Parragon

PARRAGON AND AWARD-WINNING STATIONERY DESIGNER BONNIE MARCUS ANNOUNCE NEW LICENSING PARTNERSHIP

+ May 20, 2013 by Emily Wallis

We are excited to announce our partnership with award-winning stationery designer Bonnie Marcus.

The launch of our brand new lifestyle publishing range will see the illustrations and designs of the Bonnie Marcus Collection extend into books and content driven stationery products for the first time ever.

Commencing in Fall 2013, we will be developing and publishing a broad spectrum of titles to delight tweens, teens and adults of all ages, including beautifully designed and illustrated pocket puzzle books to notebooks, food journals, fashion journals and cook books.  

Bonnie Marcus, President, explains, “For the past 10 years, my stylish stationery collection has revolved around our tag line, where fashion meets paper®.  This exciting new collection of lifestyle publications is a natural extension of our brand, and I am looking forward to working with Parragon to launch our new collection around the world.”

Wendy Friedman, President Parragon North and South America, explains “I first met with Bonnie at Stationery Show in 2012 and immediately knew that her designs and approach to product was perfect for an extension into books. 12 months later I’m delighted to be exhibiting our first products.”

All items will be available in North America, the UK and Australia before rolling out throughout Europe and Latin America.

The Little Learners Series Expands!

+ May 2, 2013 by Emily Wallis

Now comprising over 20 titles, our popular Little Learners series has become a beloved range for parents, babies and toddlers across the globe. Engaging, attractive and affordable, the Little Learners series includes chunky board books, fun bath books, buggy books, cuddly cloth books, fun finger puppet books, unique light-up sound books and even soft toys. Since we launched the range last year, a staggering 1.5 million books have been sold around the world!

With momentum continuing to build, we are excited to introduce new innovative formats to our popular baby and toddler range, including engaging new books and even a fun sing-along eBook and interactive app! 

Watch our new video by clicking the image below! 

New titles in the Little Learners series:

Interactive Digital Titles:

'Play and Learn' App (UK | US) & 'Little Learners Sing-along' eBook (UK | US)

Innovative New Books:

Bedtime Cuties – Hanging Mobile and Book Box Set (UK | US)

A beautiful hanging mobile and bedtime book to help lull little ones to sleep!

Peek-a-Boo Board Books - 'Rainbow' (UK | US) & 'Friends' (UK | US)

Chunky board books with a unique carry along handle let babies explore their way though the peek-a-boo holes to meet a playful puppy, green frog, hopping bunny, and more!

Slide and See Books: 'I Am Big' (UK | US) & 'I Am Busy' (UK | US)

Teach your little one about actions and activities in these picture books with sturdy tabs to pull out.

With imaginative designs, stimulating textures and softly appealing pictures to grow your child’s curiosity and imagination, Little Learners is a series to share with your baby or toddler. Enjoy special moments and build an invaluable foundation for learning whether it’s bath time, playtime, cuddle time, bedtime or time to explore; Little Learners will be there with you, taking part in every stage of your little one’s development. 

Reading with children has never been more important, more special, or more fun!

For more information visit: www.parragon.com/littlelearners

Life Canvas Wins Big at the 2013 UK Stationery Awards!

+ April 24, 2013 by Emily Wallis

We are delighted and proud to announce that Life Canvas has won three awards at this year’s prestigious UK Stationery Awards, including ‘Best Notebooks & Paper Products’, ‘Best Children’s Stationery Product’, and the 'Special Judges Award' for the full Life Canvas range!

Winner of 'Best Notebooks & Paper Products' – Life Canvas Colour Notebooks

Winner of 'Best Children's Stationery Product' – Life Canvas Mini Tins

Winner of ‘Special Judges Award’ - Life Canvas

The industry awards were held on Tuesday 23rd April at the London Stationery Show and were judged by a panel of leading independent and multiple retailers including Alex Miles from Sainsbury’s, Joanna Patterson-Gordon from Colemans, Henri Davis from National Trust and Dominic and Jo Irons from Bureau Direct.  

Competition was fierce, with more than 160 companies and brands from over 20 countries showcasing new products.

The Stationery Awards Judging Panel said:
“This year the Judging Panel felt that the Judges Award should go to a new supplier to the industry Life Canvas who has brought new, interesting and great value products to the market in the last 18 months”

The Stationery Awards are always an excellent indicator of what will be popular in stationery and gift stores across the UK and therefore, we are absolutely delighted to have won these three awards.

Launched earlier this year, the Life Canvas range is our new stationery and gift range that caters to function, personal style, and value. With so many styles and formats to choose from, Life Canvas stationery is designed to make life easier and more fun!

For more information about Life Canvas, visit: www.parragon.com/lifecanvas

Imaginative children’s eBooks at great prices in the iBookstore!

