Dan Brown’s THE DA VINCI CODE to Be Adapted for Young Adults
The Random House US and Penguin Random House UK children’s divisions of Penguin Random House will jointly publish a young adult adaptation of Dan Brown’s #1 worldwide bestseller, THE DA VINCI CODE this fall. The acquisition was announced on May 18th by Barbara Marcus, President & Publisher of Random House Children’s Books (US), and Francesca Dow, Managing Director, Penguin Random House Children’s UK, who obtained World English rights from Heide Lange of Sanford J. Greenburger Associates.
In the US, the Delacorte Press imprint of Random House Children’s Books will release THE DA VINCI CODE (Young Adult Adaptation) in hardcover and eBook on September 13, 2016. In the UK, the Penguin imprint of Penguin Random House Children’s will release THE DA VINCI CODE (Abridged) in paperback and eBook on September 8, 2016. Beverly Horowitz, SVP & Publisher, Delacorte Press, and Shannon Cullen, Publishing Director, Penguin Random House Children’s UK are overseeing the editorial process.
“My parents were educators, and so it’s no surprise that I have a fascination with history and research,” says Brown. “In fact, if I weren’t an author, I’m sure I would be a teacher myself. It is my sincere hope that this adaptation of THE DA VINCI CODE sparks in young adults the same thrill of discovery that I feel while exploring hidden history and the mysteries of the world we live in.”
Since its publication in 2003, THE DA VINCI CODE has become a global publishing success story, selling 82 million copies worldwide. The young adult adaptations will have new cover designs and will introduce a new generation of readers to Dan Brown’s well-known characters, among them professor and famed symbologist Robert Langdon and cryptographer Sophie Neveu. Abridged in length while maintaining Brown’s original plot that was hailed by the New York Times as “blockbuster perfection,” readers will experience the thrilling, lightning-paced journey from Paris to London that reveals the unraveling of the greatest conspiracy of the past two thousand years.
“It is incredibly exciting for us to bring THE DA VINCI CODE to our young adult market in the US, and to introduce young people to Dan Brown’s masterful storytelling, and his brilliant ability to bring history to life on the page,” says Marcus. “We are delighted to work with our colleagues here at Doubleday to further expand the reach of this special book, and build on its extraordinary success.”
In the US, the Listening Library imprint of Penguin Random House will simultaneously publish an audiobook edition, available on CD and as a digital download.
This fall also brings the movie release of Inferno, in theaters nationwide on October 28, 2016 and based on Brown’s novel published by Doubleday in 2013.