NEW YORK and SEATTLE, March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Ten finalists have been chosen from a pool of nearly 5,000 qualified writers in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award (ABNA), a contest in search of the next popular novel, sponsored by Amazon.com, Penguin Group (USA), and HP. From now through March 31, the public can go to http://www.amazon.com/abna and vote for their favorite work by reading, rating and reviewing excerpts of the Top 10 finalists' submissions. The winner of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award will be unveiled in New York City on Monday, April 7, 2008 and will be awarded a publishing contract with Penguin Group (USA).

The Top 10 finalists and the titles of their respective novels, are (in alphabetical order):

-- Bad Things Happen by Harry Dolan, Ypsilanti, MI Mr. Dolan edits an academic journal by day but yearns to publish mysteries like his favorite authors Harlan Coben and Raymond Chandler. -- The Butterflies of Grand Canyon by Margaret Erhart, Flagstaff, AZ Ms. Erhart teaches creative writing through the poetry of Pablo Neruda to middle schoolers on a Navajo reservation. -- Casting Off by Nicole Dickson, Greensboro, NC Ms. Dickson completed her manuscript while commuting to and from her job at Macy's. -- Fresh Kills by Bill Loehfelm, New Orleans, LA Mr. Loehfelm is a retired high school English teacher who currently bartends at night and writes by day. -- The Hellraiser of the Hollywood Hills: A McAfee Twins Novel by Jennifer Colt, Santa Monica, CA Ms. Colt is a former screenwriter for Miramax. -- Motherless Children by Randall Luce, Montgomery Village, MD Mr. Luce is a paralegal with an advanced degree in Anthropology, who based his manuscript on the deeply stirring research and interviews he had conducted while writing a thesis on social change in the Deep South. -- The Prospect of My Arrival by Dwight Okita, Chicago, IL Mr. Okita works as an office manager for a non-profit in Chicago and is a playwright on the side. -- Ring of Lies by Karen Laugel, Woodbridge, CT Ms. Laugel is a pediatrician who conceived her medical thriller after- hours. -- The Wet Nurse's Tale by Erica Eisdorfer, Carrboro, NC Ms. Eisdorfer is the longtime manager of a college bookstore in North Carolina, whose historical novel was inspired by her literary heroes Charles Dickens and Jane Austen. -- Wrecking Civilization Before Lunch by John Ring, Shawnee, KS Mr. Ring is a computer programmer who's been writing on the side for the past 20 years.

The 10 finalists' work represents a diverse range of genres, perspectives, themes and literary styles. Although the 10 writers come from across the country, they all share the common dream of having their manuscript chosen by Amazon customers as the Grand Prize winner on April 7 and having their novel subsequently published by Penguin Group (USA).

Susan Petersen Kennedy, President of Penguin Group (USA), commented: "The range of imagination among the finalists is incredibly broad. Each manuscript has a distinct voice and setting, and it will be fascinating to see which novel ultimately ends up capturing the interest of readers everywhere."

Russell Grandinetti, Vice President of Books at Amazon.com, said: "Our goal with the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award was to provide our customers with an exciting, significant voice in discovering the next popular novel. Now Amazon customers have the exciting chance to make the final decision on what that breakthrough novel will be."

Rich Raimondi, Vice President and General Manager, U.S. Graphic Arts Organization, HP, said: "We are excited to be helping these writers to the next phase of their careers as published authors. For more than a year, Amazon has relied on HP Indigo presses for the production of offset-quality books on demand, and the ABNA runner-up finalists will see the benefits of this relationship in the first printed copies of their novels."

Over the five month course of the contest, a virtual community of readers and writers has emerged on the ABNA discussion boards, where members are able to encourage, critique and become friends with one another. One of the Top 10 finalists commented: "The community that has been created online by the contest is very, very cool," and added that he expects to remain in touch with many of the other entrants he has befriended during the contest. Another Top 10 finalist has been using the virtual world, like many others, to track the feedback from the public on his submission.

