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Books: Spring 2004

Scholastic Launches New Monthly Book Series, Geronimo Stilton, With Innovative Multi-Media Marketing Campaign,
To Include Geronimo Stilton Being Featured on Millions of School Milk Cartons

Over One Million Books Going into Scholastic Trade,
Book Clubs and Book Fairs in US, Canada, UK, Australia

NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Scholastic unleashes a national marketing campaign across all of its distribution channels to celebrate the English-language release of the international best-selling series, Geronimo Stilton. Scholastic already has one million copies of the series in-print, which will be released in the US and Canada this month, with England, New Zealand and Australia to follow in March.

Already a huge success abroad, Scholastic's US release is supported by a $350,000 marketing campaign, including a nationwide Kids Vote campaign, a national milk carton promotion, promotional giveaways and author events.

In January, Scholastic launched the nationwide Kids Vote in 2004 campaign. The company will distribute 75,000 Geronimo kits to teachers, which contains ballots and a Geronimo poster (estimated to reach 1.9 million kids) through its School Book Clubs.

Ballots will also be available at retail on displays and downloadable online. The ballot will ask kid's opinions on issues that are important to them -- their community, school, family and friends. Kids can then place their ballots in boxes at participating retailers. An outside firm will tally the results in March 2004 and the results will be published in a special issue of Geronimo's newspaper, The Rodent's Gazette, and distributed via newswire.

Geronimo Stilton will also be featured as part of Scholastic's national milk carton promotion. The VIR (Very Important Rodent) will be featured on over 166,000,000 milk cartons distributed through schools across the country this spring.

Scholastic will be distributing a special Geronimo Stilton poster to over 40,000 School Book Fairs across the country and Geronimo himself will make appearances at more than 250 School Book Fairs from March through May 2004.

Additional promotional materials include copies of The Rodent's Gazette, which will be distributed quarterly to accounts; 1200 Store Newsletter Kits, which contain stories about the series and ad slicks; and a Geronimo Stilton website at www.scholastic.com/geronimostilton, which will feature articles from The Rodent's Gazette and information on its staff.

To mark his debut in the US, Geronimo Stilton arrived at the Scholastic Corporate office in New York on Tuesday, January 13, 2004, where Scholastic rolled out the red carpet. He was greeted by excited school children and fellow members of the press as Geronimo headed off to his first day at work. Stilton's office at Scholastic is located in the main window of the 557 Broadway building.

Scholastic will release four titles of this new series of first chapter books in February with a new title to follow each month. Mild-mannered Editor of The Rodent's Gazette by day, Geronimo Stilton has plenty of adventures in and out of Mouse Island. Joined by his family -- including sister Thea, nephew Benjamin and cousin Trap -- and other residents of Mouse Island, Geronimo's adventures are full of action and humor. The first four titles are Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye, The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid, Cat and Mouse in a Haunted House and I'm Too Fond of my Fur!

Originally released in Italy, the Geronimo Stilton books have been translated into 35 languages, including Japanese, Dutch, Bosnian, Russian and Turkish, and the rights have been sold in over 175 countries. In less than three years, the books have become the most popular children's books in Italy, even outselling Harry Potter.

Scholastic Corporation (Nasdaq: SCHL) is the world's largest publisher and distributor of children's books. Scholastic creates quality educational and entertaining materials and products for use in school and at home, including children's books, magazines, technology-based products, teacher materials, television programming, videos and toys. The Company distributes its products and services through a variety of channels, including proprietary school-based book clubs, school-based book fairs, school-based and direct-to-home continuity programs; retail stores, schools, libraries, and television networks; and the Company's Internet Site, www.scholastic.com

Ray Bradbury, Ted Kennedy, Dean Koontz, Mancow Mueller, Al Franken, Bill
O'Reilly, Ann Patchett, Noah Adams, Laurie King, and Jhumpa Lahiri Headline 2nd Edition of PubBuzz (TM)

105 videos of book news and author events now available for free viewing at
first web-based video news service exclusively for people who read

(LEE, N.H., Jan. 12, 2004 /PRNewswire)n iReadNet launched 45 new videos with the second edition of PubBuzz last month, including a video of legendary author Ray Bradbury, bringing the total number of videos-on-demand at the web-based book and author news service to 105.

Ranging from short 30-second clips to as long as 15 minutes, the videos can be viewed for free from the iReadNet homepage at (www.ireadnet.com) or at PubBuzz, the site's video news page
(www.pubbuzz.com), company president and founder, Kurt Aldag, announced today.

Visitors can tune in to Ray Bradbury taking a bow at Book Expo America; Ted Kennedy offering his season's readings; bestselling authors Dean Koontz, Ann Patchett, and Laurie King talking about their newest books; Al Franken and Bill O'Reilly engaging in a war of words; NPR's "All Things Considered" host Noah Adams describing the scene at Kitty Hawk; Pulitzer Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri talking about the inspiration for her first novel, The Namesake; and hacker Kevin Mitnick talking about online security. Visitors can also tune in to see Michael Moore, Molly Ivins and Susan Orlean talking about their work; and check out what former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former CNN chief Walter Isaacson have been reading.

"Our goal is to create a world class media center for books and authors," said Aldag, a former publishing publicity and sales promotion executive. "This year we will begin covering the international book scene as well, starting with the London Book Fair in March and Frankfurt in October."

iReadNet, Inc., is a book marketing services and video news company offering multi-media book marketing solutions in domestic and international markets. Launched in 2002 at www.ireadnet.com, iReadNet provides a rich menu of web-based, business-to-business and business-to-consumer book marketing functions. Using digital video, advertising, promotion and publicity, book trade and reader services, the site connects authors with readers, book
reviewers, radio and TV producers, news editors, booksellers, and licensing agents around the globe. The site is averaging over 425,000 hits and 50,000 visitors from 100 countries per month.

Hagerstown Author's Children's Picture e-book, "I Am Me!" Released by Writer's Exchange EPublishing

(Hagerstown, MD, 1/04) Writers Exchange EPublishing announces the release of "I Am Me!" a children's picture e-book by Hagerstown-based author Jennifer LB Leese. As Jennifer's fourth children's picture e-book, this is the first book in the new open book format from Writer's Exchange EPublishing that has the illustration "bend" to the book page - you can see samples of this on the books excerpts page.

Jennifer LB Leese is a published author of children's fiction books, young adult fantasy books (under the name JV Harlee), and paranormal romance novels for adults. She freelances children's non-fiction books for book distribution and packaging companies, and is a children,Äôs book review columnist. Leese is a volunteer judge for the EPIC Eppie Award and for The Florida Write's Association. Jennifer is also a freelance copyeditor for Writer's Exchange E-Publishing, as well as for individual authors and publishing companies.

2004 EntertainmentMagazine.net