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Mercer Mayer, author of 300 books, including the long-running Little Critter series, has teamed up with digital media developer John Sansevere to form a new company, Twelve/30, LLC. The organization will handle licensing and media expansion for all of Mayer’s published work, including new publications.
“Mercer has been practicing letting go,” Sansevere told private server“He’d been working on his book for over 50 years and decided it was time for someone else to take it up and move it forward. We’ve worked together for a long time and he trusted me to keep Little Critter and the other series as they were. ” Sansevere will be the ultimate decision maker, responsible for making sure the plan comes to fruition, but Mayer remains very involved. “We talk every day and I work with him on every aspect of the creative process.
“In my opinion, Mercer is a genius,” said Sansevere, the firm’s managing partner. “He’s able to capture the very small moments of a child’s development, and he does it every time. There’s a lot of imagination in the book.”
meyer told private server“I’m excited to be working with my longtime collaborator and friend of over 40 years, John Sansevere, whose focus is not only on developing my books and brands for the next generation of fans, but also finding innovative new ways to deliver these timeless stories . Now with two chefs in the kitchen, who knows what exciting and creative dishes we’ll come up with?”
The Little Critter series has sold more than 200 million copies since its inception in 1975, only for you, published, will be the initial focus. Sansevere cites the social and emotional content of Critterville’s world, where characters can make mistakes and figure out how to fix them themselves, as part of its appeal. “That’s very important today,” he said.
The new venture’s first licensing agreement is an extension of HarperCollins’ current Little Critter deal, including the continuation of the long-running Little Critter I Can Read series. Little Critter has sold 27 million copies worldwide at HarperCollins.
HarperCollins began publishing Little Critter in 2004 with its first Little Critter I Can Read story, Snowball soup for small animalsaccording to executive editor Tamar Mays, came out in 2008. Critters: Monster TrucksPublished next March, it will be the company’s 22nd “Little Animals I Can Read” book. “These stories are vibrant, entertaining, and feature family and community — so they’re a welcome addition to this age group’s development,” Mays said.
The new agreement also brings Little Critter to an I Can Read comic format for the first time, focusing on the sibling relationship between Little Critter and Little Sister. The first manga reader, Small animals: Tricky chick, currently scheduled for publication in Winter 2024. Mays noted that Little Critter was a good fit for I Can Read Comics, and that Mayer’s art style was a perfect fit for the format. “Mercer loves comics and has a strong interest in bringing Little Critter into this graphic novel world,” she said.
“It’s an exciting format for us,” Sansevere added. “It’s more visual, for animation. It’s almost like a storyboard.”
In fact, the first episode of a new series of 15 animated shorts to be released on the dedicated Little Critter YouTube channel will be based on the first I Can Read Comics title; other episodes will combine original stories, more comic book content, and Content based on pending titles.
Twelve/30 is also in talks with potential partners for a limited range of consumer products.
Besides Little Critter, Twelve/30 is also looking at opportunities for all of Mayer’s other properties.The first to come up will likely be animation and publishing based on Professor Wormbog Finds Zipperump-a-Zoo and monster after monster, which take place in the same universe, with the first announcements coming next year. Others with potential include the 11-title Little Monsters series; I have a nightmare in my closet and There’s a crocodile under my bed; the six-title Boy, Dog and Frog series; and Liza Lou and Yeller Belly Swamp.
Random House publishes the original Little Critter series as well as Little Critter books in a variety of other major formats.
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