Scholastic Goes Back to Press on Cornelia Funke’s Latest Novel
Dragon Rider Hits #1 on New York Times and Book Sense Best-Seller Lists
NEW YORK, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ — Scholastic announced today that it was going back to press for 100,000 copies of its new breakaway best-seller, Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke, bringing the total to 250,000 copies in print. Scholastic released Dragon Rider in mid-August with an initial print run of 150,000 copies. In less than a month the book hit #1 on The New York Times best-seller list as well as the Book Sense best-seller list. In the two short years since Funke’s debut in America, there are currently 2,000,000 copies of her books in print in the U.S. and Canada.
Scholastic is supporting Dragon Rider with a $150,000 marketing campaign including distributing thousands of advanced reading copies, a national print and radio advertising campaign and a national publicity campaign. Cornelia Funke will be touring to New York, Chicago and Los Angeles in October, as well as to Boston where she will be a speaker at the New England Booksellers Association regional convention and Detroit where she will speak at the Great Lakes Booksellers Association regional convention. Funke will also be doing a live web chat on October 5 at 1 p.m. EDT. at http://www.scholastic.com/corneliafunke.
A best-selling author in Germany, Cornelia Funke made her American debut in the fall of 2002 with The Thief Lord and became one of the most successful first-time children’s authors in the United States. The book was a New York Times best-seller for 25 weeks and winner of the 2003 Book Sense Book of the Year Award. According to USA Today, ” … this exquisitely told tale of adventure and intrigue set in contemporary Venice can be read, or more accurately devoured, by teenagers and adults.”
In 2003, Funke followed up with another best-seller, Inkheart. The first title in Funke’s Inkheart trilogy was on The New York Times best-seller list for 21 weeks. The novel was also a Publishers Weekly and Book Sense best- seller and was a finalist for the 2004 Book Sense Book of the Year Award. The thrilling adventure about a young girl, Meggie, whose father can make fictional characters come to life by reading a book out loud, was hailed in a starred review in Publishers Weekly: “Funke once again proves the power of her imagination; readers will be captivated by the thrilling world she has created here.”
Cornelia Funke recently announced a deal with New Line Cinema who will develop her Inkheart trilogy as a potential kid’s fantasy franchise. In a Variety article, New Line executive Vice President Mark Ordesky said, “It’s the perfect segue from ‘Lord of the Rings’ to ‘Inkheart.’ Apart from Cornelia’s huge status within Europe, her international popularity is only just beginning to crest.”
Dragon Rider tells the story of Firedrake and Sorrell, two dragons whose peaceful valley is threatened with danger. Together they set off to find the mythical Rim of Heaven – the only place in the world where dragons can be safe forever. Along the way they meet an orphaned boy named Ben who volunteers to be their navigator and quickly becomes their friend. With an evil dragon hunter on their trail, their quest turns into a battle for survival. A true adventure, Dragon Rider is an exciting, heartwarming, and ultimately triumphant tale about the power of belief and the true meaning of home.
Cornelia Funke is published in America by Scholastic in partnership with The Chicken House-founded in the United Kingdom by Barry Cunningham, the original publisher of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Mr. Cunningham first learned of Cornelia Funke through a letter he received from an eleven- year-old girl wanting to know why her favorite children’s writer wasn’t published in English.
Scholastic Corporation (Nasdaq:SCHL) is the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children’s books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, film, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs, school-based book fairs, and school-based and direct- to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries, and television networks; and the Company’s Internet Site, http://www.scholastic.com.
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Parn from go-to-sleep.net sent along her collection of images from the Fellowship Festival that took place last weekend in London. Take a look at some of the people who attended, Alan Lee, John Howe, Karl Urban, Lawrence Makoare, Bruce Hopkins, John Noble, Gino Acevedo and the always adorable Sarah McLeod! [More]
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This weekend all things LOTR will gather around Alexandra Palace in London, UK for what promises to be a weekend of great fun and exciting events. If you haven’t done so already: get your tickets now! If you need some more convincing, check out the latest update from the organisers and head over to www.aaaevents.co.uk! See you there!
There are only two days to go to The Fellowship Festival and while it is pretty hectic here at Festival Towers, we just wanted to give you a quick update.
We have just been informed by Karl Urban’s agent that Karl has recently won a new film role which means that Karl will only be appearing at The Fellowship Festival this year so alongside Bernard Hill, Karl is now a worldwide event exclusive. We are very honoured to have both gentlemen join us at the show both have told us that they can’t wait to meet you all.
