For Immediate Release

Contact: Tina Jordan

Ph.: 212.255.0200

AAP ANNOUNCES BOOK EDITORS ONLINE AND UNSCRIPTED

Top Editors Will Preview Their Winter Book Picks on September Webcasts 

New York, NY, July 31, 2008:   The realities of a tight economy demand new and innovative ways of bringing new titles to the attention of booksellers and media and facilitating an exchange of views and information, and the Association of American Publishers announces today a pilot program that will accomplish just that. Book Editors Online and Unscripted, a series of webcasts that launches in September, will feature the top editors in the business presenting and previewing their Winter 2009 book picks for an online audience of booksellers and members of the media.

During a two-week time period in September, Book Editors Online and Unscripted will feature two editors each  day  presenting upcoming titles that have inspired them, followed by a Q&A moderated by Sara Nelson, Editor-in-Chief of Publishers Weekly. The thirty minute presentations will be webcast live, in real time, allowing interested booksellers and media to follow them on the Internet,  call in, and ask or type questions to participating editors immediately following the interview.

“The reason behind launching this pilot program is three-fold,” said  Bob Miller, AAP’s Trade Executive Committee Chair.  “As an industry, we have all been faced with the ongoing challenge that newspapers are devoting less space to book reviews, and reviewers’ travel budgets are being slashed.  Secondly, up until now there has been no organized format to allow media to hear from multiple book publishers on Winter 2009 titles across publishing houses.  Book Editors Online and Unscripted is a way we hope will engage the nation’s book media from coast to coast on new upcoming titles digitally, and without leaving their desks.  Thirdly, we want to create a forum for the nation’s booksellers to join us by calling in to participate or visiting our post production web site.

The schedule of participants is below, and all webcasts are Eastern Standard Time. (Note: panelists and times are as of July 31, 2008 and subject to change)

Tuesday, September 16:

12 pm – 12:30 pm:           Rebecca Saletan, Senior Vice President, Publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade Books

3 pm – 3:30 pm:                Tom Miller, Executive Editor, John Wiley & Sons

Wednesday, September 17th:

12  pm – 12:30 pm:          Bill Thomas, Editor-In-Chief & Publisher,Doubleday Publishing Group

3 pm – 3:30 pm                 Geoff Shandler, Editor In Chief, Little Brown

Thursday, September 18th:

12 pm  – 12:30 pm:         Cindy Spiegel, Senior Vice President & Publisher, Spiegel & Grau

3 pm – 3:30 pm:                Amy Einhorn, Vice President & Publisher, Amy Einhorn Books (a Division of G.P. Putnam & Sons)

Tuesday, September 23rd:

12 pm – 12:30 pm             George Witte, Editor in Chief, St. Martin’s Press

3 pm – 3:30 pm                 Eric Raab, Editor/Manager of Science Fiction Tor/Forge

Wednesday, September 24th

12 pm – 12:30 pm:           Gillian Blake, Executive Editor,  Collins (A division of HarperCollins USA)

3 pm – 3:30 pm:                Helen Atsma, Editor,  Henry Holt & Company

Thursday, September 25th

12 pm – 12:30 pm             Chuck Adams, Editor, Algonquin

3 pm – 3:30 pm                 Deb Futter, Vice President, Editor In Chief, Grand Central Publishing

Those interested in registering for any of the above webcasts above may register at http://publishers.webex.com. For more information please contact Tina Jordan at tjordan@publishers.org

Miller added: “In an era of limited economic resources, we are all challenged to find new, cost-effective ways  to engage the industry’s retail and media audiences on new releases.   Networking in a digital format offers exactly that kind of experimental opportunity.  Book Editors Online and Unscripted is not intended to replace organic and person-to-person meetings, but we certainly hope it acts as a catalyst for further discussion on new books.”

The Association of American Publishers is the national trade association of the U.S. book publishing industry. AAP’s more than 300 members include most of the major commercial publishers in the United States, as well as smaller and non-profit publishers, university presses and scholarly societies—small and large. AAP members publish hardcover and paperback books in every field, educational materials for the elementary, secondary, postsecondary, and professional markets, scholarly journals, computer software, and electronic products and services. The protection of intellectual property rights in all media, the defense of the freedom to read and the freedom to publish at home and abroad, and the promotion of reading and literacy are among the Association’s highest priorities.   

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