More Than 50 Million Books in Print and Digital in the U.S.

New York, NY (July 19, 2012)--Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, today announced the first update since March 28, 2012, of U.S. figures for Suzanne Collins’s bestselling The Hunger Games trilogy. The series has grown steadily since fall 2008 and The Hunger Games has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list for more than two hundred consecutive weeks/more than three years. In fact, The Hunger Games is only the second book in the USA Today bestseller list’s history to spend sixteen consecutive weeks in the number one spot. Following the release of the record-setting “The Hunger Games” movie, new readers have continued to discover the trilogy, while others have rushed to the sequels to find out what happens next. As of today, Scholastic has more than 50 million copies of the original three books in The Hunger Games trilogy in print and digital formats in the U.S. (more than 23 million copies of The Hunger Games; more than 14 million copies of Catching Fire; and more than 13 million copies of Mockingjay).

“Readers across the nation are captivated by the rich world and strong characters Suzanne Collins has created,” said Ellie Berger, President, Scholastic Trade Publishing. “It’s thrilling to see teen and adult readers enthralled by the same story and engaged in conversation about these books.”

First published in September 2008, The Hunger Games was an instant bestseller, appealing to both teen readers and adults, and has been the recipient of countless awards. The Hunger Games and its sequels, Catching Fire and Mockingjay, occupied the top three spots on the USA Today bestseller list for a total of fourteen weeks in 2012, and The Hunger Games trilogy has so far spent 31 consecutive weeks at number one on the New York Times best-sellers list in the Children’s Series category. Foreign publishing rights for The Hunger Games trilogy have been sold into 55 territories in 50 languages to date.

About Suzanne Collins
Suzanne Collins has had a successful and prolific career writing for children’s television on such shows as Clarissa Explains It All, The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo and Wow Wow Wubbzy. She made her mark in children’s literature with the New York Times bestselling five-book series for middle-grade readers The Underland Chronicles. Collins continued to explore the effects of war and violence on those coming of age in the award-winning and bestselling The Hunger Games trilogy. In 2010 Collins was named to the TIME 100 list as well as the Entertainment Weekly Entertainers of the Year list. In 2011 Fast Company named her to their 100 Most Creative People in Business. She lives with her family in Connecticut.

About Scholastic
Scholastic Corporation (NASDAQ: SCHL) is the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books and a leader in educational technology and related services and children’s media. Scholastic creates quality books, print and technology-based learning materials and programs, magazines, multi-media and other products that help children learn both at school and at home. The Company distributes its products and services worldwide through a variety of channels, including school-based book clubs and book fairs, retail stores, schools, libraries, on-air, and online at www.scholastic.com.

Contacts:
Tracy van Straaten
Vice President of Publicity, Trade
Scholastic Inc.
212/389-3782 / tvanstraaten@scholastic.com

Kyle Good
Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications
Scholastic Inc.
212/343-4563 / kgood@scholastic.com