, is expected to set a new precedent. Far from sitting back and watching, publisher HarperCollins is working closely with filmmaker Walden Media, unleashing a massive, worldwide marketing drive for the books, timed to coincide with the film – and not only for The Chronicles of Narnia, but most of Lewis’s other books as well.

“This is a giant blockbuster for us,” said Susan Katz, president and publisher of HarperCollins Children’s Books. “The Chronicles of Narnia was already important and big for us, but now with the movie it’s taking on a new life of its own. We have 25 movie tie-in editions – it’s a huge event.”

Sales of The Chronicles of Narnia have been rising since last spring, when the movie trailer of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was released.

“We’ve been happily surprised by how strong sales of the Narnia books have been,” said Joe Monti, children’s buyer for Barnes & Noble. But it’s not only Lewis’s children’s books that are selling well. “It’s also his non-fiction,” said Monti. “It’s surpassed our expectations at every stage.”

HarperCollins is pumping out 170 CS Lewis-related book titles in more than 60 countries – including 140 related to The Chronicles of Narnia. The number represents a vast variety of editions and companion volumes. Lewis’s own books are only the beginning. Besides various editions of The Chronicles of Narnia, there’s a six-volume box set of Lewis’s mostly Christian books for adults, including Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, Miracles and The Problem of Pain. There’s also a new adult biography titled The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of CS Lewis by Lewis scholar Alan Jacobs.

Then there are the extras, which include A Year With CS Lewis: Daily Readings from his Classic Works; the Mere Christianity Journal, a faux-leather-bound study guide with excerpts and blank pages for reader reflections; Beyond the Wardrobe: The Official Guide to Narnia; and Companion to Narnia, an alphabetised reference book to the world of the Narnia books. And there are not one but two glossy photo books about the making of the movie.

HarperCollins and Walden Media have been working closely together on the marketing surrounding the new film, sharing artwork and promotional plans and co-ordinating timing. Cary Granat, chief executive officer of Walden Media, says: “The more they are able to get people to read the books, the bigger the base to grow the film. As more people want to see the film and read the books, it will extend the franchise. It’s a cultural phenomenon that needs to be managed at all levels.”

However well planned, it’s doubtful such a sprawling programme could work with anyone but Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963), who published more than 100 books. An Oxford don and medievalist, his uniquely diverse output makes him – if such a thing is possible – a potentially bigger literary phenomenon than his Oxford friend and colleague JRR Tolkien, author of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Unlike Tolkien, Lewis wrote for a wider range of readers, both children and adults, including a science fiction trilogy and an agonised memoir of the death of his wife, A Grief Observed (that love story has already been made into a movie, 1993’s Shadowlands, with Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger).

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is not the first co-ordinated effort between a publisher and a filmmaker. Boston-based Houghton Mifflin – US publisher of JRR Tolkien – worked closely with New Line Cinema on the three blockbuster movies based on The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Houghton began to see a huge bump in sales as soon as the first movie trailer was released in 2001. Tolkien’s books have sold about 80 million copies, going back to The Hobbit in 1937. About 25 million of those were sold between 2001 and 2003, when the three movies were released.

No one knows how big sales of CS Lewis books will be as a result of the film, but if the Tolkien explosion is any indication, it may prove hard to overestimate.

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Hollywood has been turning best-selling novels into movies for decades, as far back as ”Gone With the Wind.” But publishers have usually had nothing to do with it. They watched and hoped the movie would drive up sales of the book. Sometimes it did, but just as often it didn’t.

That whole disconnect is disappearing. The best new example is the Dec. 9 release of the movie ”The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” based on the C.S. Lewis children’s classic. Far from sitting back and watching, publisher HarperCollins is working closely with filmmaker Walden Media, unleashing a massive worldwide marketing drive for the books, timed to coincide with the film — and not only for ”The Chronicles of Narnia,” but most of Lewis’s other books as well.

”This is a giant blockbuster for us,” said Susan Katz, president and publisher of HarperCollins Children’s Books. ” ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ was already important and big for us, but now with the movie, it’s taking on a new life of its own. We have 25 movie tie-in editions — it’s a huge event.”

The movie is produced by Walden Media and Disney Pictures. Directed by Andrew Adamson and starring Tilda Swinton and the voices of Rupert Everett and Liam Neeson, it tells of four English children, sent to live in an old professor’s country house during the bombing raids of World War II, who stumble through the back of a bedroom wardrobe into the fantasy land of Narnia. It’s a world of winter, populated with dwarves, a faun, talking beavers, an evil witch, and the heroic lion Aslan. The forces of evil, led by the witch, are attacked by Aslan with the four children as allies. There are seven books in the series.

Sales of ”The Chronicles of Narnia” have been rising since last spring, when the movie trailer of ”The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” was released. The box set is No. 2 on The New York Times children’s bestseller list. ”We’ve been happily surprised by how strong sales of ‘Narnia’ [books] have been,” said Joe Monti, children’s buyer for Barnes & Noble. But it’s not only Lewis’s children’s books, Monti said: ”It’s also [his] nonfiction. It’s surpassed our expectation at every stage.”

HarperCollins, the publishing arm of the Rupert Murdoch media empire, is pumping out 170 C.S. Lewis-related book titles in more than 60 countries — 140 related to ”The Chronicles of Narnia.” The number represents a vast variety of editions and companion volumes. Lewis’s own books are only the beginning. Besides various editions of ”The Chronicles of Narnia,” there’s a six-volume box set of Lewis’s mostly Christian books for adults, including ”Mere Christianity,” ”The Screwtape Letters,” ”Miracles,” and ”The Problem of Pain.” There’s also a new adult biography titled ”The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C.S. Lewis,” by Lewis scholar Alan Jacobs.

For the rest, visit the source link!

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