Simon & Schuster Children's Books has announced a new, three-book deal with author and actor Ben Miller, as well as plans to take his publishing "to the next level with [an] expanded publishing range".

Lucy Pearse, fiction publisher, bought world English rights for two fiction titles and world rights for one non-fiction title from Luigi Bonomi at LBA. The three titles along with ones previously contracted "will form part of an all-encompassing long-term publishing plan for Ben Miller to include picture books, fiction and non-fiction".

In March 2024 S&S will launch an illustrated series turning fairy tales on their heads for readers aged 6-plus, with Diary of a Big Bad Wolf. For Christmas 2024, Miller will join the picture book list with an adaptation of The Night I Met Father Christmas. A non-fiction strand will launch in autumn 2025 with Ben Miller's World of Wonders. All Miller's forward publishing will be illustrated by Elisa Paganelli, with whom S&S recently signed a six-book deal.

Miller's middle grade novels and Christmas Elf titles have sold more than 600,000 copies through the TCM, and he was the ninth bestselling children's fiction author of 2022.

Rachel Denwood, S&S Children's MD, said: "Ben Miller's books are beloved by families across the country and it has been an exciting journey watching him grow into one of the most successful children's writers working today. We're taking the next step to deliver something for everyone on the Ben Miller bookshelf and believe wholeheartedly in supporting Ben's passion for promoting reading together as a family through fiction, picture books and now, non-fiction."

Miller said: "Discovering that so many children have loved and shared my stories is a real pinch-me moment. I want to make sure that every child in the family can find both magic and wonder within the pages of a book, and to be able to reach more readers with picture books and non-fiction is a wildly exciting step. I'm beside myself, too, that the unfeasibly talented Elisa Paganelli, whose artwork brims with energy, humour, and heart, will be illustrating my work across the board. Together with the exceptional team at Simon & Schuster, I can't wait to bring my adventures to even more readers."