Back to Scholastic: An Executive’s Journey Through Publishing’s Changes

Lynn Smith, senior director, licensing, media and brands, trade division, Scholastic, is in charge of licensing brands for book publishing. Smith shares details of her background and how it led her to Scholastic … and back again.

Smith says her resume has recurring themes: media, licensing and pop culture.

“These are all things I was interested in growing up,” she says. “I like to tell my mom that all those hours watching MTV and ‘Access Hollywood’ paid off for me. I was an English/writing major at Ithaca College but didn’t want to be a teacher, so when one of my professors told me about the NYU Summer Publishing Institute, I jumped at it. I attended the summer after I graduated and learned everything there is to know about book and magazine publishing. My first job was as an assistant at NFL Properties (National Football League) in their publishing department. We worked on licensing out the NFL shield/logo and during my tenure, published a chapter book series with Disney/Hyperion and the NFL Family Cookbook, among other titles. I was always interested in film, media and pop culture, so when a co-worker was leaving to work at a New York-based film company, I suggested he hire me. I worked there for about 15 months managing marketing/regional promotions of our films. But I missed working in books and was always drawn to kids’ books – so when I saw an opening at Simon & Schuster in marketing licensed books, I applied. I spent seven years at Simon & Schuster in various departments, including marketing, editorial, sub-rights and licensing.”

Related:Mob Entertainment, Scholastic Team for ‘Poppy Playtime’

Lynn Smith, Scholastic

After that, Scholastic hired Smith as director, licensed publishing, putting her in charge of licensing and even overseeing the editorial group at one point. She left for 2.5 years to work for an APP media company in Connecticut, but when that was sold, it was only a few months before Scholastic hired her back.

“I’m a boomerang … you can leave Scholastic, but you usually come back,” says Smith. “I’ve been here ever since. My two stints total 14 years.”

While Smith was at Simon & Schuster, the company secured the Nickelodeon master publishing rights, and Smith became Nickelodeon’s brand manager. A year or so into the tenure, the role was moved to report to editorial, and Smith asked her new editorial boss about learning the ropes of licensing.

“She really took me in and allowed me to build relationships with various partners and negotiate many of our deals,” says Smith. "It took off from there.”

Through the years, Smith has seen changes in the industry. In some ways, she says, everything is new.

Related:Scholastic Closes Investment in 9 Story Media Group

“In my early days, tie-ins came strictly from movies and TV. That was it. That was how kids consumed media. Maybe a hot toy brand. Today, there are so many new sources of content: TV and film, streaming, gaming, podcasts, YouTube, web comics, etc. It’s opened up the category and allowed us to find stories for all children. Finding a new foundation for content is really fun and keeps it interesting.”

In other ways, Smith says everything is old.

“My career is at a point now where I’m seeing brands come round and round. When I was at Simon & Schuster, I oversaw the launch of ‘Dora the Explorer’ and ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ books. Fast-forward to today and Scholastic just recently announced our partnership with Nickelodeon to publish tie-ins for their new ‘Dora’ series. We also just published a ‘SpongeBob’ book that is selling out in the Book Fairs. There are some brands that just last longer and come back around to speak to a new generation (‘My Little Pony,’ ‘TMNT,’ ‘Transformers,’ etc.).”

Smith says publishing has gone through a lot as it has emerged from COVID. One major shift she’s seen has been the reduction of the chapter book format.

“Kids today aren’t reading chapter books like they used to 10 years ago,” says Smith. “I don’t know if it’s a result of reading levels/scores not recovering from COVID learning or if this generation relies heavily on illustrations – but the shift to illustrated chapter books and graphic novels has all but made the traditional black-and-white chapter book format extinct. Scholastic was founded on this format (‘Goosebumps’ and ‘Babysitter Club’), but we have found ways to adapt ‘Goosebumps’ and ‘Babysitter Club’ graphic novels). Additionally, there has been a surge in manga sales … and we’ve seen that steadily continue as manga licenses have picked up steam.”

When looking for brands to license, Smith says they first look for a story.

“Books need a narrative to be compelling, so we examine the characters and overall storyline,” says Smith. “Are there already stories to be told? Can we expand on what’s available? The target demo is also very important. We license many brands, so we want to ensure that we’re giving each one its due attention. If there’s a toy partner, knowing the toy partner and their launch timing is also helpful. Lastly, as Scholastic, we ensure that the brand is kid- or teen-focused. Everything we do is ultimately for the reader, so we take that into consideration as well.”

The Official Harry Potter Baking Book, Five Nights at Freddys and Poppy Playtime Orientation Notebook. Scholastic.

Scholastic recently added “Pokémon’s” new younger brand, Monpoke, to its list.

“We have been publishing ‘Pokémon’ books for the past 25 years, so we were delighted to be able to add these adorable new formats, including ‘Pikachu’s First Friends’ (an illustrated jacketed hardcover), ‘Pikachu Loves’ (a board book) and ‘Pokémon Playtime’ (touch and feel), for a whole new generation of fans,” says Smith.

Another recent launch is one of Scholastic’s newest YA horror gaming brands, “Poppy Playtime” (from Mob Entertainment), which launched in May with an in-world “Guidebook: The Orientation Notebook.” Scholastic also recently announced a partnership with Sony to novelize Season 1 of the “Goosebumps” TV series (aired on Disney+).

“The season ended on a cliffhanger, so we will tell the complete story,” explains Smith. “This offers the fan something extra in the book – as well as another print version of a fun ‘Goosebumps’ story for lifelong readers.”

One of Scholastic’s long-lived and successful collaborations remains Harry Potter.

“Scholastic is the U.S. home to JK Rowling’s  ‘Harry Potter’ series, and we are the global home to Warner Bros’ Harry Potter license since 2016,” says Smith. “We have sold millions of official HP books, worldwide, in various formats and art styles.”

Another area of success is coloring/activity books. Scholastic has published more than 15 titles in the line featuring “Harry Potter,” “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” “Wings of Fire,” “One Piece” and “Pokémon” … with more coming from “Friends,” “X-Men” and “Abbott Elementary.”

“This has been so fun to acquire for and has afforded us some brands we wouldn’t typically license, like Jaws,’” says Smith. “And I can’t discuss successful collaborations without mentioning ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s.’ This is less a ‘license,’ as we work directly with Scott Cawthon, the author and creator. The brand is celebrating its 10th anniversary this August, and we will have a free eBook available. The second movie has been announced for 2025 and we have nearly 19 million copies in print, globally – novels, graphic novels, coloring books, cookbooks and encyclopedias.

Smith says one thing she’s excited about in the future is new content sources.

“So much has changed over the past decade that I’m excited to see what comes next – something we haven’t even considered, I’m sure,” she says. “I’m also excited for the ever-expanding consumer. There are new kids all the time … and getting them excited about books and reading is something we all believe makes our future that much brighter.”

This story was taken from the August 2024 issue of License Global. Read the full issue here ...