Abrams has announced plans to publish the 13th book in Jeff Kinney’s internationally bestselling middle grade series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The book will be released on October 30 by Amulet Books. Here, PW presents an exclusive teaser image for the new book. The title and cover of book 13 will be revealed in a national TV commercial and online at wimpykid.com on May 1.
The publisher also revealed today the news that the Wimpy Kid series has sold more than 200 million copies across the globe. In honor of the series, Kinney will pay a visit, along with Abrams president and CEO Michael Jacobs, to Worzalla, the U.S. printer of the books, in Stevens Point, Wis. The plant has been printing the Wimpy Kid books since the series premiered in 2007.
Once again, more than 20 international publishers will simultaneously release the latest installment in protagonist Greg Heffley’s story. The book will be available in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Germany, France, Australia, Turkey, Greece, Taiwan, Poland, Japan, Brazil, Spain, Catalonia, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, Sweden, Latvia, Norway, Finland, Israel, Korea, and the Czech Republic.
Last year marked the 10th anniversary of the Wimpy Kid series. To date, the books have been released in 65 editions, 56 languages, and in more than 140 countries worldwide.
Wimpy Kid in Naples
In addition to the forthcoming release of book 13, the “Cheese Touch” is coming to the land of formaggio, in the first-ever edition of Diary of a Wimpy Kid in the Neapolitan language. Abrams held a press conference at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair on March 26 in celebration of ’O Diario ’e nu Maccarone (Il Castoro), which will be available in bookstores across Italy beginning May 10. The first book in Kinney's series was also translated into Latin by Il Castoro in 2015.
Author-illustrator Kinney was present for the event, during which he revealed an exclusive preview of the cover and galley, along with a dedicated drawing. Joining Kinney were Francesco Durante, writer and translator of the Neapolitan edition; Pico Floridi, president of Il Castoro; and Abrams's Jacobs.
