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Scholastic to Publish Pip Bartlett's Guide to Magical Creatures, First Book in a New Middle Grade Series by Acclaimed Author Jackson Pearce and Internationally Bestselling Author Maggie Stiefvater

Pip Barlett's Guide to Magical Creatures to be Published May 2015

New York, NY — October 2, 2014 — Scholastic, the global children’s publishing, education and media company, announced today that it has acquired world rights to Pip Bartlett’s Guide to Magical Creatures, plus two other books in a new seriesby #1 New York Times bestselling and Michael L. Printz Honor winning author Maggie Stiefvater and acclaimed author Jackson Pearce. The series will feature illustrations by accomplished artist Maggie Stiefvater, making her publishing debut as an illustrator. Scholastic will publish Pip Bartlett’s Guide to Magical Creatures in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. The deal was negotiated by Laura Rennert from Andrea Brown Literary Agency (for Stiefvater), Josh Adams from Adams Literary (for Pearce), and David Levithan, VP, Publisher and Editorial Director at Scholastic.

“As someone who’s always grappled with what to do when a unicorn gets skittish or a fuzzle bursts into flames, I am honored and, quite frankly, relieved to be bringing Pip Bartlett’s Guide to Magical Creatures out into the world.  Besides being a whole lot of help, it’s also a whole lot of fun,” says Levithan. “Pip Bartlett is a remarkable character, and Maggie and Jackson are a remarkable team.”

“The best part about this is creating new creatures,” says Maggie Stiefvater, “Basically, my work day begins with opening a photo of a baby seal and saying to myself: let's draw something cuter than that.” Jackson Pearce adds, “To create new creatures, I typically think, ‘What do I want as a pet? Now, what if it had wings? And a horn? And magical powers?’ I know we’ve done well if I go to bed dreaming of where I’d find enough honeysuckles to feed a full-grown Jillymander.”

About Pip Bartlett’s Guide to Magical Creatures
Pip is a girl who can talk to magical creatures. Her aunt is a vet for magical creatures.  And her new friend Tomas is allergic to most magical creatures. When things go amok—and they often go amok—Pip consults Jeffrey Higgleston’s Guide to Magical Creatures, a reference work that Pip finds herself constantly amending. Because dealing with magical creatures like unicorns, griffins, and fuzzles doesn’t just require book knowledge—it requires hands-on experience and thinking on your feet.  For example, when fuzzles (which have an awful habit of bursting into flame when they’re agitated) invade your town, it’s not enough to know what the fuzzles are—Pip and Tomas also must trace the fuzzles’ agitation to its source, and in doing so, save the whole town.

About Maggie Stiefvater
Entertainment Weekly has called Maggie Stiefvater, “one of the finest YA novelists writing today.” Maggie Stiefvater is a writer, artist, and musician and a New York Times bestselling author. There are more than 1.8 million copies of her Shiver series in print, with rights to thirty-six foreign editions licensed. Linger, the second book in the Shiver series, debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. The Scorpio Races (2011) was named to the following best of the year lists for 2011: Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, The Horn Book and Kirkus Reviews. In addition, The Scorpio Races was named a 2012 Michael L. Printz Honor Book by the American Library Association and a New York Times Notable Children’s Book. The Raven Cycle, Stiefvater’s latest New York Times bestselling series, has received over a dozen starred reviews across three books.  And in Spring 2014, Stiefvater wrote Hunted, the second book in the Spirit Animals series, which also hit the New York Times bestseller list. Stiefvater lives in Virginia with her family. You can visit her online at www.maggiestiefvater.com and follow her on Twitter @mstiefvater. For more information, please visit: http://mediaroom.scholastic.com/maggiestiefvater

About Jackson Pearce
Jackson is the author of a series of retold fairytales, including Sisters Red, Sweetly, Fathomless, and Cold Spell, as well as three other novels, As You Wish, Purity, and the forthcoming middle grade novel The Doublecross. As J. Nelle Patrick, she is the author of Tsarina. Her work has received multiple starred reviews and has been published in 17 international markets. Pearce lives in Atlanta, Georgia. You can visit her online at www.jackson-pearce.com and follow her on Twitter @jacksonpearce.

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 and ebooks, 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.