Glee star Chris Colfer has signed a two-book deal with Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. His middle grade novel, The Land of Stories, will be released in summer 2012. A publication date for the untitled follow-up has not been announced.
Deputy publisher Andrew Smith and editorial director Alvina Ling negotiated the deal with literary agent Rob Weisbach of Rob Weisbach Creative Management. Ling will edit the book. The video embedded above features Colfer performing a duet with his Glee co-star Darren Criss.
Here’s more from the press release: “A fast-paced adventure that uniquely combines our modern day world with the enchanting realm of classic fairytales, The Land of Stories tells the tale of twins Alex and Conner Bailey. Through the mysterious powers of a cherished book of stories, Alex and Conner leave their world behind and find themselves in a foreign land full of wonder and magic where they comeface-to-face with the characters they grew up reading about.”
In the past, the industry has had its share of young celebrities who have gone from performing in front of a camera to writing fiction. Reality TV star Lauren Conrad had her L.A. Candy trilogy published by HarperCollins. In fact, she just signed another three-book deal with the publisher in April. Pop singer Hilary Duff co-wrote a young adult novel entitled Elixir; Simon & Schuster released it in October 2010 and it went on to become a New York Times bestseller.