Twilight/Wimpy Kid mash-up due out in May

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The British publisher Michael O'Mara is set to release a mash-up book combining elements of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series with Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid books, reported The Bookseller on April 27. Diary of a Wimpy Vampire: Because the Undead Have Feelings Too by Tim Collins will be published internationally on May 20.

Aimed at kids aged 12-15, the book is called a "comic tale of a teenage vampire's struggle with the angst and traumas of adolescence." It focuses on Nigel Mullet, who was made into a vampire as a teenager and will therefore spend eternity at the awkward age of 15. Alison Parker, sales director at Michael O'Mara, calls the title "excruciatingly funny" with "fantastic" illustrations.

The publisher previously released the book New Moan, a parody of two Twilight titles.

Diary of a Wimpy Vampire combines two extremely popular book series: Meyer's Twilight books have sold more than 100 copies worldwide, while sales of Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid series are well over 25 million, and both have been made into hit feature films. The new book also taps into a third current craze - the mash-up book, which has seen major success in recent bestsellers such as Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

A blog accompanying the book can be found at http://wimpyvampire.wordpress.com.