This post is to clarify the situation with the Applewood reprints. The contract for the Judy Bolton reprints has nothing to do with the terminated Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys contracts. From what I recall, Applewood had trouble meeting Simon and Schuster's terms for the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys reprints. Apparently Simon and Schuster chose not to renew the existing contract, and the terms that were set for a new contract were ones that Applewood could not meet, so Applewood decided not to continue.
Simon and Schuster does not hold the rights to the Judy Bolton series, so this is why the Judy Bolton contract is not connected to the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys situation. The rights holder for the Judy Bolton series is the estate of Margaret Sutton, and Margaret's daughter, Lindsay Stroh, is the executor of her mother's estate. Lindsay Stroh is the person who has facilitated the new Judy Bolton reprints.
Lindsay Stroh's goal is to make the Judy Bolton series available at an affordable price per book, and this is why the books are going to be printed in softcover editions. There are still quite a few people who do not own some of the harder to find titles because they are either not willing or not able to pay the prices for those books. Aeonian Press did reprint the series, but their reprints cost around $25.00 to $35.00 each. That kind of price is too high for a casual reader.
Applewood's price is $14.95 per book, and Amazon.com has them listed at $10.17 each. Imagine getting to buy The Whispered Watchword or The Hidden Clue in a new softcover book for only $10.17! How awesome is that!
#1-5, 7, 10-12, 14, 21, 23, 26-28, 30-32, and 35 are the books that will be released on August 1. The reason why the other books are not going to be released at the same time is because Lindsay Stroh did not have good enough copies of the books for Applewood to reproduce the cover art. She is getting books from other people for Applewood to use. By the end of the year, the other half of the series will also be released.
From what Lindsay Stroh has stated, this release is print on-demand. Applewood is printing a small number of all of the books to begin and will print additional copies as the orders come in. This just means that sometimes people may have to wait a couple of weeks in order to get a book should Applewood have to print more copies. It is good that it is being done this way and that Applewood is making the entire series available. What so often happens with reprint projects is that the early titles are released first and do not sell that well. As a result, the publisher cancels the contract before making it to the titles that everybody needs. In this case, all of the titles will be made available. We already know that the higher-numbered books will be of the most interest to buyers.
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