Barnes & Noble.com Launches "Meet The Writers"
NEW YORK--June 5, 2002--Barnes & Noble.com
The Most Comprehensive Online Information Source About Writers
Barnes & Noble.com today announced the
introduction of "Meet the Writers," a new feature on its Web site that
is devoted to writers and contains biographical information, book
recommendations, interviews, lists of current and forthcoming
publications, and much more.
Currently, Meet the Writers includes home pages for more than 60
fiction, nonfiction and children`s authors, including many of today`s
bestselling writers and some of the most popular classic authors.
Isabel Allende, James Baldwin, Robert A. Caro, Jonathan Franzen,
Sebastian Junger, Stephen King, Larry McMurtry, J.K. Rowling, J.R.R.
Tolkien and Richard A. Wright are among the featured writers.
The
company plans to add several thousand home pages for contemporary and
classic writers.
"Our customers asked for more information about their favorite
authors, and Meet the Writers was developed to provide them with the
most comprehensive online source of information about writers spanning
all genres," said Marie J. Toulantis, chief executive officer of
Barnes & Noble.com. "Authors have enthusiastically embraced our newest
feature, and contributed personal information about their experiences
and achievements. The addition of this unique information source to
Barnes & Noble.com demonstrates our commitment to supporting writers,
which Barnes & Noble stores have been doing for years through the
hosting of thousands of author events annually."
Meet the Writers will be a permanent feature on Barnes &
Noble.com, and will be integrated into many other areas of the Web
site to make browsing and shopping by author easier. Each writer`s
home page has a variety of information for readers to learn about
their favorite authors, including an author photo, a brief fact file,
the author`s favorite books, a chronological listing of his or her
works, interviews, essays, bibliographies, even suggestions about the
best book to read first. The author pages also include links to
signed, first editions of the writers` books, and to their work found
in the Barnes & Noble.com DVD & Video Store. For currently touring
authors, a schedule of their appearances at Barnes & Noble stores
nationwide will also be included.
"As publishers, we`re always trying to get authors out from behind
their books," said Bob Miller, President of Hyperion Books. "The Meet
the Writers service is the perfect way for readers to meet new authors
and to explore the previous work of authors they have just met."
Some of the information about authors found on their home pages
include:
- Isabel Allende. Isabel Allende begins all of her books on January
8, which she considers lucky because it was the day she began
writing a letter to her dying grandfather that later became The
House of the Spirits.
- Jean M. Auel. Before she began her successful Earth`s Children
series, Jean Auel was a professional circuit board designer, and
once wrote a pamphlet called "So You Want to Design Circuit
Boards."
- Stephen L. Carter. Stephen Carter`s favorite books range from
Plato`s The Republic and James Baldwin`s Go Tell It on the
Mountain to Stephen King`s Christine.
- Janet Evanovich. Janet Evanovich, the writer behind the
blockbuster Stephanie Plum series, stuffs herself with Cheez
Doodles while she writes, and says the books that most influenced
her life were the "Uncle Scrooge McDuck" comics.
- Carson McCullers. The great Carson McCullers gave up her dream of
being a concert pianist after she lost her handbag, which had her
Julliard tuition money in it, on the subway.
- Lisa Scottoline. Lisa Scottoline, the author of Courting Trouble
and other legal thrillers, says her favorite all-time reads
include Mark Helprin`s A Soldier of the Great War, Mario Puzo`s
The Godfather, and Philip Roth`s Portnoy`s Complaint.
- Maurice Sendak. Renowned children`s author and illustrator
Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are) got his start
designing window displays for FAO Schwartz.
- E.B. White. The publication of E.B. White`s Stuart Little was
opposed by the head of children`s books at the New York Public
Library. She felt it was unfit for children.
About Barnes & Noble.com
Barnes & Noble.com is a leading online retailer of books, music,
DVD/video and magazine subscriptions. Since opening its online store
(www.bn.com) in March 1997, Barnes & Noble.com has attracted more than
12 million customers in 228 countries. Barnes & Noble.com`s online
bookstore includes the largest in-stock selection of in-print book
titles with access to 1 million titles for immediate delivery,
supplemented by more than 20 million listings from its nationwide
network of out-of-print, rare and used book dealers. Barnes &
Noble.com offers its customers fast delivery, easy and secure
ordering, and rich editorial content.
CONTACT:
Barnes & Noble
Carolyn J. Brown, 212/633-4062
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