January 26, 2016 · 2 min read

‘Revenant’ helps spur sales of NU Press book

by Troy Fedderson | University Communication and Marketing

Courtesy image

Scene from "The Revenant," a new film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. The subject of the film, Hugh Glass, is also featured in the University of Nebraska Press book "Lord Grizzly."

Buzz about the film “The Revenant” is helping increase sales of “Lord Grizzly,” a historical novel published by the University of Nebraska Press.

Written by Frederick Manfred, “Lord Grizzly” has been published by NU Press since 1983. Both the book and film, which is based on a different book by Michael Punke, tell the story of Hugh Glass, a rugged frontiersman who was mauled by a grizzly bear and left for dead by his friends.

The film has received 12 Oscar nominations and stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Glass. In the film and the book, Glass is driven to seek revenge against those who left him behind.

The NU Press said sales of “Lord Grizzly” have increased 250 percent in the last three months.

“We’re not selling thousands of copies every day, but the sales have been strong,” said Rosemary Vestal, publicity manager for the NU Press. “Two years ago, we sold about 58 copies the entire year. This year alone, we’re up to more than 200.”

On the e-book side, Vestal said the NU Press has sold 229 Kindle versions of “Lord Grizzly” this year. In the previous two years, the e-book sold a combined 165 copies — 107 in 2015 and 58 in 2014.

Hugh Glass’ epic story has been told in a number of publications through the years. NU Press even has two other versions in its backlist — “The Saga of Hugh Glass: Pirate, Pawnee and Mountain Man” (1976) and “The Song of Hugh Glass,” a 1915 John G. Neihardt poem published in “A Cycle of the West.”

In a recent blog post by Martyn Beeny, marketing manager for NU Press, outlined other Hollywood productions that have helped increase interest in NU Press publications. Books and related productions mentioned by Beeny include: “World of Yesterday” by Stefan Zweig, which inspired Wes Anderson’s production of “The Grand Budapest Hotel;” “The Shootist” by Glendon Swarthout, who also wrote the book “The Homesman,” which became a film of the same name; and “The Blue Tattoo” by Margot Mifflin, which inspired a character on the AMC series “Hell on Wheels.”

For more information on “Lord Grizzly” and other NU Press publications, click here.