Scholastic serves Free Lunch

to retailers

In an effort to promote its spring and summer paperback titles, this month Scholastic will launch Free Lunch, a magalogue featuring articles, games and other content related to its upcoming releases. Starting this month, Scholastic will distribute FL to select retailers and via its network of school book clubs. The pub will also run as an insert in the June/July issue of Nickelodeon Magazine. In addition to articles and games, FL will also feature a bevy of coupons, rebates and gift-with-purchase initiatives that consumers will be able to use at participating retailers.

Simon Snares NatGeo Kids

Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing has inked an agreement with the National Geographic Society to distribute its National Geographic Children’s Books. The deal, which takes effect on July 1, covers the U.S., Canada, and all overseas markets except the U.K. S&S will sell all of NatGeo’s front- and back-list children’s titles, which were previously distributed by Publishers Group West. For NatGeo, the deal brings all of its titles-S&S also distributes the company’s adult books-under the control of one publisher, which will allow it to consolidate its marketing and sales initiatives, says Nina Hoffman, senior VP of the National Geographic Society.

Bantam Doubleday Dell readies rockin’

teen promo

The Byzantine world of teen life is the focus of Bantam Doubleday Dell’s Turn Up the Heat & the Volume mix paperback display. The summer reading assortment, which ships to retail in June, includes new titles from six of the Random House subsidiary’s popular teen and tween series-Sweet Valley High, Sweet Valley University, 7th Heaven, Clearwater Crossing, Love Stories and Pine Hollow. BDD has coordinated a number of promotions in support of the collection, which includes free music cassettes (available to consumers who purchase two or more titles) and free posters, both courtesy of Jive Records. Bantam will market the titles through TV spots that will air during MTV’s Total Request Live! and in print ads that will appear in Teen People and Seventeen in July. The titles will also receive added exposure in the teen section of Random’s Web site, Teens@Random.