Hachette acquires worldwide rights in Enid Blyton

New Delhi: Hachette UK announced today that it has acquired worldwide rights in the wholly-owned Enid Blyton estate, excluding Noddy, from Chorion for the Hodder Children's imprint of its Hachette Children's Books business.

Enid Blyton has an extensive publishing portfolio with 800 titles translated into 40 languages. Till date over 500 million copies of Enid Blyton books have been sold, outselling any other children's author. Blyton's sales continue to flourish and she remains one of the top 10 most borrowed authors. Many films and TV series have been made and continue to be produced. Hachette has acquired all these and other rights in addition to publishing rights.

The hallmark elements that give Enid Blyton's work enduring appeal to children the world over are friendship, teamwork, fantasy and fun. Her most famous brands include the Famous Five, Secret Seven, Naughtiest Girl, Adventure Series, Enchanted Wood, Faraway Tree, Twins at St Clare's, Malory Towers and Just George. Hachette currently publishes electronic, print and audio versions of Famous Five, Secret Seven and Naughtiest Girl and audio editions of Malory Towers and St Clare's in Britain and in France.

Vatsala Kaul-Banerjee, Publishing Director, Hachette India Children's & Reference Books said, "We at Hachette India are absolutely thrilled to now be able to bring to Indian children (and their parents, who can be quite emotional about their childhood Blytons) all of Enid Blyton's 800 titles. Enid Blyton is the highest selling English-language children's author in India and enjoys an iconic status as a much-loved and brilliant storyteller who has captured the imagination of children across generations. I remember devouring Blyton after Blyton as a child, and it's wonderful to see young readers doing the same even now. Now Blytonites can look forward to the addition of Adventure Series, Enchanted Wood, Faraway Tree, Twins at St Clare's, Malory Towers and Just George to Hachette's already existing Blyton brands: Famous Five, Secret Seven and Naughtiest Girl. In this year that marks the 70th anniversary of the Famous Five series, this is a fitting reason to celebrate the wonderful range of books from both our import list and our local publishing for children. The celebrations will take off with special editions of Famous Five books in which unmatchable illustrators such as Quentin Blake have reinterpreted the characters for the young readers of today - and more adventuring is in store!"