+ April 16, 2013 by Emily Wallis

Discover, learn and explore with Parragon’s range of eBooks for children. What’s more, if you head over to the iBookstore now, you can pick up a fabulous selection of our children’s eBooks at the special price of less than $3!

Take to the skies with the beautifully illustrated Away in My Airplane (US | Canada), written by legendary author Margaret Wise Brown.

Also from the archives of author Margaret Wise Brown, go on an adventure with Mouse as he sees just how fun numbers can be! Count to 10 with a Mouse (US | Canada) is a beautiful picture book with gentle illustrations, and the perfect way to get your children into reading.

Find out everything you ever wanted to know about the human body with Discovery Kids – Why do we need bones? (US | Canada). Filled with fascinating facts, it’s sure to make learning fun!

Visit the iBookstore now to see these and more great children’s books from Parragon!

The 4th Annual Trendys are here, the 4th Annual Trendys are here!

+ March 26, 2013 by Emily Wallis

The 4th Annual Trendys are here, the 4th Annual Trendys are here!

And at Parragon we’re happy to announce we are here too!

To be more specific, one of the newest members of our foray into all things gift and stationery, Life Canvas, - our Office Sticky Notes Tin - is a finalist in this year’s Trendy Awards!

If you’re scratching your head wondering what all the excitement is about, let us explain….The Trendys are a competition in the stationery industry sponsored and managed by Stationery Trends Magazine to recognize the best in the industry when it comes to greeting cards, gifts and all things stationery.

And we’re a finalist! In the Office category! At the 4th Annual Trendys!

Did we mention we’re excited?

Does it show?

Truth be told, as long-time publishers of all types of lifestyle, cooking and a myriad of wonderful kids’ books, we’ve have a long-time love affair with paper and the written word. Our stationery line, Life Canvas, is an extension of that, so whether it’s reading them, writing them or just having ‘em around, we love words.

And as such, we wanted to take the opportunity to get the word out – to vote for us and to take a look at not just this particular item, but all of our Life Canvas stationery offerings.

We launched our Life Canvas range with lofty goals and hard work, and it’s a great honor to be recognized in an industry chock full of unique and beautiful ways to communicate, create and inspire. We’ve got big plans and we’re getting a great response - our selection as a finalist in this esteemed contest definitely speaks volumes – it’s an acknowledgement that gives us all the more reason to think we’re on the right track when it comes to all things stationery so without further ado….

We’re a finalist! In the Office category! At the 4th Annual Trendy’s!!

Did we mention we’re excited?                                       

Does it show?

Please come see us and our Life Canvas range (and more!) at this year’s National Stationery Show - Booth #1428, or at the London Stationery Show - Stand A180 – we’d love to see you…

Discovery Communications & Parragon To Launch New TLC Cooking Publishing Line

+ August 30, 2012 by Emily Wallis

Parragon is thrilled to announce our newest license! We've partnered with Discovery Communications for a new publishing line under the “TLC Cooking” umbrella. The line will include cookbooks, e-books and recipe apps that represent the best of TLC by offering family, style, home and cooking tips from the network’s most popular personalities and shows.

The first title released under the partnership, TLC Cooking: 150 Timeless Recipes From Our Family To Yours, will be available beginning early 2013 at all physical and digital stores that sell books and will allow viewers to recreate some of their favorite recipes in their own kitchens. The publication will feature top personalities from the TLC family, sharing their most delicious and nutritious recipes, along with insider tips and cooking hints. The cookbook and corresponding e-book will feature a recipe for every taste, from breakfast and brunch to family dinners and desserts. Each recipe will also include serving sizes, preparation time and helpful hints, so even a novice cook can prepare scrumptious treats for family and friends. Eye-catching photos are paired with each recipe and many will feature step-by-step visual instructions.

The TLC Cooking: 150 Timeless Recipes From Our Family To Yours ebook edition and the new TLC Family Kitchen mobile app will allow users to bring their recipes with them anywhere they go. A free sampler of the app with up to 75 recipes will be available for download at the iTunes store and additional recipe bundles will also be available for purchase. Each recipe in the TLC Family Kitchen app is designed to make cooking easier, including a built-in timer, shopping list of ingredients, family meal planner, and a notes and ratings section. Additionally, users can browse through kitchen basics videos as demonstrated by the pros from their favorite TLC programs.

“Through an array of family and food based programming, TLC inspires viewers to enjoy and celebrate food and the satisfaction of sharing their creations with family and friends,” said Elizabeth Bakacs, Vice President of Licensing for TLC. “Parragon is an industry leader and the perfect partner to bring the best recipes and tips straight from our TLC kitchens to viewer’s tables nationwide.”

“Over the years our cookbooks have been hugely successful and this book and app combination presents an opportunity for aspiring chefs everywhere to access TLC in an entirely new and innovative way,” said Wendy Friedman, President, Parragon North America and Latin America.  “TLC is a leader in lifestyle entertainment and this partnership enables fans to further satisfy their curiosity for learning and desire to create new dishes.”

