Chicken Soup for the Soul
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| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing Licensing Internet Home media |
| Founded | June 28, 1993[1] |
| Founder(s) | Jack Canfield[2] and Mark Victor Hansen[3] |
| Headquarters | Cos Cob, Connecticut, United States[4] |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Key people | William J. Rouhana, Jr.[5] (Chairman & CEO) Robert D. Jacobs[6] (President & COO) Amy Newmark[7] (Publisher) |
| Website | ChickenSoup.com |
Chicken Soup for the Soul is a series of books, usually featuring a collection of short and dense inspirational stories and motivational essays. The 101 stories in the first book of the series were compiled by motivational speakers Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen.
There have been over 200 titles.[8] Many of the books are directed at specific groups of people, such as Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Preteen Soul, Chicken Soup for the Prisoner's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Tough Times, Tough People, Chicken Soup for the Grandparent's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Teens Talk Relationships, and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Thanks Dad.
Contents |
[edit] History
The first book sold millions of copies and launched the series. There are now over 100 million copies in print and in 54 languages worldwide. The Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul series, consisting of over 14 titles, is one of the first series of non-fiction books which have sold directly to teens in the US, Canada, the UK and Australia.
The name "Chicken Soup For The Soul" was chosen for this series because of the use of chicken soup as a home remedy for the sick, and therefore it was "good for the body." The inspirational stories included in this series were meant to be "good for the soul."[1]
From 1993 to 2008, Chicken Soup for the Soul books were published by Health Communications, Inc. In 2008, the founders, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, sold a major stake in the company to a new ownership group led by William J. Rouhana and Robert D. Jacobs.[9] All the latest titles in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series (beginning in 2008) are published by Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC, and distributed by Simon & Schuster. Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC also licenses the right to use its trademark to licensees through IMG.[1]
Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC launched an umbrella entertainment division, Chicken Soup for the Soul Presents, which struck a deal with Screen Media Films to distribute family-friendly movies on DVD, home video and video on demand.[10]
[edit] Parodies
The series has spawned a number of imitators and parodies including Chicken Soup for the Vegetarian's Soul and MTV's Beavis and Butt-Head: Chicken Soup for the Butt, as well as a line of licensed products, including greeting cards, calendars, gift products, pet food,[11] clothing,[12] games,[13][14] DVDs, and Bibles. A parody can also be found within the PC game A Vampyre Story: a book titled Chicken Soup For Those Without A Soul is in the library. In 1999, Jessica Zafra released a parody of the book called Chicken Pox For The Soul, full of cynical suggestions such as "While being madly in love is fun, perhaps one should aspire to be sanely in love".
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c About the series
- ^ Jack Canfield biography at official website
- ^ Mark Victor Hansen biography at official website
- ^ Contact page at official website
- ^ William J. Rouhana, Jr. biography at official website
- ^ Robert D. Jacobs biography at official website
- ^ Amy Newmark biography at official website
- ^ List of titles
- ^ Serving Up A New Chicken Soup, Publishers Weekly, 2 February 2002.
- ^ Lopez, Justine. Screen Media to Distribute Chicken Soup for the Soul, Home Media Magazine, 12 January 2010.
- ^ Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul pet food
- ^ Chicken Soup for the Soul sleepwear
- ^ Chicken Soup for the Soul puzzle books
- ^ Chicken Soup for the Soul Count Your Blessings board game
