Mattel teams up with Simon & Schuster to sell upcoming books

Mattel is planning to launch its own publishing imprint and is gearing up for next year. As a result, Mattel has partnered with U.S.-based publisher Simon & Schuster to distribute the planned books in North America. The collaboration will take effect July 1st and amounts to sales and distribution in the U.S. and Canada for book titles based on the toymaker's most popular brands, including Barbie, Hot Wheels and Thomas & Friends. As part of the agreement to be the first sales partner, the publisher will also distribute titles from Mattel's existing American Girl Publishing Imprint.

Back in March, Mattel Press Imprint announced the release of an initial slate of titles. The focus will be on publishing print books, audiobooks and digital e-books, as well as supporting these titles through events and marketing initiatives.

In preparation for next year's big publishing push, Mattel 2022 already acquired the video calling app Caribu, which allows children to read books together with friends and family members via interactive video calls. 

Publishing is a growing business for Mattel, which has already signed licensing agreements with Penguin Random House, Italy's Panini Publishing (magazines) and Bendon Publishing. The group's first foray into publishing its own books has been quite successful so far, with sales of 160 million copies of the American Girl Publishing Imprint since its release in March. Mattel is now looking to continue this line of success. 

Source: kidscreen.com