Publisher discusses zombies, sea monsters — and Jane Austen

Last night, students interested in publishing, books and zombies witnessed the brains behind The New York Times bestseller, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies — Jason Rekulak.

Rekulak, creative director of publishing company Quirk Books, confided in the audience of prospective English majors, book lovers and monster fanatics about what it takes to make it in the publishing world and the unexpected explosion of popularity of his recent titles.

Rekulak said he did not expect Pride Prejudice and Zombies to achieve such success when he developed the concept behind it.

“I had modest expectations: we printed 10,000 copies,” he said. “Now we’re up to a million.”

Like the Twilight series, the book gained its fame through its online fan base. In fact, nearly all the original press coverage erupted through blogging, Rekulak explained.

Capitalizing on its “Zombies” online success, Quirk Books advertised its second recently published creation, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, exclusively through a YouTube video with a budget of just $6,000.

That particular campaign has already received about 153,000 views.

College sophomore Laura Paragano, who attended the event last night, praised Pride and Prejudice and Zombies particularly.

“I thought it was a really good satire on Jane Austen’s work,” she said, “and I like zombies.”

The idea of integrating such seemingly unrelated topics comes down to the originality and innovation of Quirk Books itself, Rekulak said. This small company of just 15 people focuses on printing books with innovative content and creative packaging to entice a younger audience.

Not only is the design of the books eye-catching, but it also provides customers a reason to buy the hard copy rather than a Kindle version — a new device that poses a challenge to many other publishing companies.

For those interested in the publishing world, Rekulak shared a few key pieces of advice.

“Get a job in New York City … When you’re at a large publishing company, you’ll meet older [more experienced] people, and you can get a broader perspective of a publishing house,” he said.

Rekulak also emphasized that at a smaller publishing company, it is easier to adapt to the risky and constantly changing industry.

And for many audience members, Rekulak’s advocacy of his product and company seems to have done the trick.

“I’m tempted [to buy the book] now,” said College junior Natalie Feigenbaum. “It seems like a fun read.”

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