A Ruckus at Scholastic

Global children's publisher Scholastic has teamed up with independent digital publisher and creator of interactive stories and learning games Ruckus Media Group to form a new imprint, Scholastic Ruckus. "The Scholastic Ruckus imprint will publish top children's authors across all platforms, including print, e-books and enhanced e-books, with Ruckus Media publishing interactive story apps," according to a Scholastic press release.

The imprint will be used to develop children and teen titles on multiple platforms, to be distributed through Scholastic's book clubs and book fairs, as well as through retail and libraries. Scholastic will also distribute both new Ruckus titles and out-of-print backlisted titles through the Scholastic Ruckus imprint, in both print and e-book formats.

"There is a great appetite for content for e-readers, and this is an opportunity to tap into Ruckus' pool of authors and illustrators to generate more content," says Ellie Berger, president of Scholastic Trade Publishing, in explaining why the company decided to create a new imprint for transmedia content. "Building on our success with multiplatform publishing, Scholastic is delighted to be working with Ruckus Media Group and [Ruckus CEO] Rick Richter in the rapidly growing area of children's transmedia properties. Under the Ruckus imprint, we will expand the scope of our offerings to meet the rapidly growing demand for multiplatform properties that parents can trust and kids love."

The imprint already has more than a dozen projects in development, with the first releases planned for 2012.

Scholastic will continue developing multiple media content under its own brand. "We have just launched the second round of 'The 39 Clues' series, and we have multiple other properties available and in development that will be published and distributed by Scholastic," Berger says.

"Ruckus and Scholastic share the same vision—to reach kids where they are, at home and in schools, and on the electronic devices they love. Working with some of the best children's authors around, we will engage kids with innovative, fun and educational apps and books, whether delivered digitally or in print," commented Richter in the press release. "Most importantly, we're proud to have been selected to work with Scholastic in this highly competitive marketplace. Scholastic's tremendous brand recognition as a trusted source for parents and educators worldwide plus their enormous distribution capability makes them our perfect partner."

Ruckus Media Group, which was launched in September 2010, has already developed 15 children's animated storybooks, including "Chuck & Friends: Friends for the Long Haul," which is based on the popular Hasbro characters, as well as "The Velveteen Rabbit: Told by Meryl Streep."

"With our rapid development of the very best in children's e-books and enhanced e-books for our soon to be released e-reading app and e-bookstore, we welcome the opportunity to bring entertaining and educational properties developed under the Ruckus imprint to more kids and their teachers and families to encourage all children to learn to read and love to read regardless of the format or devices they choose," Deborah Forte, executive vice president of Scholastic and president of Scholastic Media, said in the press release.