New York, NY — April 19, 2012 — Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, has acquired North American rights to a five-book middle grade fantasy series by bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare; the first full-length collaboration between the authors. The first book in the series, The Iron Trial, is planned for release in 2014. The deal was negotiated by Barry Goldblatt from Barry Goldblatt Literary (for Holly Black), Russell Galen from Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency, Inc. (for Cassandra Clare), and David Levithan, VP/Publisher and Editorial Director at Scholastic.

"Millions of readers have already been enthralled by the worlds that Holly Black and Cassandra Clare have created in their own books," said David Levithan. “Now that they’re combining forces, it's even more magical. This series is going to be one for the ages, and I am honored and thrilled to be publishing it."

"This project is the culmination of years of work and brainstorming with Holly," said Cassandra Clare. "She’s someone I've always wanted to write with, and I can’t express how proud we are of the story we’ve created, or how excited we are to work with Scholastic and David. And we can’t wait for people to read it, of course!"

"We’re so excited to be working on this series with David Levithan and everyone at Scholastic," added Holly Black. "From the moment it crossed his desk, he totally got it. He’s been the perfect reader for the books and we know he’s going to be the perfect editor too."

In this exciting new series, twelve-year-old Callum Hunt has grown up knowing three rules by heart. Never trust a magician. Never pass a test a magician gives you. And never let a magician take you to the Magisterium. Callum is about to break all the rules. And when he does, his life will change in ways he can’t possibly imagine.

About Holly Black
Holly Black is the author of bestselling contemporary fantasy books for kids and teens. Her titles include The Spiderwick Chronicles, the Modern Faerie Tale series, the Good Neighbors graphic novel trilogy (Scholastic) and the Curse Workers series. Holly is the winner of the Andre Norton Award for her novel Valiant, and has been a finalist for the Mythopoeic Award, a finalist for an Eisner Award. She lives in western Massachusetts. For more information visit www.blackholly.com.

About Cassandra Clare
Cassandra Clare is the author of the New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly bestselling Mortal Instruments series and Infernal Devices trilogy. Her books have more than six million copies in print and have been translated into over thirty-five languages. Clare lives in western Massachusetts. Visit her online at cassandraclare.com.

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.

Media contact:

Tracy van Straaten
VP, Trade Publicity
Scholastic
212/389-3782
tvanstraaten@scholastic.com