AMONG OTHERS

to Address Attendees

Norwalk, CT, March 6, ‘00: BookExpo America has today made public its selections for the 2000 speaker program for the annual convention being held June 1 - June 4 at Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center. An expanded author events program will allow numerous authors the opportunity to meet and greet this year’s convention-goers. Sammy Sosa will be this year’s guest of honor at the Opening Night Reception, while Katie Couric, Terry Tempest Williams , Michael Ondaatje, and Sister Wendy Beckett will round out the Breakfast Speaker Program. William F. Buckley, Jr. will be joining Jane Alexander at a luncheon on Friday, June 2; Marianne Williamson, Eric Utne, Thomas Hartmann, and Sarah Ban Breathnach will be hosting a luncheon on Saturday, June 3; Liz Smith will be joined by Bill Bryson, Thomas Lynch, Silvia Molina, Anchee Min, and Anna Deveare Smith for lunch on Sunday, June 4; and comedian Richard Lewis will be featured for an evening of fun at Author Improv, Saturday, June 3.

 "The Author Events Program is a highlight of BEA so we want to do our best to accommodate the wide range of authors who are submitted to the Author Selection Committee. We couldn’t be happier that publishers seem eager to fit their authors into our different venues, allowing us to move substantially beyond the traditional Author Breakfasts by making these author appearances an on-going part of convention activity. Our aim has always been to make the on-site experience at BEA as enriching as possible and our author appearances are an essential part of that goal."

On Thursday, June 1 at 6:00pm Sammy Sosa (Sosa: An Autobiography/ Warner Books) will be in the spotlight at this year’s Opening Night Reception sponsored by Warner Books. Sosa, who plays for the Chicago Cubs, grew up in poverty in the Dominican Republic, was signed by the Texas Rangers by the time he was 16, and has since gone on to become one of baseball’s greatest stars, joining Mark McGwire in 1998 in breaking the legendary Roger Maris’ 37-year-old record of 61 home runs in a single season. Sosa hit 66 home runs in 1998 and then hit another 63 in 1999. The Opening Night Reception is an all-convention event which is free to all attendees.

The annual Children’s Book and Author Breakfast begins at 8:00am on Friday, June 2. Speaking at this year’s breakfast will be Philip Pullman, author of The Amber Spyglass (Knopf); Peter Sís, author and illustrator of Madlenka (Francis Foster / Farrar Straus & Giroux) and Dinosaur! (Greenwillow Books /HarperCollins Children’s Books); and Julie Andrews Edwards, author of Dumpy the Dump Truck (Hyperion Books for Children). The Book Sense Children’s Book of the Year Award and the Lucile Micheels Pannel Awards will also be presented. Sponsored in cooperation with the American Booksellers Association-Children’s Book Council Joint Committee. Tickets for the Children’s Book and Author Breakfast must be purchased in advance.

Then, at 12:00pm on Friday, June 2, William F. Buckley, Jr. and Jane Alexander will join Association of American Publishers (AAP) President Pat Schroeder at the Celebration of Books Luncheon where some of the industry’s highest awards will be presented: the AAP’s Curtis Benjamin Award for exceptional creativity and innovation in publishing; the Haslam International Scholarship; and the Farrar, Straus & Giroux New Bookseller Award. Mr. Buckley is the founder of the National Review and the host of television’s longest running program, "Firing Line". The author of numerous books, Mr. Buckley’s new novel is Spytime (Harcourt Brace). Renowned actress Jane Alexander left her career in acting to become the head of the ever-embattled National Endowment for the Arts in 1993. Her new book, Command Performance (Public Affairs), is a memoir of her tenure at the NEA and provides a human dimension to the politics of art and the art of politics. Tickets for the Celebration of Books Luncheon must be purchased in advance.

On Saturday, June 3, the day begins at 8:00am with an Author Breakfast featuring Ted Koppel (Off Camera / Alfred A. Knopf), the 36-year veteran of ABC News who is both anchor and managing editor for "Nightline", celebrating its 20th year on the air, and still considered one of the finest innovations in broadcast news; Terry Tempest Williams (Leap / Pantheon), prolific writer and

environmentalist , perhaps best known for her book Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place; and Jerry Stiller (Married to Laughter: A Love Story Featuring Anne Meara / Simon & Schuster), the famous comedian who has shared both a personal and professional life with his wife, Anne Meara, and

who most recently created the unforgettable character of Frank Costanza on "Seinfeld". Tickets for the Saturday Author Breakfast must be purchased in advance.

