• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, March 2, 2012

Comedy Central, which recently announced a tour with the star of “Tosh.0” and has a stake in “The Book of Mormon” on Broadway, is expanding into book publishing. The network said it has formed a partnership with an arm of Perseus Books Group; the first release involves comedian Denis Leary, linked with a network special.

The Leary “holiday-themed novelty” book is scheduled for an October release in conjunction with the TV show.

The new publishing initiative intends to offer books emanating from established network series and brands, as well as from material from up-and-coming comedians. Comedy Central has multiple platforms to help market the books from its airwaves to Web properties to the live tours.

Network icons Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert have written popular books.

Publishing is “a natural brand extension” for the network and “becomes another means of comedic expression that we can offer to our talent, including series, specials, DVDs, CDs and tours," stated Mitch Fried, a Comedy Central executive vice president, who will oversee the initiative.

Christopher Navratil, publisher of Running Press, added: “Humor is one of our core categories and being able to tap into Comedy Central’s talent and marketing” will offer an opportunity to “publish a wide variety of branded titles in multiple formats.”

More serious efforts from the Perseus unit include books about “Mad Men,” Fenway Park and Woody Guthrie.