Folktellers Universe and Scribe Publishing Company entered into a publishing agreement for the release of the first three books in Josef Bastian’s young adult fantasy book series, Excerpts from an Unknown Guidebook. The books will have full retail distribution through IPG.
Book I: Phases of the Moon and Book II: Cave in the Rock, will be updated and re-released, with the first title to be published in December 2021 and the second to be published in March 2022. Book III: Shadows on the Silver Strings will be released in October 2022 as the rest of the series unfolds. The revised series will premiere at the Motor City Comic Con in Detroit in October.
“Folktellers mission is built upon the art of storytelling. Our vision, ‘stories have power and are meant to be shared,’ fits perfectly with our Scribe’s mission and values,” said Folktellers Partner Steven Sadler. “We’re excited and confident these books and this series will make a positive impact on the lives of people everywhere.”
The new publishing agreement follows the announcement earlier this year that a live-action TV series adaptation for kids ages 8–12 is in development with Peter Mohan (Orphan Black, The Hardy Boys, The Listener, and Mutant X) serving as executive producer and showrunner, alongside Bastion, Scott Paskoff, and Vanessa Shapiro — whose company Nicely Entertainment will handle global distribution. Season one of the series will be based on the first three books, Phase of the Moon.
“The Excerpts from an Unknown Guidebook series has been designed to get kids excited about reading again,” said Bastian, creator of the Folktellers Universe. “The stories are short, exciting, and filled with creatures, monsters, and the adventures children and adults love. This major series release is another giant step in immersing our audience deeper into the incredible family-friendly universe we’ve created, with plans to expand the brand not only into TV, but also music, games, and other transmedia elements promoting children’s literacy and family entertainment.”
Excerpts from an Unknown Guidebook follows the adventures of a group of teen storytellers as they cross worlds and dimensions to fight the forces of darkness. It was ranked as one of the top fantasy series for young readers in 2020 by the Moonbeam Children’s Book Award with the second book, Cave in the Rock, earning a bronze medal in the Pre-Teen Fantasy Fiction category. Cave in the Rock is also the recipient of a Mom’s Choice Gold Award; and Phase of the Moon is a 2018 International Book Award Finalist.
“We’re so excited to partner with Folktellers Universe to expand distribution on these books and get them into kids’ hands everywhere,” said Scribe Publishing Company founder and publisher Jennifer Baum.