Parragon Announces Nickelodeon License!

+ June 14, 2012 by Emily Wallis

Parragon are delighted to announce master publishing rights in the UK for the children’s entertainment brand Nickelodeon!

From Spring 2013 we are set to release over 60 brand new books, from storybooks and activity to novelty and books-plus titles. Ranges will include characters from the highly anticipated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Nickelodeon newcomers Winx Club and Bubble Guppies. The first releases will include the popular franchises Dora the Explorer, and SpongeBob SquarePants.

The Nickelodeon portfolio is a welcome addition to Parragon’s existing Nickelodeon licenses, including tween sensation Victorious, which begin publishing in August 2012 in the US, UK, Australia, and Latin America. Parragon currently publishes Dora the Explorer in Latin America and in Australia.

For more information on the Nickelodeon license, check out this article in License Mag!

Welcome to Little Learners!

+ March 13, 2012 by Emily Wallis

Sharing books with your little one is such an important and enjoyable experience for both children and parents. At Parragon, we wanted to support this bonding experience with a view to the child’s mind. How will a baby interact with each book in a series, and how do we make sure that parents understand a child’s learning process through a book? From this question, Little Learners (Little Me, in Australia) was born, bringing to life a series of colourful and contemporary characters for kids and parents to play along with.

 Each book in the series focuses on a different level of child development during children’s most crucial learning stages, encouraging education and interactive play between parent and baby—anytime, anywhere. The books take on a variety of fun formats including snuggly cloth books, stroller books, “slide and see” play, bath books, and finger puppets; topics range from colors and numbers to animals, food, and sharing, taking every moment as an opportunity to learn along with beautifully illustrated characters.

Developed in conjunction with educational consultants, Little Learners / Little Me also aims to make key learning concepts easy for parents. With icons on each book indicating its learning functions – including interactive play, hand-eye coordination, language development, first words, knowledge about the world, listening skills, and sense of touch – parents can rest easy knowing that their babies are engaging with the world around them in a meaningful way.

The Little Learners range has been extensively tested by focus groups of real mothers, all of whom loved the unique, playful nature of the books. Said one mother: “Little Learners have depth to them, they are perfect for babies but have things for them to grow into as well, like concepts around texture and size.”

We're really excited to bring Little Learners / Little Me to families across the world and books into the lives of babies everywhere!

Parragon Announces Marvel Comics License!

+ February 6, 2012 by Emily Wallis

Parragon’s action-packed 2012 is set to kick off with a brand new license from Marvel Comics! We’re very pleased to be releasing over 100 Marvel titles this year across North America, Latin America, Germany, and the U.K.

The first releases will debut in April and include The Amazing Spider-Man: Web of Secrets and Marvel Super Heroes: Super Hero Secrets. Featuring super hero profiles, cool codes, daring deeds, and top secret stuff, these fun activity books make the ideal afternoon playmate for kids. Future titles in the Marvel range from Parragon will include a wide array of colouring and activity books.

For more information on the Marvel license, check out this article in Publisher’s Weekly!

Welcome to the new Parragon.com!

+ December 5, 2011 by Emily Wallis

It’s been a long time coming, and we are so pleased you’re finally here: Parragon.com is new and improved! We have more individual book listings, better search functionality, and new blogs, news, and jobs sections to help you find what you’re looking for.

Who do we think “you” are? You might be a retailer looking for information on our new releases. Maybe you’re a customer looking for a title you read about on a blog or saw in a store. You could be a blogger searching for new releases to review, or a foodie hoping to find some new recipes, or a new mom wanting the best books for your little learner. What if you’re an aspiring author looking for insight into how our books come to life?

For all of you, we are here to help. Parragon has come a long way as a company from its beginnings in the late 1980s supplying value books to UK supermarket chains. We began as a non-traditional publisher, and that path has enabled us to think about books in new ways. Now, we’re a global company with a focus on marrying budget-concious pricing with better-quality books, dedicated to bringing you cookbooks, children’s books, licensed content, and adult titles ranging from reference encyclopedias to puzzles and games. You’ll find a range of our titles available in the iBookstore, on the Nook, in iPad app form, and soon to be in a range of other electronic formats. We’re growing, and we’re very excited about it.

As part of that growth, we invite you to browse the site and to return regularly to read our blog, where we’ll be looking inside some of our new and upcoming titles, chatting with Parragon employees about their jobs and the making of books, inviting guest bloggers to share things such as recipes and tips on child development, and sharing thoughts on a variety of topics in the publishing world and all around us. Whether you’re a buyer, a consumer, a blogger, or you landed here via Google search, welcome. Stay a while. And please feel free to let us know what you think.

Best,
Your Friends at Parragon Books