MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
October 4 – October 11, 2007 Edition
Borders Books Teams
With Court TV, Gather.com
In Crime Writing Contest
ANN ARBOR, MI/10/1/07– Borders, Inc., Court TV and Gather.com, today announced an alliance designed to find “The Next Great Crime Writer” through a multiplatform contest.
The contest will run in conjunction with the second season of Court TV’s hit real-life series MURDER BY THE BOOK. Beginning today, Court TV viewers and Borders customers will have the opportunity to submit mystery/crime manuscripts to be evaluated and voted on by a community of readers, writers and aspiring authors on Gather.com. A panel of judges will select the Grand Prize Winner from a pool of finalists identified by the Gather.com community. The Grand Prize winner will receive a publishing and exclusive distribution contract with Borders, Inc. and $5,000 in advanced royalties. Complete contest details can be found at http://courttv.gather.com.
Court TV’s MURDER BY THE BOOK, which premieres Monday, November 5, 10pm ET, is a 13-episode, one-hour series featuring best-selling crime authors including David Baldacci, Sandra Brown, and Harlan Coben. Court TV’s promotion for the “Search for the Next Great Crime Writer” Contest will include on-air, Internet and guerilla marketing. Gather.com members and fans of crime fiction will have a unique opportunity to pose questions and interact with the authors via web site postings and interviews.
“Driving quality manuscript submissions is the key to any successful writing contest,” said Borders Group, Inc. Executive Vice President, Merchandising and Marketing, Rob Gruen. “By joining forces with Court TV and Gather.com, we exponentially enhance the quantity and quality of submissions. This puts Borders in a unique position to make a dream come true for an aspiring and deserving writer.”
“We are thrilled to launch yet another groundbreaking marketing initiative, which, for the first time, partners Court TV with Borders and Gather.com,” says Mary Corigliano, senior vice president of marketing for Court TV. “Taking advantage of this multiplatform environment, we are extremely well positioned to lead the search to bring national attention to an unpublished mystery writer primed for his or her big break, while at the same time ultimately driving tune-in to our hit series MURDER BY THE BOOK.”
Borders, Inc., a leading retailer of books, music, movies, gifts and stationary items, is the official retail sponsor of Gather.com. In addition to providing a guaranteed publishing and exclusive distribution contract and a $5,000 in advanced royalties, Borders will also promote the contest through its “Shortlist,” a weekly e-mail sent to members of the Borders Rewards loyalty program, which now has more than 20 million members, and in Borders and Waldenbooks stores nationwide.
“Clearly, we are setting a trend here, using our base of loyal members in our strong social network to partner with two leading companies in their respective fields,” says Tom Gerace (tom.gather.com), founder and CEO of Gather.com. “The Gather.com, Borders and Court TV alliance is a powerful mix of media that delivers a multi-faceted platform to identify, vet and elevate aspiring mystery writers.”
Making the contest truly special will be an expert judging panel that includes three of this season’s featured MURDER BY THE BOOK novelists, Sandra Brown, David Baldacci and Harlan Coben. These best-selling authors will draw on their expertise in the field as they select the “Next Great Crime Writer” from the top five finalists.
THE COURT TV SEARCH FOR THE NEXT GREAT CRIME WRITER CONTEST TIMELINE
Round 1: October 1 – November 11, 2007
Submission period
Round 2: November 15, 2007 – December 9, 2008:
1st Chapters posted of all eligible entries on Courttv.Gather.com, where
the community will help narrow the pool down to 25 semifinalists.
Round 3: December 13, 2007 – January 2, 2008:
The 25 semifinalists will post their second chapters on
Courttv.Gather.com, where the community will help narrow the pool down to
5 finalists.
Round 4: January 3, 2008 – January 22, 2008:
The judging panel will select one talented mystery novelist as the Grand
Prize Winner.
Winner Announced: February 4, 2008:
The judging panel will announce the mystery novelist as the Grand Prize
Winner, the Next Great Crime Writer.
The Judging Panel:
David Baldacci, bestselling author Sandra Brown, bestselling author Harlan Coben, bestselling author Ed Hersh, executive vice president of current programming & specials,
Court TV Bill Adams, buyer, Borders Group, Inc. Cathy Lashinsky, buyer, Borders Group, Inc. Tom Gerace, founder & CEO, Gather.com
About Borders, Inc.
Borders, Inc. is a subsidiary of Borders Group. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Borders Group is a $4.1 billion global retailer of books, music and movies with more than 1,200 stores and 32,000 employees worldwide. More information on the company is available at www.bordersgroupinc.com.
About Court TV
Court TV(R), a Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. company, provides a window on the American system of justice through distinctive programming that both informs and entertains. Seen in 86 million U.S. homes, Court TV Networks is comprised of Court TV News(TM), which provides live trial coverage in daytime; and Court TV: Seriously Entertaining(TM) in prime time, featuring investigative drama, expert reality and compelling non-fiction series (TM). The Court TV Web sites can be accessed via www.courttv.com and www.courttvnews.com. On Jan. 1, 2008, Court TV will change its name to truTV as part of a major re-branding initiative.
Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and a leading provider of programming for the television industry.
About Gather.com
Gather.com (www.gather.com) is the leader in social media for adults. Gather.com members connect around shared interests ranging from politics to books and from cooking to travel, and they’re compensated for their activity on the site. Members can engage in conversation with state and local politicians, health and financial experts, personal coaches, bestselling authors, and more. Over one million people visit Gather.com each month to read content created by Gather.com members. Gather.com has a highly educated, highly informed adult audience membership – a demographic elusive to most social networking sites. This demographic has made Gather.com an exceptional partner to media companies, advertising agencies, leading consumer brands, book publishers, and movie studios. Gather.com is a privately held, privately funded company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Investors include Allen & Company, The American Public Media Group, Hearst, The McGraw-Hill Companies, and Southern California Public Radio. For more information, visit www.gather.com or call (617) 720-4000, x1032.
