New Blockbuster for Reluctant Readers?

 Blood, Sweet Blood!

THE PROJECT: It was love at first bite. Readers have embraced Stephenie Meyer’s vampire series — there are now 1.6 million copies in print in the U.S. of her first two titles, “Twilight” (2005) and “New Moon” (2006). On Aug. 7, Lagardère SCA’s Little Brown for Young Readers imprint is publishing one million copies of the next title in the series, “Eclipse.” “This is our largest first printing ever for a young-adult author,” says Andrew Smith, associate publisher. “Sales get bigger every month.” The books have attracted readers of all ages, but the majority of fans at Ms. Meyer’s readings are teenage girls. Her first effort, “Twilight,” has been sold to 28 countries.

THE BUZZ: Ms. Meyer will appear on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Aug. 7 and then set out on a 15-city national tour. There will also be a national ad campaign. For holiday gift-givers, Ms. Meyers’s publisher is issuing a three-volume hardcover set titled “The Twilight Collection” in November, priced at $55.

THE OUTLOOK: “This book will exceed her previous books by leaps and bounds, and will put her in the top tier of young-adult authors,” says Ben Ruby, a young-adult buyer for Barnes & Noble Inc., the nation’s largest book retailer. But the series may not be for everybody. “We try to be more literary in our selections,” says Nancy Olson, owner of Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh, N.C., which is ordering only 10 copies