14 January 2010
The Crow takes flight: Nosy Crow publishes its first book
Nosy Crow, a new independent publisher of children’s books and apps, is delighted to announce that it has published its first book: Small Blue Thing. This paranormal romance is the first book in a trilogy by debut novelist S C Ransom. Small Blue Thing’s launch is backed by an inventive digital marketing campaign.
Small Blue Thing, a paranormal romance set in the UK, is about the attraction between seventeen year-old schoolgirl Alex and the ghostly but gorgeous Callum. Alex encounters Callum when she discovers an unusual bracelet along the banks of The Thames. She learns that Callum drowned in the Fleet river, and is condemned to a half-life of stealing memories. But she falls madly in love until his sister threatens to tear them apart.
Nosy Crow has 21,000 copies of the book in print, with promotions in Sainsbury’s, WHS, WHS Travel and Foyles. Nosy Crow also has strong support from Scholastic Travelling Book Fairs, Red House and independent book stores. Allen and Unwin will release the book in Australia in May.
Rights, which are handled by Nosy Crow, have so far been sold to Fischer in Germany and Amber in Poland.
Kate Wilson, MD of Nosy Crow, says:
“This is a really exciting moment for Nosy Crow, and I’m happy that Small Blue Thing is our first book. It’s the kind of reader-focused publishing that’s at the heart of Nosy Crow. As soon as I read the manuscript, I immediately felt I knew readers who’d love it. I read it at a point when I was thinking I might leave publishing altogether, but the story and characters made me realise that I know and love this business too much. Essentially, I decided to set up a publishing company to publish this book, so it’s particularly appropriate that this is Nosy Crow’s first title.
Deb Gaffin, Director of Digital Product and Marketing of Nosy Crow, says:
I’m thrilled with our online campaign for Small Blue Thing. It’s an amazing book and for several weeks we’ve used Twitter to build excitement about its launch. Readers can now visit the book’s dynamic website, www.smallbluething.com where they can watch a gripping video trailer we commissioned from the design collective, Fancy. Moving forward we are focusing our effort in places where our target readers spend their screen time, particularly Facebook (http://tiny.cc/xe8uk), where fans are chatting with S C Ransom, commenting about friendship and pop culture, participating in contests and swapping insights about the series.
Author S. C. Ransom says:
I am so excited that my debut novel is being published this week. I originally wrote Small Blue Thing as a birthday present for my daughter, typing it on my Blackberry while traveling to and from work. And now, it’s such a privilege to be able to share it with so many other girls. I hope they enjoy it as much as she did! Nosy Crow has acted as the best of midwives in publishing this book, helping me shape and edit the story and putting in place a fantastic marketing plan with press pieces in publications as diverse as Bliss and Good Housekeeping! I really look forward to our continuing collaboration as we publish the rest of the trilogy.
Perfectly Reflected, the second book in the trilogy, will be published in June 2011.
Scattering Like Light, the third book in the trilogy, will be published in January 2012.