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Mar 07 – Mar 13, 2011 Edition Simon & Shuster Launches Video Channel NEW YORK,NY/AUTHORLINK NEWS/March 7, 2011–Beginning today, readers and booklovers will be able to enjoy an entirely new form of direct interaction with their favorite authors from Simon & Schuster. Ask the Author, developed by Simon & Schuster Digital in partnership with VYou.com, is a dedicated web channel where authors engage in conversation with their fans through videos posted in response to written questions.
To kick off Ask the Author on March 7, Simon & Schuster has enlisted a roster of bestselling and renowned authors, including Chris Cleave (LITTLE BEE), Brad Thor (THE ATHENA PROJECT), Lisa Genova (LEFT NEGLECTED) novelist Sarah Pekkanen (SKIPPING A BEAT), Pete Cerqua (THE 90 SECOND FITNESS PLAN, urban fantasy novelist L.A. Banks (SURRENDER THE DARK), Teresa Medeiros (GOODNIGHT TWEETHEART), Chuck Klosterman (EATING THE DINOSAUR) and bestselling childrens author Lisa McMann (CRYERS CROSS). More authors will be added to the channel on a regular basis.
With Ask the Author we have found a fun and easy way for our authors to connect with their fans, said Ellie Hirschhorn, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer of Simon & Schuster. We think this can be a valuable resource for fans and reading groups, allowing the author to answer readers questions directly on video, in a more intimate fashion than other forms of electronic communication. It’s the closest weve yet come to an in-person interview between reader and author.
Using VYous innovative technology and any computer that has a webcam, authors can record responses to individual messages or questions entered by their fans. The questions and answers are then organized into conversations, giving the experience a live feel. Participating authors can spend as much or as little time as they want on their video, which they can record at any time. Authors have the ability to select only those questions that they want to answer, and the option to choose which questions appear on the site.
In addition to the dedicated channel at VYOU.com, the Ask the Author videos will be featured at numerous locations on www.simonandschuster.com, including the sites Reading Group Resources page and individual author pages. Ask the Author videos are fully portable, and can be integrated into an author or fans web page or blog, and are easily shared on social media including Facebook and Twitter.
Simon & Schuster, a part of CBS Corporation, is a global leader in the field of general interest publishing, dedicated to providing the best in fiction and nonfiction for consumers of all ages, across all printed, electronic, and audio formats. Its divisions include Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing, Simon & Schuster Childrens Publishing, Simon & Schuster Audio, Simon & Schuster Digital, and international companies in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit our website at www.simonandschuster.com
VYou is a website dedicated to social interaction on the web by allowing people to broadcast video structured as conversation. They combine the intimacy of one-to-one conversation with the reach of broadcast, giving users tremendous power and creative control. As a simple application, their video player can be embedded and posted anywhere on the web.
