Abrams has announced that the newest title in Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, The Meltdown, has sold more than two million copies worldwide—in more than 140 countries by 26 publishers—since its publication on October 30. An instant international bestseller, the book hit #1 on the USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times bestseller lists in the U.S., and landed at the top of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, England, Germany, Israel, Latvia, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey. According to NPD BookScan, 743,309 print copies have been sold in the U.S to date.
In honor of the new book, Abrams launched its most extensive publicity campaign to date, which included national advertising and television spots, social media outreach, retail promotions, and a Wimpy Kid balloon at the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. This fall, Kinney set out on an eight-city East Coast bus tour that featured public appearances at a number of elementary schools, as well as a one-hour interactive performance. Kinney also visited Winnipeg, Canada and eight European countries: England, Scotland, Germany, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
Since the series’ 2007 debut, more than 200 million copies of the Wimpy Kid books have been sold worldwide, in 59 languages.
Michael Jacobs, president and CEO of Abrams, said in a statement, “With over two million copies already sold and his new, fun-filled show, Jeff Kinney’s gift to both create and inspire lifelong readers around the world has been proven once again. The staying power of Jeff’s storytelling and cartooning continues to delight and amaze kids and their parents, caregivers, teachers, librarians, booksellers, and all of us who’ve been lucky enough to be touched by this series.”
