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More than ever, publishers realize movie-ties can propel authors and their books into a whole new orbit.
Last night, Simon & Schuster gave attendees a sneak preview of the movie “City of Bones,” based on the first book in a series by Judith Rumelt, better known by her pen name Cassandra Clare. Some of the cast members from the movie — slated for late summer release — were expected to be on hand.
Veronica Roth is already beyond hot but could become the next young adult author to blast off into orbit.
The 24-year-old author is about to release her latest, “Allegiant,” her third novel published by HarperCollins. The first two, “Divergent” and “Insurgent,” have already sold a combined 3 million copies.
Harper Collins is cranking up the first printing of 2 million copies for “Allegiant,” due out in late October. (HarperCollins is owned by News Corp., which also owns The Post)
Roth’s first book will make its way to the silver screen in a Kate Winslet film from Summit Entertainment in March of next year.
Summit Entertainment is the same studio that turned the best-selling “Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins into a mega-hit in 2010.
Collins’ next book, “Year of the Jungle,” an autobiographical tome being written for Scholastic and due out later this year, is about her waiting for her father’s return from the war in Vietnam.
Many of the hottest books are now aimed at the young adult market. Roth’s trilogy centers around a crumbling society in a futuristic setting.
Roth took a quick break from autograph seekers yesterday at the Book Expo America at the Javits Center to chat with Media Ink.
“It’s been pretty incredible,” said Roth. “I certainly didn’t anticipate anything like this when I was writing my first book in my pajamas at my parent’s house,” she said.
It took four years to write the first book and she sold it to HarperCollins when she was still in college focusing on creative writing. Roth said it took her so long to write because “I had to find the right voice for the character.”
As for future movie deals, she said they are waiting to see how the first film is received.
Random House enjoyed its best year in history, thanks in large part on the success of last year’s “Fifty Shades of Grey,” by E.L. James, which has already been optioned for a movie while fans wait to see who is being cast for starring roles in the erotica book dubbed “mommy porn” by some.
Around the corner, Bill Thomas, the publisher and editor-in-chief of Doubleday, said he enjoyed the book’s success, but notes not everyone needs a movie tie-in to move books. “Business is good, the economy is improving.”
He was watching lines form to greet Jonathan Lethem, whose ninth novel, “Dissident Gardens” will get a 100,000 first printing. It is a novel that is loosely based on a saga of a rebellious family through three generations.
“It’s loaded up with my own feelings about my family, but you’d be misguided to take it as family history,” Lethem said. “In some ways, I’d say it is my biggest book.”
Lemony Snicket — the pen name for Daniel Handler — and his popular “Series of Unfortunate Events” books for the younger set, from Hachette’s Little Brown, were drawing long lines.
“It’s one of our leading titles, absolutely,” said a spokeswoman as Handler bantered with those seeking autographs for the new book, “When Did You Last See Her?”
One attendee pushed her daughter to approach the author. “Have you thought about running away from home?” he asked her. When she demurred, he said, “I think you should consider it.”
The new Snicket book is intended as the second in a four-book series entitled, “All the Wrong Questions.”
Scholastic, whose stock price has been battered lately, hopes there is still a little magic in J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” series, which will be celebrating the 15th anniversary of the first Potter best-seller.
It plans to repackage the book in new trade paperbacks with new covers by award- winning illustrator Kazu Kibuishi. Scholastic, which racked up a loss of $20 million in the last quarter due to lessening appetite for the “Hunger Games,” could clearly use all the help it can get.
Small-time publishers also hoped to ignite some interest with book buyers. Lines began forming early for former Utah Jazz basketball great John Stockton, who co-authored “Assisted, An Autobiography” with his former grade school and AAU coach Kerry Pickett.
Stockton said writing the book was a lot like how you have to talk to your own kids. “I could do it all day, but you have to pick out the parts that are going to be interesting to other people.”
One of the biggest book blockbusters this fall is expected to be Bill O’Reilly’s “Killing Jesus,” written with Martin Dugard.
Their last book, “Killing Kennedy,” with 1.6 million in sales in all formats, still hasn’t gone to paperback because it has stayed high on best-seller lists since its 2012 release.