Abrams is releasing the fourth book in Jeff Kinney’s bestselling Diary of a Wimpy Kid series on October 12. With more than 16 million copies in print of the three books released so far, Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is the publishing sensation of the last three years. The series, a hybrid combination of funny confessional kid-prose, illustration and comics, began as a webcomic and was an immediate hit with kids (and their parents) after first being published in book form in 2007.
“The incredible success of the Wimpy Kid series has been great, not only for Abrams but for the book business overall, especially in a year in which the retail trade has been so challenged,” said Michael Jacobs, President and CEO of Abrams.
The cover, first printing and title of the newest volume in the series will be revealed in the next few months. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw, the most recent book in the series, was published in February with an initial printing of over a million copies. The series has been published in over 30 countries around the world and a movie based on the series is in the development at Fox 2000 Studios.
Kinney says he has several new developments in store for Greg, the grade-school hero of the series. “I’ll be taking Greg out of the school setting for the first time and into the summer, which opens up lots of exciting possibilities. I’m as eager to find out what happens to Greg and his family.”
