Quirk Books to Publish Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Marshmallows®
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Nicole De Jackmo
QUIRK BOOKS TO PUBLISH PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES AND MARSHMALLOWS®
April 1, 2015—PHILADELPHIA, PA—Building on the success of the New York Times best-selling novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which will premiere as a feature film in 2016, Philadelphia publisher Quirk Books has announced the launch of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Marshmallows®, a ready-to-eat breakfast cereal based on the book.
“We’re always looking to give our readers new ways to experience our titles,” says Quirk Books president Brett Cohen. “And we also want them to have a balanced and nutritious breakfast. With PPZM we’re engaging our fans in a whole new, vitamin-fortified way. And with a spoon.”
Quirk’s publisher, Jason Rekulak, adds, “These days, people expect their books to remain crunchy in milk. And that’s exactly what we’re giving them.” Moneka Hewlett, VP-sales, predicts that traditional book distribution channels will welcome the new product, saying, “Breakfast cereal boxes are the size and shape of a bunch of books, plus they’re a lot lighter and have almost as much fiber, so I don’t see a problem.”
The cereal was developed in house by Quirk’s production department. “The composition of a printed book isn’t that different from a typical breakfast cereal,” explains John J. McGurk, director of digital and print production for Quirk. “You just mash it all up, run it through a precision semicontinuous industrial extruder-cooker, and spray it with vitamins.” Like the book, the cereal recontextualizes familiar tropes by blending the conventional (bran pellets) and the contemporary (artificial marshmallows die-cut to resemble the human organs that a ravenous zombie would rip from the bodies of its victims). “We have red hearts, pink brains, blue lungs, yellow stomachs, and green livers,” says McGurk. Early reviews of the cereal have called it “literally stomach turning” (Publishers Weekly) and “20% off with coupon” (ACME Markets, Inc.).
The new cereal will be available nationwide any day now, says David Borgenicht, CEO and owner of Quirk Books. “Just look for Zombie Jane Austen on the front of every box.” He adds, “Kids love her!”
PPZM is believed to be the first breakfast cereal based on a popular novel since Post Foods’ Grape-Nuts of Wrath® brand went out of print in 1974.
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About Quirk Books
QUIRK BOOKS is headquartered on a quiet cobblestone street in the historic Old City district of Philadelphia. We publish just 25 books per year and every title is a labor of love. Some of our more popular recent titles include the best selling YA fantasy novel Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, the Edgar Award–winning mystery The Last Policeman, the legendary Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and classroom favorite William Shakespeare’s Star Wars—plus cookbooks, children’s books, art books, gag gifts, pop culture titles, and more. Our books are distributed worldwide by Penguin Random House. For more information, visit QuirkBooks.com.
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Rick Chillot
RICK CHILLOT is a former baby and current writer and editor at Quirk Books. He has contributed to magazines such as Psychology Today, Parenting, Mental Floss, and Prevention. In his twenty-plus years in publishing he’s interviewed about a jillion scientists and doctors and therefore had no need to consult any of them for this book.