Then, at 12:00pm on Saturday, June 3, Rodale Press will be featured at the Independent Publisher Day Luncheon on behalf of their book, Imagine: What America Could Be in the 21st Century, edited by Marianne Williamson. Ms. Williamson will be joined by Eric Utne, Thomas Hartmann, and Sarah Ban Breathnach to discuss Imagine, a book in which 25 of the country’s best contemporary spiritual visionaries unite to discuss a wide range of topics that the authors hope will inspire positive spiritual and cultural transformation across the country. All author royalties will go to the non-profit Global Renaissance Alliance. Tickets for the Independent Publisher Day Luncheon must be purchased in advance.

The evening of Satuday, June 3 brings more festivity with an Author Improv featuring comedian Richard Lewis (The Other Great Depression / Public Affairs) and the"60-Second" novelist Dan Hurley (The 60-Second Novelist: What 22,613 People Taught Me About Life / Health Communications). Lewis, who has taken his bundle of bonafide dysfunctions and carved them into a commanding art form, will perform exclusively for BEA attendees. In 1983 Dan Hurley began interviewing people on the street and turned their stories into "60 Second" novels. He has since gone on to interview over 22,000 people and has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, MSNBC and dozens of other media outlets. Hurley will display his talents for interviewing people and turning their stories into instant novels at Author Improv. Tickets for Author Improv must be purchased in advance.

Still more authors will participate in the Author Breakfast on Sunday, June 4 which will feature Katie Couric (The Brand New Kid / Doubleday) the Emmy Award-winning co-anchor of NBC News’ Today Show; novelist and poet Michael Ondaatje (Anil’s Ghost / Alfred A. Knopf), winner of Britain’s Booker Prize and author of The English Patient; and Sister Wendy Beckett (Sister Wendy’s American Collection / HarperCollins), the world famous self-taught art lover and critic. Tickets for the Sunday Author Breakfast must be purchased in advance.

At noon on Sunday, June 4 America’s top gossip columnist, active literacy advocate

and Chairperson of Literacy Partners, Liz Smith (Natural Blonde: A Memoir /Hyperion), will provide introductory remarks and will open the annual Sunday Literary Luncheon. This year’s luncheon will feature readings by Bill Bryson (In A Sunburned Country / Broadway Books); Thomas Lynch (Bodies In Motion and at Rest / W.W. Norton & Company); Silvia Molina (The Love You Promised Me /Curbstone Press); Anchee Min (Becoming Madame Mao / Houghton Mifflin); and Anna Deveare Smith (Talk To Me/ Random House). In celebration of Latino authors BEA will present Silvia Molina, with the 1999 Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize for fiction at the luncheon, an award originally presented to Ms. Molina at

the Guadalajara Book Fair. The Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize is open to women writers who have published a novel in Spanish since 1995. Tickets for the Literary Luncheon must be purchased in advance.

Reed Exhibition Companies (REC) is a world leader in creating high profile, targeted industry events where buyers and suppliers come together to do business. Every year REC events bring together some 100,000 suppliers and over 5.5 million buyers from around the world. Today, REC events are held in 27 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia/Pacific, and are organized by 24 full staffed offices.REC’s portfolio of over 350 events serves 45 industries in 11 key sectors. BookExpo America is one of four other Reed events in the REC Global Book Publishing Network. These include the Asia International Book Fair, London International Book Fair, Salon du Livre: Paris Book Fair, and the Tokyo International Book Fair. As a member of the Reed Elsevier plc group, a world-leading business and information provider, REC offers integrated market access programs covering exhibitions, trade publications, direct marketing and the Internet. For more information concerning BookExpo America, please call 800/840-5614 or 203/840-5614 (international) or visit the BEA Web Site at http:/bookexpo.reedexpo.com.