Raving Toy Maniac

Diamond to Distribute Pedigree Books for First Time in North America

(BALTIMORE,MD) - (June 17, 2013)- UK based publisher Pedigree Books has signed with Diamond Comic Distributors (DCD) allowing their publications to be distributed to bookstore and comic book specialty stores in North America. Diamonds and Pedigree's joint efforts mark the first time Pedigree's publications will be offered in the US.

Pedigree is a highly respected publisher in the United Kingdom, holding market leading status in character Annuals, Yearbooks and related activity formats. These 80 paged Annuals cover all aspects of pop culture such as trending music, TV, movies, video games, toys and much more continuing with traditional household brand name properties such as Barbie, Star Wars, Angry Birds, Family Guy and Pokémon. The market leading titles appeal to readers of all ages and feature creative activities such as comics, puzzles and character profiles.

"We're excited to help Pedigree expand its market and share its titles to a new audience," said John Wurzer, Diamond's Vice President of Purchasing. "The popular titles offered by Pedigree are already well established brands within the American market, allowing for easy recognition and acceptance. Through Diamond's efforts, the Annuals will be offered to more book and comic retailers in North America, expanding Pedigree's distribution."

"This is a new venture not only for Pedigree and our unique formats, but also for Diamond's North American retailers and consumers in general. This is a great position to be in as Annuals & Yearbooks are already a very successful, high volume, multi-million dollar category in the UK, so paving the way for similar success in North America, which we are delighted to be partnering with Diamond to drive this opportunity forward. Our brands are global powerhouses and Christmas is a key season around the world, so we are confident we can develop a similar 'Christmas gifting' opportunity as we do in our home market," says Matthew Reynolds, Pedigree's Publishing & Sales Director.

Pedigree's titles will be available through Diamond's PREVIEWS catalog starting in August and through Diamond Book Distributors sales kits. For consumers looking to pre-order their titles, contact your local retailer, or find a comic shop near you at www.comicshoplocator.com. Retailers interested in purchasing Pedigree titles are encouraged to contact Diamond's New Accounts Department at [email protected] or via phone at 800-45-COMIC.

ABOUT PEDIGREE BOOKS - Pedigree Books is the market leading publisher of character Annuals, Yearbooks and related activity formats - a position it has held since first forming in 1993. Pedigree is best known for its Annuals range - the Christmas stocking filler staple that is built around huge brands such Star Wars, Barbie, Family Guy, Shoot and Angry Birds. Each Annual is a perfect Christmas gift and guarantees hours of entertainment packed full of profiles, brand information, activities, games, quizzes, colouring and lots more. The company is renowned for adding new content to keep its titles fresh and relevant with recent innovations including adding free masks and introducing Augmented Reality (AR) to the Annuals category. Pedigree also expanded into the adult market by offering retailers and consumers a range of Yearbooks, which provide adults with an affordable Christmas gifting option similar to that offered to kids by Annuals. Although both the Yearbooks and Annuals are aimed at the Christmas gifting market, Pedigree also has a presence in spring and summer through activity books specifically aimed as pocket money/gifting purchases for kids in the Easter and summer holidays. For more information, visit Pedigree Books on the web at www.pedigreebooks.com

ABOUT DIAMOND BOOK DISTRIBUTORS (DBD) - DBD is a division of Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc., and is dedicated to making a wide selection of graphic novels and other pop culture merchandise available to bookstores, online retailers, libraries, schools, mass merchants and other general retailers globally. DBD is the home to a number of world class publishers including Dark Horse, publisher of award-winning and best-selling creators & series including Joss Whedon, Janet Evanovich, Mike Mignola, Frank Miller, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Conan and the Star Wars franchise; IDW, publisher of Transformers & True Blood; Image Comics, publisher of Robert Kirkman's Walking Dead; Oni Press, publisher of the widely successful Scott Pilgrim series; and many others. For more information, visit Diamond Books on the web at www.diamondbookdistributors.com.

ABOUT DIAMOND COMIC DISTRIBUTORS (DCD) - Diamond is at the nexus of comics and pop culture. Based in Baltimore, MD, DCD is the world's largest distributor of English-language comic books, graphic novels, and related pop-culture merchandise, serving thousands of retailers worldwide. For more information, visit Diamond on the web at www.diamondcomics.com.