The Top 10 finalists' excerpts will be accompanied by the reviews and rankings they received in previous stages of the contest from Amazon Reviewers and Publishers Weekly. The Top 10 finalists' works are now being read by a prestigious panel of top publishing industry professionals, including: Elizabeth Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love; literary critic John Freeman, President of the National Book Critics' Circle (NBCC); literary agent Eric Simonoff, Co-Director of Janklow & Nesbit Associates; and Publisher Amy Einhorn, of Amy Einhorn Books. These experts will each read all 10 manuscripts and, on or about March 17th, post their comments on Amazon.com.

NOTE TO THE PRESS:

The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, sponsored by Amazon.com, Penguin Group (USA), HP, and CreateSpace, launched on October 1, 2007 and received nearly 5,000 qualified submissions, with representation from approximately 2,000 cities around the world and in every state in the United States. All submissions were first read by Amazon.com Top Reviewers -- individuals recognized for the high quality and frequency of their comments on the site -- who generated over 10,000 ratings in selecting 836 submissions to advance to the next round. Publishing trade magazine Publishers Weekly reviewed the full manuscripts of each submission. Based on these reviews and the feedback from Amazon Reviewers, editors from Penguin Group (USA) narrowed the field to 100 semi-finalists. Penguin Group (USA)'s editorial staff read and evaluated each of the semi-finalist entries, ultimately selecting the Top 10 finalists. Amazon customers can now choose the grand prize winner by going to http://www.amazon.com/abna. The winner of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award will be announced on April 7, 2008.

The grand prize winner of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award will receive a publishing contract from Penguin Group (USA), which includes a $25,000 advance. In addition, HP will provide the winning author with an entertainment technology package that will include an HP 50-inch Plasma TV, Digital Entertainment Center, HP Pavilion Notebook, HP LaserJet All-in-One and HP Photosmart Digital camera. All runner-up finalists will be offered a "Total Design Freedom" BookSurge self-publishing package from Amazon worth $2,400.

The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award is sponsored by Penguin Group (USA); HP, Amazon's preferred color print-on-demand vendor; and CreateSpace.

To vote on the Top 10 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award finalists and help select the winner, visit http://www.amazon.com/abna.

About Penguin Group (USA)

Penguin Group (USA) Inc. is the U.S. member of the internationally renowned Penguin Group. Penguin Group (USA) is one of the leading U.S. adult and children's trade book publishers, owning a wide range of imprints and trademarks, including Viking, G. P. Putnam's Sons, The Penguin Press, Riverhead Books, Dutton, Penguin Books, Berkley Books, Gotham Books, Portfolio, New American Library, Plume, Tarcher, Philomel, Grosset & Dunlap, Puffin, and Frederick Warne, among others. The Penguin Group (http://www.penguin.com/) is part of Pearson plc, the international media company.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc., , a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as health and personal care, jewelry and watches, gourmet food, sports and outdoors, apparel and accessories, books, music, DVDs, electronics and office, toys and baby, and home and garden.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.amazon.co.uk/, http://www.amazon.de/, http://www.amazon.co.jp/, http://www.amazon.fr/, http://www.amazon.ca/, and the Joyo Amazon websites at http://www.joyo.cn/ and http://www.amazon.cn/.

As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

About CreateSpace

CreateSpace is a DBA of On-Demand Publishing LLC, a subsidiary of Amazon.com Inc. . A leader in manufacture-on-demand services for independent creative content owners, CreateSpace was originally founded as CustomFlix Labs, Inc. in 2002 and acquired by Amazon.com Inc. in 2005. The company's mission is to profitably connect its members to a worldwide audience through multiple channels, including Amazon.com. CreateSpace provides inventory-free, physical distribution of books, CDs and DVDs on demand, and video downloads via Amazon Unbox.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, significant amount of indebtedness, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, and all subsequent filings.

CONTACT: Marilyn Ducksworth, +1-212-366-2564,
marilyn.ducksworth@us.penguingroup.com, or Stephanie Sorensen,
+1-212-366-2576, stephanie.sorensen@us.penguingroup.com, both of Penguin Group
(USA); or Amazon Media Hotline, +1-206-266-7180, or Kristine Snyder of HP,
+1-949-548-4995, kristine.snyder@hp.com

Web site: http://www.penguin.com/
http://www.amazon.com/abna
http://www.amazon.com/