Viacom’s Comedy Central has joined with Running Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group, to form a joint publishing program. The joint venture will release its first title, a holiday-themed novelty book from Denis Leary, in October 2012.
“Success today means reaching our fans on all different platforms. This publishing relationship is another example of the kind of extension that keeps Comedy Central the #1 brand in comedy,” said Comedy Central President Michele Ganeless.
“We are excited to be working with Michele and her team at Comedy Central,” said Christopher Navratil, Publisher of Running Press. “This new relationship is the perfect fit for our list, humor is one of our core categories and being able to tap into Comedy Central’s talent and marketing will offer us a fantastic opportunity to publish a wide variety of branded titles in multiple formats.”
“A publishing program is a natural brand extension for Comedy Central and becomes another means of comedic expression that we can offer to our talent, including series, specials, DVDs, CDs and tours. Our history of success gives us unprecedented access and opportunity to talent and we’re very excited that the first title will come from our long-time friend, Denis Leary,” said Mitch Fried, Executive Vice President, Enterprises, who will oversee the program for Comedy Central.
Titles within the Comedy Central publishing program will focus on both new material from top and developing comedians as well as existing series/franchises within the brand offering a wide variety of books within the humor category. Additional details on the Leary book and forthcoming titles will be announced by Running Press and Comedy Central in the near future.
