A+E Networks Inks Partnership for History-Themed Book Series

NEW YORK: A+E Networks Brand Licensing and Lyons Press are developing a line of illustrated books inspired by HISTORY’s Breaking History programming block.

The first of four hardcover titles, Breaking History: Vanished!: America’s Most Mysterious Kidnappings, Castaways, and the Forever Lost, debuts this October. It will be followed by Breaking History: Lost America! in spring 2018. Additional titles will be announced at a later date.

Authored by expert historians and distinguished nonfiction writers, the branded books will feature detailed investigations of events, people and places that shaped our past and present. They will feature maps, photographs and subject spotlights, and will provide a step-by-step, “breaking news” experience covering a range of periods in American history.

Written by Sarah Pruitt, Breaking History: Vanished!: America’s Most Mysterious Kidnappings, Castaways, and the Forever Lost presents an illustrated tour of American history’s most confounding cases of disappearance. It explores the disappearances of Amelia Earhart, Jimmy Hoffa, DB Cooper and Alcatraz escapists Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Algin, among others. Breaking History: Lost America!, meanwhile, profiles civilizations, colonies, movements and criminal organizations whose demise remains mysterious or controversial, including the infamous Roanoke Colony.

“At its core, HISTORY is about great storytelling and we are thrilled to extend the brand to fans with this complementary new book series,” said Jill Tully, the VP of A+E Networks Brand Licensing. “As one of the nation’s leading publishers of American history, Lyons Press is an ideal partner to co-create an immersive adventure for readers that will shed new light on some of history’s most intriguing stories.”

“At Lyons Press, we strive to publish pulse-racing, thought-provoking and often unsung American history—exactly the kind of content offered through Breaking History,” said Globe Pequot Publisher Jim Childs. “These books will be a great way to bring HISTORY’s fast-paced, ‘breaking news’ programming to the printed page.”

The partnership was brokered by Screenland Literary Associates, which represents A+E Networks’ publishing business.