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Chorion’s New Licensing Partners For Olivia

Family entertainment producer and distributor Chorion has secured new licensing partners for its preschool property OLIVIA, which follows the adventures of a precocious 6 ¾-year-old pig.

An interactive eBook of OLIVIA Acts Out, from Polin8, will launch later this month on iTunes and will be followed in April by a range of OLIVIA audio books, featuring CDs with storybooks from Toy Box. Also new in publishing, a collection of branded ‘Sound’ and ‘Look & Find’ books from PIL will launch in September.

A new stationery line from Rock Paper Pencil, to be sold exclusively at Toys “R” Us,  will debut later in the year. A new range of Fruit of the Loom OLIVIA packaged underwear will also debut in the second quarter of 2011.

A cake décor line from Bakery Craft will be available in the fall 2011 and Rubie’s will design a regular and deluxe costume range for national, online and specialty retailers in time for Halloween 2011.

Headstrom has been signed for OLIVIA sports balls, sports toys, and pool toys and Carson Dellosa will be developing a line of themed classroom activities for launch in January 2012.

During 2011, global master toy licensee, Spin Master’s range of OLIVIA toys will be supported by a major TV advertising campaign and promotional in-store marketing programs. Other OLIVIA products will include apparel and accessories, DVD’s, publishing, games, puzzles and novelty items.

Two New Kids’ Books from Simon & Schuster

Earlier this week Simon & Schuster announced the publication of two new children’s publishing properties.

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers announced Wednesday that in April 2011, it will publish The Last Chemical Garden, the first teen novel in a trilogy written by twenty-five-year old, first time author Lauren DeStefano. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Senior Editor Alexandra Cooper negotiated the six-figure deal with agent Barbara Poelle from the Irene Goodman Literary Agency, which includes first serial domestic and merchandising rights. International rights have already been sold in Taiwan, France, and to S&S UK in the United Kingdom.

Also on Wednesday, it was announced that Atheneum Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, will publish the last Olivia title from Ian Falconer, Olivia Goes to Venice. Simon & Schuster holds audio as well as translation rights for all languages, and the book is currently slated to be released in Fall 2010 with a 500,000 first printing.

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