Ian Falconer Inks Deal for New ‘Olivia’ Picture Book

By Maryann Yin 

Ian Falconer has inked a deal with Simon & Schuster’s Atheneum Books for Young Readers imprint for the seventh installment in the Olivia series, Olivia and the Fairy Princess.

The picture book will be released in fall 2012. Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing publisher Jon Anderson negotiated the deal with Levine Plotkin & Menin, LLP entertainment lawyer Conrad Rippy. The deal includes audio and all translation rights. Executive editor Namrata Tripathi will edit the manuscript.

Here’s more from the release: “Originally created as a gift for his niece Olivia, Falconer’s children’s book Olivia was first published in October 2000. An instant bestseller and children’s classic, it received the prestigious Caldecott Honor from the American Library Association and the Book Sense Children’s Illustrated Book of the Year award from the American Booksellers Association. More than six million of Falconer’s classic Olivia books have been sold in 22 territories, and Olivia also debuted in 2009 on Nickelodeon as a top-rated and critically acclaimed television series.”