Random House Children's Books Acquires Middle-grade Book Series From Actor Jason Segel

NEW YORK, April 24, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Random House Children's Books has acquired NIGHTMARES!, an engaging new middle-grade fiction series from actor and multi-talented creative artist Jason Segel and New York Times bestselling author Kirsten Miller. The deal was announced today by Barbara Marcus, President and Publisher, Random House Children's Books.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130424/NY00426 )

Among the many successful films Jason Segel has written, starred in, produced, or written and performed songs for are The Muppets; Jeff Who Lives at Home; The Five-Year Engagement; I Love You, Man; and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. He has also starred in the hit television series How I Met Your Mother and the classic Freaks and Geeks. NIGHTMARES! marks his debut as an author. Kirsten Miller is the author of the acclaimed Kiki Strike trilogy, as well as the New York Times bestselling The Eternal Ones.

Both scary and funny, NIGHTMARES! is an adventure story about a group of kids who realize it's up to them to save their town from fear, which has manifested itself in the form of nightmare creatures that have slipped into the everyday world. At its heart, NIGHTMARES! is about kids overcoming their fears.

Says Segel, "I couldn't be more excited that NIGHTMARES! has found a home at Random House. Ultimately, it's a story about learning that we can accomplish anything, as long as we are brave enough to try. These are the types of stories that always inspired me."

The deal for North American rights to a trilogy and a companion book was negotiated by Beverly Horowitz, Vice President and Publisher, Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers, with WME and Abrams Entertainment on behalf of Segel. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The series will be edited by Krista Marino, Executive Editor, Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers. The first book is scheduled for release in Fall 2014.

"Jason Segel has the perfect voice to write for children," says Marcus. "NIGHTMARES! is inventive, genuine, and relatable to middle-grade readers. We're thrilled to see Jason's creative vision translated to the page, and can't wait to introduce him to the publishing world as a tremendous new talent."

Random House Children's Books (www.randomhousekids.com) is the world's largest English-language children's trade book publisher. Creating books for toddlers through young adult readers, in all formats from board books to activity books to picture books, novels, ebooks, and apps, the imprints of Random House Children's Books bring together award-winning authors and illustrators, world-famous franchise characters, and multimillion-copy series. Random House Children's Books is a division of Random House, Inc., whose parent company is Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA, a leading international media company.

SOURCE Random House Children's Books