Publishers Weekly alerts us to the fact that oddball Philadelphia publisher Quirk Books has launched a web site for its best-selling mash-ups (which started with the unexpected success of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith and Jane Austen). The web site, www.quirkclassics.com, offers message boards, fan forums, opportunities to interact with Quirk’s editors and authors, event listings, and news of current and forthcoming titles.
The next book in the series will be a prequel to P&P&Z to be called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith. To be published in March 2010, “in this terrifying and hilarious prequel, we witness the genesis of the zombie plague in early-nineteenth century England. We watch Elizabeth Bennet evolve from a naïve young teenager into a savage slayer of the undead. We laugh as she begins her first clumsy training with nunchucks and katana swords and cry when her first blush with romance goes tragically awry.”
Quirk acknowledges that the allure of the mash-ups may not last, but PW reports the second title in the series, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, by Ben H. Winters (which was published in September) already has 350,000 copies in print. Quirk’s Publicity Manager Melissa Monachello said the company is “paying close attention to expectations going forward” but is still enjoying significant success with the line “and solid sales records.”