The event schedule has now been finalised. Due to last minute changes the full programme will be available when you arrive. We have organised question and answer sessions with the cast and crew that are held throughout the day and are repeated every day so you won’t miss out on a thing.
Some of the cast will be showcasing their special talents, check the schedule for times. Come and watch them strut their stuff; they have worked really hard to offer you a really new experience, a chance for you to see them in a new light.
The Tolkien Society have worked incredibly hard to give us many workshops and seminars where you can appreciate the works of Tolkien and Peter Jackson, huge thanks go to Ian and the team for all their hard work.
We are honoured to announce that Sarah McLeod will be singing “Into the West” exclusively at The Fellowship Feast. If you haven’t already got your ticket for the most memorable night of the year, you can buy it at the show from our stand.
Gino Acevedo from Weta Workshop will be transforming a lucky visitor into an orc before your very eyes every single day. We can’t wait to see the results.
The final touches to Mark Ferguson’s new comedy play “The Lord of The Rings 4: Return of The Towering Fellowship” have been finalised and we are looking forward to seeing Mark and some of the other cast members have us in fits of laughter.
EA GAMES are bringing one of their producers to The Festival who will talk to you about how they went about making the films into a game. Essential attendance for those of you who enjoy gaming. Don’t forget that they will also be demonstrating for the very first time, their brand new LOTR games, which are not being released until November.
For those of you who enjoy collecting, you can purchase exclusive items only available at the show and no-where else in the world brought to you by our friends at Cards Inc. You can also purchase official merchandise from our many exhibitors onsite.
Don’t forget, every Festival Ticket holder will be entered into a prize draw to win a holiday for two to New Zealand courtesy of our friends at Red Carpet Tours.
There is so much more that you can do at The Fellowship Festival, we sincerely hope that you make the most of the weekend, you enjoy all the activities that have been organised and have a wonderful time. We are very proud to be involved in such an amazing experience and look forward to seeing you all.
That’s not all folks, we still have some surprises up our sleeves…
Warmest wishes
The Fellowship Festival Team
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Ringer Spy Dana writes: Just wanted to give out the information that the 2 Hartford Symphony Orchestra LOTR concerts 9/18/04 @ 8 pm and 9/19/04 @ 3 pm are NOT being conducted by Howard Shore per HSO’s audience development/PR Manager Johannes Neur, who wrote: Howard Shore asked his good friend and conducting colleague Alastair Willis, resident conductor at the Seattle Symphony, to conduct the Hartford performance because Mr. Shore is heavily involved in writing a new score for a Martin Scorsese movie.
If you decide to return your tickets for a refund please contact Robyn Colossa at HSO Ticket Services (860) 244-2999.
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CHICAGO, Aug. 18 /PRNewswire/ — Fans of the music of Academy Award-winning Howard Shore will have two opportunities to interact with the composer during the Chicago performances of “The Lord of the Rings Symphony: A Symphony in Six Movements” on October 8 and 9 at the Auditorium Theatre. Mr. Shore will host a 45-minute question & answer session prior to each performance from the Auditorium Theatre Stage; the Q&A sessions are only open to patrons holding tickets for those respective nights. Mr. Shore will also host a 90-minute post-show dessert and champagne reception each night immediately following the show. The reception tickets, which are $75.00, are limited to 100 patrons per night and may be purchased by calling (312) 951-0080.
The performances each night begin at 8:00 p.m. Fans wishing to interact with Mr. Shore at the Q&A session may arrive at the Auditorium Theatre at 6:00 p.m.; seating will be general admission. Mr. Shore and Doug Adams, author of the upcoming book The Music of the Lord of the Rings, will take questions from the stage beginning at approximately 6:30pm. Upon conclusion of the Q&A session at 7:15 p.m., patrons will be reseated in their ticketed seat.
The post-show reception will be in the Auditorium Theatre’s 2nd-floor dress circle lobby. Mr. Shore will sign autographs, pose for pictures, and otherwise mingle and interact with attendees. Dessert from Eli’s Cheesecake and champagne are complimentary. Other cocktails and soft drinks are available via a cash bar.
“The Lord of the Rings Symphony: A Symphony in Six Movements” features more than 200 musicians and singers performing music from all three films in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. The presentation will also feature original concept and storyboard artwork from the films by artists Alan Lee and John Howe. Projected images will chronologically align with the music as the story of the hobbits’ journey unfolds. Tickets, which range from $35.00 to $80.00, are on sale now, and may be purchased at the Auditorium Theatre box office, all Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com, or by calling (312) 902-1500.
“The Lord of the Rings Symphony: A Symphony in Six Movements” is presented by Jam Theatricals.
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