When Penguin Random House announced recently that it had acquired world rights to the next two adult coloring books from Johanna Basford, the so-called queen of coloring, it was just the latest sign that the demand for coloring books in the U.S. is continuing to surge. The first book, Lost Ocean, which contains undersea adventures with Basford’s trademark intricate designs, will be released at the end of October with a 400,000-copy first printing. The second, still-unnamed book will publish in fall 2016.

This isn’t the first coloring book that Penguin Books executive editor Meg Leder, who participates in an occasional lunchtime coloring group with her coworkers, will edit. She’s also published Mel Elliot’s Color Me Swoon, as well as Souris Hong’s Outside the Lines. “I’m really intrigued by the intersection of fine art and coloring. There are a lot of brilliant artists like Johanna, who are inviting users to participate in their art through the act of coloring,” said Leder. She added that she is also drawn to coloring books’ crossover appeal.
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