NEWS

BlueSkye Licensing to develop family edutainment programme for best-selling book Prisoners of Geography

Published on: 6th October 2020

BlueSkye Licensing has partnered with the independent publishing house Elliott & Thompson to develop a family edutainment franchise programme around the Sunday Times’ best-selling Prisonsers of Geography book series.

Written by Tim Marshall and first published in 2015, Prisoners of Geography has sold upwards of 1.5 million copies to date with global retail sales now exceeding $20 million. The book combines geography, history, and politics in an informative and accessible way. A sequel, The Power of Geography has already been scheduled for 2021.

“Extending the franchise is a natural step forward for Tim’s books,” said Elliott and Thompson chairman, Lorne Forsyth, who has appointed Maggy Harris at BlueSkye to develop the family-centric digital and game based licensing programme.

The licensing programme will primarily focus on Tim’s extraordinary grasp of his subject matter, the factual content, and the beautiful illustrated edition artwork.

Harris said: “This franchise is a great  example of licensing opportunities coming from an ever increasing and broad range of  sources. ‘Prisoners of Geography’ fits perfectly into the huge demand for quality, factual, fun  family and digital entertainment which the 2020 lockdown world has accelerated …Tim’s  books provide fresh, timeless content for our changing times.” 

BlueSkye will target the family edutainment sector with a licensing programme that will be ‘perfect for fans of maps and facts’ and will encompass board games, strategy games, quizzes and puzzle games, as well as digital apps, experiential, gifts, stationery, posters and cards.

Creatively, licensees will be able to access multiple design assets  sourced from the stunning illustrated edition. 

Elliott and Thompson’s Lorne, added: “It is a timely and welcome business development opportunity. We are a growing publishing house at the heart of the creative independent  publishing sector. We look forward to working with Maggy, our licensed partners and Tim to  build a uniquely different, but successful, multimedia franchise.” 

RECENT ARTICLES

The Harlem Globetrotters signs with IMG

Paw Prints Publishing signs Fraggle Rock deal

Pip and Posy come to life at Bandai Namco Cross Store

Moonbug launches Blippi & Friends MENA channel

Loud Luxury confirmed for Licensing Expo Closing Night Party

Thomas & Friends Autistic friendly clothing launches at Tesco

BBC Earth and Zynga announce new Words With Friends game

DreamWorks and Nutriburst partner on Trolls kids’ vitamins

A dog’s dinner? Home Chef partners with Bluey

Falcon’s Creative Group to develop Dragon Ball theme park