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Leading rights owner Chorion, owner of the Enid Blyton literary estate, is delighted to announce that sales of the much-loved books are stronger than ever. Bucking the trend in a year when book sales are down in the UK, all publishers of Enid Blyton titles are enjoying a resurgence in popularity for the books. 
Egmont, which publishes Malory Towers, The Faraway Tree and the new series Enid Blyton’s Enchanted World and The New Adventures of The Wishing Chair, has seen an increase of sales up +31% in the year to date. Hodder, a division of Hachette, which publishes The Famous Five and The Secret Seven is experiencing sales up +10% in the year to date; while Award, which publishes the Secret Series, including the new Secret Valley book, is up +36% in the year to date. A key element to this sales success is Chorion’s close work over the last few years with all publishers of its Enid Blyton books to actively manage the Blyton estate through a number of initiatives including the roll-out of new book covers and commissioning a slate of new sequels and spin-offs which have been requested by fans. These new titles include: Enid Blyton’s Enchanted World, The New Adventures of the Wishing Chair, New Term at Malory Towers, The Secret Valley, The Famous Five Adventure Survival Guide and Famous Five: On the Case. Chorion’s publishers have sold over 100,000 copies of these new books in the UK since its creative development program began in 2007. In addition, Chorion continues to invest in growing the literary estate by using thorough qualitative and quantitative research undertaken by consumer research company Prescient which has found that Enid Blyton’s stories continue to be relevant to today’s audience, portraying children as independent, smart, capable, self-reliant and imaginative. Jeff Norton, Senior Vice President of Brand Development at Chorion says: “We have discovered through research, and by listening to book-sellers and readers, that Blyton’s stories continue to enchant young readers. We have given our audience more of what they love with the new books, and in doing so, have given retailers a reason to make a back-list property into a front-list attraction.” Cally Poplak, Director of Egmont Press, adds: “Feedback from young readers consistently highlights the popularity of a story’s child protagonists. This factor is so central to the success of many contemporary novels and series that we can take it for granted, but those winning elements are built on Blyton. Her stories remain successful for good reasons – they’re full of adventure, excitement and fun.” Margaret Conroy, Publisher of Hodder Children’s Books, agrees: “The resilience of Enid Blyton’s book sales in a challenging market is heartening. Once again, we see evidence that Blyton’s popularity is timeless and enduring – readers love her books, series and characters for their traditional values of adventure, independence and friendship.” |
